Alaska Airlines Essays - Alaska Air Group, Alaska Airlines

Alaska Airlines Alaska Airlines For nearly 70 years, Alaska Airlines has served the west coast of North America. Alaska Airlines has grown from a small regional airline in 1932 to one today that carries more than 12 million customers per year. Alaska's route system spans more than 40 cities and primarily services four countries: Canada, United States, Mexico, and Russia. Its fleet of 88 Boeing jets is the youngest among all major airlines and it has earned U.S. airline recognition from Travel & Leisure and Cond? Nast Traveler magazines. The foundation of Alaska Airlines began in 1932, when Mac McGee started flying his three-seat Stinson between Anchorage and Bristol Bay, Alaska. In 1934, a merger with Star Air Service created the then-largest airline in Alaska. By the late 1940s, using surplus military aircraft, Alaska had branched into worldwide charter work, including the Berlin Airlift in 1948 and Operation Magic Carpet, the airlift of thousands of Yemenite Jews, to Israel in 1949. In the late 1960s, Alaska strengthened its operating base by merging with Alaska Coastal-Ellis and Cordova airlines, legendary Southeast Alaska carriers owned by aviation pioneers Shell Simmons, Bob Ellis and Mudhole Smith. Alaska's world now stretched from Fairbanks south to Ketchikan and down to Seattle. And in some of the coldest days of the Cold War, Alaska made headlines with regular charters to the Soviet Union. In 1972, Alaska Airlines faced severe financial difficulties. Fairbanks businessmen Ron Cosgrave and Bruce Kennedy were hired and they are credited with salvaging the airline, and winning the trust of creditors, employees, and customers by improving time performance and customer service. In addition, construction of the trans-Alaska pipeline brought a surge in business to the airline through the transport of supplies, equipment and workers. Finally, Cosgrave and Kennedy focused on customer service. In 1987, Alaska Airlines merged with Horizon Air and Jet America and increased its fleet five-fold. The following section provides an overview of the history of Alaska Airlines. Alaska Airlines History by Decade 1930s The company that ultimately became Alaska Airlines was born in 1932 when Linious Mac McGee painted McGee Airways on the side of a three-passenger Stinson and started flying out of Anchorage. In 1934, McGee merged with Star Air Service, creating the largest airline in Alaska with 22 aircraft. Flying in those days wasn't scheduled. You typically flew when the plane was full, be it passenger, furs or groceries. Finances were tight, but perseverance ruled the day. Business expanded in ?37 with the purchase of Alaska Interior Airlines. Late that year, McGee sold Star to a group led by one of his former pilots, Don Goodman, who renamed the carrier Star Air Lines. The 1938 creation of the Civil Aeronautics Authority to regulate airlines signaled the end of the true bush-flying era. 1940s Star Air Lines received most of the routes it wanted from the CAA but was denied the coveted Alaska/Seattle run. That went to Pan American. Star bought three small Alaskan carriers in 1942, changed its name to Alaska Star Airlines and then Alaska Airlines in 1944. The company grew despite a shortage of workers during the war, feuds with the CAB, and cash troubles that had employees paying for fuel out of their own pockets. In the late ?40s, charter operations overshadowed scheduled service, and Alaska became the largest charter operator in the world. Using surplus military aircraft, it flew everywhere, carrying food in the Berlin Airlift and refugees to the settlement of Israel. 1950s The airline expanded in 1950 with the purchase of two more small Alaskan carriers. Under CAB mandate, the far-flung charter business of the ?40s was ended. But Alaska's dream came true in ?51, when it received authority to fly from Anchorage and Fairbanks to Seattle and Portland. The CAB forced what it considered a business-saving change in management a short time later. As a result, Alaska's financial footing was improved, though still tenuous, when Charlie Willis, a decorated World War II pilot, came aboard as chairman and CEO in ?57. A born marketer, he ushered in one of the most colorful eras in company history, and brought in-flight movies to the nation's skies for the first time. 1960s While the jet age was just coming to

Global Pharmaceutical Industry Research Paper Example

Global Pharmaceutical Industry Research Paper Example Global Pharmaceutical Industry Paper Global Pharmaceutical Industry Paper Overview of the global pharmaceutical industry In 2003, Britains Guardian newspaper commented that, on the face of It, the global pharmaceutical Industry looks like the epitome of a modern, mature Industry that has found a comfortable way to make profits by the billion: Its global, hi-tech, and has the ultimate customer, the healthcare budgets of the worlds richest countries. Guardian swept 2003 The global pharmaceutical industry is nowadays made up of thousands of companies contained in this industry. There are an elite ten firms which are based in Europe and America. These firms alone account for nearly half of the worlds global drug market on their own. This said the current industry leader in terms of global sales is Pfizer and It has only roughly 10% of the market. This shows that there are not only one or a few dominant players in the market and that competition within the pharmaceutical Industry Is severe. Porters flee forces model One of the best ways to analyses industries competitiveness is by using Michael Porters five forces framework. This framework is useful for business when creating new strategies, plans or making investment decisions about a business but will be essentially used to measure the attractiveness of an industry. It suggests there are 5 main forces, which can help a company develop a broad analysis of its competitive position in its market. Competitive rivalry The pharmaceutical Industry within the asses was fragmented with hundreds of companies competing with a similar market share. The companies focused entirely on different classes of drugs which helped each of the organizations involved. : The result of this was that most firms had few direct competitors so they were very comfortable. The lack of direct competition allowed pharmaceutical companies to raise rises as they pleased. With this lack of competition competitive rivalry was almost nonexistent then. Throughout the asses, rivalry in the pharmaceutical industry increased and the market changed rapidly. Some drug companies felt the pressure to take advantage of economies of scale. By choosing to merge and acquire other firms/biotech within the Industry. Unlike the drug companies, blotches dont have high overheads, and they possess a high quality product. While traditionally these biotech had discovered new drugs and then sold their discoveries to already established drug companies. This sparked rivalry among the top firms as areas of expertise then Degas to overlap Ana sensually teen werent as comfortable as In ten early Additional rivalry came from new competitors in the market for example some biotech that began began not only to discover but also to develop and market their own drugs.

Critically Review a journal article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Critically Review a journal article - Essay Example but also looks towards studying the practices being innovated by small time entrepreneurs and managers of such firms so as to allow them to grow internationally. In order to gather information about the related research, the authors of the article have mentioned that the evidence presented within it have been sourced from an extensive research project, which has focused on studying the internationalization of smaller firms engaged in the retail sector. the authors have further cited the deficiency of enough literature that could support their efforts, which has thus forced them to undertake the study along an exploratory pattern thereby allowing them to make the required interpretations based on a pre-conceived research paradigm. The research has made extensive use of data analysis techniques, wherein the inductive procedures used have led to in-depth and conclusive insights in addition to providing for an organized description of several SMEs that have found significance during various parts of the research. Further, several case scenarios have been used to allow the interpretation of patterns among companies, thus eliminating the occurrenc e of chance associations. The companies that were included in the study from the retail SME sector were selected on the basis of specific criteria that allowed for companies only with  £25 million to be taken into consideration. Further, such companies also had to have a minimum form of business operations outside the UK, where the external existence could be through any valid form of operations ranging from franchises to licensed outlets. In addition, companies that were in the early stage of operation were given due consideration thereby leading to the set of 17 such firms out of which 9 were studied extensively owing to their acceptance to participate in the research. The study has shown that there was a pattern between the management cum decision making to encourage and nourish international expansion. However, given the

Leadership and Management of Strategic Change Assignment - 1

Leadership and Management of Strategic Change - Assignment Example Economic and technological changes in the past decade comply to change the business activities. New ideas should be generated by management of the company to change the business activities in a strategic way. Such practices which are not updated have to be removed and business activities should be redirected to cope with the changes of economy, technology, international competition and global market. Leadership quality is very much important to make some strategic changes within the organization. A good leadership quality is to predict the situation and future condition of the business. So a good leader always capable to see the future scenario and according to that scenario he make strategies so that the business will not face any kind of difficult challenges in near future. Leadership and management of the company are mainly responsible to bring a good strategic change for the better position of the company. Mannai Corporation is one of the oldest companies in Qatar. It is the largest service and trading company in that country. In the year 2010 it celebrated its 60th anniversary in a successful way. At the time of launching the business it was an auto part trader and later the business grew with numerous activities. It has two main key activities which are trade and services. These activities include sale of wide range of vehicle [small car to luxury passenger vehicle, used cars, commercial vehicle etc.]; sale, repair, hire and servicing of heavy equipments which are used in industrial and construction sector; sale of home appliances and electronic goods, provide services in case of information technology, manufacturing medical equipments, supply building materials and industrial chemicals and also act as an agent who successfully provide air travel services in the country. The vision of the company is to become a dependable business partner in the country with value added and exceptio nal

Employment Law Issue Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Employment Law Issue - Essay Example Sexual harassment usually involves males who are at higher positions and they harass their subordinate women in order to get sexual favors by threatening them of getting fired from the job. It is not only a form of unlawful employment discrimination that is based on sex but also it violates title VII of the civil rights act 1964. If we talk about harasser, we can say that at any specific workplace, the harasser and the victim can be an employee, an employer, supervisor, a person from the management staff, and even the boss. Some cases of sexual harassment may involve such homosexual men who are at higher positions and they harass their subordinate heterosexual men in order to get sexual favors. Conte (2000) found that in some cases, the victims of sexual harassment make complaint to the higher officials regarding offenses and in some cases they don’t want to expose the situation because of the society and the relatives. In such cases, sexual harassment gets increased and the victim sometimes gets in more trouble instead of coming out of the unwanted situation. The strategy which our company’s manager has implemented regarding the prevention of sexual harassment involves privacy of the victim. If a case of sexual harassment occurs in our company, the victim writes the incident on a paper and submits it to the manager instead of telling him by words. Then the manager calls the offender and the victim in a separate room in order to settle down the issue and take the required action against the offender. â€Å"It is the organizations responsibility to encourage staff to report incidents of sexual harassment by making the process accessible to all and by being approachable and dealing allegations in a sensitive and confidential manner† (Dawkins, 2007). At present, the management of the companies focuses on the privacy of the victim in order to

Beliefs of Calvin and Augustine

Beliefs of Calvin and Augustine The Traditional Calvinist view to the doctrine of Perseverance of the saints finds its origin in the philosophy of the sixteenth-century Swiss Reformer John Calvin (1509-1564). He wrote and published the first edition of his Institutes of the Christian Religion. This is the most about writing on systematic theology which the world had ever known at that time. To this present day his belief have pervade spread through the Protestant world. Because God is sovereign over all His creation, Calvin argued, He must be the sole actor in the salvation of His human creatures. He believed that any response, prior to regeneration, from a depraved human being would make God less than sovereign in human redemption. John Calvin drifted from his Roman Catholic faith while studying the vast writings of Augustine, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Hippo (354-430). He constantly praised Augustines work with frequent quotes and references from his writings. Many prominent Calvinists acknowledge that Calvins fundamental beliefs were through the writings of Augustine and were already formed while he was still a faithful Roman Catholic. He systemized Augustines doctrines, which have been developed, for the most part, the Five Points of Calvinism presented today. Augustines influence remained with him throughout his life. The beliefs of Calvin and Augustine embody the Five Points of Calvinism presented today. Just as the Synod of Dort, (the synod which first formally presented these points as the Five Points of Calvinism-TULIP),[1] was a Calvinistic Synod, so John Calvin was an Augustinian. These Augustinian teachings that he presented in his Institutes of the Christian Religion included the sovereignty of God, which made Him the cause of everything, including sin, election, and the predestination of the elect to salvation and of the non-elect to damnation. Professor Herman Hanko, co-authored one of several books called TheFivePointsofCalvinism,written to explain and defend Calvinism, says that: Boettner agrees. He says: Calvinist theologian R. Laird Harris states that: We see that John Calvin took what Augustine had written and refined it. Many of our doctrines that we understand and recognize today have developed from earlier stages of belief. This is the case with the doctrines of Augustine. An example of this is the doctrine of Eternal Security. He did not teach this, but he was a crucial figure in establishing the root source that is the basis in which this doctrine could develop in to how we understand it today. With a little research, one can understand how his influence on theology as a whole goes without question. The foundational beliefs, biases, and doctrines that many believers have today, Protestants and Catholics, are to be discovered in the beliefs of Augustine. While most Calvinist and Catholic theologians agree with Augustine, some Protestants do not. However, most of them, if not all, will acknowledge his huge influence on Christian beliefs and doctrines. Augustine was born November 13, 354 in Tagaste Numidia. He was brought up in a divided household: Augustines father was not a Christian and directed his son towards secular knowledge which could bring him an income. When he became an adult, Augustine moved to Carthage and he took an interest in debating. Around the year 375, Augustine became a Manichaean Gnostic. Augustine was a Manichaean for nine years and was greatly influenced by them, whose doctrines were heretical. The Gnostics believed in two gods, one evil and one good. Some Gnostic groups renounced marriage and procreation. Many believed that the dualism of flesh and spirit-the flesh being evil and the spirit being good. Many historians have noted that Augustine has brought this Manichaean influences into the Church. The Manichaean teachings are believed to have influenced Augustines doctrine of the total depravity of mankind, the elect and predestination. These are the foundations and essential elements of the doctrine of Eternal Security that was to follow after Calvin got a hold of them. Because of Augustines sinful lifestyle, he could not advance in the Manichaean religion. He had a reputation of being a fornicator and a womanizer. Historian James ODonnell, is a University Professor at Georgetown University. He says: Later Augustine became a skeptic and turned to the philosophy of Neo-Platonism (a form of thought rooted in the philosophy of Plato). He began to merger these beliefs with his Gnostic and Christian beliefs. Augustines writings were strongly influenced by his studies in Neo-Platonism, Gnosticism, and the Christian Scriptures. Much like Calvinists today, he used Scripture out of context to match his theology. In 384, Augustine went to Milan as a incredulous professor of rhetoric. Before he left Milan in 388, he had been baptized by Ambrose and was indebted to Ambroses Catholic Neo-Platonism, which provided a philosophical base that eventually transformed Christian theology.[2] Augustine was not only influenced by the Manichaean Gnostics, but he was also being influenced by his mentor Ambrose. Ambrose had absorbed the most up-to-date Greek learning, Christian and pagan alike-notably the works of Philo, Origen, and Basil of Caesarea and of the pagan Neo-Platonist Plotinus.[3] With his philosopher ideas mixing Scriptures with Platonism with its elements of mysticism and some Judaic and Greco-Roman reading, he influenced Augustine in his theology. Maybe this is why, that no one that has ever lived has influenced Christian theology as Augustine has. He is responsible for much of what we consider to be Catholic doctrine today. Not surprisingly, he is also credited with being a major participant in Protestant beliefs as well. The historian Jaroslav Pelikan remarked: Commenting on Augustines book entitled, The City of God, the historian Edward Gibbon wrote: [1] A century after the Reformation a reaction against this extreme Genevan Calvinism developed around Amsterdam pastor and theologian, Jacob Arminius. After his untimely death in 1609, some of his followers, the Remonstrants, pressed his denial of Calvinism in five points. At the Synod of Dort (1618-19) they were banished from the Netherlands Reformed churches by the Calvinists, who set out their doctrine in five opposing points, the famous acronym, TULIP. [2] Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica, Inc., Saint Ambrose, (Last accessed 7/31/15): http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/19014/Saint-Ambrose [3] Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica, Inc., Saint Ambrose, (Last accessed 7/31/15): http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/19014/Saint-Ambrose

Context in Mother Courage and her Children by Brecht Essay -- Second W

Context in Mother Courage and her Children by Brecht There are many different contexts to the play and they are all influenced by social, cultural and historical implications. The context of the play itself and how it was written and performed for the first time and now were all influenced by events that occurred in Brecht’s life. The play itself discusses the thirty year war but is a clear reflection of the Second World War. Brecht believed that the war only took place for the economic benefit of the government and decided to portray this within his work. Marxism was the influence that gave Brecht hope that there was good within humans although some needed re-awakening. Therefore his objective was to make people aware of this and he did this through a process of alienation. The play Mother Courage and her Children was Brecht putting his ideas into practice as the whole play involves alienation and concentration on the political message being portrayed. Brecht’s work was banned from Germany and some of his performances were even disrupted by police and due to the portrayal of the war through his work his plays were socially unacceptable. Due to this social implication the context of Brecht’s play itself conveyed the true nature of the war to its extremes and this decision is clearly apparent in Mother Courage and her Children. The Chaplin was observed as the ironic hypocrite whom represented religion but was too scared to stand up for what he believe...

The Effects of Working Overseas of Filipino Parents

THE EFFECTS OF WORKING OVERSEAS OF FILIPINO PARENTS ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF THEIR CHILDREN by Pascual, Kristelle D. March 21, 2012 Introduction As experienced by many Filipino children like me nowadays, separation from one of our parents results to a very great impact in our lives. Unlike any other children with both parents present at home, raising us up needs more effort and careful attention since that there is only one attending parent.The temporary single parent at home must have the ability to handle things very well—from raising children up to the accomplishing of household chores, and even to the budgeting of resources, like money and time. Fortunately, as for me who have witnessed such, I can say that my mother did very well in handling these tasks, considering there are three of us she had to take care of. The academic performance of children is affected when one of their parents, especially when both, are working overseas. These effects are just the manifesta tions of the situation families have when one parent or the parents, is/are not present at home.This paper aims to provide the effects that are observable and some of their psychological factors. The Filipino Family Setting â€Å"Families provide social and emotional supports that help family members cope with crises†¦But perhaps the most widely recognized and universal functions of the family are the care giving and training that parents and other family members provide for their young. † (Shaffer, 1999, 558) Filipino families have great values, which up to now are still present. They are known to putting a great importance to family, because one of the most weighty and intimate relationships among humans is that between parent and child.It is important especially for the child because it makes him feel secure about life and molds his future (Bigner, 1989). This is the reason why in the Philippines, they have extended families. Since that family members become really cl ose to one another, they have a hard time letting go of a family member when he needs to leave home during the time he decides to build his own family. Furthermore, in the Spanish colonial period, only men were sent to school to learn, and women were to stay at home to do domestic things, like household chores.It is in the history that women do not have the right to learn because they are probably â€Å"designed† to be housewives, and they need to focus on that. Men, on the other hand, study so that in the future, they could earn a living for their family. As a very influential culture imposed by the Spaniards, this, until now, has been an ideal Filipino family tradition—men are to work, women are to stay at home. Labor Migration Nevertheless, today, because of the financial instabilities Filipino families face today, they are forced to send an able-bodied member to work and earn a living for them.In addition, with a great number of Filipinos sent everyday to different countries around the world, a single Filipino family also suffers from temporary loss of a family member each day (Parrenas, 2006). Labor migration has always been the first choice of families in need of more financial support; so as a result, separation normally happens every day in the Philippines, which leads to various effects in the behavior of family members, especially to children. One example is its effect to their academic performance.In the modern nuclear family, usually, fathers work abroad—which proves that the tradition above is somewhat still alive. They fulfill their duty as the â€Å"good providers† of the family; while as for the mothers, they do the traditional household responsibilities by putting all of their energy into meeting the daily needs of the family. However, because of this work division of parents, children crave for emotional guidance coming from their father. However, since a gap develops through the course of time (â€Å"embarrassmen t†), it prevents them from expressing this desire.This is according to Rhazel S. Parrenas who wrote the book, Children of Global Migration (2006). Mothers rarely go outside of the country to look for work opportunities without being driven by the deep necessity of the family financially, or else, the children are more likely to question their motives (Parrenas, 2006). The only time that mothers pursue working overseas must be when they badly need money to support the family that both of the parents must go, the father is incapable of working, or the mother is a single parent.The Situation of Family Members after Separation As an effect of the economic problem, parents, mostly fathers, choose to work abroad to support the needs of their family. Therefore, in every decision made, there is always separation afterwards, and it always, has an effect on the family members: †¢ On the Migrant parent: The decision is the first hard thing to do. Leaving the family means missing imp ortant events and giving up being in the actual growing up of his/her children. It requires absence to meeting the daily emotional needs of the family.Furthermore, the hardest is when this parent encounters problems—may it be in health, financial, or work—he/she has to face them alone. The person has to be strong emotionally especially when feeling homesick. The parent should focus also on the goal of meeting the needs of his/her family, so that his/her convictions will not sway when distractions come on his /her family. †¢ On the Non-migrant parent: The pressure of raising the children alone is passed on to the non-migrant parent. Fulfilling both duties of a mother and father is difficult and strenuous at the same time.In addition, the parent suffers from emotional struggle from being separated with his/her spouse. Like the other parent, he/she experiences distractions. However, the weight is doubled, because this parent needs to show a strong personality and fir m stance on the situation while at the same time, doing all of his/her duties at home, and/or sometimes working part time to support the family more. †¢ On the Children: Children growing without one of the parents or both of them can result in different responses from children. They can respond positively or negatively.The necessity of having the parents present is one big factor on how well they will turn out in the future. Therefore, it depends on how the parents handle the situation in the family that the children will be able to bear it and respond to it properly. As I have said earlier, the parents have to keep their stance firm in these kinds of situations. They need to have trust and confidence in each other. They, also, need to have constant communication to address to each other their needs to build a strong relationship within the family despite the absence of one family member. More than anything in the world today, children need strong parents with strong conviction s, a set of values and principles by which they live. Without such strength of convictions and principles, our children stand a good chance of simply being gobbled up by the social pressure in the world. † (Dacayanan & Isaac, 1974) The Effect of Labor Migration Childhood is a very crucial stage for children. It is the time when children get the values that will found their behavior when they grow up. Therefore, parents’ role is very essential.According to Guthrie and Jacobs (1967), during the earliest childhood years, child gets the attention of older people. However, as he grows, people expect him to become conscious of the things he ought to do and not to do. Not only that these things vary with the time and mood of people older than he does, he is compelled to obey them and to predict what pleases or displeases them. About the things they encounter, children wonder and try to ask unending questions to their parents believing their parents can answer them. If the chil dren receive responsive answers to their questions, they will be encouraged to find out more answers.On the other hand, when children receive unresponsive answers, or worse, are ignored, they will just try to figure things out on their own, and thus, starting lack of communication between the parent and child. This is according to Felicidad Dacayanan and Josefina Isaac in their book, Towards Building the Filipino Family Today (1974). Childhood is the time when children need the presence of their parents the most. Nevertheless, how about those children with parents separated because of working overseas? How well will they turn when they grow up?On the Behavior of Children When children experience separation, there is a sudden change in their behavior. Children are immature. When they are given an entirely new situation, their behaviors that are manifested will be decided according to it, forgetting the previous one (Dacayanan & Isaac, 1974). Therefore, when children experience separa tion, they are quick to respond. According to Ortigas (1996), there are stages of attachment/detachment. First, the child denies the situation. He chooses to be blind to reality in order to cope with the situation.Second, when he feels that he cannot really cope with it, he becomes depressed. In this period, the child lacks interest in doing things—playing, studying, eating and the like. He pities himself about the situation and feels helpless and hopeless. After that, different thoughts will start dwelling inside his mind. One of these is fear of abandonment. The child clings to other parent fearing that the parent left may also leave him since the absent parent was able to leave him. As a result, the child becomes submissive to the parent, or acts unacceptably to get attention from the parent.Another thought that will enter his mind is that he may be the cause of separation of the parents, making him feel guilty eventually. Hence, it will start the self-blame of the child. Because of this, he starts acting out behaviors that will lead to punishment. Lastly, he develops low self-esteem. In this period, he feels worthless and unlovable, maybe because of the punishments received from acting certain behaviors. The child thinks that this is the reason why the absent parent left him, and develops helplessness especially when he does not see much concern from the absent parent.These effects lead to certain manifestations in the actions of the children. To be particular, the situation compromises their academic performance. On the Academic Performance of Children Students belonging to a family with a migrant parent sometimes have bad images, like being â€Å"pasaway† in school, back then. It was an issue for people to have single parent families—because it was not still the first in mind when it comes to finding a high-paying job, assuming that children belonging in an â€Å"imperfect nuclear family structure† connote poor academic perfor mance. Different studies produced different hypotheses about the topic.Nevertheless, the presence of both of the parents, the mother only, the father only, or none of them has different outcomes: Children with two parent migrant families are more likely to suffer from poor guardianship. In fact, many children, according to an interview, who dropped out of school, had all been members of those types of family who experience separation from their parents for a long time (Parrenas, 2006). Another piece of information is in agreement with the earlier: Children in single parent families are at a greater risk than children in other types of family.Even though they have the same level of intelligence with other children, they are three or more times to drop out of school. (Adoption. com) Furthermore, according to Hoffman (1967), daughters of employed mother are academic achievers, are successful in their careers, and are more independent. On the other hand, children in poverty, in both two -parent or single families with employed mothers, have higher cognitive and socio-emotional indices scores. In addition, sons from the middle class with employed mothers have lower school performance and lower I. Q scores in the early years in school than those with mothers at home.One finding from the 1970's from the blue-collar class said that sons of employed mothers did well academically; however, there was a strain in the father-son relationship. It is true that life in single parent family structure can be very difficult. Children, as said earlier, are more prone to suffer emotional struggles. As a result, they have greater chances to act inappropriately, especially if the parent left is busy working too. This can result in lack of time in disciplining and controlling their children, which often lead to lower school performance or misinterpretations—that the parents left does not love them.Some researchers suggest that family has great impact on the academic performance of children. It is a factor in the involvement of parents in their education. Income is a pressure that can limit parents’ effort from supporting them. (Adoption. com) Nevertheless, this is not true in all situations; some children coming from the single parent families perform well in school. This may be credited to how well the family coped with the situation, and how firm the parent left stood firm on the situation.As I have pointed on the first part of this research, â€Å"Families provide social and emotional supports that help family members cope with crises†¦But perhaps the most widely recognized and universal functions of the family are the care giving and training that parents and other family members provide for their young. † (Shaffer, 1999, 558) Socialization and Time as factors to Prevention of the bad effects Children become what they are today through interaction and exposure—getting values from people surrounding them and using everything h ey acquired from the environment. This process of becoming self is fastest and crucial in the formative years because parents leave a mark on children, which schools will have a hard time correcting. This must not be taken for granted by Filipino parents who consider that all children in tender years can be ignored because they are still unaware (Dacayanan & Isaac, 1974). Studies about the topic may differ from one to another, may they agree or not, the performance of children in school is not dependent upon their situation.It is dependent on how the family handles it, starting from the responses of the parents, to their orientation of it to children, and to how children would respond to it. According to Shaffer (1999), in his book, Developmental Psychology: Childhood & Adolscence, Socialization is a process by which children gain the beliefs, values, and behaviors considered fit by elders in the society which serves it through controlling children’s behavior, promoting growt h in order to function well within their communities, and imparting what they have learned as social adults to their children.However, time spent with the children is also a factor in building a good relationship in the family. Therefore, it is possible for children with parents working overseas to perform well in school, because parents can control their responses to situations. Generalizations â€Å"Time together, mutual efforts for more open communication and greater understanding could alleviate the gap in father-away families. † (Parrenas, 2006, 78) Indeed, working overseas of Filipino parents affects the academic performance of their children, may it be in good or in bad.However, we can minimize the bad effects, and only reap good effects of it, by simply applying what has been said above. The family is not built to function individually; it is sector in the society built to function as a whole. Hence, the solution to the problem cannot be solved by anyone else, but our selves. Reference List: Adoption. com (n. d. ). Single parenting and children’s academic achievement. Retrieved January 31, 2012, from http://library. adoption. com/articles/single-parenting-and-childrens-academic-achievement. tml Bigner, J. J. (1989). Parent-Child Relations. (Third Ed. ). New York: Macmillan Publishing Company Dacayanan, F. M. , & Isaac, J. D. R. (1974). Towards building the Filipino family today. Quezon City: Bustamante Press Guthrie, G. M. & Jacobs, P. J. (1967). Child rearing and personality development in the Philippines. Manila: The Bookmark, Inc. Hoffman, L. W. (1967). The effects of the mother’s employment on the family and the child. Retrieved January 31, 2012, from parenthood. ibrary. wisc. edu/Hoffman/Hoffman. html Ortigas, C. D. (1996). The Solo-parent experience: A growing social phenomenom. Quezon City: Office of the Research and Publications Ateneo de Manila University Parrenas, R. S. (2006). Children of global migration: Transnational f amilies and gendered woes. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press Shaffer, D. R. (1999). Developmental Psychology: Chilhood and Adolescence. (Fifth Ed). USA: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company

Authoritative Parenting Model Essay

Establishing discipline through authoritative parenting is an effective style because it displays secure emotional development, allows a higher quality of supportive peer relationships and enhances problem-solving skills for the child. Research has shown that authoritative parenting is the most effective style of parenting. Authoritative parenting is the one style that promotes equal involvement between the parent and child. (Cherry, 2013a). The parent displays fair discipline, warmth and nurturing, effective communication with the child and sets certain expectations on behavior and maturity. This parenting style promotes a â€Å"democratic† model in which parents are  responsive to the child’s needs, thoughts and concerns. These parents will listen to questions the child may have on expectations set. Simply put by these parents are direct but not over bearing. (Cherry, 2013b). They reason instead of just punishing the child. Parents of this model want their children to be self-assured, socially approachable and cooperative. This furthermore, clearly defines that the authoritative style allows open communication between parent and child, love, guidance, nurturing, explanation of discipline and balance for the child. The authoritative parenting style is about setting limits, reasoning with kids, and being responsive to their emotional needs. (Dewar, 2013). These types of parents offer children a great deal of emotional support. While setting high standards for a child, parents who practice the authoritative style are responsive to the needs of children, demand children to show respect as well as provide a nurturing environment. In setting limits, children will often comply with respect to their parents and act responsibly. When children misbehave, the authoritative parent provides discipline as well and pointing out and discussing the misbehavior. The parent further provides reasoning to the act. In addition, parents allow for verbal responses and communication  from the child that promotes a sense of balance. As Dewar further states, there is evidence that this style helps kids become more empathic, helpful, conscientious, and kind to others. Dewar also suggests, authoritative parents are both highly responsive and very demanding. Overall, this is one of the best ways to define the authoritative parenting style. Evidenced  research provides several conclusions that children raised by authoritative parents are more likely to become independent, socially accepted by peers, academically productive, and well mannered. (Dewar, 2013). Children often become more supportive, reliable, and thoughtful to family and peers. Authoritative parents promote secure attachments and allow children to communicate their concerns and feelings. In doing so, children are less likely to internalize problems. Talking with a child will allow them to verbalize both good and bad, learning from these better choices and avoiding future mistakes. In the end, children will become better with problem solving skills and positive emotional well-being. Authoritative parenting offers secure emotional development of a child. These parents exhibit respectable emotional understanding and control, encourage children to manage their own emotions and learn to understand others as well. (Cherry, 2013b). The authoritative parenting style focuses on parents listening to what their children have to say, place reasonable limits that have set consequences for certain behaviors and encourage an independent child. Parents are warm and welcoming to discuss anything with the child but do not do this in a robust manner. This parent is consistent with discipline but expects the child take responsibility for their actions. The parents do not judge or place immediate blame, they listen to what the child has to say. In return, these children tend to be capable of making appropriate decisions, have a sense of pride and happiness with themself and achieve goals set for them effectively. In other words, the authoritative parent encourages a child to set expectations of their own to succeed,  work through problems, develop their own skill sets and accomplish a strong sense of confidence. Diane Baumrind’s research shows that these children display a happier disposition, have effective control of their emotions, exhibit s social interaction and are self-starters in learning new things. (Cherry, 2013a). Multiple studies have been done that prove authoritative parents score high on measures of warmth and responsiveness and high on measures of control and maturity demands (Spera, 2005). This is likely due to the parent’s warm and responsive manner in which the child is approached by the parent. The parents due demand a high level of maturity from the child, but do so with balance, affection, and bidirectional communication to nurture relationships. The parent gives explanation of why a child should act a certain way in social or serious situation. Parents also help the child to prioritize what is important to succeed socially and academically. This is referred to as the demandingness/responsive model. (Spera, 2005). Demandingness refers to the demands parents make on their children to become unified with family and united in society with others. Parents hold certain levels of demand for their children, but provide direction, and discipline when appropriate. Responsiveness refers to parental actions that purposefully encourage individuality, self-confidence and contention of the child. With parental responsiveness, parents are receptive and understanding of the child’s needs. Parenting in this manner and with warmth and understanding, this can make a child’s temperament more calm, happy, adaptable, regulate sleeping and eating habits, set a positive mood and encourage interest in new experiences. Research has found that the best-adjusted children have parents with an authoritative style (Gurian, 2011). These parents are able to balance with definitions, place high demands with emotional responsiveness and maintain respect for their child’s independence. Parents need to remember though; children also have their own style and temperament. They do  react differently in given situations and parents must recognize those differences, especially in families with many siblings. Differences in these types of children are the easy going, calm, happy child who possess healthy habits, is generally in a good mood at all time and is interested in many different activities. In contrast, difficult child may be fussy, negative, and emotionally weak and get upset easily. Authoritative parents must understand the given situation and find a good â€Å"fit† to meet the child’s demands. Being consistent is key as well. Setting limits on the child, providing ongoing encouragement, recognizing accomplishments, discussing solutions to problems and consistent communication is a must. Constructive conversation and encouragement with balance develop a strong relationship. Parents need to gain and maintain respect from their children to be able to teach them how to develop strong social relationships. Parents are the influential to child as they set limits and rules with respect to each individual in the family. A warm parent is full encouragement, bi directional communication, and love. (Harkey, 2012). The authoritative style is obviously the one that parents should strive for when parenting. When this type of parenting is accomplished a child will be happy, content and successful. Children will strive for balance and selfconfidence to develop strong peer relationships. Authoritative parents practice demandingness and response. They balance control and empathy that results in a thriving relationship with the child. These parents also do not put more on a child then they feel the child can handle. Again, they listen to the child’s needs and help them to make better decisions. Authoritative parent practices  increase the importance of peer relationships for adolescents. This parenting style encourages a variety of positive outcomes for adolescents with quality, supportive friendships. (Beck, 2011). Peer friendships are important to all children especially in the adolescent years. Support from friends helps to develop a higher self-esteem  during this time and makes teens feel important. The authoritative parenting style promotes this as parents discuss school events, peer relationships and emotions with the child. Studies show that strong peer relationships are related to better social skills and develop leadership qualities in teens. (Beck, 2011). Parents encourage teens to become involved in these types of relationships. Parents encourage externalized communication, involvement in teen activities, questions about their peer relationships and strong communications. At the same time, parents demand certain behaviors and will not tolerate inappropriate teen behaviors. Parents must remember not to wait to form these bonds with children in the adolescent years; these bonds must being in early childhood and continued throughout the early adulthood years. Parents must also recognize that teens may begin to reference peers for advice and problem solving skills. Parent involvement without being over bearing is essential to maintain a balanced relationship with the child. Authoritative parenting is effective for positive outcomes of the child in problem solving skills as well as success with peer relationships (Spera, 2005). Spera reviews findings that speak to research of children from authoritative parenting styles and that are associated with positive school  outcomes. In his review of such research he suggests that authoritative parents provide many idea dynamics that lead to high academic performance. Authoritative parents provide a high level of emotional security. This allows the child a sense of comfort and helps them to succeed in their school and peer relationships. Spera also defines that authoritative parents provide their children with explanations for their actions. Explanations provide children with a sense of interpretation and mindfulness of their parents’ values, morals, and goals. These are the building blocks to success in academic and social performance. Authoritative parents participate with the child in bidirectional communication. This style furthermore promotes better skills in interpersonal relations, sets a higher level of confidence and more popular children. These  interpersonal skills are a direct reflection of how a child will succeed in school, both socially and academically. Authoritative parents take a different, more moderate approach that emphasizes setting high standards, being nurturing and responsive, and showing respect for children as independent, rational beings. The authoritative parent expects maturity and cooperation, and offers children a lot of emotional support. Quality parenting is ongoing and offers warm and secure bonds between the parent and child. Children raised in this environment are less likely to internalize their feelings as authoritative parents encourage the child to talk about their thoughts and feelings. Also when a child makes a mistake, the parents must approach the situation in a caring manner vs. a blaming tone. This can  provide openness and solutions to problem solving and in turn children will become more effective learners from this process. Studies prove that encouraging independence in children reflect better problem solving skills and healthy emotional beings. (Dewar, 2010). This can provide the appropriate means for a child to become more helpful to others, caring and giving. In doing so, children will be viewed by peers as being kind, approachable and sometimes popular. The best-adjusted child, particularly in terms of social competence, has parents who utilize the authoritative, moderate parenting style. (Gurian, 2011). Gurian examines and compares the parenting styles researched for many years by Diane Baumrind that speaks to three different styles. These styles are authoritative, authoritarian and permissive parenting. Authoritative parenting, provides a balanced approach, demands expectations of appropriate behaviors, allow children to think through decisions and develop a sense of autonomy. Authoritarian patenting on the other hand, emphasizes strict discipline and severe punishment. Also, there is little affection shown. Permissive parenting, displays passionate warmth but this parent is hesitant to enforce rules. Gurian further explains that children from authoritative  families tend to be emotionally sound, well behaved and competent in academic performance. This makes them resourceful, and socially adept in all aspects of life. In reference to children from authoritarian families, they are fairly well behaved but lack social skills. Also these children tend to  suffer from anxiety, unhappiness, and lack of self-confidence. Children from permissive families may hold a high self esteem but tend to get involved in problem behaviors such as drug or alcohol abuse and are poor performers in academics. Findings show that among all the components of personality, there is a direct and significant relationship between openness personality trait and authoritative parenting style. (Mohammad, Nasirudin, Samadzadeh and Amini, 2012). It aims to explore the difference in parenting styles and personality dimensions. This leads children to broaden their scope of curiosity and wisdom, which helps them with problem solving skills. The authors of this abstract (Mohammad, Nasirudin, Samadzadeh and Amini, 2012) clearly research and study over 272 students from a national university. They used random sampling and a questionnaire to gather the information to be reviewed from these students as the authoritative parenting style is one compared to the others that improves secure being, focus, knowledge, and develops problem solving. Also, in this study it reflects that the authoritative parenting style is the one compared to the others that improves secure being within the child, focus, and knowledge and develops problem-solving skills. Results of this study also showed that parent’s educational manners and styles are effective on the development of children’s personality behaviors. Parents play an important role in meeting a child’s needs. It is imperative that a parent provides a healthy relationship with child using the authoritative style of open communication, warmth and love. Self-confidence for child throughout life is significant in decision-making. Children with authoritative education style have higher social-emotional growth and better academic  achievement. Parents display social support, mutual relationships, approachability, responsiveness and satisfaction towards children with an authoritative parenting style. This in turn results in the maturity of these mechanisms within children. Family is definitely the main support of a child’s personality traits and growth. Parenting styles are patterns for children’s enhancement that is formed by the consistent communication of parent/child and how they response to children’s behavior. Authoritative parents demand maturity and accountability from the child, but approach them in a kind way with explanation at all times. Various studies discussed by (Mohammad, Nasirudin, Samadzadeh and Amini, 2012) speak to the committed relationship and authoritative parenting style that has a direct reflection on academic achievement in children. It also has a positive impact on the well-being and mental health of the child. These parents guide direction and provide explanation and solutions for further success of these children and therefore have a direct reflection on problem solving of adolescent issues. The article by (Spera, 2005) evaluates the information on the relationship among parenting practices, parenting styles, and adolescent school achievement. Spera speaks to research completed by Diane Baumrind that authoritative parents have high maturity demands and set expectations for achievement of their children. However, they foster maturity requests through bidirectional communication and encouragement of independence. The review of the practical research indicates that parental involvement and monitoring are strong predictors of adolescent achievement. Furthermore, the review specifies that authoritative parenting styles are often associated with advanced areas of student achievement. Parents find social skills important and entwine them in daily discussions with children. These topics can include social, academic and peer topics for discussion. Volunteering at school, helping children with homework and attending school events such as extracurricular activities are the many ways parents can stay  involved with child. Parents must initiate this type of involvement with children, as it will result in positive outcomes for the child. Moreover, Spera speaks to studies with adolescents that have found that parental assistance with homework is positively related to the amount of time adolescents spend on their homework. Parents who value the education as their child will result in those child to succeed in their academic practices as well as social interaction with peer groups (Spera, 2005). This results in personal and professional growth of the child. It also teaches children to respect their studies and understand why education is to be valued. Setting goals together can prove effective. Also, mature and self-confident children succeed with an authoritative parent if bidirectional communication is maintained. The abstract by (Turner, Chandler, and Heffer, 2009) also provides information about the effectiveness of appropriate parenting styles in relation to academic performance. The results of the current study of college students concludes that parenting characteristics such as concern, love and warmth continue to play an important role in prompting a student’s academic performance while in college. It also speaks to self- esteem as it relates to success in college students. In doing so, it discusses research and studies that tested the interaction between child self-efficacy and authoritative parenting. In general, an authoritative parenting style emphasizing both responsiveness and demandingness appears superior in fostering higher academic performance. This provides reasoning as to why authoritative parenting is effective in the child’s progress through adolescence and early adulthood. Several other studies by Diane Baumrind have indicated that there is a positive link between authoritative parenting style and academic performance. These children are motivated constantly by their parents and provide ongoing  reassurance of goals and values. Authoritative parents encourage a high self-esteem and promote the ability for the child to mature, organize and achieve goals in a warm, secure way. These positive actions build success and growth for the child as they learn to work through problems, difficult scenarios and achieve success academically. Self-efficacy is strongly related to academic achievement especially at the college level. Again parents play an important role to assist in the development of maturity and self-assurance of the child beginning early in life. As children mature and begin on their own at the college levels, parents still can play an important role on the continued success. According to studies reviewed in the article of (Turner, Chandler, and Heffer, 2009). Students who come from an authoritative parenting style not only achieve overall academic success but tend to have a higher GPA. Ongoing research over the years shows that establishing discipline through authoritative parenting is one of the most effective styles because it provides secure emotional development, allows a higher quality of supportive social relationships and enhances problem-solving skills for the child. The authoritative parenting style is one in which parents display warmth, rationalization and understanding that provide a sense of security and self-perseverance of the child. These parents allow child involvement with an emphasis on bidirectional communication. Parents provide ideal problem  solving skills at all ages for future success by demanding maturity from the child but provide a positive and encouraging approach with balance to a develop strong peer relationships. Authoritative parents provide warmth, understanding and love to promote a child’s self confidence for overall academic and personal achievement throughout life. REFERENCES Beck, K. (2011). The role of mothers’ authoritative  parenting in adolescent attachment and social relationships. [Abstract]. Cherry, K. (2013a). Parenting styles: the four styles of parenting. About.com Psychology. Retrievedfrom http://psychology.about.com/od/developmentalpsychology/a/paren ting-style.htm?r=et. Cherry, K. (2013b). What is authoritative parenting? About.com Guide to Psychology. Retrieved from http://psychology.about.com/od/childcare/f/authoritativeparenting.htm Dewar, G. (2013, March). The authoritative parenting style: Warmth, rationality, and high standards. A guide for the science-minded parent http://www.parentingscience.com/authoritative-parenting-style.html Dewar, G. (2010). Parenting styles: A guide for the science-minded http://www.parentingscience.com/parenting-styles.html Gurian, A. (2011, July). Parenting styles/children’s temperaments: the match. NYU Child Study Center. Retrieved from http://www.aboutourkids.org/articles/parenting_styleschildren039s_temperaments _match Harkey, N, & Jourgensen, T. (2012). Parenting by temperament: Authoritative parenting [Kindle edition]. Retrieved from Amazon.com Mohammad, M. Javidi, N., Samadzadeh, M. & Amini. M. ( 2012, September). 3332 Indian Journal of Science and Technology Vol. 5 No. 9 Spera, C. (2005). A review of the relationship among parenting practices, parenting styles, and adolescent school achievement. Educational Psychology Review, 17(2), 125-146 Turner, E., Chandler, M., Heffer, R. (2009, May/June). The influence of parenting styles, achievement motivation, and self-efficacy on academic performance in college students. Journal of College Student Development, Volume 50, (3), 337-346. Published by The Johns Hopkins University Press.

5 Words Caught in Semantic Drift

5 Words Caught in Semantic Drift 5 Words Caught in Semantic Drift 5 Words Caught in Semantic Drift By Mark Nichol Is it possible to simultaneously admire the vibrancy and flexibility of the English language and grumble about shifts in meaning that deprive the language of some of its richness? I know it is, because I often do so. Because of the organic nature of language, English is a victim of semantic drift not as cataclysmic as continental drift, but detectable on the rigor scale and I regret the loss of the far-flung flotsam. Semantic drift is the evolution that occurs in the meaning of some words when careless, ignorant usage alters or even reverses their senses. Such change is inevitable, but allow me to mourn the loss of a word here and there, never again to be applicable to an idea or image with such crisp clarity. Here are five terms tainted by semantic drift: 1. Aggravate The essence of aggravate is right there in the middle: grav-, the root of gravity and grave (as in â€Å"serious†; the word for the resting place of a coffin has a different etymological origin). The Latin word gravis means â€Å"heavy,† and aggravate originally literally means â€Å"to make heavy†; the original sense was â€Å"to make worse.† But almost immediately and naturally, because a burden is irritating it acquired the additional sense of â€Å"exasperate.† Use of that meaning now predominates. Wordsmith H. W. Fowler proclaimed that â€Å"to make worse† is the only correct sense of aggravate; he was undoubtedly irritated (not aggravated) to know that popular usage defied his decree. 2. Bemused The root of this word, muse, means â€Å"to think or ponder,† but it has an amusing origin; it is from a Latinate term for â€Å"snout† and became associated with cogitation from the image of lifting one’s nose in the air, perhaps to sniff a scent and consider its source. (It is apparently unrelated to, though influenced by, muse, meaning â€Å"to think,† from the name of the Muses, the Greek goddesses of the arts and sciences; this is also the origin of museum and music.) Bemused (â€Å"confused†) is often confused for amused (â€Å"comically entertained†) because of their original similarity of meaning: Bemused literally means â€Å"thoroughly thinking,† suggesting being confused by thinking too much, whereas the literal meaning of amused is â€Å"without thought,† with the connotation of being diverted from thinking by some lighthearted entertainment. However, bemusement is serious business. 3. Nonplussed This word, taken literally from the Latin words for no and more, originally was used in the noun form to describe a point from which one could not continue because one was perplexed. For five hundred years, that’s what the word meant. But at some point during the twentieth century, people inexplicably began to assume that it refers to the opposite state, that of being unfazed (not unphased!) or at ease, as if being plussed were a state of bewilderment and nonplussed therefore means â€Å"not bewildered.† The antonymic meaning soon went viral, and now one is likely to be unclear about which meaning a speaker or writer has in mind. When that happens, perhaps it’s best to retire a word altogether and fortunately in this case, at least bewildered and perplexed persist (for now) with unequivocal synonymic meaning. 4. Nostalgia This battle was lost long ago, but the case study is interesting. Nostalgia was coined (from the first part of the Greek word for â€Å"homecoming† and the Latin suffix -algia itself originally from Greek and meaning â€Å"pain†) in the late 1600s to refer to the literal affliction of homesickness. For two centuries, nostalgia was treated as a serious ailment suffered by soldiers and others who suffered ailments caused by a melancholic longing for home. That clinical sense itself wasted away, and though nostalgia continued to refer to homesickness, that meaning was overtaken by the idea of a sentimental yearning for a lost state or condition, usually temporally rather than spatially irrevocable. However, I’m nostalgic about the lost meaning. 5. Voluptuous For hundreds of years, voluptuous meant â€Å"luxurious, pleasure seeking, devoted to sensual gratification† (the Latin root is voluptas, meaning â€Å"pleasure†), but back in the early 1800s, the word came to be associated primarily with female beauty, and later the primary sense shifted to that of curvaceousness. Here are some other words that have been affected by semantic drift. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Rhetorical Devices for Rational WritingConfusing "Passed" with "Past"May Have vs. Might Have

Case study of Business strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Case study of Business strategy - Essay Example e origins of CEMEX was traced in 1906 as Cementos Hidalgo and eventually merged with Cementos Portland Monterrey to form the Cementos Mexicanos, later renamed CEMEX, with Lorenzo Zambrano as its founder. The Lorenzo Zambrano, appointed as the CEO of contemporary CEMEX, was a direct descendant and namesake of the original founder. From the strategies employed and implemented by Zambrano, the most critical was refocusing from the horizontal diversification to a strategy of geographic diversification within the cement business with the objective of attaining growth through acquisitions (Bartlett, Ghoshal & Beamish, 2008, p. 251). This defined Zambrano’s vision to make CEMEX an emerging global giant entrenched as a leader in the cement production and marketing. CEMEX slowly developed its competitive advantage in the cement industry by gaining expertise with priority in its homeland, Mexico. By investing in a$1 billion merger through the acquisition of significant cement producers in Mexico (Cementos Anahuac and Cementos Tolteca); CEMEX was able to secure the market leader position in Mexico, a move which proved to be an effective strategy prior to focusing in geographic diversification through purchase of cement companies in selected international markets. As averred by Ghemawat & Hout (2008), there are basically three significant strategies employed by global giants of the future, to wit: (1) exploiting evolving market conditions; (2) managing convergences in costs; and (3) reworking value chains (pp. 82 – 87). CEMEX has been effective in exploiting evolving market conditions. Through the challenges met from its stance to dominate the Mexican market, despite the peso crisis and the political instability that marked years of operating in their local market, CEMEX managed to generate profit margins partly due to servicing the self-construction part which was minimally affected by the crunch. Further, during the period, CEMEX has already started to venture into

Instruction Set Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Instruction Set - Essay Example While ATMs are relatively user friendly, they can nevertheless, be confusing and intimidating for those who have never used the machine or for those who are uncomfortable by technology in general. A simple step-by-step guide to using an ATM machine can hopefully dispel such apprehensions, since an ATM is a facility that all should access without fear. This guide may also be useful for those individuals who are comfortable with an ATM, but need to be aware of the precautionary elements involved in using such a machine in a public place. Indeed, it is only through the wise and careful use of technology that it can be harnessed fruitfully for one’s own benefit. While most commonly used for the purpose of cash withdrawal, an ATM can be used for multiple other tasks as well. These include: Cash withdrawal Cash deposit This guide will give step-by-step instructions to conduct the above mentioned tasks, in addition to providing precautionary information. Things needed: ATM Card: This card is provided by the bank. Personal Identification Number (PIN): The PIN is the code to accessing the account, therefore, must be kept hidden and secure at all times. A stolen card is of little value to the thief if the PIN is unknown. ATM: An Automatic Teller Machine is specifically designed for the purpose of making transactions via an ATM card. ... is in a well lit place There are people around, but not too close to see you enter your PIN Make sure you haven’t been followed by someone Remember! If at any point you feel uncomfortable with the ATM, look for another one, or go to a bank for your required transaction. Personal safety is always the first priority! Cash Withdrawal: Once a secure ATM has been chosen, carefully follow these steps to withdraw cash from the machine: Insert the ATM card into the machine. There will be a slot indicating the correct direction in which the card needs to be inserted. Remember: do not try inserting a card if the slot is not free. It may result in malfunctioning of the machine, and eventual confiscating of the ATM card. To avoid all such problems, be patient and insert the card in the card slot only when a green light is on. Once the card is inserted, select a language. This option is available for ATM cards that are registered in banks that support multiple language options. After selec ting the language, the ATM screen will ask you to enter your Personal Identification Number. Carefully enter the correct code, and press Enter. This will give you access to your personal account. The screen will now display a list of options to choose from, including cash withdrawal and fast cash. Both options are for cash withdrawal purposes, however, fast cash allows you to go through the process quicker. Cash withdrawal: Select the cash withdrawal option The machine will ask you to enter the amount needed to withdraw Use the ATM’s keypad to enter the amount you wish to withdraw. Remember, there is a limit to the amount of cash one can withdraw from an ATM. While the limit differs from country to country and region to region, it is useful to be aware of the limit on cash withdrawals to avoid