Analysis of ‘The Truman’s Show’ in search of reality Essay

The film, The Truman Show, is a fiction movie that has been created to help the human search for reality in what apparently seems real. It shows that many times, people are absorbed in an unreal environment thinking that they are indeed in the reality. Media is to blame for making false impressions of the environment. The film depicts Truman as a person who has been entangled in a false environment and is trying hard to discover the truth. In other words, this film is intended to bring to the attention the many times that we get absorbed in situations that we cannot derive any real meaning. It challenges people to wake up and search for the true meaning and not become captives of falsehood. The film depicts Truman Burbank as a person who is born in a fake world. The environment that surrounds him is that of actors. It is in a big dome decked enclosure that is fitted with high-tech simulations of the sky and the sun. The wind and rain are also simulated. They are under the control of the director of the show. Apparently, Truman does not realize that he is in a simulated world initially. Moreover, he has no idea that he is in a television studio from which people all over the world can watch him in his normal behavior as he carries on with his normal activities. However, all the situations that he finds himself in have been staged and, therefore, lack a true meaning in the real world. However, with time Truman realizes that he is in a simulated environment. He is made to discover the false surrounds he is in by the help of Sylvia, who was intended to be his wife in the artificial world. He comes to know that staged events and scenes fill his life. He then begins to plan a way of escaping to the real world. He tries all means to escape but does not succeed immediately. That is because of two major barriers. One barrier is that he has been made a victim of fear by the director of the show has he controls his world. He has been made to fear travelling by water because his father had supposedly died while fishing. Truman is informed that travelling by water was dangerous at the time, and it was safer to stay at home. Secondly, obstacles have been placed in his way such that he cannot escape easily. He is unable to arrange for flights. Traffic jams that are also staged hinder him from travelling. Therefore, he does not manage to escape easily at first. Later on, Truman devices a way to escape and finally manages to escape to the real world. The first step in his escape is that he manages to overcome his fear. He sails in the water despite the many attempts by the director to enclose him from attempting such a move. Truman discovers a door marked â€Å"Exit† and he manages to escape completely to the real world. The escape is praised by the audience as an act of courage and triumphant. He meets with Sylvia, and they reunite. That marks the end of the artificial world created on falsehood and a new beginning in the world of reality. The Truman Show has significance in ordinary lives. It depicts how people live under the false beliefs painted by the media. Truman’s discovery that he had been living in the fallacy can be compared to how people realize that media creates only illusions that do not depict the reality. However, just as Truman was unable to get out of the fake world easily, people are reluctant to break away from the false impressions created by the media. Moreover, Truman had been absorbed into the fake world just as many people find themselves hooked by the illusions created in the media. Truman is a character used to show how people get absorbed into the fake world that is created by the media. Usually, people do not notice the impact of the illusions that they absorb have on their lives. Many live in a fantasy. However, later on, they realize how impractical the life created by the media is as compared to the real world. As such, some try to find a way out of the bondage with the media. While some of them succeed in getting out, others remain as slaves of the media. Media critics act to sensitize people on the negative side of the media just like Sylvia helped Truman to discover that he was leaving in a fake world. The film, The Truman Show, is a fiction movie that has been created to help the human search for reality in what apparently seems real. It shows that many times, people are absorbed in an unreal environment thinking that they are indeed in the reality. Media is to blame for making false impressions of the environment. The film depicts Truman as a person who has been entangled in a false environment and is trying hard to discover the truth. In other words, this film is intended to bring to the attention the many times that we get absorbed in situations that we cannot derive any real meaning. It challenges people to wake up and search for the true meaning and not become captives of falsehood. The film depicts Truman Burbank as a person who is born in a fake world. The environment that surrounds him is that of actors. It is in a big dome decked enclosure that is fitted with high-tech simulations of the sky and the sun. The wind and rain are also simulated. They are under the control of the director of the show. Apparently, Truman does not realize that he is in a simulated world initially. Moreover, he has no idea that he is in a television studio from which people all over the world can watch him in his normal behavior as he carries on with his normal activities. However, all the situations that he finds himself in have been staged and, therefore, lack a true meaning in the real world. However, with time Truman realizes that he is in a simulated environment. He is made to discover the false surrounds he is in by the help of Sylvia, who was intended to be his wife in the artificial world. He comes to know that staged events and scenes fill his life. He then begins to plan a way of escaping to the real world. He tries all means to escape but does not succeed immediately. That is because of two major barriers. One barrier is that he has been made a victim of fear by the director of the show has he controls his world. He has been made to fear travelling by water because his father had supposedly died while fishing. Truman is informed that travelling by water was dangerous at the time, and it was safer to stay at home. Secondly, obstacles have been placed in his way such that he cannot escape easily. He is unable to arrange for flights. Traffic jams that are also staged hinder him from travelling. Therefore, he does not manage to escape easily at first. Later on, Truman devices a way to escape and finally manages to escape to the real world. The first step in his escape is that he manages to overcome his fear. He sails in the water despite the many attempts by the director to enclose him from attempting such a move. Truman discovers a door marked â€Å"Exit† and he manages to escape completely to the real world. The escape is praised by the audience as an act of courage and triumphant. He meets with Sylvia, and they reunite. That marks the end of the artificial world created on falsehood and a new beginning in the world of reality. The Truman Show has significance in ordinary lives. It depicts how people live under the false beliefs painted by the media. Truman’s discovery that he had been living in the fallacy can be compared to how people realize that media creates only illusions that do not depict the reality. However, just as Truman was unable to get out of the fake world easily, people are reluctant to break away from the false impressions created by the media. Moreover, Truman had been absorbed into the fake world just as many people find themselves hooked by the illusions created in the media. Truman is a character used to show how people get absorbed into the fake world that is created by the media. Usually, people do not notice the impact of the illusions that they absorb have on their lives. Many live in a fantasy. However, later on, they realize how impractical the life created by the media is as compared to the real world. As such, some try to find a way out of the bondage with the media. While some of them succeed in getting out, others remain as slaves of the media. Media critics act to sensitize people on the negative side of the media just like Sylvia helped Truman to discover that he was leaving in a fake world. Reference The Truman Show (1998). Directed by Peter Weir. 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Kinematics analysis of data Essay

From the data we gathered on this experiment, the effects of the height of the track can greatly affect the acceleration of the cart. Base on the data on the table, the higher the height of the track will have higher acceleration and will lead to higher sinÃŽ ¸. From this, it implies that the higher the displacement of the track will lead to the higher acceleration of the cart. The reason why the cart will have higher acceleration to higher displacement is because of the continues gravitational pull to the cart without restriction to its track. Time and the inclination of the track are interrelated to each other. As for the higher the inclination of the track will lead to shorter time to takes the cart to goes down to the track. The time will become shorter because as for the higher the inclination of the track will also have higher acceleration which means the cart will become faster and that’s why it will takes shorter time to goes down to the track. The difference between the picket fence’s acceleration and the value of g is the value of the slope of a graph of average velocity versus time will be the acceleration due to gravity of the falling object. And also the value of g is the computed value for the free fall acceleration, while the picket fence’s acceleration is the value that gathered by manual experimentation for the free fall acceleration, that is also why the data on the g of table 2 and the data on table 3 have the similarities on the digits or values.

Administrative and Constitutional Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Administrative and Constitutional Law - Essay Example It is one of the most important components of the UK constitution. Generally, UK is known to have unwritten constitution like in USA and Germany. However, much of the law passed in parliament are always in writing. This type of law is known as statue law. The principle or policy of UK’s parliamentary sovereignty is frequently presented to be a unique legal arrangement with no parallels in the comparative constitutional law. 2Parliamentary sovereignty gives unconditional authority to the Westminster parliament. Thus, it seems to rule out the comparison between the US Congress or the German Bundestag, whose authorities are limited by their constitutions and the Westminster parliament. Therefore, it is seen as unique and a product of the unwritten constitution. Constitutions are very important in countries organisation and development. They organise, regulate and distribute the state power. Constitutions set out most of the state institutions, the state’s structure and the principles that govern their relations with the citizens and the other states. In Britain, the constitution differs with other countries3. For instance, most countries have well written constitutions while Britain has accumulation of conventions, treaties, statues and judicial decisions, which collectively makes the British Constitutions. Therefore, the constitution is more of â€Å"uncodified† than â€Å"unwritten.† Parliamentary sovereignty is mostly considered as a defining principle of British constitution4. It is the final principle that makes and can abolish any law. Other major principles in the British constitution include legislative and judicial branches, rule of law, and separation of government into executive and the presence of a unitary state. Some of the principles are mythical or in doubt. The uncodified British constitution therefore has two main problems. For instance, it makes it hard to know the state of the constitution. Secondly, it is makes it s impler to make changes in the UK’s Constitution than in other countries. 5The flexibility of the constitution resulted into a number of reforms since 1997. The reforms include devolution to Wales, North Ireland and Scotland, elimination of most of the heritable peers in the House of Lords, and the introduction of individuals’ codified rights in 1998 Human Rights Act. The doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty was demonstrated in the case Jackson and others (appellants) v. Her Majesty's Attorney General where the plaintiffs challenged the validity of the Hunting Act 2004, which criminalised hunting of wild animals with dogs6. This Act was enacted pursuant to section 2 of the parliament Act 1911. Both the Divisional Court and the Court of Appeal dismissed the issue regarding the validity of Hunting Act 2004 because it was not an Act of the parliament. Various developments affect parliamentary sovereignty. Parliament has been passing laws that limit parliamentary sovereign ty application7. The laws mainly reflect the political growth in and outside UK. The laws include The Human Rights Act 1998, the entry of UK to the European Union in 1972. The developments however, do not undermine parliamentary sovereignty because the parliament could abolish each law implementing the changes8. 2. The limits that the Human Rights Act place on the public bodies and Parliament? Human Rights Act 1998 is also referred to as the Act of the HRA. It came into existence in the United Kingdom in 2000. It mainly consists of a channel of parts that consists of effects that codify safety in the European Convention on Human Rights in the law of UK. The public bodies such as the police, hospitals, publicly funded

Strategic marketing management analysis & decisions (examination) Term Paper

Strategic marketing management analysis & decisions (examination) - Term Paper Example Initiative of the government to construct bicycle-specific routes and improves on roads further increase opportunities for more bicycle manufacturing. Seasonal changes and weather effects may discourage people from purchasing bicycles. In addition, high cost for bicycle development presents a threat to the company. Low market demand of the bicycles because of cheaper substitutes is a threat. Moreover, laws that govern some geographical areas do not allow the use of bicycles in such areas thereby posing a threat to the national industry. Difficulties in estimating safety properties of the bicycles and complexity of the application to some uses are threats to the company. The industry’s financial stability position offers a major strength to the company. Availability of skilled and quality employees of the Japan bicycle industry is strength of the company. Moreover, production of quality bicycles gives the company a good reputation thus strengthening the company. In addition, manufacture of user-friendly bicycles that are not complicated to the rider further increase the sales of bicycles. Japan bicycle industry ensures that the bicycles do not pollute the environment. The research and development department of the industry conduct excellent research on the needs of consumers and innovations that enhance manufacture of quality bicycles. *The industry does not provide safety measures to cyclists that may result in unskillful cycling in young people and accidents. The bicycles can be easily broken because of structural weakness. Moreover, competition from other manufacturers is a weakness to the company. The inability of increasing the visibility in customers presents a major weakness. The main objective of Japan national industry is to make profit by ensuring the sale of quality bicycles to the consumers. Japan industry has developed sustainable and achievable methods to help maintain their competitiveness in the market. The

Causes of Homophobia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Causes of Homophobia - Essay Example I hope this research will provide insights with regard to the underlying causes of homophobia. Why some people fear homosexuality and others not? The answer might seem straightforward at first and it is easy to put blame on the stereotypical gender roles produced by what Judith Butler called hegemonic heterosexual matrix. However, it is important to understand homophobic psyche without any bias so that underlying roots of their fears could be revealed. I think it is essential to grasp their views in order to assuage their homophobic fears, if such thing is possible. Why homosexuality arouses such a strong response and hatred in some people? What are they truly afraid of? This annotated bibliography aims to explore the explanatory frameworks for homophobic people’s reactions. It is very difficult to understand why some people hate gays to the extent that they wish them dead or even attempt to kill them. I would like to dig the deeper causes of their homophobic fears. Furthermor e, I also hope to find out if there is a gender differentiation with regard to homophobia and whether males are more prone to homophobia than females, and whether lesbianism is more acceptable than its male counterpart. This research also aims to examine the possible links between homosexuality and sexuality of homophobic people. I would like to know if their fears are related with their own sexuality and if it is linked with their own oedipal struggles. Adams, Henry A., Lester W. Wright and Bethany A. Lohr. â€Å"Is Homophobia Associated With Homosexual Arousal?† Journal of Abnormal Psychology 105, No. 3 (1996): 440-445. Henry Adams and his colleagues conduct a survey with the participation of a group of homophobic men and a group of non-homophobic men in order to investigate the role of homosexual arousal in homophobic people. They find a positive correlation and reveal that the group of homophobic men shows increased penile erection to male homosexual tapes. Their finding is consistent with the psychoanalytical theories which conceptualize homophobia as latent homosexuality. The article is very useful in a sense that it shows what homophobes are truly afraid of: their own homosexual tendencies. However, the research does not answer why they fear their own sexuality. Nevertheless, it is also not clear that why homophobes represses their homosexual tendencies while homosexuals don’t, it might be related with the gender matrix theory or with their deeper differences vis-a-vis the oedipal struggles. Bleich, David. â€Å"Homophobia and Sexism as Popular Values†. Feminist Teacher 4, no 2/3 (1989): 21-28 In his article, David Bleach argues that sexism is the oldest form of social domination and tries to prove Lerner's claim about the primordiality of sexism. He conducts a survey with the participation of 115 first -year students at Indiana University and examines their essays on homosexuality. He notes that almost %20 of the students (both men and women) gave utterly homophobic responses, including a passive participation in a gay-bashing incident, and they expressed their homophobic feelings under the cover of Christianity. Bleich also quotes the essays of his students who compared homosexuality with the apocalypse and approved that gays should be stoned or killed, or they just â€Å"don’t deserve to live†. Bleich also notes that there was one man in the class who is courageous enough to confess that every heterosexual young men in the class including

Aritzia Statistics Project Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Aritzia - Statistics Project Example Spring and autumn prove to a host the country’s best weather. However, the geography of England means that the weather can change in short distances (Woodlands, 2014). The surrounding sea gives England a varied climate but generally there are warm summers but they are cooler than those on the continent. The winters are also milder and do not go below 0 degree centigrade frequently. The summer temperature is around 32 degrees and is often damp and subject to frequent changes. The warmest month in England is July and around the coastal area, February is normally the coldest month (Woodlands, 2014). These conditions can greatly affect the product range which should be present at Aritzia. This means that the range of jackets and sweaters must not be too heavy duty. Really warm fur or fleece lined jackets and sweaters would not be suitable for the generally mild winters. Warm woolen ranges should suffice for the winters in the United Kingdom. Their category of blouses, dresses, jeans, t-shirts and jumpsuits etc. should be extensive and not made of cloth that is too warm. Seeing the damp and summery conditions, their clothing line should include clothes made of material that breathes and is suitable for the mild hot and damn summers. To make full use of the brand equity of Aritzia and to successfully compete with the competition, it will be necessary to set up a local subsidiary in the United Kingdom. Aritzia is a Canadian women’s fashion boutique that was started in Vancouver in 1984. It has stores in North America including Seattle, San Francisco, Toronto, Chicago and New York (Aritzia, 2014). It is a brand endorsed by many celebrities including Megan Fox, Emma Stone and Eva Mendes (Fashion Base, 2014). Hence in order to make full use of this brand equity, it is necessary to have full brand presence in the country and not rely on joint ventures of sales agents which might

Critical Analysis Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Critical Analysis Paper - Essay Example Moreover, Chaffee’s The Philosopher’s Way discusses the various philosophers’ view of the world, the nature of reality, and the truth (2012, 51). By using Kants Categorical Imperative and utilitarian views, morality is relative to humans’ rationale of right and wrong. Immanuel Kant’s Categorical Imperative Kant is the main proponent of a critical type of philosophy known as the categorical imperative. Human beings have the tendency to evaluate their actions based on their emotions towards the acts they committed. This means that it is hard to assess the goodness or badness and rightfulness and wrongness of an action because of the difficulty to find a basis for logically and objectively judging this particular action. Kant helped us in understanding and explaining our actions and decisions based on a given principle known as a priori judgment, in which all knowledge presupposes an experience. It is in this line of thought that Kant differentiated mo ral judgments from empirical ones. Empirical judgments refer to judging facts of which experience teaches us, while moral judgment tells us what we ought and not ought to do. Empirical judgment does not relate to the understanding of moral action. What Kant meant by a priori judgment also entails a judgment of necessity which judges an act based on universal standards of right and wrong, such as stealing is wrong in any circumstances. Categorical Imperative is considered by Kant as the universal principle of justice that right is superior to good applicable to the whole universe. He postulates that humans must act based on universally accepted maxims which also apply as laws for all of the humanity. Kant believes that moral rules are universal. Therefore, what is allowed for a single person is also allowed for everybody, and what is prohibited for one is also prohibited for the rest. Moreover, what is obligatory for one is also obligatory for the rest. He also acknowledges freedom o r autonomy along all individuals, but this autonomy must rest on positive values and will serve as a guiding law for all our actions. The word imperative in his philosophy provides us with some sort of restriction which limits our actions that are grounded on personal interests and selfishness which moral rules considered universally wrong. Simply saying, actions that are morally wrong universally regardless of the means or ends are considered to be morally wrong and nothing else, while morally right actions that are universally accepted are also morally right. In other words, Kant suggests that life is composed only of two colors, black and white, and that there is no extent to which an action can be considered better or worse because it only falls into two categories. White lies are wrong under any circumstances because they are still considered as lies, and lying is universally wrong in any event. Principle of Utilitarianism Jeremy Bentham, in his Principles of Morals and Legisla tion, conveys rationality in his analysis of ‘the greatest happiness system’ or the so-called ‘means-end’. Other philosophers describe happiness as a goal, a result while Bentham describes happiness as simply a pleasure without the pain. In other words, people can quantify the value of pleasure or pain depending on the magnitude and for how long. According to Bentham, the overall good of the society is dependent

Kurds and the Debate over Stateless Nation Essay

Kurds and the Debate over Stateless Nation - Essay Example Among them, Kurds constitute the prominent group as the world’s most numerous people without a homeland. Kurds’ sovereignty has been the bone of contention in the Middle East over several decades between various interest groups including Turks and Arabs and also Britain, France, and US all with their own oil interests over the Northern Iraq, the autonomous region of Kurds. Given below is the list of some relevant sources which could give extensive information on the issue. 1. Gunter, Michael M. â€Å"KURDS: The state and kurds in turkey: The question of assimilation†.  The Middle East Journal,  (2008) 62(2): 344-346. This article is a very good secondary source that closely reviews the findings of Metin Heper, a distinguished Turkish professor of politics who has recently joined the intellectual debate over the Kurdish issue in Turkey. According to Gunter (2008), the basic theme of Heper’s book is that â€Å"the Turkish Republic has not sought to prom ote Turkish ethnic nationalism that would assimilate its ethnic Kurdish population†. Heper also points out that the Turkish stance on the issue that is ignoring the distinctiveness of Kurds’ ethnicity has been deliberate. However, Gunter points some aspects that Heper omitted in his book. For instance, â€Å"the fact that the Kurds came late to the idea of their Kurd-ish identity superseding their Ottoman and Islamic identity† cannot be undermined. Gunter refers to Hakan Ozoglu who has documented this idea in his book Kurdish Notables and the ottoman State: Evolving Identities. Besides, Gunter identifies several other areas where Heper flawed. As the author points out, Heper simply maintains that Turkey has been convincing itself that it did not try to assimilate the Kurds forcefully but only ‘tried to prevent their de-acculturation’. Altogether, Gunter makes a critical evaluation of Heper’s findings on the Turkish position on Kurdish issues. Undoubtedly, the review helps one to reflect on the multiple facets of the debate over Kurds’ nationalism instead of simply agreeing with the arguments raised by authors like Heper. 2. Olson, Robert. â€Å"KURDS: Kurdish notables and the ottoman state: Evolving identities, competing loyalties, and shifting boundaries†.  The Middle East Journal,  (2004) 58(2): 305-307. Olson’s review of Ozoglu’s work KURDS: Kurdish Notables and the Ottoman State: Evolving Identities is unique for its detailed description on the nature and origin of the Kurdish nationalism. The writer closely analyses the process of the evolvement of the modern states in terms of socio-political context and the extent to which they have assimilated the concept of ethno-nationalism and cultural identity. The book actually maintains a very different opinion about the Kurdish movement as compared to the ones proposed by Heper. According to the book, there was no Kurdish protonationalism in the late 19th century and in the early 20th century up to the end of WWII. Olson’s review makes the concept of Ozoglu much easier for researchers as he analyses the author’s arguments chapter by chapter giving specific focus to the way Kurdish nationalism is addressed in them. 3. Romano, David. â€Å"KURDS-kurdish politics in the middle east†.  The Middle East Journal,  (2010) 64(2): 311-312. This is another brilliant book review by Romano on the great work of Entessar (2010) Kurdish Politics in the Middle East. The reviewer has highlighted the author’s ability to simplify the complex and unseen aspects of the Kurdish issue. The book has gone very deep into the actual problems of the population including the Kurdish history and politics other than giving â€Å"

Commonplace Book Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Commonplace Book - Assignment Example The quote is important to my life because it enables me to be strategic in my activities and always reveal my plans when the time is ripe, because doing so enables me to avoid any hurdles that my competitors might put in my way to stop me from achieving my goals in life. This quote means it is important to have details of the enemy including their strength and weaknesses, their holdouts, and their thoughts before starting a war against them. Tzu emphasizes the need to collect as much intelligence as possible about the enemy forces in order to deploy the right responses or preemptive interventions when it is necessary. In business, this quote stresses the need to carry out proper market research focuses on the rivals in order to mount a successful challenge against them. In my life, this quote enables me to understand my neighbors, the community, and the society in general in order to achieve a person-environment fit. Failure to know my environment including the existing rules and regulations, the opportunities and other utility services will only result in my failure. Quote # 3 If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.† Sun Tzu, The Art of War p.234. This quote means one who knows their capability and that of their enemy will be sure of the right strategies to employ in order to eliminate the enemy in warfare, regardless of the length of the confrontation. But if an army knows its capabilities and not the enemy, the enemy would be obliged to employ a different strategy, which would be successful because the other side neither knows it nor can it counter the move. In modern business, a company that neither knows its strengths nor the rivals’ would most probably collapse or face heavy losses for failure to

Paul Tillich and His Theology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Paul Tillich and His Theology - Essay Example Even brief analysis of the political and cultural contexts that surrounded Tillich during his life and career reveals how strongly those contexts affected his theological views.   Born on August 20, 1886, in a little village called Starzeddel, Germany, Paul was introduced to religion early in life. His father was a Lutheran minister and his mother was brought up as a more liberal Calvinist. Paul received his Ph.D. from Breslau in 1911 and was ordained as a Lutheran minister, like his father, in 1912 (Pauck & Pauck, 1976). The period from Tillich’s birth to the First World War was the time when his theological system only started to develop. Born in the last quarter of the 19th century, Tillich spent his young years surrounded by the spirit and traditions of Romanticism, the dominant movement in the European culture of that period. The Romantic protest against the rationalization of nature, coupled with the stress on the emotional aspects of existence and, of course, confronting the sublimity of nature could not but affect the way Tillich perceived his relation to the surrounding world (Henderson, 1986).   Tillich's perception of the world was put to the severe test during the years of World War I. Tillich headed toward the front â€Å"†¦.filled with nationalistic fervor and even enthusiasm over the opportunity to serve both God and country as a military chaplain† (Henderson 1986, p. 143). However, the realities of war almost immediately undermined Tillich’s belief in â€Å"†¦a nice God who would make everything turn out for the best† (Pauck & Pauck, 1976, p.40). One of his duties was to bury the dead and soon the young chaplain found himself spending more time digging graves than fulfilling his direct duties (Henderson, 1986).

Statement of Education Goals and Personal Profile Essay Example for Free

Statement of Education Goals and Personal Profile Essay Personally, I perceive education as the best tool and greatest dependable ally that could assist me in achieving my dreams and aspirations in life. Similar to that of the other students and individuals, I believe that having a sturdy and formal education would enormously help me pursue my goal of further strengthening a sound career in the field of Pharmaceutical industry. Hence, I believe that acquiring a decent doctor of pharmacy degree would further stimulate and strengthen the possibility to attain everything that I wish for, especially in terms of educational and professional goals. More than anything else, I decided to pursue a Doctorate Degree in Pharmacy mainly because I believe that I got what takes to be a good Pharmacist or a major practitioner in this type of healthcare service. I am well determined to learn and always inclined to excel in all the things that I do. More so, I wanted to pursue a Doctorate Degree in Pharmacy in order to perform a more vital and helpful role in the process of healthcare service by having greater knowledge with regard to Pharmacy. Being in service for the people has always been my passion and my personal comfort zone. As time passes by, helping people and doing meaningful job has been a wonderful source of happiness and fulfillment for me, personally. Hence, I believe that pursuing a Doctorate Degree in Pharmacy would further assist and equip me to continuously give sensible service for the people in the area of pharmacy. Given that the practice of pharmacy has become more complicated nowadays, acquiring a higher degree in the said field of study would enable me to effectively respond and attend on the challenges in the practice of pharmacy. Thus, I primarily decided to pursue a Doctorate Degree in Pharmacy to further educate myself and to be able to meet the modern and growing demands in this line of work. Furthermore, I decided to have a Doctor of Pharmacy Degree in order to uplift my confidence and credibility in this line of work. Without any doubt, this would definitely help me to be more self-assured in giving meaningful and obliging recommendations for other healthcare professionals and patients. Nonetheless, the decision to pursue a Doctorate Degree in Pharmacy is made through my dedication in the said field and my desire to take part in a more advance role in the practice of pharmacy. This is in order to ensure that I could have a better future and greater position to render service for the people as well as continuously improve on the job that I loved. Apart from obtaining Doctorate Degree in Pharmacy, my other goal is to become the best father that I could be for my two young children and a great husband. In this precious life of mine, they serve as the fountain of happiness and motivation that energize me to bravely face the challenges of life. Though I would be very busy doing work and studying at the same time, I plan to achieve this goal by orderly and responsibly managing my time in such a way that I could still have quality time with my family. I value my family like the way I give importance to my own personal life. This is mainly because they are always there for me no matter what the situation is. My family never fails to give the love and care that I need, more especially during the most challenging moments and the darkest hour of my life. I love them as much as they love me and I would take care of them in the most positive way I could. Compounding and making total parental nutrition are the areas that capture my interest in the practice of pharmacy. These are not readily available to use. It has to be made on the individual needs of patients and requires a lot of calculations. This mainly interests me because I like doing calculation and being very precise. As an individual, I would describe myself as a family oriented and loving person. I give great value to life and render huge respect to other people and every being in this world. As a friend, I would say that I am the type of person who is trustworthy and loyal. I am the right individual whom my family and friends can depend-on, more especially during the most crucial and challenging moments. Personally, I am the type of person who is a bit shy, but not necessarily unconfident. I wish to be more outspoken and I believe I could do that by being true to myself and genuine to other people. Though I got enough self confidence, I know I still have to be more at-ease and self-assured in public speaking. On the other hand, I consider that my determination and work ethic are the strongest aspects of my personality. I am the type of individual who is dedicated and passionate to always do my best in order to exceed the level of expectation in everything that I do. Given a chance to obtain a Doctor of Pharmacy Degree, I plan to further help and assist the people whom I vowed to serve in this line of work. More so, I would continue to proudly participate and contribute in a more vital role in the entire process of healthcare.

Factors Affecting Life Insurance Agent Turn Over Commerce Essay

Factors Affecting Life Insurance Agent Turn Over Commerce Essay This case study aims to explore factors commonly believed to affect life insurance agent turn over. Several factors has been affected to life insurance agent turnover. The factors are demographic, organizational and selling skill factors. Factor demographic are age,length of service, family size and responsibility, education,martial status and . Second the organizational factors consist of employee commitment, employee satisfaction, compensation. training and development, supervisor-agent relationship and organizational Culture. Third factors are seling skils consist of running out client list, lack of interpersonal skills,lack of salesmanship skills. Impact of all factors has been positive significat to turn over. Keywords: Life insurance agent, turn over, demographic, organizational, selling skill Introduction Turnover of life insurance agent is a classic problem that occurs in almost all insurance companys, therefore it is becomes important for them because it associated with the development of the companies. Agent development was surved by many research companys and one of them is LIMRA Life Insurance Marketing and Research association (LIMRA). They publication in 2005 has been results, 68% of agents to end his career in the insurance companies in the first 2 years on their career .(Honans, 2006). Honan pointed out that some agents often voluntarily leave from one company to another for company or make own business for themselves. Beside that agents are asked to leave due to not achived minimum target requirements, than there are agents turn over 31% with a 4-year retention rate of 14% according LIMRA survey. In Indonesia survey for agent development very periochial, we only found about growth as insurance companies. Base on survey Indonesian economy in 2010, as reflected in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased by 14.4% from Rp5,614.3 trillion in 2009 to Rp6,422.9 trillion in 2010. Within the same period, gross premium income of insurance industry increased by 17,5% from Rp106.4 trillion in 2009 to Rp125.1 trillion in 2010. Thus, the ratio of gross premium to GDP increased in 2010 from 1.90% to 1.95%. As of the end of December 2010, there were 377 companies having business licenses to operate in Indonesia which consist of 142 insurance and reinsurance companies, and 235 insurance business supporting companies. The insurance and reinsurance companies consist of 46 life insurance companies, 87 non life insurance companies, 4 reinsurance companies, 2 companies administering social insurance program and workers social security, and 3 companies administering insurance for civil servants and armed forces / police. The number of life and non life insurance companies per 31 December 2010 is the lowest for last five years (Indonesia Insurance 2010). The other hand survey all staff turn over has been done by the global management consulting firm Hay Group Hay Group .Base on their survey rate of staff turnover in Indonesia was increased The research was shown that the Indonesian insurance industrys turnover in 2007 is at 10.7% and 12.7% in 2008. The research indicated that salary increase is the most cited reason for job hopping. The study suggests that companies must make a continuous effort to create an attractive working environment to retain employees. In general, people have bought insurance product based on 20% of the benefits of the product, 20% was seen the background of the insurance companies and 60% depending on agent offered. Because the Indonesian people in general are prefer interacting and their want to get more detailed information directly from agent. Hence to said insurance agent is the vanguard of the company. The purpose of this study is to explore factors commonly believed to affect life insurance agent turn over in the JV Insurance Indonesia. Furthermore, a case study of turn over is presented to show the impact of turn over in the JV Insurance Indonesia. In order to ensure the confidentiality, the name of company has changed, so that the informations indicated do not affect the reputation of the company The JV Insurance Indonesia. The JV Insurance Indonesia belongs to JV Group of Companies, the largest life insurance group in Singapore and Malaysia with its two distribution channels the tied agency and bancassurance.The JV Insurance Indonesia started its operation in Indonesia in1996, with headquarters in Jakarta and several Sales Offices in big cities in Indonesia. The JV Group is a subsidiary of O Bank, the second largest financial services group in Southeast Asia by assets. It is among the worlds highest rated banks, with a long term credit rating of Aa1 from Moodys. It is also ranked by Bloomberg Markets as the worlds strongest bank. Since 1908, The JV Group has a strong legacy of putting you first. We make life great by providing financial security, and promoting good health and meaningful relationships. With our comprehensive suite of plans to meet your every need, you can be assured of true peace of mind. Literature Review Insurance Agents Insurance agents are primarily responsible for searching, collecting, selling insurance products and other financial services. Knowledge agents on selling product have been considered equal to company knowledge. Misconduct of an agents are responsibility of the company; This are bind company to clients. Notice from clients to insurance agents, as same as to the insurance company. (http://www.aaji.or.id/InfoCenter/Dictionary.aspx) Turnover Turnover is defined as the number of people who leave a job or organization (DeNisi Griffin, 2008). Cascio and Boudreau (2008) said that a more appropriate way to define turnover is to consider, not only separation, but also the replacement of employees leaving. Turnover in the organization has become a very investigated area (eg, Marsh Mannari, 1977; Mobley, 1977,1982; Bluedorn, 1982; Horner, Hollingsworth, 1978. Cotton Tuttle, 1986; Mathieu Zajac, 1990; Babkus, Cravens, Johnston, Moncrief 1996;; Gaertner, 1999; Hom Griffeth, 1995; Rhodes, Eisenberger, Armeli, , 2001; Meyer et al, 2002; Alleyna, 2002; Zacharatos, Herschcovis, Turner, Barling, 2007; Hong, Wei, Chen, 2007; Clark, 2007). Turnover can lead to loss of productivity, quality of service interruption, lost of business opportunities, and demoralized employees who live (Hom Griffeth, 1995; Mobley, 1982). Limiting turnover would be beneficial to organization. Insurance Agents and Turnover Empirical research on the insurance agents and turnover is limited. Current statistics indicate the turnover rate of 85% for women and 81% for males four-years model (Huffman, 2007). This statistic is an increase from two years earlier that showed the overall turnover of 89% in 2005 (Brown, 2004) and 86% in 2004 (Higgins, 2003) using a 4-year retention rate. While the turnover rate has increased, losing more than 80% of the industrial workforce for the past four years is quite expensive. Muise (2007) showed that 28% of U.S. insurance agents hired in early 2006 were not employed with the same company at the end of 2006. Moreover, the greatest loss occurs before the second year employment is complete. Huffman (2007) determined that 62% of women and 53% men are no longer employed by the same insurance company at the end of two years. Berris and Jackson (2008) notes that turnover was the biggest frustration for managers, owners and employees of the insurance companies. It is clear that i nsurance agents are a valuable commodity in the field of insurance. Sadly, there are not sufficent agents to adequately serve the community. In addition, retention is at a staggering low level while recruitment cannot compete with the speed of the insurance agents leave the industry. In addition, turnover is a consistent problem that inhibits the insurance industry. Determining the factors that increase retention and minimize the necessary intention to leave for the insurance industry to continue to thrive. There are many factors that cause an employee to intent to leave the organization. The research was not all encompassing. This study only offered additional information to the body of knowledge. Prior studies and research in the future will continue to add to the body of knowledge considering employees intent to leave the organization. Problem Description The company is a complex organization that consists of many resources, one of which is human resources. One of problems in corporate human resources is inten to leave of employee impress of agent turn over, If agent has a sense of satisfaction in work or enviroment of company, then the agent would demonstrate good personally in companies. Base on theory, job satisfaction is negatively related to employee turnover, higher job satisfaction associated with low turnover, whereas the less satisfied employees show higher turnover. But in the current conditions of the country of Indonesia with a high unemployment rate and lack of alternative work, will lead to a lot of people would think twice about leaving their job, they prefer to stay in their job even though it may in fact employees are not satisfied with the work. Based on the pre-survey in the JV Insurance Indonesia was found in 2011 a common problem associated with the employee is the employee dissatisfaction on commision factors and the relationship between superior and subordinate that makes some employees who are not satisfied will resign his job. It marked the turnover rate of employees in the BL Insurance Indonesia in 2011 is higher in the amount of 20.60% depend on 5,76 % in 2010. This is certainly very interesting to study further. Is there job satisfaction associated with employee turnover rate in the companys current condition? Based on the mentioned hence the issues will be investigated in this study are: 1. What factors that can influenced turn over rate of insurance agents of The JV Insurance Indonesia? 2. How is improvement efforts need to be implemented by the JV Insurance Indonesia to enhance employee satisfaction and reduce the levels of turnover occurring? STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM Considering all these issues study determines its Factors Affecting Life Insurance Agent Turnover (case study in The JV Insurance Indonesia ) FINDING Demograpic analysis Demographic factors may influence the occurrence of turnover. Those factors are age, length of service, education, family size and responsibility and marital status. Age The result of these study show that the majority of respondent are young agent. Young agent indicate a higher turnover rate than workers with older. Previous research shows there is a strong negative relationship between age and turnover, The negative relationships that exists in these studies mean as age increase the rate of turrnover decreases, Older agents are reluctant to move because of work and family responsibilities and they do not want to work from the beginning in a new place. They do not get comfortable even though their will get a new salary and more facilities more bigger. The length of service The length of service as define by Bluedorn (1982;140) is the amount of time an individual has been a member of organisation. The result of these study has been indicated a negative relationship between length of service and turnover, Its mean the agent with shorter length of service with an organisation are more likely to leave Family size and responsibility Stone and athelstan (1969) who studied turnove among famales shows that there is positive relationship between increses in family size and increased tendencies to turnover. This contrast in the findings on the impact of family size among male and female turnover can be simply explained by the typical rule of traditional sex-role differentiation in the family Education Recent studies dealing with education, suggest that there is evidence to link better-educated agents with higher rates of turnover than less-educated agents. The result of these study has been indicated a positive relationship between education and turnover Marital Status Several previous studies have demonstrated the relationship between marital status and labor turnover. Unmarried agent are more likely to leave a job compared to married agent. The result of these study has been indicated a positve relationship between marital status and turnover. That means single agent have higher turnover than that of married agent. Organizational Factors analysis Several researchers have examined the turnover problem as a consequence of high turnover or excessively costly to the organization (North et al., 2005). Previous research has shown that many considerations affected to the decision to leave a company. Quantitative and qualitative research studies have shown correlative patterns that can both explain and predict agent turnover. The literature on agent turnover is very broad. The shortage of workers significantly impact overall organizational effectiveness and employee spirit (Bame, 1993; Fitzpatrick, 2002; Harrington, Zimmerman, Karon, Robinson, Beutel, 2000). When agent turnover becomes excessive , productivity suffers, decreased services, increased cost, and leaves the knowledge of the firm (Drucker, 1998; Fitzpatrick, 2002; Shaw, Gupta, Delery, 2002). Employee Commitment The relationship between agent commitment and tendency to either stay with or leave an organization has been the source of much academic inquiry (Blau, 1985; Meyer, Allen, Smith, 1993; Morrow, 1983). Commitment to job or the employer has been the subject of confusion because of different definitions for the concept of commitment (Morrow, 1983). Meyer and Allen (1991) define organizational commitment as a psychological state that (a) the character of the relationship between employees and the organization, and (b) has implications for the decision to continue or discontinue membership in the organization (p. 61). This could take shape in the way employees become emotionally attached to or identify with an organization, the fear of losing their commitment and identity with an organization, or a sense of obligation to an employer (Meyer Allen, 1991). Based on emotional commitment, two main directions of research that appears (a) studies examining agents emotional commitment agents and (b) studies examining attitudinal commitments. Agents commitment has affected the turnover rate. in these study showed little their commitment to an company. Employee Satisfaction Employee satisfaction has the effect of work-related outcomes such as job performance, commitment to an organization, discretionary activities, absenteeism, turnover, and delays (Hulin Judge, 2003; Johns, 2001, Judge, Parker, Colbert, Heller, Ilies, 2001; Warr, 1999) Employee satisfaction is one that affects the turnover can be divided into three sub-categories: (a) dispositional, (b) situational, and (c) integrational (Arvey, Carter, Buerkley, 1991; 2001 Judge et al.) In these study suggests there is a tendency not fulfilled employee satisfaction Compensation Compensation affected the agent retention strategies (Corporate Leadership Council, 1999, Williams Sunderland, 1999). Many studies show that compensation was a key determinant retention (Dreher, 1982; Gerhart Milkovich, 1992; Griffeth, Hom, Gaertner, 2000; Harrison, Virick, Williams, 1996; Porter Lawler, 1968; Schwab, 1991; Steers Mowday, 1981). there are variations of several studies have shown that compensation for increased performance (Milkovich Newman, 1996). Other researchers have questioned the premise that retention is connected to compensation (Kim, 1999; Kohn, 1993; Pfeffer, 1998). Pay-for-performance structures have been studied for their impact on individual performance improvement (Jenkins, Mitra, Gupta, Shaw, 1998) and organizational performance (Gerhart, 2000). Because a lot of insurance companies pay their agents based on commission, not salary, they do not making enough money from commission may realize that they will not be able to fulfill their basic necess ities and may need to look elsewhere for work. In these study compensation has affected the performance of the agent to remain in a company. Training and Development According to some previous studies the effects of training and development programs have reduced turnover. That program on employee development has shown that improving agent skills as a result. Martin (2003) asserts that there is a complex relationship between turnover and employee development. Martin found that increased the skills of workers on the job resulted in a lower rate of turnover for the organization.. Supervisor-agent Relationship This study is the relationship between agent and supervisor. The quality of that relationship affects the commitment of the agent (Galagan, 2000; Kaye and Jordan-Evans, 2000; Kinni von Hoffman, 2000; Tulgan, 2001). These study has shown that voluntary turnover is due to the low quality of the supervisor-agent relationship (Dobbs, 2001; Kaye and Jordan-Evans, 2000). Supervisor-agent relationship quality assessed by the effectiveness and communication styles between the two sides. In the supervisor-agent studies and their impact on motivation and job satisfaction, the differences in communication styles have been neglected to date (Mayfield, Mayfield, Kopf, 1995, 1998; Sharbrough, Simmons, Cantrill, 2006 Organizational Culture The study of effects cultural organization have been at the retention of employees show there is a strong correlation between organizational culture and turnover (Galagan, 2000; Kaye Jordan-Evans, 2000; Kinni von Hoffman, 2000; Salopek, 2000). Work environment or organizational culture where relationships are based on trust and integrity, the staff is treated as a unique individual, and personal relationships taken care positively impact employee turnover. Good relationships between supervisors and agent or between agents and agents affect the decision to stay or leave a company (Friedrich, 2001; Morrison Chan, 2000). Instead, the results showed that the stress levels of employees, lack of support from supervisors or management,, and non-empowering work environment had negative effect on turnover (Friedrich, 2001; Hemingway Smith, 1999). Sales Skills Sales skills factors caused insurance agent turn over. There factors are consist of Running out client list Running out client list due to agents have been limited relationship held and the lack of ability to build relationships with new people. They were afraid ask for references from their clients Lack of interpersonal skill Agents are not motivated due to lack of support from managers to provide encouragement and the assistance required. They were not given enough motivation to remain in the company. Lack of salesmanship. Agents had been unable to selling product because they were not received training on how to selling a good product, lot of agents do not have a background in marketing and insurance so that they had difficulty in adapting the marketing environment Discussion Turnover agent has been affected by job satisfaction. Job satisfaction can be broken down into short-term assessment and long-term assessment. Short-term assessment is the intention to leave the company before 1 year. Long-term assessment in relation to intention to leave in the next 24 months. Respondents indicated that the commission, rewards and benefits are part of the top level in the short term. Gifts of money, non-monetary rewards and appreciation even considered as an important reason to consider when deciding to leave in the short term. Factors such as operating procedures, the nature of work, organizational communication, co-workers, and supervisors are most strongly associated with intention to leave in the short term. Factors of working enviroment, good career opportunities, and communication around the organization in the long term will occurred for agent, they will be becomes important when considering leaving within the next two years. Operating procedure is still the most important and minimal supervision can still be considered in turnover. Overall, in the short term, the five strongest factors to consider reducing the intention to leave in the next year including affective commitment, commitment to sustainability, contingen awards, commissions, and benefits. The five least important factor for respondents in the short term include normative commitment, operating procedures, justice, information, monitoring, and nature of work. Suggestions for minimizing turnover Companies should improve the recruitment agent system. companies create training programs that aim to meet the needs of agents such as how to increase ability to sell products and good approach to clients. The company should require agents to have an agency license Companies must improve operating system procedures, so that agents can smoothly in administrative affairs. Designing forms used for agent activity in selling products The company should improve the system of compensation, bonuses and awards. The company established a corporate culture for all employees, especially convenient for the agent. Improving relationship between supervisor and agent, thus forming a mutually beneficial relationship between two parties Conslusion These study revealed interesting results regarding intent to quit before 1 year. Most agents were satisfied and had no intent to quit in 6 and 12 months. Several economic and demographic factors like comission and age did not affect agent intent to quit before 1 year. In marital status factors almost half of unattached employees, such as single, widowed, and divorced agent had intent to quit before 1 year. The result shown that a higher percentage of unattached agents intent to quit before 1 year and had lower organizational commitment. In organization commitment factor was lack of organization commitment that contributed to the external factors, such as downsizing and outsourcing. Also, unattached agent have minimal risks with intent to quit due to less years invested and limited retirement investments. The results revealed that married agent no intent to quit due to high organization commitment, in order to maintain family responsibilities and future retirement. The relationship between commision and turnover is significant. Agents anticipate their sacrifice of time, energy and completion of job responsibilities to be demonstrated through rewards, such as reward and bonuses. When rewards and bonuses are not sufficient, then employees feel unappreciated and dissatisfied. As a result, negative attitudes and behaviors are demonstrated through minimal job performance and productivity like low achived premium target . In addition, negative attitudes and productivity increase agents intent to quit from company for additional experience and skills for potential career advancements. Similar to commision, promotions contribute to agents intent to quit in 1 year. However, insufficient commition and limited promotions increase agents intent to quit from organizations, in order to obtain additional experience and skills for higher commition and future career advancements. Future research and Limitations The limitation of these research identified the collection of data from a small site in Jakarta Indonesia to generalize to a large population of employees in the insurance industry. Future research is needed to obtain feedback from a larger sample rather than a smaller sample of the population. Future research will enable levels of management and human resource programs to enhance existing and incorporate additional programs to accommodate a diversified population of employees. Another area of future research includes modifications with the demographic survey. The survey used in the study did not include variables, such as status of education.

International human resource management due to globalization

International human resource management due to globalization As the globalisation trend advanced, IHRM (International Human Resource Management) plays a critical role in helping companies evaluate the human resource skills /capabilities and possibilities involved in moving to different regions of the world (Luthans, Marsnik and Luthans,1997). The HR (Human Resource) function is to help manage the organisations people as effective as possible based on the organisation business objectives for competitive advantage (Porter, 1990). To be successful in the global marketplace, a need for global mindset is the key source for long-term competitive advantage. The current HR issues faced by PC is illustrated in Appendix A. The HR management in PC HQ did not consult the local HR representative information on local culture, employment aspects, safety, customs and traditions in order to operate in harmony with a local companys procedures which is the root cause of the HR dilemma faced by PC. Looking at the current HR issues that PC is facing, the complexities of operating in different countries and employing people of different nationalities are challenges arising from the internationalisation of business. Also the challenge PC requires to undertake its HR strategies, policies, practices to global level for multinational ventures (Scullion Linehan, 2005). Company characteristic, business strategy and organisational structure are important elements in policy choice for the Flexibility and HRM strategies (Delery and Doty, 1996; Tsui et al., 1995; Mayne et al., 1996; Doorewaard and Meihuizen, 2000). According to Philip Condit (Financial Times 1997), as the era move towards globalisation, it is advantageous global companies, workforce, management transform into a global enterprise. A standardized approach to IHRM may put an organisation to disadvantage because cultural differences are ignored rather than built upon. (Adler,1991). Competing demands of global integration and local differentiation are important elements which give rise the need to develop human resources as a source of competitive advantage (Caligiuri and Stroh,1995;Schuler et al.,1993;Taylor et al.,1996). PC required adopting a geocentric approach to IHRM integration to balance between the conflicting priorities of global integration and local responsiveness (Caligiuri and Stroh (1995). GLOBE research confirmed that selected cultural differences strongly influence important ways in which people think about leaders and norms. According to Spence Hayden (1990), the most critical HRM issue for going international is to select and train local managers (see Appendix B) as people is the main source for competitive advantage in international business. It is critical that PC focus on the first seven points of the HRM issues listed in Appendix B to enhance its current HR issues in Germany, France and India for the business expansion. The overall twelve HRM issues are for PC to apply for its going international plan to other Asia countries to build long term business success. The key challenge for PC is to capitalise on the diversity of global workforce without suppressing each other nations desire to maintain their own cultural heritage. Although it is tough, PC have to build, maintain and develop its corporate identity by managing its people on a worldwide basis, local responsiveness by adapting and conforming to the norms and customs of different societies in which PC operate (Laurent, 1986). This will enhance worldwide competitiveness, innovation combined with achievement, consistent across MNE units (Bartlett and Ghoshal, 1989). According to Schuler and Florkowski (1994), for control purpose, flexible HRM policies and practices at the local level must be balanced with the requirement of MNE to maintain its global set of IHRM policies. Deeper Analysis-HRM issues a) Training and Development As noted in PC case, there is no formal training to consultants after recruited. Failure to train employees can affect the values, beliefs, and assumptions shared by employees to the organisational culture (Bunch, 2007, p. 157). Au and Chong (1993) conclude that failing to incorporate organisational culture in training programmes might lead to total failure in building a successful organisation. Listed below are the ways to determine employees taining needs: In todays highly competitive global business environment, human resources play an important role in developing and sustaining organisation competitive advantage (Brewster, 2002). IHRM has enforced common methods of acquisition of knowledge through hiring and training, distribution of knowledge via training and development, and utilization of knowledge via performance management in an organisation. Training Assessment is used to determine if and what type of training is necessary to acquire skills, knowledge, and improvement in order to perform well for the organisation growth and success. (see Appendix C -General Systems Model of Training and Development). Cross cultural training is also critical for international assignments, for managers to be acculturated to other societies value, norms and behaviour. Training is also recognised as an important means for socialisation (Child, 1984; De Meyer, 1991; Derr and Oddou, 1993; Ondrack, 1985). Orientation is where new employee learns the organisational goals, corporate culture, job and to develop realistic expectations. Formal training on the other hand promotes shared values and facilitates network building between headquarters and subsidiaries. Only successful organisation (example: Accenture) will believe/continue to train, develop their employees in order to adapt to the constant change in the dynamic working environment as new technologies develop and emergence of global assignments. (see Appendix D Diagnostic steps in Development Programmes) According to Bramley, 2003, extensive training, learning and development are important. Learning organisations (example: Xerox, General Electric) have applied three stages of learning perspective. PC needs to ensure that outstanding talent remain at the forefront of its field in terms of professional expertise and product knowledge gained through training which facilitates learning so that employees can become more effective in carrying out their task. It is essential as people, technology, jobs, and organisations are always evolving. Technology is advancing at a staggering pace. Therefore, it is vital that employees be trained and developed to utilise the latest technology so as to attain the highest levels of productivity. b) International Managers As International business continues to grow intensely, PC must understand the need for highly qualified international managers, a crucial factor in implementing global strategies for business success (Gregersen, Morrison, Black, 1998). Overall International managers need to have effective cross cultural communication, non-judgemental capability, flexibility, empathy (Berrell et al.2002:92). Expatriates A successful expatriate manager must have sound knowledge of technical, functional, cultural, social, and political skills (Bartlett, 1986; Bartlett Ghoshal, 1994; Ghoshal Barlett,1997). The most common factors that determine the expatriates success or failure is illustrated in Appendix E. Expatriate managers that possess an acculturation characteristic will be able to adapt/adopt themselves to any region for international assignment. The key point for international transfer is to initiate, expand and control international operations to ensure various organisational units strive towards achieving organisation common goals which is linked to HQ control aspects. (Edstrà ¶m and Galbraith,1977). Appendix F described why transfer of international managers happen. According to Roessel (1988), the benefits of various functions of international transfers can enhance internationalisation of the MNE, which make it more sustainable in international market. Inpatriates The value of managers with unique local market knowledge can develop a dynamic capability for global assignments. In this manner, inpatriate manager is another option envisioned to build managerial talents which organisations can develop distinct competitive advantage in the market they entered. The inpatriation process is positively related to the global HRM for organisations development of organisational capabilities: quality, low-cost operations, speed learning, innovation and customer focus (Lawler, 1996; Urlich Lake, 1990). The criteria and characteristic of the right candidate for inpatriate managers are similar to the expatriate factors which illustrated in Appendix D. Although HQ prefers the expatriate managers contribution in multicultural management on the stabilisation control aspect for competitive advantage (Dadfer Gustavsson, 1992; Granstrand, Hakanson, Sjolander, 1993), inpatriate managers do play an important part in the bridging role between HQ and the emerging market that the organisation wish to penetrate (Harvey et al., 1999b,c,d). Inpatriate managers, as substitutes and complements of expatriates, can provide accurate advice on adaptation of technical dimensions of HR processes (recruitment criteria, compensation, appraisals, training and development of host country nationals). Inpatriate managers also act as a mentor to calibre managers from host country nations to insure a succession plan when new inpatriate managers are moved into the home country organisation. If PC would to consider inpatriate manager option, it has undertaken the step in developing a multicultural strategic leadership capability, developing a global learning organisation to compete effectively in a globalised world (Aguirre, 1997; Hofstede, 1980, 1984; McBride, 1992; McMillen, Baker, White, 1997; Nemetz Christensen, 1996; Reynolds, 1997). Statement to the Board of Paine Co (PC) Core Components of HR Strategy IHRM policies and practices are influenced by the organisations structure, strategy, its institutional and cultural environments (Ngo et al., 1998; Schuler and Rogovsky, 1998; Schuler et al., 2002; Sparrow et al., 2004). For management consulting multinationals, definition of HRM policies at international level should be followed by a more standardised local implementation (Boxall and Steeneveld (1999). At the same time, applying the right kind of policies and practices was a condition of ongoing viability, the success to implement HR policies and practices synergistically constitute the basis for competitive advantage. IT consultancy firm, like PC depends highly on qualified and specialised professionals to offer services based on their creativity and intellectual work. This profession requires versatility, adaptability and constant learning due to its ever evolving job nature (Starbuck, 1992; Ram, 1999; Ka ¨rreman, 2002). In this case, PC should look at the need for highly qualified multicultural workforce as a means to build managerial talents, develop organisations competitiveness in the market it enter. Furthermore, global competition has caused organisations to be more conscious of cost and productivity. Therefore, HRM strategies must reflect clearly the organisations strategy people, profit and overall effectiveness in managing an increasing diverse workforce to compete in an increasingly complex, competitive world. (see Appendix G -Important Factors /Requirement in HRM). According to Sparrow 1998, recognising organisations need for multiple and parallel flexibilities especially in a time of increasing international competition and technological change is vital (Atkinson, 1987; Tsui et al., 1995). The proposed core components of HR strategy that PC should apply is highlighted in Appendix H, taking into consideration the difference in nationality, culture and institutional factors, to enhance its organisation performance and build long-term competitive advantage. Notes to the Core Components Based on Best Practice HRM, staffing need to be highly selective, performance regularly and systematically assessed, teamwork orientated, autonomy and responsibility were encouraged (Huselid, 1995; MacDuffie, 1995; Delery and Doty, 1996). With the growth of PC business internationally, PC needs appropriate information to develop its HRM policies and practices through comparing cross-national dimension on an international perspective (Brewster et al., 1996; Clark et al., 1999; Kochan, Dyer, Batt, 1992), a business strategy to develop bigger market share one step ahead of its competitors. Cross-national HRM policies and practices are also influenced by both culture-bound variables such as national and organisational culture, institutions, industrial sector dynamics and culture-free variables such as age, size, nature, and life cycle stages of organisation (Brewster, 1995; Hofstede, 1993; Jackson Schuler, 1995; Sparrow, 1995). The degree and direction of influence of these factors varies from region to region (Jackson Schuler, 1995; Locke Thelen, 1995). Creating a global corporate culture requires a geocentric mindset, drawing upon cultural capabilities that exist across the global operations and incorporating diverse cultural values and practices. Understanding HRM roles/strategies requires a contextual approach, underlining the importance of taking the institutional context into account (Paauwe, 2004). The table below shows the factors determining cross culture HRM practices. A detailed list of the subcomponents factors/variables in determining cross-national HRM is listed in Appendix I. The strategic importance of a unique, specific and valuable human capital for knowledge-intensive firm like PC would suggest a preference for employment internalisation (Matusik and Hill, 1998; Lepak and Snell, 1999). PC must actively seek creative destruction of its existing competencies to retain competitive advantage in the marketplace (Schumpter, 1934,1942) via an adequate HRM policies and practices. The organisational competitiveness of PC will depends on its strength/capacity to shape a unique set of resources where competitors find it hard to copy, which mobilized with the help of developed organisational and managerial systems that provide the organisation with a series of distinctive capacities that allow to generate long-term sustainable income (Fernà ¡ndez Rodrà ­guez, 1995). The process of continuous learning and modification of resource bundles for efficiency and effectiveness of strategies contribute to development of the organisations dynamic capabilities (global management capabilities difficult to imitate) to gain/sustain competitive advantage. (Teece,1988; Teece, Pisano Shuen, 1997). According to Barney (1991), if resources meet the following elements, the firm earns a unique strategy profile which assist for international expansion. On the other hand, Behavioural Theory is based on the assumption that different strategies require different behaviours, attitudes and capabilities in workers (Schuler, 1987). According to this theory, HR practices do influence workers behaviour which results in improvements of organisational performance (Lawler,1986; Huselid, 1995; Becker, Huselid, Pickus Spratt, 1997; Guest, 1997;Appelbaum et al., 2000; Takeuchi, 2003). This implies PC must implement a set of personnel practices consistent with the organisations business strategy to build its international presence successfully (see below). When workers have positive perceptions, this will increase their work commitment with the organisation, degree of involvement and their level of working satisfaction, which results in better performance for PC and talented workers can be retained for future prospect. Developing a systematic approach of HR policies and practices consistent with business strategy can assist in the integration of business competitive advantage, where every possible source of competitive advantage need to be identified/utilised in facilitating the learning and knowledge transfer processes across units (Schuler et al. (1993:427). A high performance work system (HPWS) practices is perceived by employees as organisations commitment (Batt, 2002). [see Appendix J] Definitely with HPWS implemented in PC, it will be able to develop talented, motivated employees to meet organisations objective to achieve competitive advantage in the international arena (McDuffie (1995). By developing the necessary skills, knowledge and increasing motivation of employee contribution, PC can reflect the opportunities to realize economies of scale at the international level. With the rapid evolving technologies, this encourages PC to engage in innovation and continuous learning across its operation. According to Wright Snell (1991), a successful organisation should have motivated workers who are involved in the achievement of organisational objectives. Managers are responsible to create a more positive working environment where employees can flourish and increase their feelings of wellbeing at work (Tehrani et al., 2007). Line managers are also responsible to deliver the HR practices and to ensure that the perception of support, trust, fairness and consistency are maintained amongst employees. The biggest mistake unsuccessful global organisations make is to assume that there is one best way to structure HRM policies and practices. Trying to apply HRM principles that work well in one environment may not lead to the same level of degree of success in another. Challenges Globalisation competition has become so intensify, HRM professionals require to optimise the skills, talent, creativity of every employee more effectively. Failure to do so will probably mean the organisation cannot compete in the flat world. Every aspect of HRM strategic can be influenced by cultural differences in one or more dimensions. Therefore, PC needs to understand the cultural differences and ensuring HRM and cultural orientation of workers are coincide with one another without sacrificing efficiency. Conclusion To be successful in the international marketplace, PC must ensure HR policies are fit with strategic international plan of the organisation and with the work-related values of foreign culture due to cross-national interaction. Total word count=2,593

Henrik Isbens A Dolls House Essay -- A Dolls House Essays

A Doll’s House   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In past history, society has been both very prejudiced and traditional with its view of gender roles. Often times a woman would not have had the same right to something as a man did. Many women however went against the law and tradition to do what they thought was right. In Henrik Ibsen’s play, A Doll’s House, Nora does something that is unimaginable during the time period. Nora’s husband Torvald believes he is the man of the house and that his wife should be grateful and entertaining for him. Nora however signs her father’s name to a document in an attempt to do something she feels is right. What she doesn’t realize though is that by doing so she has committed forgery. Nora’s act of forgery was inspired by many reasons, and resulted in both expected and unexpected outcomes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Nora was inclined for many reasons to commit the forgery. At the time Torvald was on the verge of dying and Nora desperately wanted to save him. Doctors warned Nora that her husband’s â€Å"life was in danger† and the only thing that would â€Å"save him [was] a stay in the south† (Ibsen 976). Nora couldn’t afford to travel though and was forced to somehow find the money. During this time period however â€Å"a wife [couldn’t] borrow without her husband’s consent†, so Nora had to get a man’s signature to take out a loan (976). Nora knew Torvald would not take out a loan because it would hurt his reputation as a banker, so she forged her father’...

Total Quality Management (TQM) :: GCSE Business Marketing Coursework

TQM1 TQM in Foodservice Introduction One of the most important industries overall is the food industry. The food industry consists of everything from food processing plants to fast food restaurants. The food industry affects nearly every living person. Most people don't realize how important this industry is and how it affects their everyday lives. That is why it is so critical that the products of this industry are at their highest quality, are free of bacteria and ensure that the consumer will not face any detrimental consequences. Total Quality Management (TQM) plays a big role in promising these results. Total Quality Management seems to be a confusing term for the layman. TQM is a philosophy advocated by Dr. Edward Deming, a world renowned quality guru. It was widely accepted by Japan from 1950 onward. They used this principle for continuous refinement of an organization-wide quality system. Since then many organizations around the world have adopted TQM or similar methodologies. There have been many successes and many reported failures. Success of the system depends on the total commitment of the people to quality from top to bottom within the organization. TQM implementation is based on team work and the philosophy of continuous improvement. Statistics need to be used extensively to analyze and reduce the variation in the process. In the food industry, continuous improvement is vital to the survival of a specific company or restaurant. The customer is constantly purchasing the products of competitors and any decline in quality will equal a decrease in gross profits. There are several areas that a restaurant may focus on for quality improvement such as menu offerings, hospitality, service, cleanliness, and over all food quality. All of these aspects will be covered in this paper concerning Total Quality Management. Summary Employee & Product Quality Various well known companies such as Ritz-Carlton Hotels and Taco Bell have implemented Total Quality Management programs in an effort to increase quality and market share. Ritz-Carlton of Kansas City, Missouri, recently revamped menu selections for its rooftop-level restaurant and bar operation. This came about through customer surveys, focus-group studies of local restaurant patrons, employee opinions, and market analysis. This began with the general manager, Norm Howard, as TQM must start at the top to be successful. He states that "It [TQM] is about listening to your customers and empowering your employees to participate in important business decisions" (Stephenson, 1993). Taco Bell, with the implementation of a Total Quality Management system, has improved its speed of service, friendliness of service, and value for money ratings. This company has done this by empowering employees and seeking customer input. By integrating their employees into the system,

Essay --

There are numerous diverse courses for people to be well versed and trained with respect to particular data and capabilities they need for do the task which are responsible. These approaches include classroom statements with course readings, Pcs, handheld mechanisms, and other electronic approach. In recent years developer try to developed a new training method which is able to create basic work environment for employee. By rapidly moving social order where there is an incredible arrangement of accessible data and information, embracing and applying data at the correct time and opportune spot is required to fundamental productivity in both school and business settings. Augmented Reality (AR) is one technology that breathtakingly moves the area and timing of training. Augmented Reality (AR) is an influential user interface which is consolidating in to the reality and can be in the Pc created data ideal model improving a user's recognition environment. There are many type of VR with different user interfaces and present reality in a characteristic manner, concurrently utilizes the Pc to investigate identified data and to communicate with Pc created virtual objects. 1.1 Problem statement In many training environment using the augmented reality is common and now days many research are done or on-going to develop and improving this area. (Stytz, 2006) The current technology in augmented reality still not in perfect status the reason behind of this idea is lake of connectivity and sensory experience provided by the real world. In other hand the lack of collaborative and situation awareness and the coordination between trainers are another issue in this technology. To Provide better understanding for user of the environment training,... ...s dynamic diversion based learning in science (Klopfer, 2008; Squire & Jan, 2007). AR is additionally thought to help enhancing spatial capacity and mental revolution (Dà ¼nser, Steinbà ¼gl, Kaufmann, & Glà ¼ck, 2006). AR preparing is imperative in situations where the true, physical planet experience is important, e.g. in military operations (Brown, 2006) and in fragile medicinal operations (Yeo et al.,2011) AR system and provisions have been produced and connected to numerous instructive fields, for example AR science, science, math, and history in K-12 trainings and mechanical designing in higher training. moderately not many studies have been defeated the selection and the convenience of AR system and advancements in streamlined preparing. Both military preparing and fabricate in maintenance lives up to expectations are the main pertinent territories of AR to data.

How important was Martin Luther King?

Martin Luther King was the main figure in the Civil Rights Movement; he was the civil right activist leader and had an influence of the American society. King believed in non-violent protest and used it to overcome justice, king’s idea of non-violent protest came from Ghandi’s idea, and he thought Ghandi was the great man of all times. King also believed that all man and woman are equal; he was the most important voice of the civil rights movement.King was brave to stand up and give up segregation laws and tried to get rid of segregation laws, Martin Luther King was proud of his race, in 1958 after King was stabbed in Harlem he had said ‘my cause, my race, is worth dying for’, this source is useful for proving that he will do anything for his race and do whatever it takes to bring freedom across black Americans. King wasn’t afraid and he still carried on fighting for more freedom after he was stabbed and survived.Martin Luther King was important of b ringing improvements in the African- American Civil Rights because he brought equality to America and progress to the civil rights movement. In 1957 he helped setting up the (SCLC) and believed that non-violent protest should be used in the struggle for equality. King helped places like Birmingham to reduce the amount of racism. There had been lots of racism in Birmingham, King described Birmingham as America’s ‘worst big city’ for racism.He wanted to improve the amount of racism in Birmingham, the SCLC arranged a march, and king was leading rather than led. The confrontation used tactics like sit- in and marches so that they can gain more publicity across the USA. King became more popular and people liked him, but those who disagreed with the equal right movement hated king. King gained goverment support, Kings effort led to the march on washington in 1963, where King delivered his speech ‘I have a dream’. In 1965, King led a campaign to resgister b lack people to vote.

Discuss and research theories/ studies relating to the formation of relationships

There are many theories relating to formation of relationships. These include the filter theory, the matching hypotheses, social-biological theory and the reinforcement-affect theory. Kerckhoff and Davis came up with the filter model of attraction. They believed that we rely on social and personal factors to filter potential relationships from the field of eligibles. There are five criteria; proximity, similarity, physical attractiveness, complementarity of needs and competence. We narrow down the people whom we may form a relationship with, through a series of selection filters. The criteria tend to be used a different stages. In initial attraction, proximity is the obvious filter; we form relationships with those who live close by, this is how we may become aware of the person. Similarity is important because the people who we share the same ethnicity, background and occupation we are more likely to talk and come in contact with. Once this stage of filtering has taken place, people then consider weather we share the same attitudes as the other person. Duck and Gillmor believed if we do share similar attitudes then the relationship is more likely to be pursued. Caspi and Herbener carried out a survey which found that married couples who were more similar were more satisfied with their marriage. People may have been initially drawn together because of their similarity, but it may become apparent that one person has characteristics that the other lacks, for example someone who is domineering may be attracted to someone who is submissive. Physical attraction plays an important role when forming relationships. Many studies have supported this, for example in Walters computer dance study; couples where randomly selected and assigned to each other for an evening dance, Walster found that physical attractiveness was the single best predictor of how much person liked their assigned ‘date'. However this study has been criticised as it lacks relevance to real life relationships. In Initial attraction, physical attraction has been said to be important. However people are not attracted by the most attractive person. The Matching hypothesis said that we are more likely to form a relationship with some who has a similar level of attractiveness; a possible reason for this is a fear of rejection. The matching hypothesis has been supported by Murstien. In his study people were asked to rate photos of couples and rate them in terms of physical attractiveness. Murstien summarized his findings â€Å"individuals with equal market value for physical attractiveness are more likely to associate in an intimate relationship such as engagement, than individuals with disparate values.' However this is not always the case as some couples may be seen to be physically ‘miss matched'. It is argued though that those who are miss matched balance out in other areas problems can occur in miss matched couples, the less attractive person might feel insecure or jealous of the attention given to their partner, this could also effect the less attractive person self-esteem; which could threaten the long term success of the relationship. Another theory in formation of relationships is the socio-biological theory. Wilson argued that human sexual attraction and behaviour may be explained through an understanding of ‘survival efficiency.' The theory suggests that men like to impregnate many women as it increases there chances of there genes to be carried down to generations. However a woman's best chance of her genes surviving is to ensure that her offspring is healthy and caring for them. There are problems with this theory, it overemphasis on reproduction, not all couples want children and it also excludes homosexual couples. The theory raises an ethical concern as it can be seen to be supporting gender stereotypes, allowing men sexual ‘privileges' and freedoms which woman are denied. Another criticism of this theory is it lacks revalance in the modern world, the socio-biological theory may once have been relevant but not suit those today. The reinforcement-affect model suggest that we like people because we find them rewarding, we associate them with some pleasant. May and Hamilton carried out a study to support this theory; female student were asked to look at photographs of male's, some looked at the photos while pleasant music was played while other looked at the same photos while unpleasant music was played. A comparison also looked at the photos but no music was play. They found that students who looked at the photos while listening to the pleasant music rated and liked the males in the photos best. This study and many others have shown positive feeling can lead to attraction. A lot of the theories and studies in formation of relationships have been criticised. Much of the research is seen as artificial and ‘leaves out most of the things people do in everyday life' Duck 1999. Another reason they have been criticised is research focuses on romantic relationships and leaves platonic friendships. Theories and studies also have not taken into count the influence of others such as family and friends as they can have an affect on relationships we form. Also in polygynous cultures, a man may have several wives at the same time. No characteristics are absolute, all are relative. We may like a characteristic in someone attractive at some point in relationship but find it negative at another time, for example; as fall in love someone we may like someone's unpredictability but as well fall out of love with them we may see it as irresponsibility. Other questions have also been raised; does familiarity always lead to liking? Do we like people more because we spend time with them? Or do we spend we spend more time with them because we like them? Frequency of interaction does not always result to greater liking. It was demonstrated by Warr that it can produce more disliking.

President Wilson Urges Support for Ideal of League of Nations Essay

After the end of World War One, President Woodrow Wilson sought national support for his idea of a League of Nations. He took his appeal directly to the American people in the summer of nineteen nineteen. The plan for the League of Nations was part of the peace treaty that ended World War One. By law, the United States Senate would have to vote on the treaty. President Wilson believed the Senate would have to approve it if the American people demanded it. So Wilson traveled across America. He stopped in many places to speak about the need for the League of Nations. He said the league was the only hope for world peace. It was the only way to prevent another world war. Wilson’s health grew worse during the long journey across the country. He was forced to return to Washington. The Senate was completing debate on the Treaty of Versailles. That was the World War One peace agreement that contained Wilson’s plan for the league. It seemed clear the Senate would reject the treaty. Too many Senators feared the United States would lose some of its independence and freedom if it joined the league. Wilson wrote a letter from his sick bed, to the other members of the Democratic Party. He urged them to continue debate on the League of Nations. He said a majority of Americans wanted the treaty approved. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee agreed to re-open discussion on the treaty. It searched yet again for a compromise. Wilson refused. He said the treaty must be approved as written. Wilson’s unwillingness to compromise helped kill the treaty once and for all. The Senate finally voted again, and the treaty was defeated by seven votes. The treaty was dead. Yet history would prove him correct, and the Second World War would be far more destructive than the first. The debate over the Treaty of Versailles was the central issue in American politics during the end of Woodrow Wilson’s administration. It also played a major part in the presidential election of nineteen twenty.

The small crowd beside the bus had an atmosphere of excitement

The small crowd beside the bus had an atmosphere of excitement. I was one of them. We just got down the busy train, leaving us with another 5 hours of our journey to our destination. The trip was to the southern part of the Indian rainforest. The air was moist and there was a sudden drizzle. So we quickly got inside the bus. After every one was inside there was check to see whether anyone was left behind. The bus was noisy, every one were talking to each other about the thrill. We began our long journey into the rainforest. Every one felt irritated due to the humidity in the air. The teachers who came with were also excited about the trip. After a while there was no sign of any people as we entered into the rainforest; there was no trace of any other vehicle either except a motorcycle, leading us. It was a totally deserted area. The trees and bushes on either side of the road were monstrous and they spread wide. In some places they were steep slopes, which were so deep and dark that we couldn't see the ground below. We unexpectedly stopped. I didn't know why at first then they told it was because we had to have lunch. The lunch was horrible as it was cold. After that we got into the bus. Then slowly we all settled and the bus was again on the road. On the way we saw many waterfalls but we couldn't define its beauty because they were very far away. Then a boy suddenly shouted out ‘Dam' no one understood him at first then he repeated it by saying there is a dam. Every one gazed it for a long time. Some took snaps of it. It was huge and its reflections looked beautiful. We were then told that there was another hour of our journey left. Most of them slept including me due to the tiredness of journeying. After a while my friend woke me up saying that we arrived at the destination. I was excited as well as exhausted like everyone. I had to get up. We took our bags and started to walk towards the tents, which were situated in a plateau. I had a heavy luggage behind my back like most of them. The ground was uneven in the beginning then it was a sudden steep slope upwards. We had to walk very carefully otherwise we would slip and fall. They made a path by few slates of shapeless granite. Beside the path were wild bushes. It took us more than 5minutes to reach to the top. When we reached it was very dark and we could hardly see the ground clearly. They told us to form a queue and then we were separated into four groups. We were taken inside the house, which was beside the tents. It just had a big hall and a kitchen in the corner. We were told about the rules and regulations. Then we all were shown our way to the tents though we didn't sleep in the tents, as it was the first night. We changed into night ware and left our baggages in the tents. The ground was muddy making our bags very dirty underneath. After every one had their dinner we were immediately send to sleep. Though no one did as every one had the excitement in their minds thinking what was going to happen in the next few days. We all slept together. At first it was very noisy then slowly it became pin drop silence. Everyone was made to get up by 5 in the morning and was told to freshen up. We couldn't see much as the sun did not rise completely by that time. And when it did it become foggy. There were five tents in total as there were many girls and boys. There was a water tank opposite to the tents. Behind the house were the toilets. In between the toilets and the tents there was a small house which contained things required for canoeing, rock climbing, treasure hunting, nature trivia and camping. Surrounding us were trees and bushes, which were so thick that we couldn't see through. Later we were told briefly of our plan for the days beyond.