If You Want Peace, Prepare for War

If You Want Peace, Prepare for War The original Latin of the expression if you want peace, prepare for war comes from the book Epitoma Rei Militaris,  by the Roman general Vegetius (whose full name was Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus). The Latin is, Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum. Before the fall of the Roman Empire, the quality of its army had begun to deteriorate, according to Vegetius, and the decay of the army came from within itself. His theory was that the army grew weak from being idle during a long time of peace and stopped wearing its protective armor. This made them vulnerable to enemy weapons and to the temptation to flee from battle. Vegetius quote has been interpreted to mean that the time to prepare for war is not when war is imminent but rather when times are peaceful. Likewise, a strong peacetime army could signal to would-be invaders or attackers that the battle may not be worth it.   Vegetius Role in Military Strategy Because it was written by a Roman military expert, Vegetius Epitoma Rei Militaris is considered by many  to be the foremost military treatise in Western civilization.  Despite having little military experience of his own, Vegetius writings were highly influential on European military tactics, particularly after the Middle Ages. Vegetius was what was known as a patrician in Roman society, meaning he was an aristocrat. Also known as the  Rei Militaris Instituta,  Vegetius book was written sometime between 384 and 389. He sought a return to the Roman military system of legion formation, which was highly organized and depended on a disciplined infantry. His writings had little influence on the military leaders of his own day, but there was a particular interest in Vegetius work later, in Europe. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, because he was the first Christian Roman to write about military affairs, Vegetius work was, for centuries, considered the military bible of Europe. Its said that George Washington had a copy of this treatise.   Peace Through Strength Many military thinkers have modified Vegetius ideas for a different time, such as to the shorter expression of peace through strength. Roman Emperor Hadrian (76–138) was probably the first to use that expression. He has been quoted as saying peace through strength or, failing that, peace through threat. In the United States, Theodore Roosevelt coined the phrase Speak softly and carry a big stick. Later, Bernard Baruch, who advised Franklin D. Roosevelt during World War II, wrote a book titled Peace Through Strength about a defense plan. The phrase was publicized widely during the 1964 Republican presidential campaign and was used again during the 1970s to support the construction of the MX missile. The adage justified the Cold War buildup of nuclear missiles as a deterrent to war. Ronald Reagan brought peace through strength back into the limelight in 1980, accusing President Jimmy Carter of weakness on the international stage. Said Reagan: We know that peace is the condition under which mankind was meant to flourish. Yet peace does not exist of its own will. It depends on us, on our courage to build it and guard it and pass it on to future generations.

3 ways to impress an employer at an interview

3 ways to impress an employer at an interview 3 Easy Ways To Stand Out From The Competition While Applying For Internships Have you already graduated from a university? Do you want to apply for an internship? Perhaps now you are very worried about this, and expect how you will fight with fifty other applicants for this internship. The more competitive your future work is - the more applicants for it will be. Certainly, some of your competitors will be eliminated because of lower marks than you have. Some of them are less competent than you, and some just sloppy dressed and came for an interview. But in this way, not all are eliminated. Don’t be afraid! There are three simple ways to stand out even among the most experienced applicants for an internship. Of course, these methods do not guarantee that you will get the work of your dreams. But they significantly increase your chances of getting an internship. Pay attention to the quality of the future workplace Most people believe that their chance to get the desired job is not high. Therefore, they send their CVs to a large number of companies. They try to win at the expense of quantity, and not at the expense of quality. However, such people forget that the more proposals they receive, the less time they will have to visit all the interviews and carefully prepare for each of them. Better devote your time to finding the most suitable company for cooperation. Find a company that will appeal to you personally. Then study it, send a resume together with a cover letter and materials for the applications. In this way, you will get the job that you like. This is the best option. Show your personality Most university graduates pay great attention to their professional skills. They believe that precisely these skills are important in finding desired job. At the same time, everyone forgets about personal qualities. It can be: 1. Punctuality; 2. Mindfulness; 3. Active life position; 4. Responsibility; 5. Sociability; 6. Perseverance. This factor can’t be neglected! During the interview, tell about your personal qualities and traits. Sometimes you can show a sense of humor. If an employer is a man, and you are a girl, do not forget to smile. The same goes for the situation if you are a guy, and the employer is a woman. Due to all these simple actions, the employer will better remember you. According to research, hiring managers choose candidates they like. Dress as beautiful as possible, but not too expensive. And don’t forget to briefly describe your hobby. You are not a machine, you are a living person. Show that you are interested in something else besides work. Also, many managers are looking for candidates who will not only be competent specialists, but also team players. After all, such a person is a support for the whole team. So, develop the ability to interact with other employees, joke, communicate, help others. If you do not show your personality, they will never understand that you are their best candidate. Embrace Your Mistakes If you think that the main thing is not to admit mistakes in the interview, then you are mistaken. Of course, the same goes for the cover letter. But we are all people, and people tend to make mistakes. You can reread the cover letter 50 times. But still, there may be a typo. Even if you rehearsed the interview at home, you can make a mistake. But if the employer is intelligent, he understands that the candidate is not perfect. This does not mean that you do not need to prepare for an interview at all. But small gaffes are completely permissible. The important thing is not whether you are mistaken or not. The important thing is how you deal with the mistakes. In time, correct yourself, and that's enough. The hiring manager knows that if he takes you to work, you will run into problems. When this happens, everything will be wrong. Show that you can easily cope with failure. Show that you are confident and calm in any situation.

Persuasive synthesis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Persuasive synthesis - Essay Example As a means of expounding upon this particular topic, it is the hope of this author that the needs of the healthcare professional within such a context will be further appreciated; thereby ultimately helping draw a tangential level of understanding with regards to the use and application of euthanasia and/or physician assisted suicide. When one considers the difficulties of working as a healthcare professional, a litany of problematic issues comes to mind. However, a primal concern that the healthcare professional must deal with on a daily basis is the question of burnout. Burnout is of special importance due to the fact that it intimately affects the ability of the given individual to continue to provide a high level and quality o care to the end recipient. ... 339). This is of course a function of the fact that the average healthcare professional will only come in contact with a dead or dying patient on a rare incidence. Conversely, the healthcare professional that deals exclusively with the terminally ill must experience this on a daily and sometimes hourly basis. To seek to understand the means by which these impacts won the outlook and mental well-being of the healthcare professional is something of an impossible task due to the fact that different people respond to pressures in different ways. One of the readings that was engaged with as a means of informing this particular essay was that of Paul T. Schotsmans â€Å"Ethical Claim of a Dying Brother†. As such Schotsman integrates with the reader the severe physical and mental toll that standing helplessly beside the bed of a human writhing in agony exacts on the healthcare professional; regardless of the overall strength of their character, years in the profession, or resiliency of faith. Ultimately what happens is that the healthcare professional is unable to continue to integrate such continual death and suffering into their model of patient interaction. This no doubt comes from the fact that although death and dying are a fundamental part of life on planet earth, it is somehow programmed to be resented and rejected by humanity. This interestingly strikes at the very core of what healthcare provision is intended to provide. As anyone familiar with the Hippocratic Oath can attest, the ultimate goal of the healthcare professional is to seek to alleviate the suffering of the ill. As a function of this, the reader/researcher can quickly see that try as they might, the job of the healthcare

The Internet from Christian and Islamic Perspectives Research Paper

The Internet from Christian and Islamic Perspectives - Research Paper Example Internet in Islam The popular notion, especially in the West is that Islam may not be comfortable with the Internet. Images of censorship and restriction would probably inform this perception. But the fact is that the Internet is accessible to many Muslims across the world. There is no specific Islamic teaching that bars the use of the Internet for Muslims. As a matter of fact, many Muslims are finding the Internet a convenient and useful way to learn not just about common knowledge but also about Islam, its rituals, among other information. Today, both traditional Muslim texts and contemporary Muslim conversation have found their way to the information superhighway (Bowen and Early, 300). Abdulla also pointed out that while Islam is not dependent on the Internet and computers and would not miss it if it disappears, there is still the fact that these technological innovations have expanded several aspects of Islam (62). For example, the Internet is also increasingly becoming a place for Muslims to join together into many communities that strengthen relationship and brotherhood. According to Karagiannis and Wagner, the Internet, along with the so-called "new media", created new forms of Islamic communities, which revolve around shared communications and which bind together new relationships (97). These are made possible by the amount of information that can be accessed as well as the social media (popular among Muslims) and the emergence of the e-mail messaging tool. These facilitate Islamic propagation. The capability of the Internet to be accessible to many people makes it an effective form of evangelizing tool. Many people are learning about Islam online and this is particularly important especially in the era wherein Muslims are constantly being treated with suspicion and Islam, being commonly misinterpreted. Many Muslims find the Internet useful in these areas. The Christian Tradition The utility of the Internet is also true in the case of Christians. Every one agrees that on its positive side and in regards to its technological capabilities, it is important for evangelism and missionary activities. As Campbell explained, from the point of view of many Christians, the Internet serves as "a social technology that helps people of shared faith gather together, thereby connecting those from the same religious tradition who would normally be separated by geography, time and other limitations" (39). This characteristic is supposed to be congruent with the Christian religious concept of the "body of Christ", which in this case manifest in a networked community of believers with the Internet as a medium. The Internet also serve as a resource and communication tool for Christians across the globe in their religious activities, information campaigns, among other evangelical works. It allows the Christian churches to reach out to its flock and facilitates in giving charity, missionary work, among others. Comparison It is important to underscore t hat the positive perspectives on the Internet as demonstrated in the previous sections are both true in the cases of Christianity and Islam. And this is also shown in terms of the negative attitude or perspective towards the Internet is not exclusive to any religion. There are Christian and Islamic values that can be both threatened by the Internet. For example, Christians criticize the uncensored content in the Internet that are made available to

The Home Depot-Leadership in Crisis Management Essay Example for Free

The Home Depot-Leadership in Crisis Management Essay The Home Depot: Leadership in Crisis Management Introduction Established in 1979, The Home Depot has proved to be a leading retail company founded upon providing excellent products at competitive prices sold from knowledgeable sales representatives. Through this concept, The Home Depot has dominated both professional and do-it-yourself sales across the world. In 1992, The Home Depot was faced with a new challenge. Hurricane Andrew struck with vengeance and devastated 75,000 homes across Florida. Since 10% of The Home Depot’s stores were located in Florida, this quickly became a corporate emergency. The Home Depot stepped up to the challenge and stood behind their customers. Depot froze prices for supplies the community would need to rebuild or even sold products at costs in some cases. Then-CEO Bernie Marcus stated â€Å"This is not a time to make money on the back of other people’s misfortune† (Herman). This attitude proved prosperous for The Home Depot when profits increased 44%. With this eye opening experience, The Home Depot decided to take further actions to prepare their employees and customers for future hurricanes. Paul Raines was hired by The Home Depot and eventually was made the Divisional Leader for the Southern Region. His experience in the third world countries made him the perfect candidate to lead Depots crisis management project. When 2004 rolled around, Florida was viscously attacked with four storms in a seven week period. Through the devastation, The Home Depot utilized this period as a learning tool. The storms of 2004 developed three main â€Å"Crisis Management† concepts for The Home Depots: speed, preparedness, and chain of command. Speed was crucial for the community and The Home Depot strived to open as swiftly as possible after the storms ceased. The Home Depot stayed ahead of the storms by having a surplus of storm relief inventory, as well as workers close enough to be called upon when the major threats had passed. Finally, the employees of The Home Depot understood who was in charge and calling the shots. From these concepts a â€Å"Crisis Command Center† was born for category two hurricanes or worse. The Command Center consisted of conference rooms where representatives could meet and develop a plan of attack. With the click of a mouse they were able to determine what their customer’s main needs were. The main goal of the Command Center was to insure employee safety, re-open stores, and make sure computer systems were accurately working which included pay roll and cash registers. In 2005 the Command Center was put to the test when Hurricane Katrina attacked the Gulf Coast. The Home Depot began preparations well in advance and was ready to reopen stores as soon as possible after the storm had passed. Managers worked eighteen hours a day, which paid off when of the thirty-three stores in Katrina’s path all but ten opened the following day. With such an elaborate Command Center and well informed staff, The Home Depot was able to provide the communities with the supplies they needed to begin rebuilding their homes (Herman). In 2007, a new crisis was thrown at The Home Depot. This predicament was far more personal than any storm could ever be. Columnist Scott Burns verbally attacked The Home Depot in a published article on MSN. com. Customer service, products, inventory, and cleanliness were all under attack by disgruntled customers. In a short period of time, there were over 7,000 posts and 10,000 emails of customer complaints. Corporate Officials were outraged over the online posts. This was a delicate situation that needed to be dealt with. Official’s feared making a public statement would draw media attention to the article which had not yet been a hot topic for the television. Then CEO Frank Blake, felt he had no choice but to respond on the MSN post board. He made a lengthy apology to all disgruntled bloggers. He pleaded for all concerns to be forwarded to a private email account. He vowed to improve upon these negative insights and hoped to once again regain their trust. As Blake assumed, the media went crazy and picked up the article. Blake decided to utilize the Crisis Management plan to handle their current reputational attack (Herman). At the current time, the main issues faced by the â€Å"Command Center† were natural disasters such as hurricanes. From the Crisis Management Command Center, The Home Depot had found the key to success when handling natural disasters: speed, preparedness, and a clear chain of command. Utilizing these tools, The Home Depot had developed a great starting point for handling their Reputational Crisis. The Home Depots crisis management skills were analyzed in a SWOT analysis, which can be viewed in appendix A. In mainstream media, the public tends to remember the negative and forget the positive. Regardless of how many wonderful things The Home Depot had done for the community, the current reputational attack was going to be remembered the most. Blake’s swift response was both beneficial and harmful to The Home Depot in my opinion. I agree the Home Depot needed to respond quickly to the article; however, I feel they should have brought the media’s attention to the article through a press conference rather than by a post on a message board. If The Home Depot had made a verbal response, they could have put their own spin on the article. Blake’s apology was a good tactic which could have been carried over to a verbal response. Reputational attacks are bound to happen to major companies and The Home Depot needs to learn from this and be prepared to respond through positive publicity. Ways to accomplish this would be through donations, charity events, sales, or other generous acts which would benefit the community. These acts could help cover reputational attacks. The Home Depot also needs be prepared with the proper chain of command to respond to situations like these (Herman). Analysis: Decision Making Biases The Home Depots reputation crisis presented several decision making biases which involved crisis management situations where decisions had to be made under uncertainty. These biases included overconfidence, inertia, selective perception, representation, and self-serving biases. The overconfidence bias was based on the illusion that a company was superior to its competition, allowing the company to focus on successes and forget the situations where failures occurred. The Home Depot most likely assumed they were one step ahead of the competition. This assumption led them to believe their customers also felt The Home Depot was a superior company. Unfortunately, this was not the case and was revealed through the MSN article. The inertia bias was based upon the term procrastination which demonstrates when a projects immediate effect is unpleasant; a company will delay the project even if the long term reward outweighs the immediate negative effect. Essentially, this was a probable cause why The Home Depot postponed improving upon customer service, products, inventory, and cleanliness before it was attacked by the media. The Home Depot also likely encountered the selective perception bias. This bias focuses on instances where a company was influenced by its own base of interpretation more than the environment around them. In simplistic terms, The Home Depot had tunnel vision and was not focusing on the needs of their customers. The representation bias also applies to crisis management when companies ignore the laws of random occurrences and evaluate the likelihood of an event (social disaster such as the reputation attack on The Home Depot) based on how closely they resemble some other event (natural disaster for instance). Lastly, but not least, the self-serving bias focuses on situations where a company takes recognition for successes but blame external factors for failures. The Home Depot could have easily gone down this path with its reputation crisis, but it stood up to its own mistakes and faced the issue head on (Lehrer). Analysis: Crisis Leadership Now As discussed in the introduction, The Home Depot’s Disaster Management plan was based on three concepts which included speed, preparedness, and a clear chain of command. Throughout the years, The Home Depot proved their Disaster Management plan worked for various tragedies encountered by the company. Their methods have fallen right in line with approaches mentioned in the book, Crisis Leadership Now. Within this book, it states â€Å"If businesses are ready to survive and recover, the nation our economy are more secure† (Barton). The Home Depot was prepared and wasn’t afraid to get involved. The Home Depot’s Disaster Management plan also went along with the material within the Crisis Leadership Now, by showing The Home Depot practiced the idea that a company can best shield itself not just by assuming it’s protected, but by investigating deeper into potential problems and exposures. Along with that, The Home Depot was also promoting family and individual preparedness for disasters. Home Depot’s latest crisis involving the company’s reputation dealt with managing a crisis and handling key stakeholders. With such a public outcry for improvement, a quick response was needed to keep control of the situation. Crisis Leadership Now explains an â€Å"8 hour window† concept where â€Å"If you can capture what has happened, who is impacted, and how you intend to communicate your response with a clear plan of action within 8 hours, you have the foundation for an excellent recovery plan† (Barton). I believe The Home Depot followed this concept in formalizing a response on the MSN. com message board. The question which arises however is whether or not they should have carried the company’s response over to a verbal reply that would have appealed to more dissatisfied customers. Analysis: Managing the Unexpected The Home Depot’s Disaster Management Plan also follows several principles for HRO’s (high reliability organizations) that were laid out in the book â€Å"Managing the Unexpected†. There are a total of 5 principles which include: 1. Preoccupation with Failure – Do not focus primarily on business successes. 2. Reluctance to Simplify Interpretations – See as much as possible and welcome diversity. 3. Sensitivity to Operations – Be more attentive to the front line and be less focused on strategy. 4. Commitment to Resilience –Have the ability to bounce back after mistakes and learn from them. 5. Deference to Expertise – Do not focus expertise decisions on a hierarchical system where the top level makes all decisions. Place authority with person(s) with most expertise wherever they are located in the hierarchy. Weick) It is in my opinion that The Home Depot closely followed all five of the principles above. The two that stand out the most to me are the company’s â€Å"Commitment to Resilience† and â€Å"Deference to Expertise†. The Home Depot’s commitment to resilience can easily be seen over the years where the company produced a quick turn around after major natural disasters, as well as their response after the company’s latest reputational crisis Also, the company’s deference to expertise can be seen as top executives gave more power to the individual store managers. The executives realized that the specific store managers had more expertise for the individual store location than executives did. The fact that The Home Depot closely follows all five of the principles stated above shows that the company is a highly reliable organization (Weick). Conclusion The Home Depot has become an industry leader in Crisis Management. They continue to learn from their mistakes as well as from experience. The Home Depot should keep in mind there is always room for improvement. The key is not only to have plans set in place for natural disasters, but also for disasters such as reputational attacks. The Home Depot should continue to prepare for all sorts of tragedies. This will only insure their longevity in the field, as well as reassure customers of their core values. The Home Depot should rejoice in their successes and embrace their faults when trying to improve. Negative publicity will always be a concern for such a large company, but with a secure plan of attack, The Home Depot will continue to lead the way for home improvement.

The Early Years of Keeneland History Essay -- essays research papers

The Early Years of Keeneland History Kentucky’s open grasslands had attracted the type of settler who loved horses because of its great beauty. Also, Kentucky imposed richness of soil minerals, abundance of water, and suitable climate, terrain, and vegetation that attracted these people. People that lived in Kentucky possessed a great love and pride for sporting horses. Their love and passion of horses would shape the Thoroughbred world of today.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The horse industry in Kentucky expanded rapidly with the great passion of breeding and sporting horses. Horse breeding became well established in the Bluegrass before the end of the eighteenth century. One of the reason why the great industry of the Thoroughbred business flourished is that a law was passed concerning the preservation and improvement of breeds of horses. Another dominant reason that all the inhabitants of Kentucky took great care in breeding and improving the breeds of horses.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lexington had been without a racetrack since the deteriorating Kentucky Association plant operated its last meeting in the spring of 1933. Racing was needed in central Kentucky, and something had to be done. Horsemen and Owners knew that something desperately needed to be done to keep the tradition of Kentucky racing alive. If something was not done then the great industry of Thoroughbred racing would definitely decline.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On a Wednesday afternoon March 20, 1935, Major Louie A. Beard addressed a mass meeting of breeders and others interested in the future of racing in Lexington. Beard outlined the plans for the purchase and development of Keeneland at the Lafayette Hotel. â€Å"This may seem like a dream, but I believe it is a dream that can be realized.†, Beard concluded. This statement was a truer prophet than most of those present realized.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  These men seemed to know something that nobody else knew when it came to forming a racing and sales complex. They established policies that have existed for the past 50 years, they made predictions that have come true, and they built a horse facility that has lived up to every expectation. But, of course Keeneland was never intended to be just another racetrack. Twenty different sites were looked upon, but Hal Price Headley and company kept com... ...signed to be something special. It would cultivate an loved appreciation and respect for the noble sport of horse racing. The idea of Keeneland was to have an impression that would cater to established horse lovers and to develop new fans for the sport. Keeneland as a dream that could be realized became a dream that is now a great reality.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Bibliography Faulconer, J.B. The Keeneland Story: a quarter century of racing in the finest tradition.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lexington, Kentucky: Thoroughbred Press, 1960. Keeneland: opening 1936. Lexington, Kentucky: C.T. Dearing Print. Co. 1936. Wharton, Mary E., and Edward L. Bowen. The Horse World of the Bluegrass. New   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  York: The John Bradford Press, 1980. â€Å"Keeneland: the golden years, 1936-1986.† Keeneland Association, Inc., c1986. Strode, William. Keeneland: a half century of racing. New York: Harmony House,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1986. Nicholson, Nick, â€Å"Keeneland Thoroughbred Racing and Sales.† Designed by Digi Know:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Available from http://www.keeneland.com   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Health Care Transparency Essay

Healthcare transparency has been defined by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) as making available to the public, in a reliable and understandable manner, information on the health care system’s quality, efficiency and consumer experience with care, which includes price and quality data, so as to influence the behavior of patients, providers, payers and others to achieve better outcomes (American College, 2010). Transparency allows consumers to make better informed decisions. It also helps health facilities convey information to the public. With more information in the open, there will be less overall confusion. People will be better equipped and facilities will know how they compare to other facilities. In the past transparency has been affected by lawsuits. With the risk of being sued, many physicians and hospitals did not want to divulge private information. Of course, this attitude is beginning to change. In the video â€Å"Healthcare Transparency† Dr. Patrick Cawley expresses that transparency in the future will be greatly increased (Dr. Cawley, P., 2009). More information will lead to better patient care. Eventually a patient will be able to review how well a hospital or physician is able to provide care. Everything from infection rates to waiting times will all be accessible to the public. I agree with all forms of medical transparency. Access to wait times will better prepare potential patients for their visits to a hospital. Knowledge of infection rates will affect how the public perceives a health institute. If infection rates are high, most likely public opinion will be able to change this. No longer will things of this nature be shrugged off as typical health care. If a facility is providing less than optimal care, people will be aware of this and know to avoid the facility. This means that poor health care facilities will rightfully fail, while prominent effective health  facilities remain active and prosperous. Thus means overall better patient care. If only the best health care facilities are able to thrive, more people will be able to receive optimal care. Patient satisfaction surveys will also help potential patients understand the environment they are about to enter. If a staff is rude and curt than the public will have access to this. Essentially, this will encourage health care providers to give optimal quality of service to each and every patient. Of course, it’s important that a patients expectations are not too grand. Nothing in life is perfect and people should understand this. Busy hours and numerous patients can cause fatigue. After all, health care providers are still human. Perhaps if all physicians were machines then we could expect them all to be perfect. Performance of medical procedures will enlighten a patient of how well a hospital is able to provide a service. This in turn will allow consumers to make the best choice when selecting a facility for providing care. Someone needing back surgery should be able to locate and choose a facility right for them. If a facility performs poorly with back surgeries, the public has a right to know so that they can avoid this. People have the right to make the most well informed decision. Facility treatment of patients should definitely be transparent. If a facility is trying to hide something it can’t be good. People have the right to know how well a facility treats their patients. This also encourages a facility to always do their best. Ultimately, everyone wants the best health care possible. With expanded information more people will be properly informed of all their choices. Transparency means freedom for consumers. It means more access to information, and more freedom to select the best choice. Without transparency health care is more of a guessing game. Does the facility perform well with back surgery? Who knows guess you’ll have to find out on your own. Of course, that’s risky. But why risk, when you can be informed? At least with information the public can make better decisions. Better decisions will ultimately lead to the best health care. The strong will survive, while the weak will perish. Poor health facilities will fail as more and more people choose the best facilities. As the best facilities succeed the health community will become stronger as a whole. A strong health community will lead to an overall better equipped public community. References American College of Physicians. (2010). Health Transparency. Retrieved from http://www.acponline.org/advocacy/current_policy_papers/assets/transparency.pdf Dr. Cawley, P. (2009). Health Care Transparency. Retrieved from https://portal.phoenix.edu/medialibrary/videodetails.05V130128092014044.html

Memo Letter Example

MEMO DATE: November 11, 2012 TO: Dr. Cheryl Powers, Instructor Business Communications, Minnesota School of Business FROM: Rhonda DeRosa Melissa Gelder Sherry Stevens Kayla Huberty Scott Miller Virtual Team, Business Communications SUBJECT: Unit 5 Assignment—Virtual Team Project Proposal Memo Our team met via conference call, this week, to discuss how we will successfully complete our project and resolve any conflicts that might arise. We also discussed which organizations we would each interview and agreed on a list of questions to ask our contacts at these organizations.The success of our project will depend on the contributions of every member. We will meet, via conference call, at 7:30 p. m. every Wednesday until our project is done. In between conference calls, we will communicate mostly via email. We decided that email was the best method, since we all have access to our email on our cell phones, so would get the information very quickly. We will also post to our group d iscussion board after our Wednesday night calls, to re-cap what was discussed and to have something to refer back to. In an effort to eliminate and resolve conflict we will all need to be responsible for â€Å"pulling our weight†. Related article: Team Building Memo ExamplesWe will do this by participating in the conference calls, regularly checking our email, and responding to any questions from the other team members. If a last-minute scheduling conflict occurs, we have each other’s phone numbers and we will call the other team members to inform them of the conflict. We will address and attempt to resolve conflicts within our team, before escalating to our instructor. Here is a list of the organizations that we have chosen, along with the contact person at the organization: Rhonda DeRosa: OGI Eyewear—Contact: Dan Liberman, Owner/President, Shelley Jacobs, Director of Corporate AffairsMelissa Gelder: Insert Company Name—Insert Contact Name and Title Sherry Stevens: Alexandra House—Contact: Liz Meyer, Project Manager Kayla Huberty: Insert Company Name—Insert Contact Name and Title Scott Miller: Insert Company Name—Insert Contact Name and Title Here is the list of quest ions that we are going to ask each of our organizations: 1. What types of teams/groups does your organization use? (Cross-functional, self-managed, virtual, project, etc. ) 2. What roles do team-members play? (Leader, note-taker, subject matter expert, etc. ) 3. Who decides how the roles are assigned (or do members volunteer)? . How do teams/groups contribute to the overall success of your organization? 5. What criteria do you use to determine whether a group/team is needed? 6. What are the characteristics of successful team players at your organization? 7. Do members of your organization participate on teams with members of other organizations? If so, what sort of roles do they play on those teams? 8. What are some of the obstacles your teams face and how do you overcome them? 9. How is team conflict handled and resolved? 10. What tools/methods do your teams use to communicate? (email, phone, face-to-face, virtual technologies, etc. 11. Which of these methods is most effective? Lea st effective? 12. How do you determine if a team/group is successful? 13. What is the role of volunteers on teams in your organization? 14. What training or team-building is provided for team members (and is this different for employees vs. volunteers)? 15. Can you share a success story involving a group or team in your organization? —possibly of a time where a team was able to achieve something above and beyond what was expected or a team achieved something that couldn’t have been achieved without the team.

You Can See It Coming essays

You Can See It Coming essays If you have ever read John Steinbecks Of Mice and Men I highly recommend reading it a second time. The first time you read this Steinbeck grabs and pulls you into the story with his extensive use of and very complete descriptions of both people and places. The second time you read it you begin to pick up on some of the more intriguing plots within the story. With the death of Candys dog he begins to realize that if he does not begin making plans for his future his fate may end up reflecting he dogs. It doesnt end with that. From this same realization and the conversations that follow foreshadow George killing Lennie himself as opposed to letting Curley find him at the end of the story. Candy is an older man. One who is really getting up there in years. He wont be able to work on the ranch much longer. As Carlson states to Candy, Got no teeth. Hes all still with rheumatism. He aint no good to you, Candy (44). Its not like Candy would really need his teeth to do his job, but he does only have one hand. So when Candy first hears George talking about the stake of land he and Lennie would like to get he chimes in saying, I aint much good with ony one hand. I lost my right hand right here on this ranch (58). Now Candy isnt about to just give up on his dog. He loves his dog and this can be seen as he states, Well-hell! I had him so long. Had him since he was a pup (44). After a few moments of discussion with Carlson and Slim he gives in, allowing Carlson to kill the dog with his Lugar . It didnt take too much convincing from the gentlemen until Candy gave in. What if the same comes of Candy with his job? When the boss decides Candy is too old to work or some younger guy comes looking for a job that will be the end of his employment and he knows it too, I wont have no place to go, an I ca...

Definition and Examples of Feghoots

Definition and Examples of Feghoots A feghoot is a narrative (usually  an anecdote or short story) that concludes with an elaborate pun. Also called  a shaggy dog story. The term feghoot is derived from Ferdinand Feghoot, the title character in a series of science fiction stories by Reginald Bretnor (1911-1992), who wrote under the anagrammatic pen name Grendel Briarton. Observation A Feghoot is  supposed to make you moan... Feghoots arent the most useful form of pun: but they can help you end a story- a big problem for many of us. We tell a great anecdote to our friends, get some  laughs, and things are going well until we realize we have no clue how to bring the thing to a close. What do  you do? Give it a moral? An alternative, the Feghoot ending, summarizes your story in a way that makes people laugh- or even more satisfying, groan appreciatively.   (Jay Heinrichs,  Word Hero: A Fiendishly Clever Guide to Crafting the Lines That Get Laughs, Go Viral, and Live Forever. Three Rivers Press, 2011) Feghoot and the Courts The planet of Lockmania, inhabited though it was by intelligent beings that looked like large wombats, had adopted the American legal system, and Ferdinand Feghoot had been sent there by the Earth Confederation to study the results.Feghoot watched with interest as a husband and wife were brought in, charged with disturbing the peace. During a religious observation, when for twenty minutes the congregation was supposed to maintain silence, while concentrating on their sins and visualizing them as melting away, the woman had suddenly risen from her squatting position and screamed loudly. When someone rose to object, the man had pushed him forcefully.The judge listened solemnly, fined the woman a silver dollar and the man a twenty-dollar gold piece.Almost immediately afterward, seventeen men and women were brought in. They had been ringleaders of a crowd that had demonstrated for better quality meat at a supermarket. They had torn the supermarket apart and inflicted various bruises and lacerations on eight of the employees of the establishment. Again the judge listened solemnly and fined the seventeen a silver dollar apiece.Afterward, Feghoot said to the chief judge, I approved of your handling of the man and woman who disturbed the peace.It was a simple case, said the judge. We have a legal maxim that goes, Screech is silver, but violence is golden.In that case, said Feghoot, why did you fine the group of seventeen a silver dollar apiece when they had committed far worse violence?Oh, thats another legal maxim, said the judge. Every crowd has a silver fining.(Isaac Asimov, Feghoot and the Courts. Gold: The Final Science Fiction Collection. HarperCollins, 1995) Pynchons Feghoot: Forty Million Frenchmen Cant Be Wrong Thomas Pynchon, in his 1973 novel Gravitys Rainbow, creates a convoluted setup for a feghoot in the character of Chiclitz, who deals in furs, which are delivered to his storehouse by a group of youngsters. Chiclitz confides to his guest Marvy that he hopes one day to take these boys to Hollywood, where Cecil B. DeMille will use them as singers. Marvy points out that its more likely that DeMille will want to use them as galley slaves in an epic film about the Greeks or Persians. Chiclitz is outraged: Galley slaves?... Never, by God. For DeMille, young fur-henchmen cant be rowing!* (Jim Bernhard, Words Gone Wild: Fun and Games for Language Lovers. Skyhorse, 2010) * A play on the World War I expression, Forty million Frenchmen cant be wrong.Note that Pynchon has fashioned an entire  narrative digression about illicit trading in furs, oarsmen in boats, fur henchmen, and DeMille- all of it in order to launch this pun.(Steven C. Weisenburger,  A Gravitys Rainbow Companion. University of Georgia Press,  2006) My Word! There is a round in the...popular BBC radio panel game My Word! [1956-1990] in which scriptwriters Frank Muir and Denis Norden tell tall stories and funny anecdotes. The essence of one round revolves around a well-known saying or quotation. The participants are asked to tell a story allegedly to illustrate or explain the origin of the given phrase. Inevitably the unlikely stories end in partial, homophonic puns. Frank Muir takes Samuel Pepys And so to bed and makes And saw Tibet out of it. While Denis Norden transforms the proverb Where theres a will theres a way into Where theres a whale theres a Y.(Richard Alexander, Aspects of Verbal Humor in English. Gunter Narr Verlag, 1997)

Pervasive Computing Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Pervasive Computing Case Study - Essay Example Furthermore, it also allows telecommuters to combine their work from home with other forms of teleworking. It is the result of a better access to high speed internet connections, an improved ability to concentrate and a better balance between work and family according to The International Telework Association & Council (ITAC)3. As seen on the extract of Anne Fisher's article, there is a real debate on the advantages and drawbacks of teleworking. We will try to define these two sides of that type of work from two points of views: the teleworker himself and the managers of a teleworking team. In the first question of our essay we have seen some of the benefits of telecommuting. Teleworkers can define their own schedule which can include working before or after regular office hours, they achieve to balance their personal life with their work better than they used to and they show an increased concentration and therefore a higher productivity. The Midwest Institute for Telecommuting Education announces that home workers present an increase of 3 to 25% in productivity4. Nevertheless Paul Dickerson's story is a perfect example of the drawbacks of teleworking. As he was working from home, people started to believe that he was unemployed and avoided him. Even if the share of teleworkers in the total volume of workers is increasing, it has not completely reached a social recognition and people that are working from home could be considered as unemployed or lazy. However it appears, in Dickerson's case that he has now a different problem. As his friends are now aware of how he organizes a day of work, they believe that he has a lot of free time. Working from home requires an important organization. On one hand it is much more flexible and you can combine several activities at the same time, but on the other hand you have to show a strong discipline in order to accomplish your tasks and reach your objectives. The managers and the businesses can also face some difficulties when dealing with teleworking. Joseph Cothrel first describes us the lack of non-verbal communication in teleworking. He explains that when you receive an email from a teleworkers you don't have any tone of voice or meaningful pauses which according to him can convey crucial information. One of the main issues of teleworking is presented here. The communication can be difficult because you are not directly in contact with the worker. All the elements of body language are missing and ultimately this can delay the work. Instead of a direct explanation, you will need several emails to correctly define the work which has to be done and the managers will not have any awareness of the worker's feelings regarding their request. Christina Parr raises another danger. The in-office workers can wrongly consider the teleworkers, they may believe they are not working at all. We are again faced with the social notion of work which is attending work in an office from 9a.m. to 5p.m. However Parr and J. Scott Calhoun present their teleworkers as accountable and reachable and the speech that Calhoun gives to his in-office workers is more than