Good Characteristics to Live By in The Chosen by Chaim Potok :: essays research papers

Qualities of a Good Person What are things that make someone a good person? Is it their ability to get along with other people? How about the choices that the person makes? Or is it the way that he or she treats his or herself and others? All of the qualities make someone a good person. In the novel The Chosen by Chaim Potok, Danny and Reuven learn many qualities that make them to be better people. Respect, responsibility, and honesty are all important qualities for one to have in order to become a better person. Respect is a characteristic that all people should show in every aspect of their lives. It is very important to show respect in a work situation. People must show respect to their bosses in order to keep their jobs. Even more important is for people to have a respectful manner when dealing with their clients. If they do not show respect for the client, then the client will find somebody else to do business with. Another place that respect should be shown is at home. Parents must show respect for their children so that the children will listen to them. Disrespectful parents will find it difficult to have a good relationship with their children. Children who show respect for their parents and siblings will find it much easier to receive more privileges. A lack of respect towards the members of one?s family can create a very uncomfortable home life. Having an uncomfortable home life can cause grades to go down and ability to function well with others to decrease. People should also hav e respect for themselves. Having respect for oneself makes that person have better feelings for his or herself. If people cannot respect themselves then how are they going to be able to show respect for others? Also respecting oneself makes it easier for other people to respect that person. The ability to take responsibility for ones jobs and actions is a very important quality for a person to show. One place that it is extremely important to take responsibility for oneself is at work. People are given tasks that they are to perform in order to receive a paycheck. In order to continue to have a job people must take the responsibility to complete their assigned tasks. If they do not take that responsibility, they may just find themselves out of work. Not only does it allow people to have a job, but it can also lead to raises and promotions in honor of their actions.

On torture

In that day and age it was all too easy for criminals to flee from a crime UN accused and unpunished seeing as there was no major arm of law present to further investigate certain crimes or follow up on possible suspects, s a result when an individual was caught for a crime or under suspicion they were tortured as a means to obtain a confession. The Justice system and the practice of torture presented both the victims and the accused with many problems however this was all due to the harsh realities of the 18th century.From a modern point of view torture is seen as outrageous and inhumane however in the 18th century it was practiced as an attempt to set an example for society and lower the overall crime rate, although the barbarity of these acts reflects poorly on behalf the 1 8th century society there were still many people who saw torture for its egregious nature and advocated for more tolerant alternatives.Torture was used since the beginning of collocation however the practice be came extremely popular during the 18th century, an era where using brute force was regularly encouraged. Torture existed well before the eighteenth century; the Greeks and Egyptians also used torture as means of obtaining a confession however torture for the purpose of interrogation was usually conducted in private it was hidden because they were aware of the social and political Implications that followed.As Roman law adapted torture became part of the official Justice system of the 1 8th century, a system where the accused we tried, tortured and executed in public so that everyone was aware of the punishment that would follow crime. Torture was at its peak during the inquisition period where heretics were persecuted and tortured if they refused to change their religion or admit they were not Roman Catholic. It was this period, which were called â€Å"the witch trials† that reintroduced torture to Europe.Slaves and others of lower class were also falsely accused and tortured for petty individual would suffer being stretched on the rack, a public whipping or exposure in the stocks. Torture was used to set an example to others in society as an attempt to lower the overall crime rate and obtain a confession. Most punishments in the 18th century took place in public; torture was an elaborate and shocking practice that was intended to discourage anyone who watched from crime.It was a threat to all criminals and a warning to all citizens, in a day countless amounts of people were tortured to death without a trial or a clear dissertation of their offense. This caused an outrage amongst many members of society who wanted to see change and improvement on a level where issues were approached in a more humanistic manner. Many enlightenment philosophies protested for a more tolerant society, people like Voltaire spoke against the evils of the Justice system and torture until he died.In his writing Scientific Religion he says: â€Å"What horror is this, a secret J udgment a more execrable tyranny than that of spilling blood on a whim without giving the least reason, it is important for everyone that such decisions should be biblically justified† (Brains, 1998) Voltaire biggest issue with torture was the fact that people were not Justified with an explanation for what they had done, they were not given a trial or a chance to defend themselves. It was said that an accused individual would be tortured and if they were indeed not guilty God would save them from their predicament.Torture as a tool of interrogation is not a new phenomenon, in the Greek playwright â€Å"The Frogs† the Aristotelian asked a character which method they should use to torture a slave and he replied: â€Å"In any mode you please pile bricks upon him, stuff his SSE with acid, flay, rack him, hoist him or flog him with a scourge of prickly bristles† (Ramose, Dupes, Zoological, & Careened, 2005) The method of piling bricks on an individual was used to for ce the person into a plea of guilty or not guilty during a felony case.Flaying involved the removal of a portion of the skin from the body, flaying was also used as a method of execution, when a larger portion of skin was removed. The rack was a torture device that consisted of a frame with a roller on both ends the victim was chained by the hands and legs to both ends of the frame ND the rollers were turned which would slowly pull the victim's body in opposite directions causing their Joints to come apart.The process of hoisting an individual consisted of binding the victim's hands and hanging them by a rope attached to their hands causing their shoulder blades to dislocate. Flogging is a method where an individual is struck with a whip tipped with sharp ends meant to tear the victims flesh. The methods that were described in the playwright were used by the Greeks and then adapted and practiced by the 18th century society.A large number of the 18th century torture methods proved to be Just as their cruel abilities, whether they fell victim to torture through their own actions or due to false accusations. Society was no longer running on the basis of obeying the laws to protect everyone but more so obeying to stay alive. Cesar Bacteria spoke out against the corruption of the Justice system, in his essay on crimes and punishment he tries to educate people on the possible alternatives to torture while still for maintaining order and putting crime at bay: â€Å"It is better to prevent crimes that to knish them†¦Do you want to prevent crimes? See to that the laws are clear and simple and that the entire force of the nation is in their defense. See to it that men fear the law and nothing else, the fear of laws is salutary but the fear of men is a fruitful and fatal source of crimes. † (Halls, 1977) Cesar understood that torture would never be the solution to crime and he made it clear in his essay that it was barbaric and outrageous and if there were to be any advancement in the 18th century society torture had to end.From a modern point of view torture is seen as outrageous and inhumane however in the 18th century it was practiced as an attempt to set an example for society and lower the overall crime rate, although the barbarity of these acts reflect poorly on behalf the 18th century society there were still many people who saw torture for its egregious nature and advocated for more tolerant alternatives. Torture was used since the beginning of civilization and then adapted by 18th century Romans however they changed the practice in to something more horrific than it originally was.

How to shear a sheep

As the time wore on, though, I became more and more worried about one bullet point- under â€Å"Items to Bring,† was listed â€Å"A body with the strength and willingness to learn to shear sheep. Willingness, I could handle, but I wasn't so sure about strength. Our classmates, whether farmers or not, would all be bigger and stronger than me- most people are, statistically speaking. Erin had been working out with hearing specifically in mind. I'd spent the three months since January Joking about needing to start, but, of course, never did. In the morning, when Erin and I walked up to the pre-class circle of would-be- shearers, our instructor was saying something about how, used to be, they advised you take the class only If you could bench-press 120 lbs.I assuaged my horrible sense of dread by thinking of when Emily learned to shear (never mind that she was 1 5 then, and I'm 23), thinking of everyone's encouraging tweets and emails, and swearing that, If I made It through with out serious embarrassment (cutting off an ear, very day (which, of course, has yet to happen). After a few shearing demonstrations and a rehearsal of the 5 positions of shearing, there really was nothing left to do but try it ourselves. â€Å"It's Just like learning to swim,† they told us, movie goat Jump in! â€Å".We all split up into groups of four, grabbed a sheep and a pair of clippers, and got to work. To begin with, you sit the sheep up in front of you- this is first position. Starting at the breastbone (we called it the brisket! ), start shearing off the belly wool. Since this is the wool that's dirtiest, it helps to go ahead and get it out of the way. It's important to shear wide enough to make sure that you're well-set-up for farther down the road. After you take off the belly wool, you lean over further and take the wool off the legs and crotch, sort of scooping the clippers up the right leg, across, and down the left leg.The big danger here is accidentally sheari ng off a ewe's teats, so you're supposed to cover them up with your left hand (â€Å"you sure won't shear ‘me off now! â€Å"). Emily helps me navigate a tricky spot. Once the belly, crotch, and legs are clean, you rotate about 90 degrees, change into second position, and start shearing her left hind leg (I'm using the feminine pronoun cause, well, most sheep are ewes). It's also in this second step that you clear the wool off from the tail area, and, since her head is easily accessible, shear off the topknot of fleece from the top of her head. I love how much Rein's smiling in this picture. Shearing is fun!After than, you swing your legs around your sheep and into third position. You're going to move your clippers up from the brisket along the neck, and end your stroke (or â€Å"blow,† as they're called) under the left side of her chin. This is, in my opinion, the most thrilling- I mean that in both senses- part of shearing. You're â€Å"unzipping† the elect a long the underside of the neck, and it definitely looks and feels the coolest, Because (obviously) the sheep is covered in wool, you can't tell where the wool ends and the sheep begins unless you have a very exact knowledge of her specific anatomy and musculature (more on this later).It's pretty terrifying to move a pair of clippers into the unknown- rather, unknown, except for the knowledge that, if you make a mistake, you could cut your sheep's neck pretty badly. If one end of the error spectrum are nicks and cuts, then the other end of the spectrum is second cuts, which are short pieces of fleece that weren't taken off with he first pass of the clippers. Second cuts cause all sorts of problems- if incorporated into yarn, they make it weaker, and cause it to pill more quickly- and so it's important to keep them to a minimum.In fact, our instructors told us that we must not be so afraid of cutting the sheep, because, otherwise, all we'd do is make second cuts. I wasn't so good at n ot being afraid (but, still, I nicked a few sheep). After you've opened up the fleece along the neck, you keep making parallel passes with your shears- up from the chest, along the left side of the neck, ending right under the eye; up the chest, along the neck, end under the ear.This is the part when it's easiest to take off an ear, so, Just like with the teats, you're supposed to find it, get hold of it, and make sure to keep it out of harm's way. Once the left side of the neck is clear, you start working on the left shoulder. Emily showed Erin and I a bit of weight-shifting footwork that helps get the sheep's shoulder in a better position to shear. The more you know about your sheep, the easier she'll be for you to shear- and since she's covered in wool, it can sometimes be hard to tell. If you know she's fat, it'll be, as Emily says, â€Å"Easy, like shearing a beach ball.If she's skinny, you're going to have to work a little harder to navigate around the bony hips, shoulders, a nd spinal processes. Does she have two teats, or are there four (ewes sometimes have an extra vestigial set) to watch out for? If she's a pinewood sheep with Merino heritage (hello, Corm), she's going to be covered in the wrinkles and extra skin that those breeds were bred to have (more skin = more hair follicles = more wool per sheep), and you're going to have to make sure not to nick those. If she's in good health, she should shear easily.If she's doing poorly, though, the lanolin (which usually melts a bit, and helps o lubricate the clippers) won't flow so freely, and instead stays thick, like wax, and gums up your clippers. I was continually amazed at the intimacy of it, and humbled by the amount of strength and knowledge required- I don't think Vive experienced anything like it in my every single inch of every single sheep, and then use that knowledge to navigate a potentially dangerous situation (those clippers are sharp), and end up with a valuable product (7 or 8 lbs of wool per sheep).That said, it's also hot, sweaty, greasy, difficult, dirty, exhausting, poppy, smelly, frustrating, and sometimes bloody. Dragging ourselves back to the hotel after the first day, I told Erin, â€Å"If anyone ever tells me shearing like a beautiful, graceful, athletic dance between the shearer and the sheep, I'm goanna punch ‘me in the face,† and there were plenty of Jokes about, â€Å"Any Job where your read end's goat be higher than your head- that's not a good Job! † So, back to business. Once the whole left side is clear, you slide the sheep down your shin and into fourth position.A big part of learning the positions is making sure the sheep is comfortable- the more comfortable she is, the less she'll struggle and fight, and the easier it is for he both of you. It's time for what's called the long blows, which are some of the easiest parts of shearing to learn (but hardest to master). They also look really cool. You move your clippers right across the body, tail to head. You keep making blows along the back, making sure to keep the comb of your clippers right along the curve of her back, until you're one blow past her spine.After that comes fifth position: swing your right leg around, pick up your sheep, and, holding her nose between your knees, start shearing down the right side- head, neck, and shoulder- rolling the sheep up towards you as you move down her body. Once you're past the shoulder, you start making diagonal passes down the right side- you're almost done! After making those diagonal passes down the sheep's right side, all there is left to do is clear off the right leg and hindquarter. See how Erin is using her left hand to put all her weight into the sheep's right flank?That serves two purposes- 1) it straightens out the right leg, so that it's easier to shear, and 2) it tightens up the skin, so that there's less risk of it getting caught in the clippers. Honestly, there's so much skin-tightening, head-holding, ear-grabbing, leg- threatening, and teat-saving done with the non-clipper-holding-hand, you might as well say that it did all the work! Nevertheless, both Erin and I had pretty sore right 1) vibrate and 2) are dripping with motor oil and lanolin. It's not easy. But, once you've cleaned off that last leg, you're done!Emily actually took videos of both Erin and me finishing our sheep- they're up on Faceable, if you'd like to see more. And so, here I am after my first-ever sheep, grinning like a goofball. She looks like a carpet after it's been vacuumed! But the Job's not over once the sheep's shorn! In their varying levels of wholeness- nagging from the gorgeous waterfalls of wool produced by some of the experienced shearers to the utterly destroyed scragglier produced by all of us beginners- the fleeces were taken to the skirting table and sorted.As someone who erred on the side of second cuts, I felt a little guilty! Erin and I came away from the weekend physically exhausted, but ot herwise wildly enthused about shearing- not only are we planning on tagging along with Emily when she's in Virginia next, but we're also thinking of going up to Maryland for the wool pool (can you imagine seeing a whole state worth of wool, all in one place!? ), and e definitely want to go to Maryland Sheep & Wool, too (anyone have a couch or a spare bedroom for us? ).

International Management Essay

Executive Summary This written case analysis report is prepared for the analysis of the case study of the Tata Group – â€Å"The Last Rajah: Ratan Tata and Tata’s Global Expansion.† (Luthans and Doh 2009). It will first begin with a brief introduction on the Tata Group of India, with the source and the secondary (both short- and long-term) problems of this biggest conglomerate in India, to be identified and discussed next. An analysis of the problems is presented next, followed by the criteria of evaluation. A comprehensive listing of all major feasible courses of action are presented before the recommended strategy(ies) are discussed. The next section will cover the justifications of recommendations followed by the implementation, control and follow up. 1. Introduction The Tata Group, India’s biggest conglomerate (Luthans and Doh 2009), was founded by 29-years old Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata in 1868. It was first established as a trading company in Bombay and started pioneering businesses in sectors such as steel, energy, textiles and hospitality (Tata Group 2012). In 1904, Sir Dorab Tata, the elder of Jamsetji’s two sons, succeeded Tata Group in Germany after Jamsetji passed on. Ratan Tata succeeded as the chairman, following the death of his uncle – J.R.D. Tata, in 1993 (Tata Group 2012). Today, the Tata group consists of more than 100 operating companies in seven business sectors (Refer to Appendix 1) with operations in more than 80 countries across six continents, exporting products and services to 85 countries. The latest financial figures reflected on its website showed that the total revenue of Tata Group was US$83.3 billion (around Rs 3,796.75 billion) in 2010-11, an increase of 18.8% from 2009-10 (Tata Group 2012). With its devotion to strong values and excellent business ethics, the Tata name has been respected in India for more than 140 years. Each Tata company or enterprise operates independently and is answerable to its own board of directors and shareholders. Moving forward, new technologies and innovation will be Tata Group’s focus, in order to develop its business in India and internationally. Anchored in India with its traditional values and strong ethics, Tata companies are building multinational businesses that will achieve growth through excellence and innovation, while balancing the interests of shareholders, employees and civil society (Tata Group 2012). 2. Source Problems With its wide diversification of business across six continents, Tata faces several challenges. The first problem is to build a consistent vision while being in many different markets and industries. Another challenge is to formulate strategies for over 100 companies in more than 80 countries. Besides this, another problem of Tata Group is the high involvement of Ratan Tata, who is the chief steward of the group of nine senior executives sitting on the boards of the Tata companies, in both the negotiations of major deals and the details of his auto-making, telecom or steel businesses (Luthans and Doh 2009). The next challenge for Tata is on how to absorb the struggling Corus mills. Other challenges for the future include deciding on which businesses to spin-off and which to pursue, what will happen to the conglomerate during an economy slow-down. The most challenge issue for Tata Group perhaps would be to fill the void left behind by the energetic and visionary Mr Ratan Tata – Chairman of the Tata Group, when he retire (Koontz and Weihrich 2010). 3. Secondary Problems 3.1 Long term 3.1.1 Diversification of investments and businesses From the case study, it is evident that a major problem for Tata Group is its diversification of its investments and businesses over so many different countries. The group is subjected inevitably to the different market situations and the culture of each individual market. 3.1.2 The continuation of operation of Corus mills Another long-term problem for Tata Group is whether they should continue operating the struggling Corus mills. As mentioned in the article, the moment Tata Steel took over Corus, it is loaded with a $7.4 billion debt and the high operational cost of Corus weakens the profit margins of Tata Steel (Luthans and Doh 2009). 3.1.3 Sustainability of its business versus sustainability of its corporate social responsibility during economy slow-down Should there be an economy slow-down, the ability of Tat Group to sustain its businesses versus their ability to sustain the social responsible culture, which is developed by Ratan’s ancestors (Griffin and Moorhead 2010), remains a challenge for Tata Group. The Rata conglomerate will have to decide between sustaining its businesses and fulfilling this culture. This will be especially tough with a  $7.4 billion debt already on its books. 3.1.4 Management control in Tata Group As mentioned in the article, Mr Ratan is the chief steward, of his team of nine senior executives in the Group Corporate Office, who negotiates major deals himself and immerses himself in the details of his businesses. Ratan Tata is also the major decision maker in most of Tata Group’s major deals. At the time when the article was written, Tata Group has not found a suitable successor. The fact that Mr Ratan Tata is single and childless (Luthans and Doh 2009) thus poses the toughest challenge of who is to fill the void for Tata Group, when Mr Ratan retires. 4. Analysis 4.1 Diversification of investments and businesses This long term problem will prove to be an obstacle towards its global expansion and the development of the company to its full potential, as there is no one common group strategy with a common objective. The lack of a common corporate strategy may act as a restraining force (Singh 2012; refer to Appendix 2) against moving Tata Group to its desired position in the global market and also against achieving overall productivity of the organization. 4.2 The continuation of operation of Corus mills A first look at this problem of the Tata Group would obviously be to discontinue the operation of Corus mills. However, one of the strengths and competitive advantage that Tata Group has over its competitors, is backward integration (Hill and Jones 2011) like what Hill and Jones (2011, 180) described – steel companies supplying its iron ore needs from company-owned iron ore mines. Having its own abundant coal and iron ore reserves enables Tata Group to produce raw steel at low cost in India, and ship it to Corus’ first-class mills overseas to produce  steel products. Furthermore, by looking at the financial data provided in the case study, Tata Motors was the least profitability business in 2007 for Tata Group. With the acquisition of Corus mills and Tata’s competitive advantage of backward integration, Tata Group can make use of Tata Steel and Corus mills to produce low cost steel car parts in order to reduce the cost of sales for Tata Motors. The gross profit margins for Tata Motors can be increased with the cost of sales reduced (Needles, Powers, and Crosson. 2010). 4.3 Sustainability of its business versus sustainability of its corporate social responsibility during economy slow-down When there is an economy slow-down, it will subject Tata Group’s decision on sustaining its business or still maintain its expensive corporate social responsibility, to a great test. A fast and immediate solution, during an economy down-turn will be to reduce the contributions for charitable causes, such as reducing or terminating the annual $40 million contribution for charitable acts in Jamshedpur, in order to sustain its businesses. However, Tata Group will have to consider about the long-term implications of such drastic immediate reduction or termination of charitable funds. The reputation of Tata Group may receive a beating in the long run, due to negative press and media reportings (Davies et al. 2003), should such measures are implemented drastically and immediately, in order to sustain its businesses. 4.4 Management control in Tata Group From the description of the article, the management style of Tata Group seemed to follow an ethnocentric strategic predisposition and an organizational culture of â€Å"family culture†. A cultural strategic predisposition refers to the particular way which most  multi-national companies (MNCs) have towards doing things (Luthans and Doh 2009; Aswathappa 2010). A MNC with an ethnocentric predisposition will normally depend on the values, and interests of the parent company in formulating and implementing a strategic plan. Their primary emphasis is on profitability and the company will try to run its overseas operations in line with how they are run back at home (Loke 2008; Aswathappa 2010). Tata Group is likened to be run with an ethnocentric predisposition as Mr Ratan Tata is the chief dealmaker who is closely involved in all major deals negotiations and also details of his different businesses. This predisposition will inevitably result in parochialism in Mr Tata, which may affect his logical strategic thinking. Tata Group has adopted a â€Å"family† type of organizational culture. â€Å"Family culture† type of organizations besides focusing on hierarchy, orientation to persons, leader heads the company like a caring parent, the management also takes good care of employees, ensures employees are well treated and enjoy continued employment (Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner 1998). This is clearly reflected in their spending of $40 million annually in the company’s home base of Jamshedpur and their excellent employee remuneration policy of workers still getting paid fully till the age of 60 years old and lifelong health care, even if they retire early. This will result in additional expenses for Tata Group in order to fulfill this â€Å"corporate social responsibility†. According to the article, Tata Group has not found a suitable successor at the time when the article was written. The toughest challenge will be finding a suitable candidate of who is able to fill the void for Tata Group, when Mr Ratan retires. 5. Criteria of Evaluation 1. To identify and differentiate between the â€Å"Cash cows† and â€Å"Stars† (Phadtare 2011; refer to Appendix 3) businesses and the â€Å"Question Mark (or Problem Child)† and â€Å"Dog† businesses (Phadtare 2011; refer to Appendix 3) within the next 6 months. 2. To reduce the $7.4 billion debt of Corus within the next 5 years. 3. To reduce their annual â€Å"charitable spending† gradually within the next 5 years, but yet not neglect or forgo their corporate social responsibility. 4. To identify a successor within the next two to three years. 6. Alternative strategies A comprehensive listing of all feasible strategies will be presented for Tata Group before the recommended strategy(ies) will discussed. 6.1 Short term (S): Targeted short-term objectives to achieve within the next few months to 1 year from the time of implementation. S1 To identify and group the businesses into â€Å"Cash cows†, â€Å"Stars†, â€Å"Question Mark (or Problem Child)† or â€Å"Dog† businesses (Phadtare 2011; refer to Appendix 3) within the next 6 months. S2 To decide on which business(es) to keep and focus on and which business(es) to liquidate. 6.2 Long term (L): Targeted long-term objectives to achieve within the next 3 – 5 years and beyond. L1 To reduce the $7.4 billion debt of Corus mills within the next 5 years by perhaps re-looking into refinancing the debt loan with a lower interest rate, in order to strength their profit margins. This is to convert Corus mills into a profitable business unit which will enable Tata Group to continue building on its competitive advantage over its competitors, of integrating backward integration, with the collaboration of Tata Steel and Corus mills, for Tata Motors. L2 To reduce their annual â€Å"charitable spending† of S$40 million for Jamshedpur gradually – 5% per year in the first four year and a final 10% in the fifth year, and also to reduce the employees’ benefits gradually. This will enable Tata Group to sustain its businesses better, but yet not neglect or forgo their corporate social responsibility. L3 To identify a successor within the next two to three years and also to gradually change their ethnocentric predisposition way of running the business and also their â€Å"family† type of organizational culture. Strategy statement as per Hofer and Schendel’s characteristics: Tata Group’s strategy for the next 3 – 5 years is to â€Å"tidy up† it’s widely diversified investments and businesses and exploit on its competitive advantage of backward integration (of owning iron ore mines) in order to help its automobile business increase profit margin. By gradually reducing their annual â€Å"charitable spending†, Tata Group will be able to channel these capital to sustain and expand its business globally. By identifying a successor for its chairman, this will ensure the sustainability of the Tata businesses and also to bring Tata Group to the next frontier. 7. Recommended strategy(ies) In order for this business plan for Tata Group to be successful, the strategies presented needs to be both achievable and sustainable with an accurate evaluation of its current resources, core competencies and capabilities. With both short term and long term strategies listed above and analyzed via the Strategy Feasibility Table listed in Appendix 4, the recommended strategies (best 3 out of 5) are as follows: S1:To identify and group the businesses. S2:To decide on which business(es) to keep, which business(es) to liquidate. L2:To reduce their annual â€Å"charitable spending†. 8. Justifications of recommendations After analyzing the alternatives strategies via the Strategy Feasibility Table (Refer to Appendix 4), it was decided that the most feasible strategies are S1, S2 and L2 to resolve the source and secondary problems above. Strategies S1 and S2 are chosen to best resolve the diversification of businesses that resulted in the absence of a common group strategy with a common objective for Tata Group. The next strategy for Tata Group to implement is the reduction of their annual â€Å"charitable spending†. This will free up more capital for Tata Group to redirect them to boast their â€Å"Stars† businesses. The remaining two long-term strategies of L1 and L3, with a slightly higher score of 15 and 14 respectively, in the feasibility test, may be considered to be implemented concurrently with lesser priorities. This is because it will not be easy for Tata Group to reduce the $7.4 billion debt within a short period of time and also not easy for any company to source for, identify and appoint a successor for its Chairman and to change the culture within a short period of time too. The most critical issue now is for Tata Group to conduct the most effective and efficient strategies. 9. Implementation, Control and Follow-up For any MNCs, e.g. Tata Group, it is not easy to implement business consolidation like S1 and S2. S1 and S2 described above will only be the â€Å"identification† stage to determine the type of business each belongs to. The physical implementation of the consolidation has to be executed with extreme caution as consolidation may result in employees redundancy. After  the consolidation exercise is successfully, the Group Corporate Office (GCO) of Tata Group will have to ensure that they do not launch massive business diversification plans without careful considerations. The follow-up on the implementation of S1 and S2 will have to be monitor by the GCO closely with a clear timeline listed out as a guide to prevent any procrastination or delays. As for the implementation of strategy L2, Tata Group has to execute it with caution too. It is not be implemented too hastily to prevent any damage to the company’s image due to any to negative press and media reportings (Davies et al. 2003). Any other future â€Å"charitable spending† will have to be discussed and decided more stringently. As stated above under Section 6.2, L2, the reduction will be done gradually over a timeline of 5 years and the GCO of Tata Group will have to adhere closely to this timeline. (2,220 words excluding Executive Summary, headings, sub-headings, in-text citations, and this sentence.) 10. References Aswathappa, K. 2010. International Business. 4th ed. New Delhi, India: Tata McGraw Hill. http://books.google.com.sg/books?id=Dk4SWsWbbaMC&pg=PA332&dq=Strategic+predisposition&hl=en&sa=X&ei=9nIlT5jIN5GzrAfIhryyCA&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Strategic%20predisposition&f=false. Change Management Coach. 2012. Change-Management-Coach.com: Force Field Analysis – Kurt Lewin. http://www.change-management-coach.com/force-field-analysis.html. Davies, Gary, Rosa Chun, Rui Vinhas da Silva, and Stuart Roper. 2003. Corporate Reputation and Competitiveness. 1st ed. New York, USA: Taylor & Francis Group. http://books.google.com.sg/books?id=eU4bVJmmKC4C&printsec=frontcover&dq=reputation&hl=en&sa=X&ei=9j85T4aVCdGrrAeRsYHWBQ&ved=0CDoQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=reputat ion&f=false. Griffin, Ricky W., and Gregory Moorhead. 2010. Organizational Behaviour: Managing People and Organizations. 9th ed. Mason, OH, USA: South-Western Cengage Learning. http://books.google.com.sg/books?id=RidV6vh08xMC&pg=PA349&dq=Culture+of+Tata+Group&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Q8QjT_mKCcfPrQef-IiNAg&ved=0CGwQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=Culture%20of%20Tata%20Group&f=false. Hill, Charles W. L., and Gareth R. Jones. 2011. Essentials of Strategic Management. 3rd ed. Mason, OH, USA: South-Western Cengage Learning. http://books.google.com.sg/books?id=VdG243upAqwC&pg=PA180&dq=backward+integration+in+strategic+management&hl=en&sa=X&ei=3NQ3T4PxEsHirAe2vfjVBQ&sqi=2&ved=0CDMQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=backward%20integration%20in%20strategic%20management&f=false. Hofer, Charles W., and Dan Schendel. 1982. Strategy Formulation: Analytical Concepts. 8th ed. Eagan, Minnesota, USA: West Pub. http://books.google.com.sg/books?id=8VcIfAEACAAJ&dq=Strategy+Formulation:+Analytical+Concepts&hl=en&sa=X&ei=pasjT9_BCIjMrQf0x7GeCA&ved=0CD4Q6AEwAA. Johnson, Debra, and Colin Turner. 2010. International Business: Themes and issues in the modern global economy. 2nd ed. New York, USA: Taylor & Francis Group. http://books.google.com.sg/books?id=Dhi7yUtQjegC&pg=PA140&dq=Members+of+the+Tata+Group+Corporate+Centre&hl=en&sa=X&ei=JpE3T8-LMYXRrQfw7fHVBQ&ved=0CEoQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=Members%20of%20the%20Tata%20Group%20Corporate%20Centre&f=false. Koontz, Harold, and Heinz Weihrich. 2010. Essentials of Management: An International Perspective. 8th ed. New Delhi, India: Tata McGraw Hill. http://books.google.com.sg/books?id=s_wzNWdevJoC&pg=PA118&dq=Tata+group&hl=en&sa=X&ei=QwwlT6vTJsnjrAfosdymCA&ved=0CDcQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=Tata%20group&f=false. Loke, Chee Shong. 2008. International Management. 1st ed. USA: Aberdeen University Press Services. http://books.google.com.sg/books?id=BpbvbvaMjCwC&pg=PA48&dq=ethnocentric+strategic+predisposition&hl=en&sa=X&ei=hEg5T_uvA43yrQf6hPnVBQ&ved=0CFcQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=ethnocentric%20strategic%20predisposition&f=false. Luthans, F., and Jonathan P. Doh. 2009. International Management: Culture, Strategy, and Behavior. 7th ed. New York, USA: McGraw-Hill. Luthans, F., and Jonathon P. Doh. 2012. International Management: Culture, Strategy, and Behavior. 8th ed. New York, USA: McGraw-Hill. Needles, Belverd, Marian Powers, and Susan Crosson. 2010. Financial and Managerial Accounting. 9th ed. Mason, OH, USA: South-Western Cengage Learning. http://books.google.com.sg/books?id=xI8pEZIob9UC&pg=PA225&dq=reduce+cost+of+sales&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Dd43T-P7CpG0rAfo24zWBQ&ved=0CFUQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=reduce%20cost%20of%20sales&f=false. Phadtare, Milind T. 2011. Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases. 1st ed. New Delhi, India: PHI Learning Private Limited. http://books.google.com.sg/books?id=FdtGb2cZTRgC&pg=PA145&lpg=PA144&dq=BCG+Model#v=onepage&q=BCG%20Model&f=false. QuickMBA. 2010. QuickMBA: Strategy / BCG Matrix. http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/matrix/bcg/. Singh, Kavita. 2012. Organizational Behavior. 1st ed. New Delhi, India: Pearson Education India. http://books.google.com.sg/books?id=DbC0_McBPgIC&pg=PA337&dq=force+field+analysis+kurt+lewin&hl=en&sa=X&ei=KEA7T-jvPIjsrAeRnJmHAQ&ved=0CFQQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=force%20field%20analysis%20kurt%20lewin&f=false. Tata Group. 2012. Tata Group Worldwide. http://www.tata.com/. The Economic Times. 2011. The Economic Times, Topics, Ratan Tata. Mumbai, India: Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/topic/Ratan-Tata. Trompenaars, Alfons, and Charles Hampden-Turner. 1998. Riding the Waves of Culture: Understanding Diversity in Global Business. 2nd ed. New York, USA: McGraw-Hill. Appendix Appendix 1: The seven business sectors of the Tata group The seven business sectors of the Tata group: 1) Communications and information technology 2) Engineering 3) Materials 4) Services 5) Energy 6) Consumer products 7) Chemicals (Tata Group 2012) Appendix 2: Kurt Lewin’s Force Field Analysis Source:http://www.change-management-coach.com/force-field-analysis.html(Change Management Coach 2012) Appendix 3: The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Growth Share Matrix Source:http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/matrix/bcg/ (QuickMBA 2010)

Counselor Role in Special Education Essay

My perception of the school counselor’s role in special education is that it largely mirrors the role embodied for all students, but with some added considerations and collaborations for the special needs student. My understanding is that a school counselor should be available to all students for personal, ethical, academic, career, and social advice; to listen to a student’s point of view; to deal with any mental health issues that may arise for a student; to help a student prepare for transitions; to advocate for a student in a given situation, and to whatever degree possible, teach the student to advocate for himself. A counselor must be committed to helping all students reach their full potential; but for students with disabilities and other special needs, a school counselor needs to accomplish this in the face of extra challenges. These tasks and trials are not limited to those presented by the varying disabilities of a child, but include the demands of satisfying the administrative and legal requirements of a counselor serving students with special needs. Today’s school counselor is likely to be involved in a student’s individualized education program (IEP) when one is warranted. According to the Ohio Department of Education’s Office for Exceptional Children, at least one of the IEP team members needs to be an individual who has knowledge or special expertise regarding the child. This person is in addition to the child’s regular and special education teachers, a principal/assistant principal or other senior staff member, the parents, the school psychologist, and the child (if appropriate) required to participate on the team. The school counselor, at the discretion of the parent or the school district, may be included as a member of the IEP team if they have special insight regarding the child. A school counselor will work as part of a multidisciplinary team within the school and community in aligning and providing services for the special needs student. Without yet having been exposed to a practicum or internship experience as a school counselor, I perceive this piece of the workload to be potentially delicate and complex. A parent may have a viewpoint divergent from that which is covered in the Evaluation Team Report (ETR), resulting in an extended identification process. School staff members may have contrasting opinions as to whether a child is in need of special education and an IEP, or just accommodations covered under a 504 Plan. The bottom line is that the identification team must work collaboratively, with a lack of ego, in assessing and determining what measures are in the best interests of helping the child to be successful in school. It seems that the most difficult aspect of a school counselor’s job is to find a balance in managing so many responsibilities in each given day. Responding to the unique challenges of special needs students can both intensify and complement the workload. I think much can be gained professionally, personally, and emotionally by embracing that responsibility. A good counselor should teach the special education students attending her school about resiliency, inner strength, positive identity, and a sense of purpose. In the general terms of the professional school counselor’s role, I believe that the most valuable services to be provided in the special education realm are: †¢ Individual Student Planning – communicate high expectations and help disabled students establish personal goals for each school year and their future success. Familiarize oneself with the varying learning styles of the students who have disabilities, and work consultatively with teachers to improve their performance behaviorally and academically. Be a staunch advocate for these students and their post-secondary options; help create opportunities for them. †¢ Responsive Services – implement prevention and/or intervention activities like individual and group counseling, provide referrals, facilitate better peer relations, and advocate for them. Conduct needs assessments to identify potential systematic, programmatic, and attitudinal areas for change in order to create positive environments for their learning. Assist teachers in staying on top of 504 and IEP accommodations/interventions, being prepared to troubleshoot if certain measures are not enabling student to perform optimally. †¢ School Guidance Curriculum – developing and delivering a curriculum of structured lessons to help each identified student achieve desired social and academic outcomes. A counselor could implement a student development curriculum aimed to improve typical students’ understanding of and sensitivity to their special needs’ peers. By communicating high expectations and providing support, school counselors can help students with disabilities understand that their disabilities should not be reason to limit their aspirations.

Abortion Should Not Be Permitted

Why abortion should not be permitted When we hear the word abortion, we would think negative about it. The definition of abortion is the deliberate termination of a human pregnancy, most after performed during the first 28 week. In medicine, an abortion is the premature exit of the products of conception (the fetus, fetal membranes and placenta) from the uterus. Many women in this entire world do abortion. There are many reasons why they prefer abortion such as having a fear of raising the child, rape, or not having enough money to support their life and the baby.Some important reasons of why abortion should not be permitted have to do with human morality, religious and values of conscience. First of all, why abortion should not be permitted is because of basic human morality. It is not the unborn babies fault and they have the right to live normally just like any other humans. Where is our humanitarian if we abort the unborn babies? Just because of our own mistakes and our selfishne ss we took away another one life that is so innocent and vulnerable. Furthermore, the baby doesn’t even know why and how he is here.You don’t need to kill one life in order to live, instead there are many solutions to resolve this problem but an abortion is not the answer. Secondly, why abort should not be permitted is based on religious values. In almost all religions, a women is not allows to do an abortion. My thoughts as a Muslim, we Muslim regard abortion as wrong and forbidden. But, abortion can only be permitted if continuing the pregnancy would put the mother’s life of real danger in Muslim law. Nevertheless, in what religion you are, women should not do an abortion as the baby have the right to live in this world.Finally, reason of why women should not do an abortion related to her conscience. When women do an abortion, she will never forget what happened and the thoughts of killing a one innocent life will always be with her. The future that could have happened with her baby which will always reminds her that she killed it. Her conscience reminds her of what she has done is terribly wrong. Conclusion is, there are many way rather that choosing an abortion. Killing an innocent unborn baby is like a woman with no heart and lack of human morality.The truth is women need to think the consequences before having a sexual relation. I feel sad for the unborn baby because they deserve to have a normal life just like other kids, to see their mum face and the opportunity to see the world. Women in this world love their baby and I know a mother who had to do an abortion is not really willingly to abort it, in fact they are sad and scared but in order to live their life without bringing the ashamed in their life, they have no choice but to abort it.

Module 1 TD- TUX 101 - Earning a College Degree Essay

Module 1 TD- TUX 101 - Earning a College Degree - Essay Example An analysis carried out in 29 countries (mostly industrialized ones) confirmed the long-known impression that college education is universally worth the cost and time. On average, degree holders earn 1.5 times that of adults with diplomas from high-school. Whereas a degree is a good investment in other countries, no other nation rewards it like the US. Nonetheless, a degree has got a higher rate of return than majority of financial investments, and it seems these benefits are rising due to financial crisis. This is because, there is a rising premium on superior skills and the biggest casualties are the low skilled since the work is getting digitized, outsourced, automated etc. Secondly, majority of companies use screening rules while selecting potential employees, one of the first rules being; does the candidate have a degree? On the other hand, pundits think that most of those attending 4 year colleges do not graduate even after 6 years and the dropout rate is increasingly high. Even though graduates from college acquire marketable skills, others earn little more income, but with college debts as well as some lost income accrued while one is unsuccessfully chasing a degree. On average, college graduates earn more, live longer, have h ealthy kids, acquire better social skills and generally happier and for those considering long term career, then a degree is an obvious requirement. Thus college is a worthy investment and college graduates accomplish key milestones in