Wont You Be My Neighbor Essay Example For Students

Wont You Be My Neighbor? Essay In Peter Lovenheim essay â€Å"Won’t You Be My Neighbor? † Lovenheim explains that he slept over at one of his neighbor’s, Lou’s, house. He was 81 years old and had six children who were all grown up. He lost his wife of 52 years. He was a retired surgeon, and before Lovenheim went over Lou’s house to sleep over, his daughter said it was crazy and weird that a 50 year-old-dad is sleeping over a neighbor’s house. Lovenheim writes, â€Å"There’s talk today about how as a society we’ve become fragmented by ethnicity, income, city versus suburb, red state versus blue. We will write a custom essay on Wont You Be My Neighbor? specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now But we also divide ourselves with invisible dotted lines. I’m talking about property lines that isolate us from the people we are physically closest to: our neighbors† (494-495). There are a lot of problems today with neighbors and society. Lovenheim argues, â€Å"Did I live in a community or just in a house on a street surrounded by people whose lives were entirely separate? † (495). Some of his neighbors knew others, but many others didn’t even know the names of the neighbors from a couple of doors down. According to Lovenheim, from 1974 to 1998 the frequency of Americans who spent time at a social event with a neighbor went down by one third. Also, neighborhood ties today are not as strong as they were in the 1950s because of technology and jobs. Then, he argues there are physical barriers in people’s lives that divide them from others as deeply as social differences such as income, age, ethnicity, and gender. He asks, â€Å"Why is it that in an age of cheap long-distance rates, discount air-lines, and the internet, when we can create community anywhere, we often don’t know the people who live next door? (495). His neighbors don’t care to know the people who live next door to them, but he cares. He wanted to know what it would take to penetrate the barriers between his neighbors, because he wanted to know them better. He began to call his neighbors, email them, even walk up to their door and knock. After the first neighbor turned down his offer, Lou then accepted his offer. He wanted to see if his neighbors would let him sleep over at their house and let him write about their lives inside their own houses. Every time he passed a house in his neighborhood, he wanted to know how many children they had and what they did as a living. Also, Lovenheim wanted to know their experiences and what kind of people they were. Finally, Lovenheim explains, â€Å"Maybe, we should all cross the invisible lines between our homes and achieve greater unity in the places we live† (496). People don’t need to sleep over; it will only take a phone call, a note, or going over their house to knock or ring the doorbell. Bibliography: Peter Lovenheim. â€Å"Won’t You Be My Neighbor?† Acting out Culture. Ed. James S. Miller. New York: Bedford/St. Martin, 2011. 494-496. Print.

Analytical Essay Essays

Analytical Essay Essays Analytical Essay Essay Analytical Essay Essay Essay Topic: Analytical Discourses have powerful social effects and can empower some, while marginalizing others. In the texts Lost Property and Muriel’s Wedding the dominant discourse is relationship. The audience is positioned to see Josh Tambling from Lost Property as having tough relationships as he is the one who is expected to pull through. While Muriel Heslop from Muriel’s Wedding is portrayed as unreliable and selfish as the story is told. In the early stages of both texts it is obvious that Josh and Muriel have different relationships, as Josh is respected and dependable while Muriel is rejected and a failure. Josh is trustworthy towards his friends which make him respected in his relationships. For instance, he shows his loyal and respectable values and attitudes in the first chapter as he tends to a woman customer who has lost her cardigan. â€Å"A cardigan. What colour was it, Madam? † Josh asks politely to help the woman. (p3). Josh also shows that he is dependable by singing songs in the band which are chosen by the lead guitarist Neven, despite not liking the song. After viewing the first couple of scenes of Muriel’s Wedding, it is clear that Muriel is rejected and has complete different relationships than Josh. In the first scene, she attends an engagement party. While there she is confronted by the police and a woman accusing her of stealing the dress she is wearing. As she arrives home in a cop car, she is then ridiculed by her family which leads to her father, Bill Heslop, bribing the police men and leaving with a carton of beer. In the first text the audience is positioned to recognize Josh’s deeds as a reliable and honest person, whereas Muriel is some what felt sorry towards for being unwanted and a disappointment. As the plot progresses the bonds between relationships are strengthened. For example, when Josh meets Gemma, he realizes that she is unlike his girlfriend Alicia. Josh has an in depth conversation with Gemma about God, which earlier he tried to have with his girlfriend. This, however, has an unfavorable effect on his relationship with Alicia. Josh’s relationship with Clive, his supervisor in the lost property shop, is as well strengthened when Josh accuses Clive for stealing. Which later on he finds out Clive was keeping these items for people who needed them for sentimental value. â€Å"No, all these things belong to someone else. That’s what the Lost Property Office is for, to get lost things back to their owners. † says Clive. (p115). Even though Muriel is not liked by many, she still manages to get a job with the help of her father, as a beauty consultant. During this time, she is abandoned by her high school friends who afterward go on a holiday. â€Å"You embarrass us. † stated by Nicole, one of the three friends confronting Muriel. Shortly after she had been abandoned, Muriel takes money from her father’s bank to fund for the same holiday as her friends. Whilst on the holiday, Muriel meets Rhonda, who helps Muriel by keeping her company on the holiday. Muriel is then hassled by her father about the money she took, under the pressure, she then moves to Sydney with her new found friend Rhonda. The audience is placed to see how both Josh’s and Muriel’s relationships grow as the narrative unfolds. The last stages of both texts are very similar, nonetheless the discourse of relationship remains the same. At first it looks like Josh is not going to have a happy ending, with Alicia breaking up with him and then Josh dropping out of the band. But Josh manages to keep his life steadily on track after facing his brother in Mackay. He later forms a new relationship with a girl from Fidelis, Isobelle, and at the same time mending his relationship with the band. Michael, Josh’s older brother finally comes home, not by himself though, he ends up bringing his girlfriend and with them their new born son. â€Å"Mum and Dad, this is Kelly,† Michael says proudly, â€Å"and this one here†¦is your grandson, Stuart. † (p266). On the other hand, Muriel’s Wedding ends unfortunately with Muriel’s mother dying as she commits suicide from the pressure of her depression. But not all is bad for Muriel as she returns to Sydney with her friend Rhonda, after she is in a wheelchair from not recovering from her cancer. Although both texts end in a different way, the audience is still positioned to see Josh and Muriel as people who have difficult relationships but in the end rewarding. In conclusion, both Lost Property and Muriel’s Wedding mobilize the discourse of relationships. The reader is positioned to see Josh and Muriel as being pleasing people, who would do everything for their friendships. Throughout both texts Josh and Muriel are constructed as characters who display loyalty and respect towards their friends, supporting them through the harsh periods in their lives.

Cool for sale Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Cool for sale - Essay Example When reviewing the PBS special report The Merchants of Cool, it was at first noticeable, in the lead photograph, that the youth group being displayed in the photos showed evidence of gender role changes which are not common in youth subcultures. The male teenaged individual in the forefront displays the words, J-Lo, in reference to the famous singer Jennifer Lopez, however the letter J is written backwards (pbs.org, 2008). This might reflect a deliberate attempt or testimonial against the mainstream music scene by showing their defiance against celebrity with the twisted representation of the singer’s name on his chest. Additionally, the youth has written on his chest, Kissy me with a heart displayed, showing apparently no remorse for the decision (pbs.org), something which would generally be limited to female display in traditional youth groups. Personal displays of body-art which borders on feminism, being displayed by a youth male, is very edgy and, in traditional youth gro ups, might lead to bullying by peers. Changes in how peers identify with themselves would radically change the marketing strategy of a corporate brand because it would limit the power of celebrity endorsements and a mass market effort might become only a niche market investment when it only appeals to smaller group subcultures. In 2004, the fast-food giant McDonald’s used Yao Ming, the famous basketball player, to appeal to youth buyers and found considerable success (Hargrave-Silk, 2004). This would likely not be effective due to changes in youth attitudes today.

Managing in an Inclusive Environment Diversity Essay

Managing in an Inclusive Environment Diversity - Essay Example Meisinger 2007 State of Workplace Diversity Management Report conveys that a survey with 1400 HR Professionals reveal that 52 percent of the respondents believe that diversity practices accomplish specific business objectives to a large extent. Still, these respondents had stated that diversity management remains a challenge because, diversity management field is not well-defined or understood, focuses too much on compliance, and places too much emphasis on ethnicity and also on gender. Creating an Inclusive work environment pays. By bringing about diversity programs an organization can create such environment. There are at least 19 business houses, which have taken seriously and brought in enviable diversity programs. These efforts include such interventions like giving women of color access to variety of support networks, extending leadership development programs to minority groups and diversity workshops to managers Chubb Group of Insurance Companies have offered a comprehensive diversity initiative called 'Reach Up, Reach Out, Reach Down', in which high-potential employees of color receive management training and development opportunities. Almost a quarter of female employees who took advantage of management training last year were women of color. Compliance is no doubt an important factor. ... Competitive Advantage Experts are of opinion that there are valuable competitive advantage in employing diverse work groups and they offer seven good reasons why an organisation should have diverse workforce : 1. It is the right thing to do, both ethically and morally. 2. A diversity helps complying with the laws regarding issues of discrimination. 3. Having diversity in a company opens up marketing opportunities, because prejudice aspects of customers are substantially balanced 4. A diverse group of people provides better and varied ideas. 5. Companies want to hold themselves out as the employer of choice. 6. Diversity helps retain your people. 7. Diversity initiatives impact the bottom line. [MANUEL ESPINOZA, (2007), 6-2-2009()] Compliance with law Compliance is no doubt an important factor. US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), has observed that, particularly after the Sep 11 attacks , focus was on preventing workplace discrimination, harassment and backlash against innocent employees and applicants for employment who were, or were perceived to be, Arab, Muslim, Middle Eastern, South Asian or Sikh. Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2007 (ENDA, H.R. 3685) prohibits discrimination. Further, it would add 'Sexual orientation' to the list of protected groups, classified by race, religion, ethnicity, sex, age, disability and pregnancy. This would grant protection to gay men, lesbians and bisexuals against discrimination at the workplace. In the Constitution, free exercise of religion is an absolute right. The Workplace Religious Freedom Act of 2007 (WRFA, H.R. 1431) involves accommodation of religious freedom in the workplace. Currently, under Title VII of the Civil

Competitive Advantage of a Construction Company

Competitive Advantage of a Construction Company Assume that you manage a company – ABC Construction, which your company has the  scale similar to YTL. By using 5 forces model (and any other analysis tools), access your  competitive advantage in the property development industry. For this question, assumptions are made to ABC Construction which has similar scale to YTL. However, to increase the competitiveness advantage of the company, I would also like to include other assumptions to ABC Construction. The assumption will be made based on the following: ABC Construction have other subsidiaries companies such as Cement Company and hotels. About the same historical years involving in the construction industry. Has been involved in overseas property development projects. Listed company in Bursa Malaysia and Tokyo Stock Exchange. Involve in the SoHo property development. For property development industry, the threat of new entrants to ABC Construction is low because the barriers to entry property industry is high. As it required huge capital to enter this industry to purchase land, machineries, tools, plants, other business and marketing activities. At this point, since ABC construction has about 60 years of experience in these industry, the threat of new entrants is relatively a minor problem which does not cause any competitive disadvantages to the company. The working capital for the company is already strong enough and very liquidity. Benefit from economies of scale in financial economies and economies of scope, as a big construction player with long history in the industry, ABC construction has increment efficiency, more trustworthy and can take these advantages by borrowing funds from bank at a lower interest rates compared to the other competitors. Lower interest rates, eventually provides bigger cash flow and generate greater profit return. This allow capital expansion such as can build more units of houses or properties with less input costs compare to smaller scale competitors which gets high interest rates in borrowing. Apart from that, ABC construction also able to provide product differentiation. Since the company has been involved in different types of businesses, the company able to apply its unique skills and resources to achieve better utilization of land, human capitals, more appealing design in development and innovation which then generate higher revenues and return in profit. Different design theme and concepts can be applied to produce differentiation such as branded luxury residential (8 Conlay-KSK LAND), private gates park concepts (Sentul Park- Sentul Raya Sdn Bhd), and natural elements to provide therapeutic lifestyles (Ecoworld- Eco World Development Sdn Bhd) with its strong working capital. ABC Construction able to spend a large sum of money in creating something new to attract their potential buyers. ABC construction able to convenience its potential customer by spending a great deal of money on advertising in the newspaper, radio, websites and television programmes. For example, E COWORLD has successful transform their company to a brand which attract customers to value their product and thus new entrance need more resource to overcome loyalties and leads to less profit or even losses. With its globally population and reputation, ABC Construction has an addition competitive advantages. The company can launch and sold their properties through distribution network either locally or internationally. The distribution channel for ABC construction will be high as it does not only involve actively in Malaysia, its subsidiaries company also involve actively in oversea projects in Singapore, Indonesia, England, Australia and China. This make the company has larger distribution channel compared to other competitors. In terms of bargaining power of suppliers, the main materials for construction are steel bars, formworks, concrete. The suppliers are not concentrated or differentiated. On the other hand, ABC Construction will have greater advantages compared to its competitors because the company has its own cement company and internet company. The company do not need to worry about the increase in price for the cement and the fluctuation of the supplies. The control of cement and concrete material is under its own supervision while on the other hand, other competitors has to worry about the bargaining power towards suppliers. Thus, the bargaining power of suppliers tend to be low, less threat to forward integration. Besides that, the company has been involved in other business sectors as well, thus they have greater bargaining power to the suppliers for the supplies of materials. Bank is also one of the important suppliers in the property industry, as they will decide whether to fund your project or at what interest is charged to the company. However, with the strong background of the company, this also would not be a big problem. Due to the buoyant economic growth of Malaysia and relatively low property values compared to other Asian country, the bargaining power of buyers in property industry tend to be low. Apart from that buyers for properties are mostly individual thus the pressure tend to be low. However, the increasing number of property in the industry, customer now do possess a threat of integrating backward. According to The Star Online on 16 August 2014, Malaysian property market is consolidating because of the slower growth and the oversupply of high-rise condominium units (Toh Then, 2015). The property of transaction in Klang Valley for 2014 appear to be drop by 36.24% compared to 2013 (Thean, 2015). Besides that, with the implementation of GST, buyers are now tend to be more careful in their spending. Even though the new implemented GST is not included in the residential properties but a comparison done by loan street shows there is a 3.41% increase in price for new residential properties post-GS T implementation (Loan street, 2015). As these scenario happened, the buyers now tend to have more bargaining power. The second rules of thumb for demand and supply stated that if demand decreases supply remains unchanged, leads to a lower price. Buyer now will look for higher quality, greater services at better price. However, property developers are always smart, to secure their profit margin, lower the property’s price tactic will not be used. They will either decrease the size of the property to meet the affordable price of the buyers and also input much more supplementary benefit to increase the sales during down time, ABC Construction can input much more other supplementary benefit to push the sales such as exclude or lower the payment for sell and purchase agreement, offered other services such free installation of wireless broadband services for a certain period for the buyers. Threat of substitute products will be Small Office Home Office (SOHO), Small Office Flexible Office (SOFO) and Small Office Versatile Office (SOVO). This type of property trend had been growing lately but still not so favourable in Malaysia due to issues like it is commercial property where housing loan interest rate, utilities, maintenance and others will based on commercial rate. Thus, the threat of substitute are low. Besides that, ABC construction also involve in the SoHo property development other than residential and commercial property development which means ABC Construction has diverse it development into different field which not only one of the competitive advantages also minimise the threat of substitute. The competitive on rivalry among existing firms will be high. As there are a lot of big players in the property industries such as Sunway Bhd, SP Setia Bhd Group, Sime Darby Property Bhd, Mah Sing Group Bhd, IOI Properties Group Bhd and many others developers. However, due to the diverse investment in different field other than construction industry, ABC construction has lower exit barriers compared to others competitors in the property industry which make them at competitive advantages. It can diverse it resources to other related field such as hotel industry, manufacturing industry and infrastructure industry given that the company cannot cope with the high competitive pressure scenario in property industry.

Balkans, History On Geographic :: essays research papers

The Balkan Peninsula has many physical features, but there are three main ones, they are the fact that it is a peninsula, its mountains, and its rivers. Within the Balkan Peninsula there are a good majority of ethnicities. There will be a majority of instances that the geography has helped or hindered certain peoples in the Balkans history.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The mountains had a few of different effects on the early people living in the Balkan Peninsula. The mountains of this area, helped certain ethnic groups, and hurt others. The mountain made certain divisions among the land and caused the region to be split up into small units where distinct ethnic groups have been able to sustain themselves. These small units are not much bigger than the British Isles or the state of Texas, and homes a little over a dozen of prominent ethnic groups. The mountains are also considered a physical obstacle, because they obstruct regional combination, whether it be political, economic, or cultural. And the last effect it had on these people is that of the land. The land near the bottom of these mountains is a lot better then that of the top of it, so the groups that have been beaten in battle usually would take refuge up at the top, or it would be a punishment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The rivers in the Balkan Peninsula are basically short so there only use is from local inhabitants. If anything these rivers are a menace, because they cannot carry water traffic and they cut ravines which then in turn block travel along the coast. The one exception of this is the Danube river, which enters from the west, passes through the Hungarian plain, then flows to the south of the Slavic states, and finally exits out of Romania and into the Black sea on the east. Though this is a great help it also can also go the other way, due to the fact that in the summer the water becomes low and there are marshes that obstruct access to the rivers banks. This can slow trade and communication.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to certain theories there were multiple Indo-European groups that invaded the Balkans by using and introducing horses. They had to use horses due to the terrain. During the Rome’s rule many different ethnic groups periodically invaded the Balkans. The ethnic groups such as the Slavs who arrived in the third century and conquered the Bulgar had time to develop their culture, customs, and religions due to the mountains, which isolated them from many other peoples of the area.

Recognition programs Essay

To measure constructs of employee engagement, benchmarks would be an above average response of high values. A successful research would develop an increase in value rating per employee per category. In essence, the purpose is to develop employee engagement in conjunction with the benchmarks and defined constructs according to the majority values of tenured employees. Benchmarks for evaluation of success can be defined by an organizational increase in retention of employees compared to past trends in the facility, with increase in employee engagement of facility compared to past trends. The recommendation is to focus on team and individual development to ensure that employees become fully engaged within their function and as team members. According to David Beswick of the University of Melbourne: Mangers generally, and anyone formally or informally responsible for oversight of others who are engaged in work or learning tasks, will be aware that some people are participating more out of interest in the task than others are. Others gain their satisfaction principally out the way in which their performance on the task leads to rewards like pay or status or good grades in a course. But typically there is a mixture of motives for which a range of different incentives is relevant. (www. beswick. info 2004) Any recognition program will reflect an organization’s culture and values. Increasingly, recognition programs are part of company’s total quality program. Recognition programs may take several forms, from highly formalized programs induced and implemented by management to informal, spontaneous â€Å"ceremonies† arising from fellow co-workers. Recognition and celebrations are a ways of reaffirming to people that they are an important part of something that matters. Conclusion Engaged employees receive training for necessary skills and are â€Å"on board† with the organization’s goals. Employees will be unable to perform if they lack the skills needed for their roles, so organizations need to identify employees with gaps in their training. Formal performance appraisal presents a good opportunity to do so. Research shows that organizations with good performance appraisal systems have significantly higher levels of employee engagement that those with a poor performance appraisal system. However, for performance appraisal to identify employees with specific needs, managers first need to have a good understanding of the performance appraisal system. Therefore, the training needs of managers should not be overlooked. Managers should be trained to identify performance weaknesses as well as how to effectively tie performance to recognition and rewards. Engaged employees receive training for necessary skills and are â€Å"on board† with the organization’s goals. Employees will be unable to perform if they lack the skills needed for their roles, so organizations need to identify employees with gaps in their training. Formal performance appraisal presents a good opportunity to do so. Research shows that organizations with good performance appraisal systems have significantly higher levels of employee engagement that those with a poor performance appraisal system. However, for performance appraisal to identify employees with specific needs, managers first need to have a good understanding of the performance appraisal system. Therefore, the training needs of managers should not be overlooked. Managers should be trained to identify performance weaknesses as well as how to effectively tie performance to recognition and rewards. ? References Answers Barclays Bank 2006 Barclays Bank Barclays plc Type Public Founded 1896 Location London , United Kingdom Key 2006 Answers Corporation . Retrieved September 15, 2007 from www. answers. com Barclays Bank PLC (2006) Barclays Newsroom. Registered in England. Registered No: 1026167. Registered Office: 1 Churchill Place, London, E14 5HP. . Retrieved September 15, 2007 from www. barclays. com Barclays (2004) Annual Report 2004. Registered Office: 1 Churchill Place, London, E14 5HP. Retrieved September 15, 2007 from www. investor. barclays. co. uk Beswick, David (2004) of the University of Melbourne. Copyright:  © David Beswick 1997-2004. Retrieved September 15, 2007 www. beswick. info Chowdhury, Mohammed S. (n. d. ) Relative Importance of Employee Values, Attitudes and Leadership Behaviors in Employee Motivation. Monroe College, Bronx, New York Retrieved September 15, 2007 from www. sba. muohio. edu Dreher & Dougherty. (2001). Human resource strategy: A behavioral perspective for the general manager. New York: McGraw-Hill Glasscock and Gram (1995) Secrets of a Successful Employee Recognition System. BT Bastford. LTD. 2000 Kenexa. com (2005) 650 East Swedesford Road 2nd Floor Wayne, PA 19087 Retrieved September 15, 2007 from www. kenexa. com Saunders, M. , Lewis, P. and Thornhill, D. (2003), Research Methods for Business Students, 3rd Edition, London: FT Prentice Hall.