The Illiad Book 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Illiad Book 1 - Essay Example Agamemnon, who was the commander of the Achaean army, had attacked Troy in the tenth and final year. During the war, Agamemnon captured two Trojan beautiful maidens called Briseis and Chryseis. Agamemnon distributed the two women and other possessions among the Greek soldiers. Agamemnon as the leader of the army valued Chryseis and aimed at using her to amuse his army after the victory while Achilles took Briseis. Chryseis was actually the daughter of Chryses, the priest of Apollo. Chryses after realizing the capture of his daughter offers Agamemnon a mammoth payment in exchange of her only daughter. The pride of Agamemnon as an Army commander compels him to decline the priests request. Chryses gets furious and prayers dearly to Apollo the god for help and divine intervention. Apollo responds to Chryses request by sending a death plague into the Greek army camp (Johnston 10). The disease caused suffering of the Greeks soldiers and later caused their death. At the end of the suffering, Achilles quest for truth of army suffering and death enables a powerful seer reveals the source of the plague. Calchas, the seer, explains that Chryses caused the plague because of vengeance to her detained daughter. Agamemnon gets angry with Chryses and commands that he will only release Chryseis after Achilles compensates him with Briseis, who was the latter’s’ prized possession from the war. Achilles who was a respected hero, brave soldier, and commander of Myrmidons army gets humiliated and becomes furious. He threatens to abandon the Greeks soldiers in Troy to fight for the selfish Agamemnon. Agamemnon promises to invade Achilles camp and take Briseis for personal honor a thought that provokes Achilles, who raises his sword ready to kill the army commander. However, before he strikes Agamemnon, goddess Athena intervenes and calms him after command form Hera (Johnston 210). Agamemnon affirms that he will take Briseis

The Fast Food And Quick Service Restaurant Industry Marketing Essay

The Fast Food And Quick Service Restaurant Industry Marketing Essay For the mid-term paper I have chosen the food beverage category from the 2008 Inc 500 list. Companies in this industry are involved in processing, packaging and delivering of food and beverage. This includes prepared foods, packaged foods, alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages. The company with the highest revenue on this list is Wingstop with revenue of $206.6 million in 2008 and the company with the highest growth rate is The Snack Factory with a growth as high as 18,371.3%. The company in lowest quartile of the top 2008 Inc. 500 Food Beverage list that I think will move up the most positions is a company called Saladworks. In this paper I will evaluate for the different companies what industry they are in and if it is an attractive industry. I will use Michael Porters five basic competitive forces to evaluate the competition and profitability of the industries. The basic forces are threat of new entrants, power of suppliers, power of customers, threat of substitutes and rivalry among existing competitors. For Wingstop and The Snack Factory I will further evaluate positioning, competitive advantage, trends, customers, products, business model, core competencies and competition for each. For Saladworks I will explain why I think they will move up the most positions. Wingstop is a Restaurant chain serving made-to-order buffalo chicken wings, side dishes and beer in 28 states across the U.S. (Inc 500) The company was founded in 1994 and was successful in creating a niche in chicken dining. They started franchising in 1997 and have a nostalgic, aviation-theme in their restaurants. The industry that they are in is the fast food and quick-service restaurant industry. I will have a look at industry competition to evaluate if this is an attractive industry. The threat of new entrants in this industry is moderate. There are some important barriers to entry but the lack of some significant ones makes it vulnerable. The barriers that are in place are high investments and high fixed costs. Especially marketing and advertising costs to keep existing customers and getting new ones are high for the big chains. There is relatively high degree of brand loyalty to some branded chains and franchise licenses are protected as intellectual property. The barriers that are not in place includes the absent of economics of scale meaning even small local stores can be profitable. Many consumers are also price sensitive and the cost of switching is low. Because of the lack of some of the most important barriers the threat of new entries is substantial. The power of suppliers in this industry is considerable but mostly for small restaurants. The distribution to the fast food chains is dominated by a few large suppliers that can put pressure on smaller businesses. But with the bigger chains like McDonalds the suppliers stand weaker in a bargaining situation. The power of customers and the pressure they can put on the industry is relatively moderate. This is because the consumers in principle can produce the product themselves if they want. They are also price-sensitive so the prices are kept low and it doesnt cost customers anything to switch to an alternative product. The threat of substitutes in the industry is high. Fast food faces constant competition from home cooked food. In addition the fast food product is not differentiated and consumers can easily go from McDonalds to for example Burger King. The price for most fast foods is in the same low range and it is easy to switch to an alternative restaurant. Rivalry among existing competitors is also high. There are many small players with the same size but in the high end a number of big franchise chains. They have many of the same strategies such as low price, quick service and quality. There is almost no differentiation between the businesses and the growth of one company goes on the expense of a competitor so spending on advertising tends to be high. The industry has suffered a lot of criticism coming from the high coverage of negative health effects and obesity from diverse media. Even do rivalry between competitors is high and there is a lot of negative media coverage this is an attractive industry to be in. People are still buying these often calorie busting products and the sales were more than $180 billion in 2007. (Hoovers) Positioning Wingstop position itself as healthy finger food chain. They use lot of funds to market that the chain is not selling unhealthy fast food and that they always serve fresh homemade food. Their competitive advantages include their award-winning recipes and simple concept, but also important is their marketing and distribution partnership with high profile American football team Dallas Cowboys. Their deal with the team has made them the exclusive chicken wing vendor in the team stadium and also made a lot of hype around the chain. With more than 600 open or under development restaurants in 27 states they have proven that the concept is scalable in the U.S. The simple concept of selling just chicken wings with some side dishes has been well received by the public. Scalability internationally is more difficult because buffalo chicken wings are a traditional American bar food and are not widely available outside the U.S. Scalability in the ranks of McDonalds is therefore questionable but no t impossible with the right use of resources. Their advantage is also sustainable if they continue with the simple concept, focus solely on the chicken wings and invest further in the process that makes them unique among competitors. This chain is definitely here to stay. Trends A trend that is working against the company is the increased media focus on health and diet issues associated with fast food chains. The industry is also very competitive and Wingstop has to spend a lot on advertising to keep consumers away from their competitors. Another trend that is acting for the company is the increasingly busy workdays that make people eat out instead of making food at home. Consumers often chose the fastest and cheapest alternative when they are in a hurry and need to eat on the go. Problem The problem Wingstop is solving is the elementary need for food and the need for having it made and served fast when people dont have time do make it themselves. The need for food is an aspirin problem with regards to Maslows hierarchy of needs because the physiological need must be met or the human body simply cannot continue to function. But the need for a fast meal is rather a strong vitamin problem because even with hectic workdays you can decide to take time to make your own food. The job to be done is to be available and visible to serve customers. Customers The customers are everyday consumers that have a liking for chicken wings. The consumers are families looking to have a good time without having to cook themselves and singles with a hectic workdays that doesnt have time cook and need something easy. Product Their product is primarily Buffalo style chicken wings but they also sell different chicken types, side dishes and beer. Other chicken alternatives are boneless strips and breaded chicken. Their side dishes includes fresh cut seasoned fries, potato salad, creamy cole slaw, hot cheddar cheese sauce, bourbon baked beans, crispy veggie sticks and dips. More than just the physical products they sell an experience. The American bar experience in a 1930-40s pre-jet aviation theme inspired setting. Business model Their business model is that of a manufacturer. Their main product is a nondurable physical asset in the form of food and they buy the raw materials and transform them into their product as a creator. Even do they outsource much of the actual production as a large part of their branch consist of franchises they are still a creator. Wingstop have clear routines for every franchise so that the product tastes the same everywhere you buy it and so they do substantial design of the product and are therefore not a distributor. Core competencies To continue to succeed Wingstop need to be top of the line when it comes to marketing. In addition to the process of making the popular chicken wings they sell their most important core competency is the ability to advertise the brand and create hype around their restaurant chain. They have extended a contract with their national spokesman, Super Bowl hero Troy Aikman and this shows that they are on the right track. As mentioned earlier the competition among fast food chains are tough and the only ones that survives are the ones that get through too consumers and keeps them coming back. To get consumers to come back the food and service in the restaurants needs to be excellent. Because many of their restaurants are franchises they need to be good at creating solid routines so the experience in the restaurants doesnt differ from each other. But the most important factor to continue the success is to be visible and stand out among the fast food restaurants and this must be done by adve rtising and creative marketing. Competition The competition Wingstop faces is all the different fast food chains including not only the restaurants that sell chicken wings but also the ones that offer hamburgers, pizza tacos and more. The big competitors in the segments as a whole are McDonalds, Burger King, Wendys, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell to mention some that has a large part of the market shares. More directly Wingstop has to compete with the other restaurants offering similar chicken wing meals. Some of the competitor chains are Buffalo Wild Wings, Hooters, Wing Zone, Applebees, Brinker, Carlson Restaurants, Damons, Darden, Family Sports Concepts, Fox Hound Restaurant, Ker Inc, Papa Johns and Zaxbys (Hoovers). The biggest competitor from the list is Buffalo Wild Wings (BWW). They had revenues of $422.4 million in 2008 and operate a chain of more than 550 restaurants in nearly 40 states. Besides the chicken wings they are very famous for their dipping sauces that accompanies. They also sell appetizers, burgers, tacos, salads, beer wine and other beverages. Like Wingstop they have used relationships with sports to market themselves as a sports bar franchise. Another competitor worth mentioning is Hooters which have had success with the restaurant experience they offer consumers and this factor is more important than the food they serve. Hooters have a beach theme and their waitresses dress in the chains trademark bright orange short shorts and tight T-shirts and are known as Hooter girls. By focusing on the special atmosphere they have managed to differentiate themselves and gained a competitive advantage. This has also opened the door for international expansion and they now have 450 Hooters restaurants in about 45 states and more than 25 other countries. The Snack Factory Background The Snack Factory is a family owned and operated business that makes and sells crunchy snacks. The company was founded in 1981 by Sara and Warren Wilson. Warren started out with selling funnel cakes based on his grandmothers recipe on country fairs in 1969 and paid his way through college with the proceeds. After college he opened a store selling funnel cakes in New Jersey and here he met Sara. The two of them started to develop the company called Funnel Cake Factory and eventually made a concept of bagel chips that was flat crunchy chips made from bagels into a company called New York Style Bagel Chip Company. This was a new idea and consumers welcomed the new product. The bagel chips company was later sold to Nabisco in 1992 and the funnel cake company was sold to JJ Snack Foods a few years later. The entrepreneurs didnt stop and used the following years to develop a thin but crunchy pretzel great for dipping and spreading that became known as Pretzel Crisps. Industry The Snack Factory is in the snack foods industry which can be explained as Companies that manufacture, process, and/or package snack foods, including salty snacks, nuts, snack bars, and snack mixes (Hoovers). The threat of new entrants in the industry is low on national and international level. A major barrier of entry in this market is very high degree of brand loyalty. The big companies with their popular brands make it very difficult to come in to the market and establish a new brand. It is easier to enter on the local level because the consumers are open to local products. Customers are price sensitive in this industry too but with already very low prices it is difficult to enter and compete with the larger corporations. The power of suppliers in this industry is low. Most of the raw foods for the snack manufacturers come from farmers and they dont have strong bargaining power. Farmers have no choice but to follow the prices the snack manufacturers will give them. The power of customers is also not very high in this industry. Customers are supermarkets that again sell to consumers. The supermarkets and the likes need to provide the consumers with the snack brands they want or they will go somewhere else. The stores therefore have weak bargaining power towards the manufacturers but indirect the manufacturers have to listen to the consumers that are price sensitive and set the price so they will buy the product. The threat of substitutes in the industry is on the other hand high. There is continuous threat from existing snack food and also from new alternatives. There isnt much to differentiate a bag of chips from another and the customers have to buy in what the consumers want the most because they cant carry every brand. Rivalry among existing competitors is also high. There is fierce rivalry among the biggest companies and advertising and marketing budget are extremely high. Because of low differentiation and that growth goes on the expense of a competitor making customer buy and keep buying is crucial. Despite high costs on promotion and brand advertising and large corporations competing to capture larger shares of the market this is also an attractive industry. The industry generates billions of dollars in revenue and if you as a company manage to take some shares of the market there is large profit involved Positioning The Snack Factory position themselves as a healthy snack alternative with less calories, cholesterol and fat compared to other snack alternatives. Both the founders and their family members are involved with the company and this gives the company a family business image. Their most important competitive advantages are the made in America brand and recipe that is developed over several years combined with the expertise the Wilsons holds. They have already demonstrated that it is scalable by increasing distribution to some of Americas largest retailers having a growth as high as 18,371.3% last year. But the family based company can only supply to so many before they need to expand production and that can be in conflict with their image. The growth may therefore not be too sustainable, but with the product in the hands of a bigger snack manufacturer the growth might continue. This would mean an exit for the Wilson like they did with the other two companies but they are entrepreneurs and will probably keep going for the next big thing. Trends A trend that is acting for the company is the media focus mentioned earlier on health effects from eating food with high calorie and fat amounts. People are becoming more and more concerned about these issues and have started to choose more healthy alternatives. Another trend working for them is the consumer interest for made in America brand products. Having this label can appeal to Americans who associate this with high quality and the feeling of contributing to keep production in the U.S. A trend that is acting against the company is that many of the large competitors also have shifted focus over on healthy snack products and have much more money to use on marketing their products. Problem The problem The Snack Factory is solving is the hunger consumers have between the main meals of the day that are breakfast, lunch and dinner. Snack food is an alternative to be eaten between these meals as an energy supply or for taste enjoyment. This problem is also is also a vitamin need. The job to be done is to provide a product that the consumers see as an alternative to the many different types of snack foods. It also has to be available as many consumers buy these products on impulse usually when they are shopping for something entirely different. Customers The Snack Factorys customers are the large retailers, supermarkets and fine stores who sell the products to the end customer the consumers. Retailers and supermarkets they are already supplying to include Sams Club, Whole Foods, Shaws Supermarket and many others across the U.S and Canada. Sams Club is a chain of membership-only retail warehouses and is today serving more than 47 million U.S. members. Whole Foods is a food retailer of natural and organic products and have more than 275 locations in the United States, Canada and United Kingdom. Shaws Supermarket is the second largest grocery group in the New England States and operates 200 stores solely across New England. Product The product The Snack Factory is selling is Pretzels Crisps. The product is like a normal pretzel only that the middle is removed. The product has a lot of crunch and flavor and is made with no trans fats, no saturated fat and no cholesterol and only containing 110 calories per serving. The product is meant as a snack straight from the bag but also for dipping and spread for toppings. The Pretzels Crisps come in many different flavors including original, garlic, honey mustard onion, buffalo wing, dark chocolate, peanut butter and chipotle cheddar. The price out to the end users from retailers and supermarkets is around $2.99. Business model Their business model is that of a manufacturer like Wingstop. The Pretzels Crisps they are making is a nondurable asset so they are classified as physical. The pretzels are made from raw material to the final products that they sell out. This kind of transformation of the asset classifies the company a creator. A creator of physical assets follows the basic business model of a manufacturer. Core competencies To continue the success The Snack Factory need to put more capital into marketing if they are going to continue the growth they have experienced. Their core competency lies with the experience in developing new food products and recipes for the preparation of the Pretzels Crisps. Sara says, We believe its the product that catapults us. Sure, we do some marketing, but our success came before we did any marketing. The product itself makes people come back for more. (Inc 500. Sep 1, 2008) It is obvious that the company is not spending much on advertising and they have been using in-store samplings as the most used marketing method. This approach has gotten the company so far and they have said they were looking into the opportunity to expand to Asia and Europe while keeping the business personable and family oriented. But coming from a local factory start and beginning to compete with the large snack manufacturers this will provide some challenges. The industry consists of large corpora tions competing hard to capture shares and they spend heavily on promotion campaigns to convince customers to buy their product. To compete with these corporations they have to be good at marketing in a big scale. The company doesnt have the experience with taking products to compete in the top since they sold the previous companies before they got there. If they are to pursue international growth they need to get better in marketing, partner up with companies that have the experience or they should make an exit and sell. Competition Their competition is as mentioned the large players in the snack industry. There was no company information on The Snack Factory in the Hoovers database but looking at the information for the company J J Snack Foods that acquired their funnel cake company I found a list of competitors in the snack business. In the US they will have to compete with companies like J J Snack Foods, Frito-Lay, Mrs. Fields, Snyders of Hanover, American Dairy Queen, Auntie Annes, Cinnabon, Dawn Food Products, Dreyerss, General Mills, Interstate Bakeries, Jamba, Jel Sert, Juice It Up, Kellogg U.S. Snacks, Kraft Foods, Lance Snacks, Mister Twister Pretzels, Nestle USA, Otis Spunkmeyer, Planet Smoothie, Pretzels, Inc, Ruiz Foods Inc., Sara Lee, Smoothie King, Sorbee International, Wetzels Pretzels, Dippin Dots, Flowers Foods, Golden Enterprises, Goya, Hanover Foods, Mckee Foods and Tasty Baking. There are a lot of players in the industry and they are all looking to maximize market share. One competitor worth mentioning is Frito-Lay that sells more chips than any other company in North America. Their top selling food snacks include well known products such as Cheetos, Doritos, Fritos and Lays. They have responded to the market trends and have bought several healthy snack brands and they spend heavily on marketing to stay on the top. Saladworks Saladworks is in the lowest quartile of the top 2008 Inc. 500 Food Beverage list. The company had revenues of $5.5 million and a growth of 98.3%. Saladworks was founded by John Scardapane in 1986 and started out with a single location in the Cherry Hill Mall in Southern New Jersey. It is the first and largest tossed-salad franchise in the U.S. with 104 locations in 9 states today. The idea of the franchise and their positioning is to provide fresh and healthy salads as alternative food for consumers on the go. They sell primarily gourmet salads but also soups, wraps, sandwiches and more. In 2008 they also added signature salads to the menu. They invited four A-list chefs to create four different salads that became the signature series. The competitive advantage that Saladworks has is being first with turning fast food in to a healthier meal and the chef expertise in the development making it hard for copycats to follow. The company had a major growth in 2002 when they managed to add 21 new franchise locations in only 10 months. Consumer response and the growth Saladworks has experienced prove that it is scalable. The company is in the fast food and quick-service restaurant industry same as Wingstop. As mentioned earlier the competitive landscape is hard in this industry with moderate threat of new entrants, considerable bargaining power of suppliers, moderate power of customers, high levels of both threats of new substitutes and rivalry amongst the competitors. A large trend in this industry is need for healthy alternatives among the many unhealthy fast foods. The businesses that sell products with high calories have started to include some healthy alternatives as side dishes in their menus. But unable to shift entirely over to healthy alternatives is difficult because their brand is associated with their products. Where would McDonalds be if they threw out their burgers and started selling only salads? Because SaladWorks is first and largest and places itself in the industry with trends on their side I see the potential of the company franchising more across the U.S and possible also to Europe. They signed a contract for ten new locations in Metro Atlanta in 2008 and in 2009 they have expanded with new stores in Virginia. They have also made deals for opening new locations in California and Boston. With the plans for expansions, market trends on their side and the advantages of being one of the first I think this company will move up many positions on the Inc 500 Food Beverage list for the years to come.

Critics of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Essay -- Adventurous Huc

Critics of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn   The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is considered by many to be the greatest American novel ever written.   Despite this praise, Mark Twain’s masterpiece has never been without criticism.   Upon its inception it was blasted for being indecent literature for young readers because of its lack of morals and contempt for conformity.   Modern indignation toward Huck Finn arises from its racist undertones, most notably Twain’s treatment of the character Jim.   As is the case with many canonized yet controversial books, the biggest conflict revolves around the inclusion of Huck Finn on required reading lists of public schools throughout the country.   In general, the mostly African-American critics consider Twain himself to be racist and Huck Finn simply reflects this.   Blacks, especially Jim, are portrayed as fools and used as comedic fodder to bolster feelings of white superiority in Twain’s southern audience.   Although Jim’s positive qualities are presented in certain parts of the novel, they are overshadowed by his superstitious folly which Twain returns to in the later chapters.   The fact that Huck’s narration is intentionally skewed by the innocence and ignorance of an adolescent is little consolation to critics who feel that Twain has committed gross immorality.   Also, the incessant use of the epithet â€Å"nigger† has been deemed excessive.   Despite these condemnations though even the staunchest opponents of Twain find certain redeeming qualities that make it hard to promote all out censorship. One of the most stringent dissenters of Huck Finn is Julius Lester, Newberry Award winning author of the children’s book To Be a Slave.   Lester argues that one of the primary concerns of lit... ...hite man.   This pseudo-parenthood relieves Huck of any lifelong responsibilities to Jim and also allows Twain to eventually separate the two without any emotional repercussions.   In short, they lack a true familial bond implicating a tragedy of sadness at the core of their relationship which is possibly due to Huck’s insatiable racism. Ultimately, both Henry and Morrison approve the teaching of Huck Finn under the conditions of mature students and cautious, open-minded teachers.   The problems in Twain’s novel may never be fully explained but an honest and careful consideration of the issues in Huck Finn should contribute positively to the growing awareness of American race relations.    Work Cited Clemens, Samuel. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul Lauter, et al. 2nd ed. Vol. 2. Lexington: Heath, 1994. Critics of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Essay -- Adventurous Huc Critics of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn   The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is considered by many to be the greatest American novel ever written.   Despite this praise, Mark Twain’s masterpiece has never been without criticism.   Upon its inception it was blasted for being indecent literature for young readers because of its lack of morals and contempt for conformity.   Modern indignation toward Huck Finn arises from its racist undertones, most notably Twain’s treatment of the character Jim.   As is the case with many canonized yet controversial books, the biggest conflict revolves around the inclusion of Huck Finn on required reading lists of public schools throughout the country.   In general, the mostly African-American critics consider Twain himself to be racist and Huck Finn simply reflects this.   Blacks, especially Jim, are portrayed as fools and used as comedic fodder to bolster feelings of white superiority in Twain’s southern audience.   Although Jim’s positive qualities are presented in certain parts of the novel, they are overshadowed by his superstitious folly which Twain returns to in the later chapters.   The fact that Huck’s narration is intentionally skewed by the innocence and ignorance of an adolescent is little consolation to critics who feel that Twain has committed gross immorality.   Also, the incessant use of the epithet â€Å"nigger† has been deemed excessive.   Despite these condemnations though even the staunchest opponents of Twain find certain redeeming qualities that make it hard to promote all out censorship. One of the most stringent dissenters of Huck Finn is Julius Lester, Newberry Award winning author of the children’s book To Be a Slave.   Lester argues that one of the primary concerns of lit... ...hite man.   This pseudo-parenthood relieves Huck of any lifelong responsibilities to Jim and also allows Twain to eventually separate the two without any emotional repercussions.   In short, they lack a true familial bond implicating a tragedy of sadness at the core of their relationship which is possibly due to Huck’s insatiable racism. Ultimately, both Henry and Morrison approve the teaching of Huck Finn under the conditions of mature students and cautious, open-minded teachers.   The problems in Twain’s novel may never be fully explained but an honest and careful consideration of the issues in Huck Finn should contribute positively to the growing awareness of American race relations.    Work Cited Clemens, Samuel. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul Lauter, et al. 2nd ed. Vol. 2. Lexington: Heath, 1994.

Employee Selection Process in Private Company

EMPLOYEE SELECTION FOR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS: THE INFLUENCES OF THE UNIFORM GUIDELINES AND COURT DECISIONS Edward, Ph. D. McKendree College Business Division 701 College Road Lebanon, IL 62254 (618)-537-4481 ABSTRACT The Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (1978) were promulgated with large businesses in mind in order to affect large numbers of employees as rapidly as possible.However, the employee selection validation procedure advocated by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, criterion related validity, is one that small business owners are unable to use due to statistical restraints and the lack of personnel with the esoteric knowledge of validation procedures. These restrictions, coupled with court decisions such as Albemarle Paper Company v.Moody in which the United States Supreme Court ruled the test validation guidelines issued by the EEOC were to be given â€Å"great deference† by lower courts, have left small business owners with one practical and potentially legally defensible approach to employee selection. This paper briefly mentions the advantages of valid employee selection procedures, followed by a detailed description of the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (1978), relevant court cases, and a case study describing the validation of a small business employee selection test by the author.INTRODUCTION The importance of small business to the U. S. economy was well summarized by Siropolis (1986), who wrote: †¦ more than 99 percent of the nation's 16 million businesses are small-even if we define a small business as one that employs fewer than 100 rather than 500 †¦. Further evidence of its vitality is the fact that small business employs roughly half of the nation's workforce (pg. 8). In addition, Siropolis (1986) listed numerous other reasons for the importance of small business to the U. S. conomy, such as the higher return on equity small manufacturers earn than large manufacturers, the i nnovation found in small businesses as evidenced by small businesses accounting for half of all major inventions in the last 30 years in the U. S. , and the dependence of large businesses on small businesses as both suppliers and purchasers. These economic facts indicate that small business in the U. S. is the paramount force for economic growth and the creation of jobs, as noted recently: Small businesses are the principal job creating sector of the economy during recessions and expansions† (â€Å"The State Of†, 1985, pg. 46). Further evidence of the economic importance of small business has recently been published: Employment gains in small-business dominated industries in construction (18. 9 percent), finance, insurance and real estate (12. 7 percent), and services (12. 6 percent) are impressive when compared to the gains made in similar, large business dominated industries. In construction, the small business ted industries had employment gains of 18. 9 percent, whi le the large business industries showed an employment loss of 10. percent. The relative strengths of the small business gains in wholesale and retail trade are also significant †¦. Small firms with fewer than 100 employees†¦ generated 52. 6 percent of net employment growth from 1976 to 1982. (â€Å"The State Of†, 1985, p. 17-21). One can add to this the reliance of the U. S. government on small businesses, as evidenced by the federal government purchasing almost 29% of its of goods and services from small businesses in 1983 (â€Å"The State Of†, 1985).EMPLOYEE SELECTION An area of vital importance within small business management is the area of employee selection. An increasing awareness of the importance of employee selection has been noted: â€Å"Nearly 40% of surveyed employers are using more prehiring testing of job candidates than they were five years ago† (â€Å"Prehiring Tests†, 1986, p. 17). The importance to the U. S. economy of employe e selection in a small business is due both to the fact that small businesses create the majority of new jobs in the U.S. (Birch, 1979; â€Å"The State Of†, 1985), and the impact of the employee selection process on a small business. First, the results of a valid selection procedure include increased productivity of as much as 20 percent (Schmidt, Hunter, McKenzie, & Muldrow, 1979). This is an important result to small business owners, as productivity improvement has been rated as the number one concern of both CEOs and executives and engineers in separate surveys (â€Å"Productivity: A Top†, 1986, p. 46).Other important results include an avoidance of lawsuits (Dreher & Sackett, 1981; Kleiman & Faley, 1978), greater job satisfaction and organizational commitment, reduced absenteeism and fewer disciplinary actions (Fear & Ross, 1983), reduced time spent in supervision for the small business owner, and reduced training costs and turnover (Stone & Ruch, 1974). The potent ial for reduced turnover is also important for small business owners, due to recent data indicating that: Small businesses have higher annual employee turnover than large companies.The Administrative Management Society reports that businesses with 26-250 employees have a 19% turnover rate, while larger firms (more than 5000 employees) average only 7% (â€Å"Small Businesses, Turnover† 1986, p. 13). In total, these results are particularly important due to the greater relative effect each employee has in a small business as opposed to the effect of an individual employee in a large business. In the U. S. , the employee selection procedures used by all business owners are regulated by the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (1978).The Uniform Guidelines (UG) were designed to provide technical assistance to employers and were written following a review of relevant court cases and consultations with industrial psychologists. At present, the UG are serving as a ref erence for determining the legality of currently used selection tests. The UG are administered by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which is empowered to do so by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.As Landy and Trumbo (1980) have noted: â€Å"The EEOC has evolved from a weak public advocate status to a strong and active enforcement agency, with broad powers to initiate and negotiate legal and administrative action on behalf of protected minority groups† (p. 92). Although the UG are not â€Å"law† as a lawyer would define law in that they were not passed as bills in Congress, they are frequently referenced as technical guides by judges. In the UG, the employment decisions made by business owners and managers are regulated and broadly defined, e. . , promotions, referrals for training, as well as selection for hiring are all subject to the influence of the UG. The UG list three allowable approaches to validating a selection test used by a busines s. Briefly, criterion related validation approaches focus on the statistical ability of the selection test to predict the criterion, or as noted by Dreher and Sackett (1981): â€Å"†¦ criterion-related approaches focus on the relationship between a hiring requirement and job behavior† (p. 552).Another way of describing criterion-related validity was written by Landy and Trumbo) (1980): â€Å"When we are investigating the validity of a selection procedure using a criterion related design, typically, we are looking for a significant correlation between a test (predictor) and job behavior (criterion)† (p. 70- 71). The UG define criterion related validity in this way: â€Å"In criterion related validity, a selection procedure is justified by a statistical relationship between scores on the test or other selection procedure and measures of job performance† (P. 8292, Federal Register, 1978). According to the UG, the requirements of the job analysis, which is a co mprehensive definition of the tasks performed by a job incumbent, are: â€Å"There should be a review of job information to determine measures of work behavior(s) or performance that are relevant to the job or group of jobs in question†. The paramount difficulty with conducting a criterion related validity study for the small business owner is the required number of hirees, which is discussed in the UG under the term of â€Å"technical feasibility†.Although the minimum is not specified in the UG, an absolute minimum is 30 employees (Heneman, Schwab, Fossum, & Dyer, 1986). For many small business owners, this minimum number is more employees than they hire in a year, which in turn makes the criterion related validation approach of little value. In addition, the statistical measures required by the criterion related validity approach are often recondite for a small business owner.Construct valuation approaches attempt to measure an applicant's amount of psychological cha racteristics such as â€Å"need for achievement†. The UG discuss construct validity in this manner: â€Å"Construct validity involves identifying the psychological trait (the construct) which underlies successful performance on the job and then devising a selection procedure to measure the presence and degree of that construct† (p. 38292, Federal Register, 1978). The construct validity of a test refers to the extent to which it measures the construct it is supposed to measure.Landy and Trumbo (1980) noted: â€Å"It is the most theoretical of the definitions of validity, since it is concerned with the abstractions used in referring to psychological structures, functions, or traits, rather than to the prediction of some external criterion† (p. 73). The job analysis for a construct validity study involves a list of critical job behaviors and the constructs believed to underly the behaviors. These studies are difficult to do, as a â€Å"construct† is a hypoth etical attribute of a person that underlies and guides their behavior. Content validation approaches are oncerned with the job relatedness of the selection test rather than a concern with the criterion. Landy and Trumbo (1980) defined this approach toe employee selection procedure validation as: â€Å"Content validity is concerned with the extent to which the sample of items in a test (and the sample behavior elicited by these items) is an unbiased representation of the domain (i. e. , attribute or trait) being sampled† (p. 71). According to the UG: â€Å"A selection procedure can be supported by a content validity strategy to the extent that it is a representative sample of the content of the job†.An important concept for a content valid selection procedure is the job analysis, which was defined by Schultz (1978): â€Å"The purpose of the job analysis is to describe, in specific term, the precise nature of the component tasks performed by the workers on a particular job† (p. 76). A job analysis can be approached in a variety of ways, as noted by McCormick and Tiffin (1974): â€Å"Job analysis can be considered as embracing the collection and analysis of any type of job related information, by any method, for any purpose† (p. 9). The job analysis for a content validity study involves interviewing and observing incumbents: Job analysis for content validity. There should be a job analysis which includes an analysis of the important work behaviors(s) required for successful performance and their relative importance and, if the behavior results in work product(s), an analysis of the work product(s). Any job analysis should focus on the work behaviors and the tasks associated with them †¦The work behaviors selected for measurement should be critical work behaviors and/or important work behaviors constituting most of the job. The key to content validity is the answers to the questions the small business owner must ask: â€Å"How rep resentative of on the job behaviors is the test? Does it sample all important aspects of the job? † Landy and Trumbo (1980) wrote â€Å"Content validity is determined on the basis of how well the test material samples the job performance domain† (p. 72). The validity of a content validation study is judgmental; no statistical analysis is done (Robinson, 1981).The value of the content validation approach to a small business owner is that it allows a selection test to be validated within the UG restraints, and at the same time it does not require large sample sizes or recondite statistical analyses: When is content validation appropriate? One circumstance is when there are too few people available to form a sample for purposes of empirical validation. While there are differences of opinion on what the minimum necessary sample size is for empirical validation, an absolute minimum is 30 individuals who all perform the same job (Heneman et al. 986, pg. 281-283). The restrict ions of the content validity approach are few. One of the restrictions is that the selection test should consist only of knowledge or skills that cannot readily be learned on the job (Miner & Miner, 1980). In addition, content validity is prohibited by the UG to measure mental processes as part of a selection procedure. An example of the content validation approach to employee selection is the appropriately titled Content Oriented Personnel Selection in a Small Business Setting by Robinson (1981).In his article, which involved the content validation process needed in designing a selection procedure which was used to hire one construction superintendent for a small construction firm, Robinson (1981) informs the reader of the steps necessary in a job analysis for a content valid selection test: 1. Convene a panel of experts†¦. 2. Ask the panel to identify all the broad objectives to be met by an ideal incumbent on the target job. If objectives can be so quantified that they can p roperly be called standards, so much the better†¦. 3.List specific behaviors required to meet each objective †¦. 4. Identification of â€Å"critical† tasks †¦ The content sample will be valid to the extent that the critical tasks reflect actual job performance †¦. 5. Determination of interjudge agreement as to the importance of major dimensions of the job†¦ (pgs. 78-79). The importance of such a systematic approach to the job analysis was emphasized by Dreher and Sackett (1981): â€Å"The quality of any content validation effort depends on the thoroughness and appropriateness of the job analysis† (p. 54); the job analysis will be used to determine if the content valid test actually samples relevant job behavior mentioned in the job analysis as important. Having conducted the job analysis, Robinson (1981) constructed a test battery based upon work sample procedures. As an example, the applicants were given a construction error recognition test i n which the applicants were required to inspect a 8†² by 12†² shed that contained 25 construction errors. The applicants were to list the construction errors they spotted during their inspection.This emphasis on the UG when discussing employee selection approaches for small business owners stems from two major court cases which directly ruled on the use of content validity as a way of validating a selection instrument. In Firefighters Institute for Racial Equality v. City of St. Louis, a promotional examination for fire captains was ruled to have adequate content validity within the directives of the UG. In U. S. v. Connelie, a selection procedure for New York State Police was ruled to be invalid due to in large part the lack of a task-oriented job analysis nor was the frequency and importance of job duties identified.In both of these cases, the UG used in making the judicial rulings. Two other court cases which indicate the importance of understating content validity are Harless v. Duck and King v. New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development. In Harless v. Duck, a structured oral interview was found to be rejecting more female applicants than male applicants, however, the employer argued the interview had content validity in that hypothetical situations were used that a police officer might actually face.The court ruled the selection interview was valid, in large part due to its content validity. In King v. New Hampshire, a business lost a discrimination lawsuit due to applicants being asked questions which were not job related, i. e. , not based on a job analysis and therefore not content valid. With the importance of employee selection validation in mind, coupled with the feasibility of the content validation approach for small business owners, I would like to describe the approach I used for a small business owner located in the Midwest.The small business is a general purpose real estate office (â€Å"general purpose,† i n the sense that it handled farm, commercial, and private dwelling real estate sales) which has two owner managers and 10 sales associates. The primary function of the sales force for this small business is to sell as much real estate as possible, in terms of monetary value rather than number of units sold. The organization did not have a job analysis of the job of real estate agent and was using an unstructured interview to hire applicants. The initial step was to develop a job analysis.The purposes of the job analysis were to (a) define the job duties being performed by the job incumbents, (b) obtain a listing of the requisite knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform each job duty, and (c) determine the importance and time spent on each job duty as perceived by the incumbents. For this small business, the process of collecting information for the job analysis consisted of three steps: (a) reviewing the appropriate entry in the Dictionary of Occupational Titles, (b) reading the job related material from the firm's files, and (c) a series of interviews with all 10 real estate agents and both of the owner-managers.Due to the job analyst's lack of familiarity with the job, the first step was to review the job description in the Dictionary of Occupational Titles. Its value is noted by Bass and Barrett (1981): â€Å"The job analyst can turn to the Dictionary of Occupational Titles to get a concise definition of almost any job in American industry† (p. 238). The use of this volume when approaching a job one is not familiar with was also noted by Cascio (1978): â€Å"First, the reader can become familiar with the vast array of jobs in general and with appropriate terminology in each job, (p. 47). The second step also involved acquiring some job related information about being a real estate agent; this step consisted of a reading of the informational and training manuals that are made available to the real estate agents. The perusal of these manuals was va luable in giving the job analyst background information necessary to conduct the third step of the information collection, the interviews with job incumbents. These interviews were conducted in a private room and ranged from 30 to 90 minutes.The interviews followed a patterned interview form, as recommended by Cascio (1978). The interview questions asked for traits, behaviors, and knowledge that the incumbents deemed necessary for the completion of the job of real estate agent. The interviewees were also informed that any knowledge or behaviors an applicant could learn within eight hours was not to be included. An example of an interview question is â€Å"What is the order of behaviors from the time you contact a customer until you are through with a sale? † The interviews generated a list of 106 job duties.Each of the interviewees received a copy of the 106 job duties, along with an instruction sheet asking them to rate each item as to its importance to their job and the rel ative amount of time they spend performing that job duty. The mean rating given each of the 106 job duties was computed by the job analyst for both the rating dimensions. With the interview information and summary statistics on hand, a selection instrument was constructed which was based on job duties which were rated highly in terms of their importance and time spent on each of them by job ncumbents, and which job incumbents considered were not trainable within eight hours. The selection instrument was based on a job sample approach, which is valid for a content validity based selection instrument. As an example, the selection instrument asked an applicant to calculate monthly payments on a home given certain financial parameters. The questions were given to six randomly selected job incumbents who were asked to choose which of the job sample test questions an applicant would have to pass in order to meet minimum standards as a new employee.The job incumbents overall picked an aver age of 80% of the job sample items as being necessary for a new employee to pass to be acceptable at a minimum level of acceptability. Therefore, an applicant would have to score a minimum of 80% in order to be considered for employment. As a check on the validity of the 80% cutoff score, the job sample questions were given to the four other job incumbents. All of these incumbents were considered to be satisfactory employees by the business owners, and all received a passing score of over 80%.In summary, small business owners need to be aware of the UG, the court cases which have resulted from the UG, the one practical approach to validating a selection procedure, and the advantages to having a validated selection procedure. By following the outline of Robinson (1981) or the case presented in this paper, the small business owner can both enjoy the benefits of a validated selection procedure and lessen any worry over an EEOC lawsuit. REFERENCES Bass, B. M. , & Barrett, G. V. (1981). People, work, and organizations.Boston: Allyn and Bacon, Inc. Birch, D. L. (1979). The job generation process. M. I. T. Program on Neighborhood and Regional Change. Cambridge, Massachusetts. Cascio, W. F. (1978). Applied psychology in personnel management. Reston, Virginia: Reston Publishing Company, Inc. Dreher, G. F. , & Sackett, P. R. (1981). Some problem with applying content validity evidence to assessment center procedures. Academy of Management Review, 6, p. 551-560. Fear, R. A. , & Ross, J. F. (1983). Jobs, Dollars, and EEO: How to Hire More Productive Entry- Level Workers.New York, McGraw-Hill. Harless v. Duck, 14 FEB 1616 (1977). Heneman , H. G. , Schwab, D. P. , Fossum, J. A. , & Dyer, L. D. (1986). Personnel/Human Resource Management. Homewood, Illinois: Irwin. King v. New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development, 15, FEB 669 (1977) Kleiman, L. S. , & Faley, R. H. (1978). Assessing content validity: Standards set by the court. Personnel Psychology, 30, 701-713. Landy, F. J. , & Trumbo, D. A. (1980). Psychology of Work Behavior. The Dorsey Press, Homewood, Illinois.McCormick, E. J. , & Tiffin, B. L. (1974). Jobs and their requirements. Industrial Psychology, (6th ed. ). Miner, M. G. & Miner, J. B. (1980). Uniform Guidelines on employee selection Procedures. Washington, D. C. , The Bureau of National Affairs. Prehiring Tests. (1986, June). Small Business Report. Business Research and Communications, Monterey, California. Productivity: A Top Concern. (1986, February). Small Business Report, Business Research and Communications, Monterey, California. Robinson, D. D. (1981).Content-oriented personnel selection in a small business setting. Personnel Psychology, 34, pgs. 77-87. Schmidt, F. L. , Hunter, J. E. , McKenzie, R. C. , and Muldrow, T. W. (1979). Impact of valid selection procedures on work-force productivity. Journal of Applied Psychology, 64, 609-626. Schultz, D. P. (1978). Psychology and industry today. New York: Macmillan Pub lishing Company. Siropolis, N. C. (1986). Small Business Management. Houghton Mifflin Company, Geneva, Illinois. Small Businesses' Turnover High. (1986, January).Small Business Report, Business Research and Communications, Monterey, California. Stone, C. H. , & Ruch, F. L. (1974). Selection, interviewing, and testing. ASPA Handbook of Personnel and Industrial Relations: Staffing Policies and Strategies, ed. Dale Yoder and Herbert G. Heneman (Washington, D. C. , The Bureau of National Affairs), 4, 137-138. The State of Small Business: A Report of the President. (1985, May). United States Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C. Uniform guidelines on employee selection procedures (1978). Federal Register, 43, 38290- 38309.

Game theory application for lowest price guarantee Essay

The game theory is applicable to a host of issues especially in economics. The theory is applicable where there is a multiplicity of decision makers and each player’s action affects or is affected by what the other party does. To cite a specific example, it is worthy examining how firms make production decisions relating to quality, quantity, pricing, etc. the game theory is equally useful in auctions, contract negotiations, and in voting exercises. Literature review Price setting is a difficult task as there is a multiplicity of players in each business or industry. This is furthered by the fact that each player intends to make the best out of every situation. However, decisions are always taken while accounting for what the rest of the players are going to do. This case holds true especially when the industry being studied is a free market where there is free entry and exit. The fact that competition calls for the adoption of the best possible alternative dictates that a god approach is employed in decision making regarding pricing (Axelrod, 43). Maintenance of a brand is important in the pricing game. A business which has a dominant brand has little work to do since sellers want to stock the products and customer loyalty remains high (Axelrod, 45). At times, changes may prove worthy undertaking. For example when a company is operating excess productivity, it may be forced to lower prices to increase its sales. However, this is only commendable if it does not spark a price war. The chances of achieving minimal interference in the market are desirable though difficult to achieve. This is held because lowering prices of a player’s products will lead to an increased demand for the party’s products assuming that the quality produced is similar to other players’ products (Kalai and Stanford, 400). Even if such products may be of lower quality, it is held that the demand for these products will rise. A rise in a player’s products will definitely lower the demand for other players’ goods in the industry (Kalai and Stanford, 400). This is bound to lead to a price war as the other players must take similar action if they are to remain in business. In the same line of thinking, measures to increase the prices of certain commodities may be counter productive. This means that an attempt to hike the price may lead to resistance from the part of the customers. Such resistance is reflected by the unwillingness to make purchases after a rise in price. An indication of reduced sales also point to an attempt to raise the prices. This indicates that players in any industry or business will always be forced to adopt the lowest possible price. It is only at the lowest prices where firms sell an equilibrium quantity while providing room for profit making. However, lowering of prices below the normal price may send a wrong signal to the customers who may mistake that act as a deceiving ploy to offer them products of a lesser value or quality and thus scare them away (Kalai and Stanford, 402). Such acts not only lead to brand failure as they also hold the potential of reducing revenue to a business entity. A reversal of the price to reflect the actual market pricing may fail to bring back the deserting customers. This may call for re launching of the brand, an expensive issue to any business. However, a gamble of this nature may win customers albeit in the short run. On the other hand, if the businesses in the industry respond by lowering prices, the leading party in lowering prices may have failed as the market share will most likely revert to the normal point. But such lower prices can only be sustainable if they allow a business to enjoy certain profit levels (Chamberlin, 45). Sustainable margins are created through three major ways. The first one centers on product differentiation, the second, on economies of scale, and the third, on the barriers to entry (Hotelling, 41-43). Game theory is useful in pricing strategies especially in oligopolistic industries. In an oligopoly, firms may make decisions regarding whether to increase, to reduce prices or to keep them unchanged (Hotelling, 47-51). The nature of the demand curve in oligopoly is kinked (Kalai and Stanford, 397). This suggests a presence of price stability in the industry. This is possible because in an event of firms increasing prices while others do not change, the end result is a significant fall in demand. On the other hand, if firms reduce the prices, they will gain a market share, the other firms in the industry do not want such a scenario as they also follow suit and consequently prices drop across the industry (Kalai and Stanford, 398). Such a decline in price would see all firms in the industry lose significantly due to poor pricing. In this market a decision by one firm holds a significant bearing in the industry. However, in real world, the kinked curve may never be attained (Kalai and Stanford, 410). This is attributable to the game theory and the complexities involved. To begin with, firms may collude and set prices and production quotas which they stick to. Though this is illegal in some countries like the UK, imposing it is very difficult. Firms may not always pursue profit maximization as they may be willing to make lesser profits if this can raise their market share. Wal Mart supermarket is one such example utilizing this strategy in a bid to expand its activities (Kalai and Stanford, 409). Firms could not be aware of the reactions f other players or may simply choose to ignore the reactions of other players in the industry. To cite an example, a small firm in an oligopoly may avoid cutting prices if it perceives that its action may fail to occasion a significant impact on an industry (Robinson, 22-25). In a monopolistic type of market, the presence of only one buyer implies that price setting is exclusively held by one firm which also happens to act as the industry (Sraffa, 534). This firm can change prices but it must do that carefully (Sraffa, 546). This is held because in as much as the firm can price its products highly, it holds the potential of failing to sell if it goes beyond a certain level of pricing unless it deals in basic goods. So the game theory applies in this case by dictating to the firm to set its price at the point where it maximizes sales and profits. In a duopoly, the presence of two companies or firms is likely to lead to bidding wars and subsequently benefit the customer as a move by one player is easily countered by the other player (Sraffa, 500). This is however based on an assumption that both players are in a position to produce same or slightly identical products. So in a duopoly, prices charged are lowered if the two engage in a game of trying to outdo the other. Findings and conclusion This paper presents pricing as a game in which businesses engage in. it is discernable that every business entity seeks to achieve profits and sustain its growth. This depends on such business’s ability to sell its products. Apart from monopolistic markets the rest have a multiplicity of players. This implies that price setting is a function of other firms’ behavior on the same products. In a competitive environment as realized above, if one player changes the price, other players will counter that move by carrying out a similar adjustment. This may in the end lead to a loss for all players. On the basis of the above realization, industry players are forced to operate on the Nash equilibrium. At this position, each player in an industry is well of playing by the rules of the game. This means the pricing at this point is the lowest the firms can charge, any reduction on the price would seriously affect the profitability of the company. if a player chose to reduce prices in the hope of making profits as a result of increased sales, the other players will follow sit and the end result is a loss for all. In reference to a monopolistic market, the cost of products is the lowest possible as further increments on the price would portend ill for the business’ profits due to reduced sales. On the basis of the evidence adduced in this paper, the game theory holds a huge influence on pricing of products in all markets. The aim of the firms remains the pursuit of pricing their products at a point where they can sustain the businesses. However, the game theory may not lead to the lowest prices if firms collude and if other firms use underhand tactics like issuing threats to other players. Cited Works E. H. Chamberlin. The Theory of Monopolistic Competition. Cambridge: MA Harvard University Press, 2003. Ehud. Kalai and William, Stanford. â€Å"Finite Rationality and Interpersonal Complexity in Repeated Games,† Econometrica 56(2008), 397-410. Harrison, Hotelling. â€Å"Stability in Competition,† Economic Journal, 39 (Mar. 1929):41- 57. John, Robinson. The Economics of Imperfect Competition. London: Macmillan, 2003. Paul, Sraffa, â€Å"The Laws of returns under competitive conditions,† Economic Journal 36(2006), 535-550. Robert, Axelrod. The Evolution of Cooperation. NY: Basic Books, 2004.

Language Trends in Vietnam

Language Trends in Vietnam Free Online Research Papers 1. Preface According to a Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, â€Å"By such innovations are language enriched, when the words are adopted by the multitude, and naturalized by custom.† Actually, there have been many innovations in every language all over the world, especially in the situation of growing globalization nowadays. The innovation can be the adaptation of foreign language, especially the technical words and common communication language. Moreover, it also can be the modification in the local language itself, which is facilitated by new technology, namely internet and mobile phones. The using of internet and mobile phones is so popular that people has created a system of alphabet and words for that community. It is unknown that who has created these modifications, however, it is obvious that it has been being widely spread out and accepted among the adolescence. This kind of written language system has been used unanimously. 2. Introduction The trend of modifying written language has happened in Vietnam in recent years and caused many contrast opinions in the society. While the young people enjoy styling their written language, most of the older people feel inconvenient and dissatisfied with that type of writing. The modified Vietnamese has suffered a lot of criticisms from the rest of the society who do not use it. They has used many arguments and showed their opinions via the media like newspapers. Within a few recent years, there were many articles from both professional journalists, experts in different fields and the citizens published to criticize the modified language. It seems to be a disagreement among generations and communities in Vietnamese society. Therefore, this research is to summarize the arguments from the opposers in various articles and provide some positive aspects of this trend then suggest some recommendations to bridge the gap between the two viewpoints. 3. Discussion of the real situation of modifying Vietnamese There are many trends in styling the written language among the youth’s weblogs nowadays. Initially, the modification resulted from the adaptation to express the marks for changing in tone and some special words in Vietnamese. Specifically, the symbol â€Å"*† stands for the bracket in the letter â€Å"?† and â€Å"?†, â€Å"^† for the circumflex in â€Å"à ´Ã¢â‚¬  and â€Å"à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ , â€Å"(â€Å" in â€Å"?†. As the time goes by, the modification becomes more and more complex and turns into a medium which not only to communicate Vietnamese fully but also to satisfy the creativity in using language of the young generation. It can be partly illustrated in the table below (Thy). Original letters Modified letters Examples Before styling After styling a e lm sao là ¨m seo à ´ ? u hà ´m nay tr?i ?i hum nay trà ¹i ui b p bà ³ tay pà ³ tay qu w bi quan bi wan c ch k thà ­ch thik ià ª à ª i bi?t ch?t bà ­t chà ­t ph f ph?i f?i i j xinh xjnh gi j z gi?i thà ­ch j?i thik d v z và ¬ v?y zà ¬ z?y It is observed that some letters in the English alphabet is also integrated, namely â€Å"f†, â€Å"w†, â€Å"z†, â€Å"j†. The rule is that the substitutes all have the very similar pronunciations and the shorter writing styles in comparison with the original letters. For example, in stead of combining two individual letters â€Å"p† and â€Å"h† in order to create the complete letter â€Å"ph†, the English letter â€Å"f† can be used while the sound and the meaning of the words still remain fully (Thy). It is not the first introduction of using English elements in Vietnam. That Vietnamese tend to replace or add some common English words in the conversations has appeared for a long time. And now, it is the turn of some English letters which have similar sounds and shorter length in use (â€Å"Bang chu cai danh cho chatter†). In addition to the Westernization, another popular trend can be called â€Å"the numberization†. While the principle of Westernization relies merely on the sound, the numberization is more complex. It is implemented according to a variety of rules, often the association of both sound and shape, and even other languages such as English and Han Viet language. In term of shape, it is found that some letters have the similar shape with some correlative numbers; therefore, the idea of substituting some numbers is raised. In this case, many young people type â€Å"4† for â€Å"A† and â€Å"3† for â€Å"E† through many entries in their own weblogs. Besides, there are also several cases which is based on the sound, for example, in Han Viet language, the number â€Å"7† sounds like the word â€Å"th?t† which means loss or failure, therefore, â€Å"7 luv† is supposed to refer the lovelorness. Similarly, the word â€Å"chatting† ca n be only written down in the number â€Å"8† (â€Å"Bang chu cai danh cho chatter†). While some ways to style the language rely on some rule, others are carried out without any reasonable reasons. In this way, some letters are replaced by other letters regardless of their different pronunciations, shapes, or origins. Indeed, although â€Å"a† and â€Å"e† are absolutely pronounced in different way, the youth still tend to substitute â€Å"e† for â€Å"a†. The real situation of the debate in the press Actually, in recent years, this trend has already become a controversial topic and be successively mentioned in various newspapers and magazines. Until now, there were at least 17 articles about this topic. The majority (53%) were against this trend. Among those oppose articles, 2 out of 3 were personal opinions of the authors and there were 2 authors asked for the professional opinions especially from the lecturers, teachers and professors. In addition to the articles, some magazine, especially online magazines have collected the opinions from their readers. Last month, VnExpress received 36 responses for an article about this trend. Of the 36 people commented, up to 26 people, including 10 teenagers and adolescences objected to this modifications. 4. Opposed opinion from the articles The first argument is that these modifications are destroying the pureness of Vietnamese. Do Tien Thang, linguistic lecturer of Vietnam national university, Hanoi, told in Family magazine that language results from the habit, if this kind of habit which does not conform any standard is not be criticized and abolished, Vietnamese will be variant dangerously. Secondly, it is believed that these modifications are responsible for the poorness of soul, the lack of artistic, literary and linguistic skill among the people who use them frequently. According to Doctor Huynh Van Son, dean of educational psychology department, Ho Chi Minh City University of pedagogy, being under the influence of this kind of communication, people cannot be able to use and feel the beauty of their mother tongue (Mai). Finally, there are many complains in the various articles that it is too complicated to understand a writing of people belongs to this trend, mostly the young people. There is an increasing of the modified words appear in the academic environment, even a very serious exam like the entrance exam (Quynh). That is the report of many teachers in different grades, from secondary schools to university. Linguist lecturer Do Tien Thang from National University, Hanoi claimed that he could not understand those exam papers to mark. Those arguments lead to a common agreement that there must be some remedy for the problems. Many solutions rose by some professors that the mass communications should take the primary role in promoting a movement of using the original and official language. Particularly, professor Nguyen Nhu Y suggests launching a national program which involves the whole society, including schools, offices, newspapers, government and so on to orient the using of Vietnamese (Anh, Hoi) 5. Personal opinion about the situation It should be aware that this trend has happened in not only Vietnam but also other countries in the world even for a long time. Typically, English chatters and bloggers must be very familiar with â€Å"2day†, â€Å"B4†, â€Å"XOXO†, â€Å"thx†, â€Å"CUL8R† or â€Å"x†. Moreover, these unofficial words can also be found in a very famous and prestigious dictionary published by Oxford University Press. In fact, this trend has spread out in each individual language whether it is Latin or hierograph. MA Pham Dieu Ngoc (Sungkonghoe University, Korea) told Student newspaper that in Korean, â€Å"kurotchi† which means â€Å"really?† is expressed by â€Å"kuchi† and son seng nim (teachers) supersedes â€Å"sem† and so on. However, the difference between Vietnam and these countries places on the way the society facing the phenomenon. While Vietnam criticizes and appeals to prevent it, others seem to be more optimistic and a ccept it. It leads to a suspicion that whether the arguments that people provide to criticize the new language style of the youth is totally true. Opinion toward the arguments from articles Firstly, scanning through many articles in different newspapers and magazines, some negative words such as â€Å"crisis†, â€Å"trash†, â€Å"dangerous† appear so frequently that we have reason to worry about the unbiasness of these. Indeed, among 17 different articles about this topic, up to nine of them used those unsympathetic words for when mentioning this trend. Of the nine opposed articles, the majority is purely personal opinions of the authors. Only the author of â€Å"Ngon ngu blog lam hong tieng Viet† included opinions from the people who using this kind of language, however, in spite of those advocates, the conclusion is still against this trend. In addition, this trend cannot be blamed for the degradation of the young people’s soul and linguistic skill. Indeed, a recent study of Professor Sali Tagliamonte and Derek Denis of Toronto University, Canada can prove that truth. In their research work published in New Scientist magazine, the authors stated that these modifications not only have no negative effect on communicative competence of the youth but also give them a chance to play with language. Some suggestions about the good side of this trend The modified language has its own advantages toward the people use it, especially to the youth who is considered the founders of this language. It reflects the creativity to change the origins and the dare to express their thoughts regardless of many criticisms. It is also their adaptation to the technology and computer era. For example, when composing a message in a mobile phone, every letter â€Å"i† is replaced by â€Å"j† because it takes up to three time pressing the button to get â€Å"i†, while only one time for â€Å"j†. It is obvious that this adjustment aims to save time and bring about the convenience. The need of typing as fast as possible when communicating via the internet causes a trend to shorten many words. Following that trend, the diphthong such as â€Å"ià ªÃ¢â‚¬  becomes â€Å"i†, for example, the word â€Å"bi?t† is express by â€Å"bà ­t† and the letter â€Å"n† in double consonants such as â€Å"ngâ € , â€Å"nh† disappears when it stands at the end of the words, for example â€Å"tr?ng tinh† turns into â€Å"tr?g tih†. Beside the speed, these modifications also function as a means to show the emotion and the state of mind. Actually, the language used to communicate on the internet is mainly written language which easily drives the communicators to misunderstanding each other. It is impossible to guess whether that person is joking, sulky or angry by the rigid words. Hence, these modifications in written language can be counted as the tone in spoken language. MA Pham Dieu Ngoc also found out from his survey that because communicating in the internet is mainly through the carcass of letters, so people try to transmit the soul into them, make them lively. That the youth has created a fresh system of letters and words in order to meet the demand of communicating conveniently can reflect a big change in the history, the era of internet and mobile phone. In fact, these modifications have appeared in the time that internet and mobile phone is largely used by the youth and also implements their functions via these media. If there were no Doi moi policy, no innovation in economy, no big improvement in living standard and no growing popularity of means of communication and information such as internet and mobile phone, there had been no modifications in Vietnamese at all. Therefore, it should be considered a part of the developing history of Vietnam, which reflects a big change in the face of the society just within some decades. While many professors in various fields are worrying about losing the original language, they have no idea that they are also ignoring a part of current language which will be a part of history in the future, as an American poet and essayist in 19th century Lalph Waldo Emerson quoted, â€Å"Language is the archives of history.† Thailand has already experienced such situation when they now cannot understand some words in the documents from Rama V dynasty because the linguists in that time forgot to collect and transmit to the following generations. Therefore, to prevent the repeat of history, Thailand now starts to study and store the language of the youth (Phuong). Recommendation It cannot be denied that this trend contributes to cause the generational and intellectual conflicts in the society. The parents cannot understand their children’s language, the teachers cannot read their students’ papers and so on. This situation does happen due to the lack of the full awareness from the users. When asked about this problem in the survey of VNExpress, 10 people agreed that the problem lies on the behaviors of the users, not the modifications themselves. Not all of these people follow this trend but they all still respect it. Therefore, if there is any national program for this phenomenon, it should be an orientation for the young people to use this kind of language in a right place and at a right time, not an absolute prevention of using it. It is not a difficult task because the thoughtless using can bring to the very users the immediate consequences such as bad marks, bad relationships and so on. 6. Conclusion It is not easy for anything new to be accepted by the whole society. Despite many objections, there is nothing wrong with using some innovations in written language within a community and environment that all of the users and communicators can understand. Therefore, the experts should be fully aware of the current situation in order to define the right problem which does not lie in creating and using the modified Vietnamese but using it inappropriately. In my opinion, this kind of language should be let be in its own way because it only can exist if it is appropriate, if not, it will be eliminated and replaced by another trend. Works cited Anh H., and Hoi T. Tieng Viet Dang Khung Hoang. Khoa Hoc Va Doi Song 22 Apr. 2008. Bat Mach Xu Huong Ngon Ngu Cua Cu Dan Mang. Tien Phong Online 12 Feb. 2007. 20Apr.2008 . Huong M. Thuong Qua Tieng Viet Oi. 17 Jan. 2007. 20 Apr. 2008 . Ngon Ngu Sanh Dieu Nhung Noi Sai Tieng Me De. Netmode 29 Dec. 2004. 20 Apr. 2008 . Le, Hoang. Tieng Viet Trong Xu the Hoi Nhap. Vietnamnet 6 June 2004. 20 Apr. 2008 . Tieng Viet Ngoai Luong Vietnamnet 27 Dec. 2006. 20 Apr. 2008 . Tieng Viet Meo Mo Trong the Gioi Blog. VNExpress 11 Sept. 2006. 20 Apr. 2008 . Quynh H. Ngon Ngu Blog Lam Hong Tieng Viet. Gia Dinh 10 Feb. 2008. Le, Anh. 8x, 9x Lam Lu Mo Tieng Viet. (2007). 20 Apr. 2008 . Bang Chu Cai Danh Cho Chatter. Thehe 8x 7 Jan. 2008. 20 Apr. 2008 . Ngoc M. â€Å"Lam Ngon Ngu @.† Thanh Nien Online 18 May 2006. 20 Apr. 2008 . â€Å"Ngon Ngu Sanh Dieu Nhung Noi Sai Tieng Me De.† Vietnamnet 29 December 2004. 21 Apr. 2008 . Linh P. â€Å"Ngon Ngu Thoi @.† Cong An nhan dan 1 June 2007. Du, Thy. â€Å"Thang Tram Ngon Ngu Mang Cua Teen.† Muctimonline 5 December 2007. 2 June 2008. . â€Å"Bien The Moi Cua Ngon Ngu @.† Tuoi tre 18 April 2008. Phuong V. â€Å"Dung Hot Hoang Voi Ngon Ngu Tuoi Teen.† Thanh Nien Online 15 August 2007. 21 Apr. 2008 . Le, Hoang. â€Å"Nen Chang Co Nhung Cach Tan.† Vietnamnet 6 June 2004. 20 Apr. 2008 . Trong, Cam â€Å"Nhan Tin Khong Huy Hoai Ngon Ngu.† Vietnamnet 20 May 2008. 1 June 2008 . â€Å"Dang Cap Xi Tin Khong Phai O Bien Dang Ngon Ngu.† Online posting. 19 April 2008. 1 Jun 2008 . â€Å"Dau Dau Moi Mat Vi Ngon Ngu Blog.† Online posting. 19 April 2008. 1 Jun 2008 . â€Å"Dung Ngon Ngu @ Hop Li Thi Khong Co Gi Dang Ban.† Online posting. 19 April 2008. 1 Jun 2008 . â€Å"Kho Chiu Vi Thu Ngon Ngu Cua Dan Teen.† Online posting. 19 April 2008. 1 Jun 2008 . â€Å"Khong Chap Nhan Thu Ngon Ngu Quai Di.† Online posting. 19 April 2008. 1 Jun 2008 . â€Å"Khong Phai Cu Lam Giong Teen La Tre.† Online posting. 19 April 2008. 1 Jun 2008 . â€Å"Ngon Ngu @ Sang Tao Nhung Khong Nen Lam Dung.† Online posting. 19 April 2008. 1 Jun 2008 . â€Å"Tiep Xuc Ngon Ngu @ La Mot Cach Giai Tri.† Online posting. 19 April 2008. 1 Jun 2008 Research Papers on Language Trends in VietnamComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoAnalysis Of A Cosmetics AdvertisementAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 Europe19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfQuebec and CanadaPETSTEL analysis of IndiaHip-Hop is ArtRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever Product

Bangladesh Industry

Bangladesh Industry The global business industry has made use of many employees from different countries. It is not uncommon when a country of lower economic development produces goods for a nation that is well established and the economy is high.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Bangladesh Industry specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This is the case with Bangladesh made products that are shipped all over the world, including Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Spain and Ireland. The garment industry is particularly a developing field that has seen a great demand in the past decades. The unfortunate part is that the conditions of work are gruesome, unequal and unsafe. The two episodes that took place in Bangladesh, a fire in 2012 and a factory collapse in 2013 are an example of atrocious work conditions, which are below any standard. The reason for these situations is that the government and the industry focuses too much on the financial gain and the end result, without taking proper care of the people that make all the difference in the success of the businesses. The fire of 2012 was one that could have been avoided, and the proper procedures of fire safety and evacuation were not followed. During the meeting, after work, the fire started and was first said to be an electrical problem but was later thought to be purposefully started, and could be considered arson. The fire broke out on the ground floor and was spreading very fast because of the many garments that were around the factory. It was later said that the fire exits were too narrow, the amount of fire escape routes was insufficient for proper evacuation, and the location of stairs was such that people would have to go through the ground floor engulfed with fire. All these factors led to the inability of escape or proper fire fighting procedures, and it was only after 17 hours of battling the flames that firefighters could put the flames out. It was estimated t hat 117 people lost their lives and almost 200 people were injured in the fire. Because of poor emergency procedures and building layout people had to jump from windows and some climbed the roof, which has saved their lives (Fatal Fire in Bangladesh Highlights the Dangers Facing Garment Workers, 2012). The response from the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was very active, as she was shocked and could not believe that this really took place. She was the one who proposed the theory of the fire started by someone’s deliberate sabotage activity but it was later discarded. One of the major companies involved in the industry is Wal-Mart and so, it has been making strict policies about the safety of employees, as well as it had cut several ties to companies that were made partners through improper activities.Advertising Looking for essay on geography? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The people at the location of the fir e were protesting and it is possible to see why, as the working conditions are very poor. It is understandable that the economics, market value and differences between products and services all play a role in who gets employment and what sort of company becomes the partner. When looking at economics, there are few things to have in mind. Different countries and nations have different economies. The system of trade and relations between businesses are guided by culture and society (Paci, 2008). Some places have better economies, with governments giving support and being one of the major clients. The market is also different. There are certain things that people need, so the demand on the market is special for every country. Globalization has majorly impacted business and the differences can be seen as well. Some countries are becoming over developed with abundant food supply and thus, they are starting to open business in garments and other products that are not necessarily needed fo r survival and basic human needs. But in Bangladesh, there are many people who are struggling, as the government is unable to look after the proper working conditions. This leads to people wanting to make more money with the lower cost, thus building factories that are cheap and not equipped with proper instruments for times of emergency. The factory collapse of 2013 became another tragic event that ended in 1000 employees losing their life. It is thought to be one of the major disasters that took place on such a scale. The primary cause was cited as improper construction technique and faulty materials. It has been said that the upper floors of the building were constructed well below standard and the whole structure was very unreliable. Because there are thousands of people working on the upper floors, the generator to produce power had to be placed there. While these generators were at work, they would vibrate and cause cracks in the building materials, especially on the higher fl oors. When this took place, an engineer was called to inspect the building and stated that the building was unsafe. Despite this fact, Mr. Rana and other bosses have ordered people to go to work and the disaster took place as soon as one of the generators started working. Criminal negligence and homicide are the offered charges, as people are outraged at such behavior. There are also suggestions that Mr. Rana has been bribing local authorities, so that permission for improper construction is given (Report on Deadly Factory Collapse in Bangladesh Finds Widespread Blame, 2013).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Bangladesh Industry specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This case is another clear example of the working and social conditions in Bangladesh. The international business has made its way to many countries and companies such as Cedarwood State and Atmosphere get involved. Primark, the owner of the two organizations h as been an active supporter of the proper conditions required for the employees. The intertwined connection between the suppliers in a country that has poor working conditions and the superpowers or other well developed regions of the world shows that the struggle for power and money is very active. Some products are rare, as well as services and some are very common, making the market ever-changing. Global approach guarantees a lot of choice and possibilities for the business. Since the pressures for local responsiveness are low, this will guarantee stable income and product or service flow for the specific group of people. Bangladesh is one of the biggest arteries in the garment industry and the West has been an active buyer. It is obvious that with such organization, countries that are more developed will continue receiving their products, as the need is always present, while the conditions oversees are still very poor (Paci, 2008). Even though business ethics and morals dictate that proper procedures are followed, people are being selfish and want to gain more and more. This leads to employees working in extremely harsh and poor conditions, which ends in disasters and accidents. These situations can very well be prevented and so, it has become an international concern. References Bajaj, V. (2012). Fatal Fire in Bangladesh Highlights the Dangers Facing Garment Workers. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/26/world/asia/bangladesh-fire-kills-more-than-100-and-injures-many.html Paci, P. (2008). Making Work Pay in Bangladesh: Employment, Growth, and Poverty Reduction. New York, United States: World Bank Publications.Advertising Looking for essay on geography? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Yardley, J. (2013). Report on Deadly Factory Collapse in Bangladesh Finds Widespread Blame. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/23/world/asia/report-on-bangladesh-building-collapse-finds-widespread-blame.html

Mothers Who Kill Their Children

Mothers Who Kill Their Children The nation is always shocked by criminal cases such as Andrea Yates, a mother of five who methodically drowned her children in a bathtub then calmly called the police to report it, but mothers who kill their children is a more common crime than we might think. According to the American Anthropological Association, more than 200 women kill their children in the United States each year. Three to five children a day are killed by their parents. Homicide is one of the leading causes of death of children under age four, Yet we continue to persist with the unrealistic view that this is rare behavior, says Jill Korbin, an expert on child abuse, who has studied at length about mothers who killed their children. We should detach from the idea of universal motherhood as natural and see it as a social response, Nancy Scheper-Hughes, medical anthropologist says. Theres a collective denial even when mothers come right out and say, I really shouldnt be trusted with my kids. The three major factors that often play a role when mothers have killed their children are - postpartum psychosis, psychotic breakdowns brought on by factors such as jealousy and abandonment and domestic violence. Postpartum Depression and Postpartum Psychosis Postpartum depression is a common problem that can occur within four weeks of delivery of a baby. It can affect both mothers and fathers, although only a small percentage of fathers experience it. Common symptoms include depression, feelings of hopelessness, anxiety, fear, guilt, the inability to bond with the new baby, and a feeling of worthlessness. If left untreated, it can lead to postpartum psychosis. Postpartum psychosis is much more severe and dangerous. Symptoms include extreme insomnia, obsessive behavior, and auditory hallucinations where voices instruct the mother to commit suicide or to mutilate and/or murder her child/children. Often the mother believes such acts will save the child from a life of misery. Psychotic Breakdowns In some cases, children are murdered as a result of the mother experiencing a psychotic breakdown brought on by an intense feeling of abandonment and jealousy in cases where the father of the children has left the home. In some cases, the need to seek revenge overtakes reason. A look at the roles of women who are currently on death row, and the crimes that put them there, shows that women who kill their children are indeed not as rare as we would like to believe. Patricia Blackmon was 29 years old when she killed her 2-year-old adopted daughter in Dothan, AL in May 1999. Kenisha Berry at age 20, covered her 4-day-old son with duct tape resulting in his death. Debra Jean Milke was 25 when she killed her 4-year-old son in Arizona in 1989. Dora Luz Durenrostro killed her two daughters, age 4 and 9, and her son, age 8 when she was 34 years old in San Jacinto, California in 1994. Caro Socorro was 42 years old when she killed her three sons, ages 5, 8 and 11, in Santa Rosa Valley, California in 1999. Susan Eubanks murdered her four sons, ages 4, 6, 7 and 14, in San Marcos, California, in 1996 when she was 33. Caroline Young was 49 in Haywood, California when she killed her 4-year-old granddaughter and 6-year-old grandson. Robin Lee Row was 35 years old when she killed her husband, her 10-year-old son and her 8-year-old daughter in Boise, Idaho in 1992. Michelle Sue Tharp was 29 years old in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania when she killed her 7-year-old daughter. Frances Elaine Newton was 21 when she murdered her husband, 7-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter in Houston, Texas. Update: Frances Elaine Newton was executed on September 14, 2005. Darlie Lynn Routier was 26 in Rowlett, Texas when she was convicted of killing her 5-year-old son. Teresa Michelle Lewis killed her 51-year-old husband and 26-year-old stepson in Keeling, Virgina when she was 33 years old. Korbin said that there are usually clues that are obvious to those who are around parents who end up killing their children. Prior to a homicide, lots of lay people know these men and women are having difficulty parenting. The public has to be better educated in recognizing how to intervene and how to support child abuse prevention, she said.

WK4_Training Need Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

WK4_Training Need Paper - Essay Example In order to attain increased competitiveness and larger customer base many organization has formulated and implemented various strategies and policies. In this course, many organizations are involved in enhancing the skills and capabilities of employees as a tool for enhancing the performance of the organization. Such initiatives of the organizations have facilitated a need for effective training and development activities. Accordingly, training and development is the process of making the employees familiar with the various changes in the work procedure for ensuring increased competency towards performing the organizational tasks efficiently and effectively. The concept of training plays a vital role in an organization life cycle as it not only helps them to maintain lead but also helps them in innovating new products that may contribute to the organization goal (Armstrong, 2012). The primary purpose of this paper is to identify training need within the selected organization i.e. Ap ple Incorporation and explore the role of Human Resource (HR) in analysis, design, development implementation and evaluation of a training program to meet the identified training need. Training Need Assessment Apple Inc. is considered to be one of the leading innovative companies across the world. The company is widely known for its distinctive and unique products and services offered to its customers spread worldwide. The rapid development in science and technology has facilitated the company as one of the most advanced and most admired companies across the globe. Nonetheless, the company has been encountered with lots of challenges due to the emergence of new and upcoming competitors in the market. It has been often argued that employees are the most important assets of any organization. Furthermore, employees who are not provided with efficient training and development programs often finds difficulties in performing their tasks efficiently and competently. Additionally, the conti nuous advancement in technology and increasing competition has widely generated the need for skilled employees to respond the market demands effectively. In this context, Apple Inc. to sustain its business profitably in current and future business environment, it is essential for the corporation to design and implement effective training and development programs. At the same time, effective training and development activities is necessary for attracting new talents and retaining employees within the organization. Moreover, training and development activities are crucially important for the organization to seek constant innovation and transformation of the business according to the changing requirement of the market. Nonetheless, it can be argued that training and development is essential for the organization at all the levels of the management. The effective training and development programs facilitate in the creation of effective leaders who will be responsible for framing strategi es that would facilitate the organization with increased benefit in the form of increased profitability and market share. Therefore, it can be stated proper training needs are required in the organization to enhance the capability of its employees as well as the organizational performance (Apple Inc., 2013). Role of HR in the Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation of a Training Program to Meet the Requirement in the Production Process of the Company HR managers are considered as a vital part of any organization as they are the only bridge that helps in maintaining a proper relation between the employees and the top level management. Correspondingly, HR managers are also widely responsible for