Job skills Essay

VERBAL COMMUNICATION 1 Able to express your ideas clearly and confidently in speech TEAMWORK 2 Work confidently within a group COMMERCIAL AWARENESS 3 Understand the commercial realities affecting the organisation. ANALYSING & INVESTIGATING 4 Gather information systematically to establish facts & principles. Problem solving. INITIATIVE/SELF MOTIVATION 5 Able to act on initiative, identify opportunities & proactive in putting forward ideas & solutions DRIVE 6 Determination to get things done. Make things happen & constantly looking for better ways of doing things. WRITTEN COMMUNICATION 7 Able to express yourself clearly in writing PLANNING & ORGANISING 8 Able to plan activities & carry them through effectively FLEXIBILITY 9 Adapt successfully to changing situations & environments TIME MANAGEMENT 10 Manage time effectively, prioritising tasks and able to work to deadlines. Other skills that were also seen as important GLOBAL SKILLS Able to speak and understand other languages. Appreciation of other cultures. See Study and work placements outside the UK Working Abroad NEGOTIATING & PERSUADING Able to influence and convince others, to discuss and reach agreement. LEADERSHIP Able to motivate and direct others NUMERACY Multiply & divide accurately, calculate percentages, use statistics & a calculator, interpret graphs & tables. COMPUTING SKILLS Word-processing, using databases, spreadsheets, the Internet & email, designing web pages etc. SELF AWARENESS Awareness of achievements, abilities, values & weaknesses & what you want out of life. PERSONAL IMPACT/CONFIDENCE Presents a strong, professional, positive image to others which inspires confidence & commands respect. LIFELONG LEARNING Continues to learn throughout life. Develops the competencies needed for current & future roles STRESS TOLERANCE Maintains effective performance under pressure INTEGRITY Adheres to standards & procedures, maintains confidentiality and questions inappropriate behaviour. INDEPENDENCE Accepts responsibility for views & actions and able to work under their own direction & initiative. DEVELOPING PROFESSIONALISM Pays care & attention to quality in all their work. Supports & empowers others. ACTION PLANNING Able to decide what steps are needed to achieve particular goals and then implement these. DECISION-MAKING Determines the best course of action. Evaluates options based on logic & fact & presents solutions INTERPERSONAL SENSITIVITY Recognises & respects different perspectives. Open to the ideas & views of others CREATIVITY Generates & applying new ideas & solutions

Concept Paper or Pre-Proposal

Statement of the problem †¢Statement of the solution †¢Brief statement of how the solution will benefit the reader(s) II. Background†¢Explanation of key terms †¢Proof that you know the issues surrounding the problem †¢Proof that you know what action has been taken to solve similar problems †¢Proof that you (or someone you are associated with) can carry out the action plan III. Action Plan and Requirements†¢A set of objectives (what your plan will accomplish) †¢An action plan (who will do what when) keyed to the objectives †¢A description of what you need to implement the plan A cost/benefit analysis of the plan IV. Benefits†¢An explanation of why the plan will work †¢A set of outcomes keyed to the objectives †¢A description of how you and the reader(s) will benefit †¢Proof that you are the best person or team to carry out the action plan †¢A statement demonstrating that your plan is the best approach to solving the problem Ideas or Content Problem statement Since you will ask your reader(s) to give you something, you must first establish that there is a problem that needs to be solved. If you are responding to an agency's Request for Proposals (RFP), the problem will be given to you.This is a solicited proposal. However, if you are requesting support or approval for your own idea (e. g. , a product design,technological innovation, and/or process), you must clearly state the problem and explain why you think it is a problem. This is an unsolicited proposal. A template for a statement of purpose/solution follows: The purpose of this concept paper is to request [approval or support] in the form of [ approval, equipment, funding, personnel, resources] to solve [description of a problem] so that [benefits of implementing the solution]. Sample purpose statements: The purpose of this concept paper is to request your approval to develop a technical proposal to request funding from the National Scienc e Foundation to establish a chicken-cloning program at the University of Texas. †¢The purpose of this document is to convince you to provide the Residents' Association with $2,000 to renovate the apartment complex's existing tennis courts so that you can successfully fulfill your contractual agreement with residents and so that they can play tennis without having to needlessly chase errant balls. Background information 1.As in all technical documents, you must first identify your audience? n this case, your potential supporter(s). If you are responding to an RFP or other solicited proposal, you will know the agency or company you will be writing to, but may still need to research both the names of the people to whom the proposal should be addressed, as well as the funding history of the agency or organization. This will help you to: †¢ narrow your research down to only those areas that will appeal to your reader(s) and †¢ to formulate a plan the agency/organization wi ll be likely to support.If you are submitting an unsolicited proposal, this research is even more important. There is lots of funding available, but much of it is targeted to very specific types of projects or types of respondents. For example, one philanthropic organization might support only those projects proposed by community organizations focused on prevention of substance abuse by teenagers. An organization I worked for once sent out an RFP to fund teacher-training projects proposed by groups of educators only.Individuals or groups with money to invest in new ideas may also have limits to the cash awards they offer. If your action plan can be accomplished with $5,000 or less, you may have more potential supporters than if your project requires $50,000 or even $5,000,000. 2. Conduct market or rhetorical research (analyze your context of use) to determine what evidence you might present that could convince the reader(s) to give you what you request. 3. Collect only that evidence that will convince your reader(s) to act. . Explain key terms and orient the reader to the problem. (Use internal citations when warranted. ) 5. Prove to the reader(s) that you have researched both the problem and its solution. 6. Explain why you and/or other reputable people think the problem is important. Clear solution/action plan While developing a clear solution may seem like an easy thing to do, it may actually be quite complicated. It may help you to develop categories equivalent to those that may later be required in the final proposal (e. . , objectives, rationale, personnel, management, timeline, products, budget, evaluation, guarantees of assurance, dissemination of results). While you will not be able to provide many details at this core document stage, you must have a clear idea of: †¢who will perform what actions (personnel and management), †¢how long it will take to achieve the solution (timeline), †¢how much it will cost (budget), and †¢what reso urces you will need (approval, funds, equipment, personnel, or other resources).Good proposals present strong links between the objectives of the plan (what you hope to accomplish), the activities that will allow you to accomplish those objectives, and the means by which you will determine how well your project is going. The methods of evaluation also link directly back to the objectives; this means that as you write an objective, you must make certain its degree of achievement can be measured. You might consider using a chart similar to that in Table 2 as a planning tool. In this example, the proposal is requesting approval and funds to carry out the specified action plan.Note that the objectives refer to the plan itself, not to reader support of the plan. Table 2. Sample Proposal Planning Chart ObjectivesAction PlanEvaluation (on-going and summative) †¢To develop a web site to successfully market the services of an engineering consulting firm 1. Form a project team that inclu des managers, researchers, graphic artists, technical writers, and web authors. 2. Conduct research on the audience that will be accessing the web site. 3. Conduct research on similar successful web sites. 4. Work with managers to determine the purpose and content of the web site. . Define†successful marketing†of the firm's web site. 6. Develop a questionnaire to assess successful marketing. . . †¢Web site tally of the number of people accessing the site (hits) †¢Follow-up electronic questionnaire sent to those who contact the firm for services Needs/Requirements Clearly specify what you need from the reader(s) of your Concept Paper. You should have already stated in an introductory paragraph the specific action you want from your reader; now explain how you will use the support you request.For instance, if you request money, state how the funds will be used or distributed. The typical format for doing this is a formal budget statement. Table 3 shows a sample b udget chart for the project described in Table 2. Table 3. Sample Budget Chart ExpenseRecipientSourceAmount (per year) Project Team SalariesTeam LeaderEngineering Firm$15,000 Graphic ArtistEngineering Firm$25,000 ResearcherEngineering Firm$5,000 Technical WriterEngineering Firm$25,000 Web expertEngineering Firm$5,000In this sample chart, all funds are expected to come from the engineering firm to which the proposal is being sent. However, your proposal may be more likely to be funded if you can show matching support from other sources (cost-share). This budget reflects only personnel and their projected salaries. * As you develop your chart, consider what other needs you might have. For example, in this project, the author might want to include costs of computers, printers, scanners, digital cameras, or other production equipment needed to develop the web site.

Human Resource Management at Emirates Airlines Essay

HR management is a very important aspect that need not to be overlooked in companies, as it is the most important process in most of the companies, especially the services based companies, one of the best company in the services sector of the world is emirates airlines, emirates airlines has been known as one of the best companies in the world in terms of servicing and quality in the airline industry business, emirates airlines being a services sector company implements HR as their main process, and they are doing it very effectively, but as every company has a downturn in its lifetime, the downturn faced by emirates airlines is more related to the conflicts in their diverse workforce, and is often been used in the HR field as one of the most important HR case to discuss, therefore we will analyze the HR processes in this project and will try to find the main cause behind the sudden downturn in the HR processes of emirates airlines, and the strategy that they applied for coping up fr om the issue. In the following article we will discuss the HR problems that emirates airlines had experienced in the downturn, we will analyze the situation under which emirates airlines had to suffer problem related to HR management, and the strategies that the HR department of emirates airlines had applied in their management process, we will also try to identify the correctness and the impact of the HR strategies that the HR department had implemented, we will also try to give alternate solutions to the HR problems that should have implemented alternatively, and that could have been proved to be successful to the company. Company overview Emirates airlines is one of the best example of how to manage best quality with reasonable cost, the airlines flew their first flight on 25th October, 1985, since then it had made it through a very long way through the history to arrive to their current position, emirates airlines’ success had been a topic of interest among peoples, as the concept that they had used and their way to work on every detail was astonishing. The unique style of emirates airlines had been one of the main factors behind the success of the group, the traditional way to serve peoples in the flights and the Emirati culture that they have introduced in the airlines are commendable, apart from the quality of services, the next major thing is the quality of emirates airlines. The company had already received more than 250 international awards for excellence, and it is emerging as one of the best airlines in the world, the revenue of the airlines shad increased by as much as 49% in the previous year, therefore accounting for one of the best growing company in the airlines sector. The human resource of the company also plays a very important role in the success of the company, as the employees of the company has a definite rule and set of instructions that they have to follow in the processes in the company, the services of the company are defined and should be practiced at every single flight of emirates airlines according to the company’s instructions, because the HR processes designed by the management of the company is unique and they are defined in such a way, such that the after following that set of steps, the success of the business process is sure. Emirate airlines is showing great growth in the business, and as emirates recruits peoples from diverse backgrounds and culture, therefore it is becoming even more difficult for them to manage the workforce conflict that often arouses because of different backgrounds, this is the only problem that the company is facing as the human resource of the company, and the workforce of the company had increased to a much larger extent in the past years. While emirate airlines provides travel services, Dnata the other group of emirate airlines provides, cargo and ground services, it is becoming more and more difficult for the corporation to handle the workforce in both the groups. Brief history of emirates airlines Emirates airlines are known as the best airlines in the Middle East, the number of flights operated per week is 2400, which is a phenomenal number. The start of emirates airlines date back to the 1980’s when gulf air refused to offer services to Dubai, as a result the royal family of Dubai, conceived emirates airlines with the first two planes provided by the â€Å"Dubai royal air wing†. After being conceived by the royal family, the airlines were needed to be administered independently; therefore a $10 million investment was initially made in the airlines. Ahmed bin Saeed al Maktoum was appointed as the chairman of the airlines, which he is still pursuing. After that, they have taken at lease, a Boeing 737-300 and an airbus 300B4-200. The first flight made by the airlines was from Dubai to Karachi, and the flight’s name was K600, the date on which the first flight was made was 25th October, 1985. Analyzing the problem  It is stated that â€Å"a manager’s ability is defined by its ability to cultivate, identify and to use the core competency of the company in a manner that would be beneficial for the company†, at emirates airlines clearly the management is finding it very difficult to manage the workforce in the company, as the workforce includes peoples from various nations and areas, but as emirates airlines is a very big group and is particularly very important for the growth of airline business in the world, therefore we must need to analyze the HR problems and other problems that might affect the working of the company, and the impact made by them on the Emirati business. As our main aim is to identify the HR related problems in the company, therefore instead of going into unnecessary details about the company, we will go into detail to understand the basic HR processes in the company i. e. leadership process, HR strategy, and organization behavior in the company to understand the additional factors that might lead to problems and conflicts in the organization. Leadership style in the company Leader can be considered as one of the most important person in a company, or more specifically an organization, the leader has the task to manage workforce in the company, therefore if any conflicts arises in the company, then it is the responsibility of the leader to check out that problem and to identify a proper solution to that problem, the success of any organization is very much dependent on the leadership style pursued in the company, and it is the most critical element in the company too, therefore if leadership is carried out in any negative sense then the consequences will be very bad, as can be identified and analyzed by observing some organizations in the world, in which a negative leadership led to poor sales and revenue generation in the company. The leaders should have that basic sense of observing the needs of the employees of the company, and should know how to encourage them and to identify the motivating factors that plays the most crucial role in the development of effective workforce in the company. The conflicts in any organization could be solved if the leader himself is a very generous and visionary person, if the leader would not discriminate peoples on the basis of color and region then it will be served as motivating factors for the others to take example of the leader and follow the same process as the leader process, if somehow any conflicts arises in the company, then the leader should know how to eliminate the conflicts. The leadership style of the leaders at emirate airlines, as analyzed by experts in this field can be related as highly patience, and active leaders that has the ability to cope up with changes and manage resources according to it very rapidly. Problems like CSR (corporate social responsibility) is also one of the most important practices that a leader should practice, as the name suggest, in this process the leader should have the responsibility to act according to the situations that arises in the company, and he should be responsible enough to take the responsibility of any conflict that arises in a company. As far as the leadership style of the managers and leaders at the company is concerned it can be said that the leadership style of the company is quite good, and that if any conflict may arises in the company then it can be very well handled by the leaders of the company HR strategy implementation at emirates airlines The implementation of HR strategies at emirates airlines, is also a very mportant factor as the HR strategies defines the way to handle peoples in the company and to make sure that no kind of conflict arises in the company, when we see the HR structure of the company, we can see that the HR processes in the company is divided into groups, the groups are mainly divided in order to handle the various processes in the company, for example, the HR strategy for managing in-flight crew is different, it is also different in case of ground staff, the ground staff is further divided into groups, that includes technical staff, and non-technical staff, apart from this the HR strat egy in the management of the company is also different, i. e. the management of administration of the company also comprises a group of peoples which are included in different strategy management area. In the in-flight crew the conflicts seldom happens, as the crew is comparatively comprises less peoples then other sections of the company, and that the main job of the crew is to handle the on-board customers therefore any conflict in terms of competition and in cooperation is seldom seen in case of in-flight crews but conflict on the basis of race or, conflict on the basis of competition can be aroused. The main conflicts however arouses in the ground staff and the management and administration of the company, as the ground staff comprises of peoples from different countries, and races therefore the chances of conflicts in terms of competition or any racists behavior might occur and the chances are very high in this case, emirates airlines employs peoples from all over the world, therefore the conflict management is very difficult in case where peoples are in large numbers and that too from different groups. Many a times it is seen that the HR processes in a company is implemented keeping in mind the majority of workforce population in the company, for example if the company has more men’s then women’s, then the possibility is very high that the strategy of the organization would be formulated keeping in mind the majority group in the company, and the other one would be ignored, same is the case when analyzing the races, conflicts might arise in the company if the HR processes and strategy is being implemented keeping in mind the majority race in the company, such as for one race a holiday is being provided, but for other race no holiday is provided to them for their festival, in these types of cases, the major conflict arises between the employer and the employee, therefore this thing must also be taken into consideration. The conflicts in the management can also arise, and this thing we have seen in many companies around the world, but the thing is we have seen conflicts in such companies but they are not of racism related or any other kind of diversity related, conflicts in the upper management usually occurs because of increase in competition in the management, however chances can’t be neglected that conflict because of diverse workforce might arise in the company. Organizational behavior in the company The behavior towards the employees forms the very basis of organizational behavior, the other aspects of organizational behavior includes, the time line for working hours for the employees, the reward techniques used to reward the employees, the leadership style of the organization and other micro and macro factors that relates the behavior in an organization. In case of emirates airlines, if we analyze the financial condition of the airlines, we can see that the airline is making good revenue year by year, and the growth in revenue of the company is very good, and as the company’s growth is very good, so as the growth of the employees of the company, if we consider the employee satisfaction in the company, we would rate emirates airlines at 4 on a scale of 5 as the company look out for every need of its employees and considering the packages that is offered to the employees of the company, especially the in-flight crew, we will see that the packages of the in-flight crew is among the highest packages in the world in the airline industry, the salary and perks like insurance, housing etc. of the ground staff is also very good and regular motivation in terms of rewards and bonus are provided to the employees, and considering the management and administration of the company, we can see that the management of the company is earning very heavy pay, therefore the chance of conflicts in terms of employee dissatisfaction is minimal. But however, taking apart the financial aspects of the company, if we analyze the workforce communication and coordination, and the behavior of boss towards the person who is under him, the major conflict can arise here, as the manager can be from different country or race or there may be a case that the manager or the employee is a women, then the case might occur that the manager could prefer a man over a women or a person from the same race as he is and will try to ignore the person of opposite race, this is a very possible case, and the chances increases at this level especially that the conflicts might rise between the employees of the company. These conflicts proves to be very negative for the company as the employees might stop the work and go to strike, or temporary pause in the world, the women’s are especially effected by the organizational behavior in the company, as if the women is placed in a section where the number of female population is comparatively less, the women’s might feel it very difficult in managing themselves in such workspace, therefore if appropriate behavior is not done with the women’s then chances are very high that the company might have to taste negative consequences of this thing, therefore the organization behavior can be one of the factors in awakening conflicts between the workforce in the company.

Critically analyze how successful the British government's use of Essay

Critically analyze how successful the British government's use of Spending Reviews has been as a way of making government more - Essay Example Definition and history of Spending Reviews The Spending Review is ‘the HM Treasury led process that allocates public expenditures.’1 It is intended to ‘set a clear direction for reform, focused on shifting power from central government to the local level.’2 In the late 1990s, the New Labour government came into power in the U.K., and embarked on several reforms whereby public spending may be made more effectively. One of these reforms is the introduction of medium-term spending reviews. The first Comprehensive Spending Review was conducted in 1998 and published in July of that year. Three subsequent spending reviews were conducted in the years 2000, 2002 and 2004. The subsequent Comprehensive Spending Review was conducted in 2007, and the next after that in 2010.3 The diagram on the following page shows the progression of Spending Reviews from 1998 when the process was first adopted and the first Comprehensive SR was conducted, to the next CST in 2007. ... Source: OECD Senior Budget Officials Network4 The adoption of the CST98 was in line with the public sector reform for that year, which introduced the three year spending plans, as well as the use of resource based accounting and budgeting. The review stressed greater protection for capital spending, proper asset management, and was anchored on outcome-focused performance targets.5 In 2009, the Government borrowed one pound for every four pounds it spent. As a result, the cost of debt servicing (which is comprised of interest payments on public debt) exceeds what the Government spends for England’s schools in one year.6 Significance of spending reviews as strategic tool for government Spending reviews provide government a tool for controlling public spending in two ways: (1) that during the budget planning process, proposed spending could be more effectively aligned with the strategic goals of government; and (2) that interim reviews could act as a monitoring tool to ensure tha t the actual expenditures are consistent with the budgeted allocations and, if not, that justification could be found which nevertheless serves the strategic goal, and where none could be found, that further spending could be halted along this line before runaway expenses could be incurred. There is a fundamental difference between the Comprehensive Spending Review conducted in 1998, 2007 and 2010, and the spending reviews conducted in 2000, 2002 and 2004. The CSR is a fundamental strategic review of spending priorities, while the SR creates ‘merely incremental changes to existing priorities.’7 There is a distinction between two types of public expenditures that are provided for in the spending reviews. The first is the annually

Audit framework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Audit framework - Essay Example the statutory audit report is a must for the company in the presentation of their balance sheet, income statement and statement of cash flows. The standard statutory audit is characterised by an auditor performs normal auditing procedures to show that the financial statements are more credible than if no external auditor's opinion is attached. The statutory audit is implemented in order to prevent frauds and illegal acts. As proof,Enron's income statement was window dressed. The company had recorded sales transactions that had never happened. Consequently, these fraudulent transactions would translate to higher sales. Higher sales would give a higher net income. a higher net income would give us a higher net assets. a higher sales would generate a higher stockholders' equity. In addition, the company did not record some of its losses. Enron had fraudulently window -dressed by presenting these Enron losses as losses of its off -shore companies. as a result, the unrecorded losses resulted to a net income that is higher than what the real net income should be. Convincingly, Enron's income statement was window dressed (Fusaro, and Miller 2002, 107) Also, Enron and Arthur Andersen knew that recording fictitious sales and profits would increase stockholder investments. Enron and Arthur Andersen knew that recording fictitious sales and profits would increase stockholder investments. Enron and Arthur Andersen knew that recording fictitious sales and profits would increase stockholder investments. The senior management officers connived with the accounting officers of Enron to prepare the fraud -laden financial statement in complete violation the harmonization standards set by violating the international accounting standards accomplish this fraudulent goal. Clearly, Enron and Arthur Andersen knew that recording fictitious sales and profits would increase stockholder investments (Madrick 2002). urthermore, the WorldCom and Enron accounting scandals are two of the reasons that triggered the approval of the Sabarnes -Oxley Law. The company was a communications company that had risen to profitability during the 1990s. However, the company found its profitability had slowly declined in the early 2000s. This is the largest accounting scandal in history. The officers of WorldCom entered tried to window dress their stock market price. The company's stock market price had decreased because company profits started to decline. The officers, specifically CEO Bernie Ebbers and CPA Scott Sullivan had to prepare false financial statements indicating that their sale and profits were higher than the real sales and profits would show in order to stave the decline of its stock market share price Zekany, Braun, and Warder 2004). Similar to Enron, the company's external auditor, Arthur Andersen, did not comply with generally accepted auditing standards to prevent or curtail material misstateme nts of the income statement and the corresponding balance sheet. The WorldCom fraudulent activities occurred from 1999 to 2002 (Ettredge et al., 1).

IP1 management report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

IP1 management report - Essay Example Business choices frequently require the information of individuals in more than one practical region(Dell, 2015). This prompts a superior understanding of the bigger view, permitting individuals with distinctive thoughts, viewpoints and ability to voice their plans and find innovative and creative answers for issues that the association is encountering. Among the major organization and overall management strategies, Dell Inc. uses framing, particularly in solving challenges and as a good example on how the company’s managers observe the organization function. Framing does not necessarily give a solution for this issue but it gives a sense of direction and intuition. It prompts teamwork and contribution from everyone including the staff, middle-level management etc. It structural attribute that rationalizes the need for organization, accuracy and self-driven motivation as key constituents for making the right decisions and countering an issue efficiently(Dell, 2015). Additionally, communication is among the core factors and an aspect that Dell management emphasizes on throughout the operations. This helps the managers to create a bond and strong relationship with the rest of the staff members. Consequently, it facilitates novelty and expression without any pressure from the employees; they will freely approach the leader with new ideas and potential solutions for problems (Chapman, 2014). According to Dell’s management, leadership is as significant as management itself hence their key aims is establishing the harmonizing link between both. They ensure that the company’s corporate leaders are experts of all business functions, and through this management, supervision and control is easier because, an executive has more details on the different modules of an organization(Dell, 2015). Additionally, under leadership and sustainability, the leader rotates through different roles before they come to their main project as part of individual

Interpersonal Communication and Movies Research Paper

Interpersonal Communication and Movies - Research Paper Example In some interpersonal dealings, communication may develop complications due to a host of factors such as in the movie â€Å"A Few Good Men†. This paper shall attempt to dissect the elements of verbal communication especially in taking orders from a superior, the value of truth and honesty and gender differences in military work depicted in the movie. Lefebvre (2008) advises that when speaking, one must also be aware of body language and tone and inflection of voice. She notes that different ideas may be conveyed by simply emphasizing different parts of the statement. Being an active listener helps one understand the message being relayed to him. As the listener, one should hold his response until the speaker is done, and keenly observe nonverbal cues expressed. It must always be remembered that communication is a give and take process. One must learn to wait his turn to be the speaker and the listener (Lefebvre, 2008). This is especially important in courtrooms where cases are tried in order to find the truth, and if ever there is a crime proven, that the perpetrator should be punished and the victim be served the justice they deserve. This has been manifested in the movie â€Å"A Few Good Men† which showed several courtroom scenes in analyzing an alleged misdemeanor by two marines that eventually killed another marine within the confines of the marine base. The court scenes were played very well, giving each party a chance to express him or herself while on trial. However, there are times when both speaker and listener talk at the same time, trying to prove their point and talk over each other. Richmond & McCroskey (2005) contend that interpersonal communication in organizations can either go horizontally, or across co-workers who are considered equals in terms of position in the organization, and vertically, indicating a hierarchy in position that either goes upward towards higher management or downward, towards rank and file. Downward communica tion from management to the employees usually involves job instruction, rationale, ideology, information and feedback. This is most common in the military, where messages are often given as orders from someone from a higher position and is expected to be followed. In the movie, the two marines who allegedly killed a colleague were presumed to be doing so under orders from their superiors. Job instruction includes directions mandated by management such as direct orders, written memos, workshops on how to do the job, and so on. An example is how a marine should behave when there is an officer approaching. Rationale is the rationalization or explanation of a duty or assignment and how it is compatible with what the personnel are already doing. An example of this is explaining why one is posted in an area during his shift. Ideology is the philosophy of the organization that managers expect their employees to share. If they do believe in the same views, then communication would flow much easier within the organization. An example is that in the military, obeying orders from superiors is a must. Information is concerned with acquainting people with general knowledge that they need to know, such as regulations, changes in benefits, and general policies. Feedback is the superior's way of giving his subordinates information about how they are doing. This is usually expressed as praise, recognition,

Sustainability of Seventeen Event Company Essay - 1

Sustainability of Seventeen Event Company - Essay Example As a concept, Sustainability can be defined as the â€Å"the growing concern for the environment and natural resources, though...[it]...has also had increasing resonance in social and economic issues.† (Mowforth and Munt,2009, p18). Academic, political and economic circles have begun to seriously consider the implications of unrestricted economic growth on the already stretched resources of the earth. The agenda is motivated by the understanding that the planet may not be able to cope up with the demands of the growth unless drastic measures are taken to support the processes with more environmentally friendly practices and technology. The burden of change in this area falls largely to businesses and economic groups as they are the main consumers of many of the natural, human and financial capital resources available currently. While governments and lobbying groups can provide much-needed direction and policies to guide the businesses towards sustainable practices; inevitably it is the businesses themselves that must show awareness and concern regarding the issue and make changes from the ground level as they have a greater reach and influence than any single consumer possibly could have.   It is not surprising that societal expectations from both local and international stakeholder are now forcing businesses towards a higher level of accountability and transparency with regards to not just their financial performance but also their role as a social participant in economic, social and environmental development (Sherwood, 2007). While responses have varied, businesses, especially in the consumer-centric, western markets, have responded to these responsibilities with efforts to be operationally eco-efficient, and incorporate social responsibility into their overall operations.

Developing a Perfomance Appraisal System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Developing a Perfomance Appraisal System - Essay Example Federal and state laws have added to the complexity and difficulty of appraisal plans. Criteria for compliance with equal employment opportunity laws are stringent. Management needs to design and operate its appraisal systems carefully in order to comply with these laws. A generation ago, appraisal programs tended to emphasize employee traits, deficiencies, and abilities, but modern appraisal philosophy emphasizes present performance and future goals. Modern philosophy also stresses employee participation in mutually setting goals with the supervisor and knowledge of results. Thus the hallmarks of modern appraisal philosophy are as follows: 2. Focus on goals or objectives - as the discussion of MBO shows, employees need to have a clear idea of what they are supposed to be doing and the priorities among their tasks; as the saying goes," If you know where you want to go, you are more likely to get there." 3. Mutual goal setting within supervisor and employee - this is the belief the people will work harder for goals or objectives that they have participated in setting. Among their desires are perform a worthwhile task, share in a group effort, share in setting their objectives, share in the rewards of their efforts and continue personal growth. The (Theory Y) assumption is that people want to satisfy some of their needs through work and that they will do if management will provide them with a supportive environment. 4. Clarification of behavioral expectations - this is often done via a behavioral anchored rating scale (BARS), which provides the employee and the manager with concrete examples of various levels of behaviors. Brief descriptions of outstanding, very good, acceptable, below average and unacceptable behaviors are specified for each major dimension of a job, thuis cueing the employee in advance regarding the organization's expectations. BARS helps reduce manager's tendency to focus on attitudes, personality, and nquirks of an employee and shift emphasis toward productive behaviors. 5. Extensive Feedback Systems - employees can fine-tune their performance better if they know how they are doing in the eyes of the organization. Most organizational appraisal systems requires supervisors to assess employees on various aspects of their productivity, behavior, and or personal traits. Examples of these three dimensions include quality of work and quantity of output, attendance and initiative and general attitude. Many appraisal systems also point toward both historical performance and the individual's potential for growth and advancement. The actual forms and procedures used for assessing this information vary widely. Some organizations ask supervisors to write essays describing the employee's performance; others recommend that they accumulate a record of incidents both positive and negative; mant firms use various types of graphic rating scales that grade employees on A-B-C-D-E or 1-2-3-4-5 systems. Regardless of the system used, the assessment is then communicated to the employee through the appraisal interview. This is a session

Why must religion be based on faith rather than on knowledge Research Paper - 1

Why must religion be based on faith rather than on knowledge - Research Paper Example Are these thoughts about God born out of knowledge or out of strong faith? Philosophers contended that the infinity of God cannot be comprehended by the limited capacity of human beings to understand His greatness. Ancient and medieval philosophers have in fact attempted to empirically grasp God’s existence, albeit done purely through intellectual pursuits. Various theological positions were made and written. Augustine of Hippo, who hailed from North Africa and have converted from Manichaenism to Christianity, posited that thought credo ut intelligengiam or ‘I believe so that I may understand.† Such assert that human reason is essential only for those who possess faith and thus, human being’s rational capacity to reason is effective in obtaining general knowledge about the world and of God. He viewed that part of the innate nature of human being is to commit evil acts. This, for him, is integrated in the Divine plan which allowed persons to choose to do good or evil. The unbearable consequences of bad acts always made human beings choose do what is good. Advocate of naturalism perceived that God is everywhere. He is with nature and in the plurality of realities. They argued that God unify everything and can be known through the layers of emanation which flows with the Divine essence. Plato’s philosophy of idealism, on the other hand, made such epistemic principle that God is intangible, an impersonal entity encompassing the causes of all ideas. Plato professed that God is an abstract, timeless and unchanging reality. God is an absolute being and an eternal being (Plato, 2003). He professed that the perception of God separated the physical world from the intelligible realm (Plato, 2003). Thomas Aquinas (1993), also a medieval thinker, argued that theology is not an object of science and is only philosophically pursued by understanding the metaphysics of God’s existence. He however considered the divine thoughts are scribed in a sacred

Unpaid Internship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 7

Unpaid Internship - Essay Example In my opinion, the unpaid internship program is perfectly legal. Some institutions offer either a paid or unpaid internship program. For the unpaid internship program, a partnership is entered into between the schools and the training institutions. The institutions include the hospitals, factories, stores, and other unpaid internship entity types. Under both the unpaid and paid internship programs, the students are given an opportunity to experience real-life working conditions. In the internship program, fair exchange occurs. In exchange for the real-life working experiences, the unpaid intern earns educational units (Niles 108). The educational unit credits are in lieu of the interns’ being paid in U.S. dollar or other similar payment methods. For receiving free real work experiences, the greenhorn, neophyte academic learner cannot demand payment of their internship duties (Wong 57). Undoubtedly, the unpaid intern receives equivalent education units in exchange for the entit ies’ free training. Nancy Niles reiterated that â€Å"the unpaid internship program offers management another tool for fill the company’s need additional company recruits (Niles 107). Some entities engage in trial employment (internship) activities. The company tests the intern’s capacity to be hired as another future employee. For the slow-learning lackluster unpaid intern, management may immediately to terminate the internship. An intern who cannot follow the instructions or orders of the clinical instructors or training facilities’ superiors will surely be â€Å"kicked out† of the training sessions (Niles 108). Without a doubt, the unpaid internship program offers the facilities’ officers another tool in its desire to absorb highly qualified interns into the company’s regular employee program. The unpaid internship program increases the students’ job hiring prospects. To be effective, the students must focus quality time and energy to learning everything needed to be successful in the real world, including being hired in one’s dream job.

Dance history Essay Example for Free

Dance history Essay Ballet is a form of dancing performed for theatre audiences. Like other dance forms, ballet may tell a story, express a mood, or simply reflect the music. But a ballet dancers technique (way of performing) and special skills differ greatly from those of other dancers. Ballet dancers perform many movements that are unnatural for the body. But when these movements are well executed, they look natural. The beginnings of ballet can be traced to Italy during the 1400s at the time of the Renaissance. During the Renaissance, people developed a great interest in art and learning. At the same time, trade and commerce expanded rapidly, and the dukes who ruled Florence and other Italian city-states grew in wealth. The dukes did much to promote the arts. The Italian city-states became rival art centres as well as competing commercial centers. The Italian dukes competed with one another in giving costly, fancy entertainments that included dance performances. The dancers were not professionals. They were noblemen and noblewomen of a dukes court who danced to please their ruler and to stir the admiration and envy of his rivals. Catherine de Medici, a member of the ruling family of Florence, became the queen of France in 1547. Catherine introduced into the French court the same kind of entertainments that she had known in Italy. They were staged by Balthazar de Beaujoyeulx, a gifted musician. Beaujoyeulx had come from Italy to be Catherines chief musician. Ballet historians consider one of Beaujoyeulxs entertainments, the Ballet Comique de la Reine, to be the first ballet. It was a magnificent spectacle of about 51/2 hours performed in 1581 in honour of a royal wedding. The ballet told the ancient Greek myth of Circe, who had the magical power to turn men into beasts. The ballet included specially written instrumental music, singing, and spoken verse as well as dancingall based on the story of Circe. Dance technique was extremely limited, and so Beaujoyeulx depended on spectacular costumes and scenery to impress the audience. To make sure that the audience understood the story, he provided printed copies of the verses used in the ballet. The ballet was a great success, and was much imitated in other European courts. French leadership. The Ballet Comique de la Reine established Paris as the capital of the ballet world. King Louis XIV, who ruled France during the late 1600s and early 1700s, strengthened that leadership. Louis greatly enjoyed dancing. He took part in all the ballets given at his court, which his nobles performed, but stopped after he became fat and middle-aged. In 1661, Louis founded the Royal Academy of Dancing to train professional dancers to perform for him and his court. Professional ballet began with the kings dancing academy. With serious training, the French professionals developed skills that had been impossible for the amateurs. Similar companies developed in other European countries. One of the greatest was the Russian Imperial Ballet of St. Petersburg, whose school was founded in 1738. The French professional dancers became so skilled that they began to perform publicly in theatres. But in 1760, the French choreographer Jean Georges Noverre criticized the professional dancers in his book Lettres sur la danse, et sur les ballets (Letters on Dancing and Ballets). Noverre complained that the dancers cared too much about showing their technical skills and too little about the true purpose of ballet. This purpose, he said, was to represent characters and express their feelings. Noverre urged that ballet dancers stop using masks, bulky costumes, and large wigs to illustrate or explain plot and character. He claimed that the dancers could express these things using only their bodies and faces. So long as the dancers did not look strained or uncomfortable doing difficult steps, they could show such emotions as anger, joy, fear, and love. Noverre developed the ballet daction, a form of dramatic ballet that told the story completely through movement. Most of Noverres ballets told stories taken from ancient Greek myths or dramas. But during the early 1800s, people no longer cared about old gods and heroes. The romantic period began as people became interested in stories of escape from the real world to dreamlike worlds or foreign lands.

Millennial Financial Confidence and Social Media

Millennial Financial Confidence and Social Media The Millennial Generation and Social Media: How online relationships affect Millennials’ financial esteem Abstract One of the largest generations in history is moving into its prime spending years. The Millennial generation, as a technologically savvy culture, is looking to reshape the economy, taking their unique financial experiences into the way they look to spend their money. Having lived through the 2008 Great Recession, however, Millennials are haunted by the unexpected obstacles an inconsistent economy poses. They exhibit immense distrust with financial institutions due to struggles during their financial upbringing, and are the first generation to have accumulated excessive amounts of student loan debt. Therefore, the Millennial generation takes pride in practicing frugal spending habits, making sure to put money into their savings account each month. However, Millennials are also heavily influenced by their relationship with their peers via social media platforms. The self-presentation theory can be used to explain why social media influences millennials, as the desire to receive social acceptance drives millennial behaviors. As statistical evidence has proven, Millennials feel a heightened sense of social acceptance when physical symbols of social adequacy are shown through â€Å"like,† â€Å"favorites,† â€Å"retweets,† or â€Å"share.† Millennials also place an emphasis on experiencing live events rather than material items, explaining that these events are more enjoyable when shared through social media. Studies have also shown that the positive reinforcement Millennials receive from â€Å"likes,† â€Å"favorites,† or â€Å"retweets,† weighs heavily into their monetary decision making. Therefore, the argument can be made that the relationships Millennials pursue through social media negatively influences millennial spending as photos and posts on their newsfeed encourage reckless spending, relying heavily on funds received only through their increased debt accumulation. Introduction Millennials represent the largest living generation and more than a quarter of the population at 83.1 million, surpassing Baby Boomers at 75.4 million (Cutler, 2015). Because of the Millennial generation’s massive size, understanding and adapting to their spending tendencies is imperative to a company’s growth financially as the generation currently commands an estimated $1.3 trillion in annual consumer spending (Eventbrite, 2013) Many studies have been conducted between the Millennial generation and financial institutions, identifying their experiences and attitudes which in turn help to shape how they interact with one another. Millennials, having lived through both the 2008 Great Recession and the digital revolution, are making constant decisions involving their money allocation. However, they are experiencing greater financial struggles. Millennials are the first generation in the modern age to experience high levels of poverty and unemployment, causing many to lose faith in financial institutions, and experience high levels of stress when allocating money from small, seemingly insignificant paychecks (Cutler, 2015). Due to these struggles, the Millennial generation takes pride in their financial planning, prioritizing conscious spending in order to avoid financial problems in the future, and feeling confident in their education to land them a successful career. However, the emphasis Millennials place on maintaining a social media deemed acceptable by peers is translating into harmful financial behaviors. In 2015, almost 50 percent of Millennial purchases were influenced by social media (Pagliara, 2017). Therefore, the understanding of the necessity to spend consciously is distanced by social media’s created desire to spend recklessly due to the emphasis Millennial’s place on media â€Å"likes† as a visual representation of social acceptance. Through a brief overview of the general Millennials’ financial outlook com pared to generations prior, combined with both an analysis of how Millennials interact with social media and how social media influences their spending habits, an argument can be made and then supported that the relationship between social media and the Millennial generation negatively affects their financial stature. Literature Review The Millennial Generation’s Overall Financial Outlook To better understand the fundamental attitudes and beliefs Millennials hold regarding financial institutions, it is important to first compare the monetary characteristics of the Millennial generation to both itself as well as previous generations including Baby Boomers and Generation Xers. After comparing Millennials’ early-life economic experiences to those of Generation Xers and Baby Boomers, The Pew Research Center found that, while Millennials are the most educated generation in American history, they also serve as the first generation to have higher student loan debt, poverty, and unemployment combined with lower levels of wealth and personal income (Cutler, 2015). With the high cost of education, the Pew Research Center added that, as of 2015, two-thirds of recent bachelor degree recipients have outstanding student loans averaging near $27,000 compared to graduates two decades ago with student loans averaging only $15,000. A 2014 Wells Fargo Millennial Study conducted b y Harris Poll found 42% of Millennials describe debt as an â€Å"overwhelming financial concern† as compared to only 23% of Baby Boomers. Furthermore, the study concluded that Millennials list student loan debt as their top concern while Baby Boomers focus on saving for retirement. Due to the burden of piling debt combined with difficulties landing successful jobs right out of college, Millennials immediately perceive a disconnect between the money spent on education and future earnings, developing a deflated, negative financial self-image early in their careers. A 2014 survey conducted by Pew found that a mere 42% of Millennials identify as middle class, a significant fall from the same survey conducted in 2008 where 53% of Millennials claimed themselves as middle class. Most significantly, however, the same survey also concluded that, in 2015, 46% of Millennials identified as low-middle to lower class, a notable rise from 25% in 2008. Contradictory to this statistic, howeve r, the Pew Research Center found that 85% of Millennials are optimistic when asked about their future financially, saying they have enough to live comfortably now and plan to save enough to create a lifestyle they want in the future (Cutler, 2015). This statistic gives an insight to how Millennials view their future wealth, offering valuable information regarding their thoughts on how to spend their money today. While financial optimism is necessary for confident future spending, Millennials currently experience poor financial self-image, affecting their spending habits today as they are forced to make hasty decisions that will hopefully increase their savings so they will have enough financial support to spend generously in the future. These statistics can be better explained through an in-depth analysis of the basic attitudes of the Millennial generation, identifying why Millennials perceive low financial self-image. Another study conducted by the Pew Research Center suggested Millennials experience greater institutional distrust than generations prior. When asked about the level of trust Millennials have in authority figures, government and financial institutions, and the general public combined, only 19%, or one in five, felt as if they can be trusted, a statistic much lower than 40% of Baby Boomers who responded to the same question (Cutler, 2015). This institutional distrust Millennials experience may be due to both current and previous economic experiences that have frightened them into becoming an innate generation of thrifty savers, while simultaneously being impulse spenders, a topic which will be discussed in the following analysis. The Great Recession in 2008 influenced the Millennial generation’s perception of economic institutions as many either struggled through the recession themselves, or observed the financial turmoil their parents experienced. Many Millennials describe the Great Recession as a warning to save now in an effort to survive unforeseen economic problems in the future. The recession also caused many Millennials to graduate into an environment burdened by high unemployment rates and undesirable salaries as jobs gained during the economic recovery paid on average 23% less than jobs before the recession (Boberiene & McLeigh, 2014). Emily Pachuta, head of investor insights at UBA, explained that due to the recession, â€Å"[Millennials] have a Depression-era mindset largely because they experienced market volatility and job security issues very early in their careers.† (Boberiene & McLeigh, 2014). Millennials are also skeptical when discussing government funding, especially when planning for retirement. A Harvard poll found that 51% of Millennials believe there will not be any funding available in the Social Security System by the time they retire. Additionally, a Wells Fargo Millennial Study found that over 50% of Millennials have already started allocating anywhere between 1% to 10% of their paycheck to retirement funding. Another Harvard poll noted that young people feel a disassociation between their priorities and the priorities of elected officials as they view effective results from political involvement as few and far between (Rampell, 2014). A 2014 article from the Grand Rapids Business Journal argues the 2008 Great Recession made Millennials timid about investing in financial markets, creating this desire for transparency and authenticity when dealing with companies and organizations (Marsh Private Client Services, 2015). Adding to their fear of financial crisis in the future, Millennials also struggle with the pressure of debt. As previously mentioned, recent graduates have significantly more student loan debt than graduates two decades prior. Among all Millennials, Wells Fargo found 47% of working Millennials are allotting 50% or more of their paycheck to certain categories of debt including credit card debt (16%), mortgage debt (15%), student loan debt (12%), auto debt (9%), and medical debt (5%). Because Millennials are allocating a large sum of their paycheck to paying off their accumulated debt, many are living paycheck to paycheck, leaving little to no cash left to spend elsewhere. After reviewing the statistical analysis of the Millennial generation’s experiences, thoughts and feelings regarding financial institutions and their own personal finances, exploring generic personality traits may find a direct correlation to between millennials’ innate behavior and their desire to maintain a positive image on social media adding which, therefore, progresses their poor financial experiences. As mentioned previously, Millennials are money-conscious due to the economic hardships they’ve endured. However, Millennials are also heavily influenced by social media, and the pressure to maintain a noteworthy lifestyle sometimes overrides their instinct to save. Social Media has affected Millennials in such a way that theorist have discussed they have become sub-clinical narcissists. Clinicians do not see sub-clinical narcissists as pathological, however there are traits of self-centeredness and self-love through the eyes of a personality psychologist. The perception of Millennials are self-loving, ambitious, technology savvy, and family oriented. Vaidhyanatha Balaji (2015) oversaw a study of a group of Millennials through a survey about subclinical narcissists habits. The survey revealed that they did not show a developing problem of narcissism even though Millennial scores were just above global average of subclinical narcissism (Balaji, 2015). Balaji summed up Millennials as â€Å"complex individuals who are part self-centered, part-social human beings.† Millennials are greatly influenced by positive reassurance, their need for constant attention and feedback. They are concluded to be very independent and self reliable while being conservatively confident. The combination of both slightly narcissistic characteristics and ambitious characteristics argues that the Millennial generation has altered the definition of a career. Millennials are less committed to following the traditional corporate ladder, and more likely to seek business opportunities that accommodate their own personal values, including flexible hours, autonomy, and control, while simultaneously proving they have the maturity to support themselves independently (Boberiene & McLeigh, 2014). On the other hand, a study conducted by the Family Office Exchange (2015) indicated that Millennials working for corporations feel they must be able to relate to their advisors on a personal level before they trust them in a business setting. The 2015 study also indicated that Millennials are less likely to listen to supervisors who speak in a demeaning or condescending tone. Instead, Millennials respond to supervisors who focus on establishing a relationship by asking personal questions about their interests, goals, and opinions and then sharing personal stories of their own (Marsh Private Client Services, 2015). Because Millennials emphasize engagement, the study argues that Millennials are driven by personal relationships, with a desire to showcase independence on the surface, however, wanting collaborative attention in the form of both positive, constructive advice and feedback (Marsh Private Client Services, 2015). Theoretical Framework Researchers have warned Millennials regarding their reliance upon social networking sites to reinforce personal self-esteem through boosted â€Å"likes† or positive comments from close friends as this behavior can result in the reduction of self-control both on and offline. Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and Columbia Business School found that users who are focused on close friends tend to experience an increase in self-esteem while browsing their social network (Stephen & Wilcox, 2013). Afterwards, however, these users display less-self control which is evidently correlated to these individuals having higher body-mass indexes and higher levels of credit-card debt (Stephen & Wilcox, 2013). A study conducted regarding the use of Facebook and its effects in its users self-esteem found that Facebook only increased participants’ self-esteem when they were focused on the information they were presenting to others (Stephen & Wilcox, 2013). Keith Wilcox, assistant professor of marketing at Columbia Business School and coauthor of this Facebook research experiment, explained that, â€Å"We find that people experience greater self-esteem when they focus on the image they are presenting to strong ties in their social networks. This suggests that even though people are sharing the same positive information with string ties and weak ties on social networks, they feel better about themselves when the information is received by strong ties than be weak ties.† Keeping this information in mind, the study continued with its investigation on the relationship between online social network use and offline behaviors associated with poor self-control (Stephen & Wilcox, 2013). The results suggested that greater social network use is associated with a higher body-mass index, increased binge eating, a lower credit score, and higher levels of credit-card debt for individuals with strong ties to their social network (Stephen & Wilcox, 2013). Therefore, this study can make the implication that self-control is an important mechanism for maintaining social order and well-being, however, the desire for positive reinforcement on social media outweighs rational, controlled decision making. To better understand the loss of control experienced through social networking site interactions, the self-presentation theory can be used to explain how influential social media has become during the management of an individual’s private and public self. Self-presentation is the process by which individuals represent themselves to the social world, occurring at both the conscious and the unconscious levels of cognition (International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, 2008). Self-presentation can be used as a means to manage the impressions others form of oneself, extending into strategic or tactical self-presentation, otherwise known as impression management, which occurs when an individual seeks to create a desired image of invoke a desired response from others (International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, 2008). Largely a prosocial event, self-presentation forces an individual to negotiate through social interactions in order to fulfill the psychological needs for social approval. Self-presentation is complex as it involves both the individual’s interpersonal cues such as the perceived responses of others, and the function of social situations in response to cues from the social environment (International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, 2008). Therefore, self-presentation is both an individual experience and a social phenomenon, highlighting the tensions between human interactions (International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, 2008). Much of the content produced on social media is photographs, links and information posts used to present one’s online self. Self-presentation theory, as discussed previously, is considered to be motivated by the desire to make a favorable impression on others, or an impression that corresponds to ones’ ideals, which an extend to the projection of an online identity (Herring & Kapidzic, 2015). Social media provides a platform for Millennials to explore the effects of their self-presented image on their peers. Generally, photo posts, as well as text posts occasionally, generate positive feedback and, thus, have a positive impact on self-esteem. Visual content is a central resource for creating an appropriate online impression, and an attribute many Millennials focus on when seeking social approval. Therefore, the self-presentation theory helps to support the hypothesis that Millennials participate in reckless spending in order to create an adequate online image when viewed by others. Methodology To determine the extent to which social media influences the Millennial generation’s financial stature, research will be focused on an analysis of statistical evidence regarding first, Millennials’ emphasis on the need to experience social acceptance on various social media platforms, then, on how social media influences the spending tendencies of Millennials’ frugal minds. The background information presented during the literature review was necessary to understanding how previous financial struggles have controlled the spending habits of the Millennial generation, training them to recognize the necessity to conscious spend in an effort to maximize a financial future. The statistical evidence will then support the argument that social media creates a divide between the understanding for frugal spending and Millennial actions as they are coerced into spending recklessly in order to achieve social approval from their peers via social media recognition. Findings Social Media and its Relationship to the Millennial Generation’s Social Acceptance After reviewing background information on Millennials’ financial experiences, it is evident that Millennials have established an inherent necessity to save due to their poor financial self-esteem created by an immense amount of debt accumulation and financial distrust. However, I make the argument that Millennials are distanced from their understanding of the necessity to save due to their overwhelming desire to portray an over-exaggerated, lavish lifestyle on their social media sites. As subclinical narcissists who showcase self-sufficiency on the surface while subconsciously craving positive reinforcement from their peers through social media acceptance, Millennials have prorized their online relationships, placing an emphasis on depicting a life of interest within the social realm, and, ultimately, altering how they think about real world friendships and relationships. To better understand the impact social media has had on Millennial relationships, a brief background on ho w online interactions has influenced the dynamics of young people’s social lives is explored in the following analysis. A 2016 study conducted by the Nielsen Norman group found that premature exposure to social media has influenced Millennials’ approach to friendships, relationships and self-image as their subtle online interactions have become explicit and visible, causing social contexts to become merged and entangled. In 2006, the Pew Research Center found that 55 percent of teenagers reported having at least one social media account. However in 2010, just four years later, 73 percent of younger Millennials, around the age of middle to high school adolescents, and 78 percent of older Millennials, college-aged young adults, reported having a social media presence (Meyer, 2016). Today, approximately 90 percent of Millennials, both teens and young adults alike, have at least one social media account, many of them updating an average of four or more accounts at a time (Meyer, 2016). With the attention Millennials place on creating and maintaining positive online interactions, social media has al so become a means of expressing the extent of personal relationships. For example in 2004, the social media site MySpace added a â€Å"Top 8† feature, which allowed for teens to manually choose their top 8 friends. They were soon after forced to remove the display feature because it became an anxiety-inducing decision for many young Millennials (Meyer, 2016). Other popular social media terms such as, â€Å"friending,† â€Å"Facebook official,† â€Å"likes,† or â€Å"favorites† are visible, quantitative expressions of the positive reinforcement Millennials feel toward a person, event, or opinion. A study conducted by researchers at UCLA explored the effects of social media â€Å"likes† on the Millennial brain. A â€Å"like† is a click made by a social media user that symbolizes an instant, outward expression of approval. The study found that, regardless of the basic qualities of the photo or post, Millennials revealed more excitement i n the reward center of their brains when they viewed a photo or post with many â€Å"likes† (Meyer, 2016). Therefore, â€Å"likes† symbolize augmented social proof and acceptance, representing the peer pressure Millennials feel to remain socially intriguing. One of the most widespread instances of social proof gained from social media is the number of â€Å"retweets,† â€Å"favorites,† â€Å"likes,† or â€Å"shares† received on a photo or post (Tate, 2018). Social proof can be used to explain why Millennials worry about straying too far from the pack, or looking inadequate to comparison to their peers. As mentioned previously, Millennials crave group acceptance more than they desire individuality. Therefore, social media serves as a resemblance of what the group is doing, allowing for Millennials to learn what is deemed socially acceptable, and then find comfort in the recognition that their actions are â€Å"normal† (Tate, 2018). Adriana Manago, an assistant professor of psychology at UC Santa Cruz who studies the social media tendencies of adolescents and young adults, explains that Millennials are using social media to establish their own agency and manage their relationships with their peers (Witte, 2017). Manago theorizes that Millennials use technology as a tool used to navigate their way into adulthood, explaining that young adults turn to social media to explore their place in the world around them (Witte, 2017). Therefore, social media helps Millennials feel more connected within the offline world as it provides a space for identity exploration, bridging the gap between the offline and online worlds. The online realm provides Millennials a platform to manage social contexts by practicing and participating in specific social behaviors without the pressure of visibly or physically backing their actions or remarks. When Millennials participate in social media activities, they are experiencing a context collapse, or the requirement to accurately perform varying social behaviors in order to appropriately manage different social media contexts (Boyd, 2014). For example, a Facebook post and an Instagram post may be the same message, however differ in the delivery depending on the platform’s audience or following. In other words, each distinct audience requires a different social behavior in order to interpret the post appropriately. Context collapse, as determined through various studies, is more complex for adolescent Millennials as they navigate an intense period of self-definition (Boyd, 2014). Millennials, therefore, have invented strategies to help them manage the merging of various social contexts, relying heavily on the approval of specific audience members on each social media platform they maintain. Boyd (2014) in her book, Its Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens, found that Facebook is considered to be the most diverse in connections with audience members ranging from online seniors (65 or older) regularly operating their Facebook page to employers actively searching profiles for potential employees. Twitter was found to represent connections with special interests such as news, celebrities, musicians, or companies, and less with friends and family members (Boyd, 2014). Instagram was reported to be the most entertainment-oriented platform, primarily used for sharing photos of experiences or interests with friends and followers (Boyd, 2014). Therefore, Millennials’ decision on where to share photos or posts depends on the interests of the audience members following each platform, as well as the visibility of the post in order to render the most social interaction possible. When asked where to post a photo, one Millennial responded, â€Å"It depends on the quality of the picture, and who would see it. On Facebook it’d be primarily family, because those are the people who pay attention to my page. On Twitter, depending on the time of day, it might not be seen at all.† (Boyd, 2014). Therefore, the stress of managing multiple audiences across several social contexts puts pressure on Millennials to constantly maintain an acceptable social media presence. Social Media and its Relationship to the Millennial Generation’s Finances As discussed previously, the money habits of Millennials allude to the potential for a better financial position than previous generations, as Millennials instinctively understand the necessity to save. Millennials continue to take strides toward a strong, self-sufficient financial future, with 58 percent prioritizing saving for retirement as an essential necessity (Riley, 2018). Another 71 percent of Millennials reported using tricks encouraged by financial advisors to set aside money in an effort to achieve specific monetary goals, while an additional 41 percent said they always allocated money into their savings accounts each month (Riley, 2018). The â€Å"Generations Ahead† study conducted by the Allianz Life Insurance Company (2018) found that 77 percent of Millennials feel financially confident due to their ability to consciously save, a drastic difference compared to only 64 percent of Generation X respondents when asked the same question. Similar to the Allianz Life Insurance study, â€Å"Generations Ahead,† the Wells Fargo Millennial Study also found that seven in ten Millennials, or 69 percent, feel more financially stable than others in their own generation, and 68 percent see themselves with a better standard of living before retirement than previous generations. Therefore, it can be concluded that Millennials reflect a higher financial self-image when comparing themselves to their own generations rather than to generations prior. This indicates that Millennials may be more inclined to spend recklessly in an effort to showcase falsified high financial stature, even if it is financed primarily through debt accumulation. Additionally, the Wells Fargo study concluded that 84 percent of Millennials feel they have the skills to be successful in their chosen careers, and another 78 percent confidently believe if they were to lose their job, they could find a comparable career with ease. Therefore, as Millennials feel more successful with their financial planning through innovative ways to build financial strength, they are becoming more confident in their abilities to spend wisely. However, Paul Kelash, vice president of communication and consumer insights for Allianz Life, explains, â€Å"The most significant finding was the dichotomy between Millennials’ ability to be successful in financial planning yet so vulnerable to social media and spending beyond their means.† Therefore, the pressure social media places on Millennials to maintain an appropriate presence contradicts Millennials’ appreciation for frugal spending, thus proving the power social media maintains over the actions and decisions of the Millennial generation.   According to statistics and conclusions explained previously, an argument can be made that social media is influencing Millennial financial growth by indirectly encouraging them to spend recklessly. Contradicting prior statistical conclusions that the Millennial generation takes the financial planning lead when compared to other prior generations, the Allianz Life Insurance Company reports that 63 percent of Millennials consider themselves spenders, while 51 percent of Generation Xers and only 36 percent of Baby Boomers would consider themselves spenders (Riley, 2018). The following statistics help support the argument that Millennial financial growth is stunted by their exposure to social media. According to the Allianz Life Insurance Company’s â€Å"Generations Ahead† study, 88 percent of respondents believe social media creates more of a tendency to compare their lifestyles and wealth to others. An additional 57 percent said they spend money they had not yet budgeted for due to the influences from what they viewed on social media (Riley, 2018). Kelash explains that, â€Å"Millennials are more immersed in social media than past generations. Therefore, they could be swayed more than other cohorts by social media and the temptation to spend beyond their means. That could hurt them over the long term if they aren’t careful.† According to a 2013 survey conducted by Eventbrite, when it comes to money, Millennials value experiences over material items. Eventbrite’s study found that the Millennial generation not only values experiences, but is increasingly spending time and money on events in an effort to live a meaningful, happy life. Through statistical evidence, it can be concluded that happiness for the Millennial generation cannot be gained through a lifetime of accumulated material possessions. Rather, a happy life is determined by the ability to create, capture and share memories in an effort to gain the recognition of social peers. Approximately 78 percent of Millennials choose to spend money on desirable experiences or events, with 55 percent of Millennials saying they are spending more on events and live experiences than ever before (Eventbrite, 2013). Therefore, Millennials crave more experiences, increasing the demand for real-life interactions. With the emphasis placed on gathering experiences rather than material goods, Millennial spending is significantly different when compared to the spending habits of generations prior. More than 8 in 10 Millennial respondents, approximately 82 percent, said they attended or participated in a variety of live experiences over the past year, including parties, concerts, festivals, or themed sporting events (Eventbrite, 2013). Further, 72 percent of these respondents even said they would like to increase their spending on experiences rather than material items over the next year, alluding to the idea that materialism will be replaced by the demand for real-life experiences (Eventbrite, 2013). Millennials also explained that these real-life experiences help shape their identity, holding more social currency than physical items as these events create everlasting memories. Almost 8 in 10, or 77 percent, of Millennials say their best memories are from an event or live experience they attended or participated in (Eventbrite, 2013). Interestingly enough, however, Millennials also explain that capturing these events on photo sharing apps like Instagram and Snapchat actually makes the experience more enjoyable. 60 percent of Millennials explain that experiences are better shared through social media platforms (Eventbrite, 2013). 69 percent of respondents also explained that attending these live experiences makes them feel more connected to other people, the community and the world (Eventbrite, 2013). Therefore, just attending the live event does not constitute the entire experience for Millennials. Millennials, instead, finalize their overall opinion of an event based on their ability to share and gain the approval of others via various social media platforms as research has proven that Millennials tweet, share and post more about the events they attend than any other generation. One explanation for this necessity to spend money on life experiences comes from Millennials’ constant feeling of FOMO. Millennials are often critiqued for reckless spending and impulsive purchases due to what they describe as FOMO, or the â€Å"Fear Of Missing Out† on a situation (PR Newswire, 2016). Generated by the Millennial generation’s creative social media vocabulary, FOMO is a state of social anxiety an individual feels when peers or friends are enjoying activities without them, and is often triggered by social media postings (Meyer, 2016). The Allianz Life survey found that 55 percent of Millennials reported experiencing FOMO, while another 61 percent felt inadequate about their own lives and what they have due to the attention other users receive on social media recognized through â€Å"likes† or â€Å"favorites† (Riley, 2018). As previous statistics have proven, portraying a successful adult life on social media heavily influences Millennials’ decisions to spend recklessly. Millennials have been criticized for diving headfirst into financial situations, assuming responsibilities without proper financial support. Shannon Lee Simmons, a Toronto financial planner for many Millennials, explains, â€Å"Those people with the new house on Instagram? They’re miserable.† (PR Newswire, 2016). Being a Millennial herself, Simmons understands the pressure to live an interesting life in order to be deemed as attractive or intriguing on social media platforms. Simmons advises her clients to prioritize debt repayment, live only within the boundaries their paychecks allow, and continually put money into a savings account each month. However, most Millennials are not honest with themselves about the cost of living these extravagant, Instagram lifestyles. An online survey conducted by Go Banking found that Millennials find it difficult to resist the urge to spend recklessly, paying for social events by relying on credit cards, borrowing from friends or family members, or sometimes even neglecting to pay bills. Additionally, as a Millennial myself, I argue that because debt has become an expected part of consumer spending and an innate aspect of the Millennials’ financial experience, Millennials are more likely to spend money they do not have with the expectation of paying it off in the future. I believe this is largely due to Millennial optimism, or the confidence Millennials feel regarding many aspects of their personal lives such as the confidence they feel toward their expected success in their chosen career paths and, therefore, help to lower the stress surrounding debt accumulation. Because Millennials have a tendency to impulsively spend, however, I make the argument that financial optimism is categorized as wishful thinking, or a means of resolving conflicts between reality and desire through pleasing imagination instead of recognizing hard evidence and rationality, and remains financially unsupported. The combination of reckless, social media-encouraged spending, debt accumulation, and wishful thinking reveals the immature side of Millennial spending, a side driven by the pressures to create and maintain an intriguing image within the immense, extremely competitive social realm. Therefore, social media has influenced the emotional spending of the Millennial generation, bombarding them with information on what their friends and followers are doing to such an extent that their prior understanding for the necessity to practice conscious saving is pushed out of mind. Further Discussion / Conclusion Through the literature review’s analysis of the background of Millennials’ financial self-esteem and potential reasons why they resemble poor financial stature, it can be declared that the Millennial generation suffers from a lifetime of financial experiences causing predetermined feelings towards practicing frugal spending habits as a requirement for future financial wellbeing. However, as the content analysis provides expertise on how social media has influenced the way Millennials spend their money, convincing them of the necessity to achieve substantial social acceptance physically represented through their peers’ â€Å"likes† and â€Å"favorites,† an argument can be made and support that emphasizes the hypothesis that social media has negatively affected millennials financial reflection as attending live events only increases their debt accumulated. Although millennials lived through the Great Recession, have seen first-hand financial struggle, and are drowning in student loan debt, the temptation to spend excessive amounts of money on live experiences in order to have the opportunity to post on social media clearly outweighs the necessity for moderate, conscious spending and saving habits. Works Cited Barton, C., Beauchamp, C., & Koslow, L. (2014, January 15). How millennials are changing the face of marketing forever. Bcg.com. Retrieved from https://www.bcg.com/en-us/publications/2014/marketing-center- consumer-customer-insight-how-millennials-changing-marketing- forever.aspx Boberiene, L. V., & McLeigh, J. D. (2014). Young adults in conflict: Confident but struggling, networked but disconnected. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 84(6), 00029432, 20141101. Boyd, D. (2014). It’s Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens. New Haven, London: Yale University Press. Cutler, N. E. (2015). Millennials and Finance: The Amazon Generation. Journal Of Financial Service Professionals, 69(6), 33-39. Eventbrite, (2013). Millennials: Fueling the Experience Economy. Eventbrite. Herring, S., & Kapidzic, S. (2015). Teens, Gender, and Self-Presentation in Social Media. International Encyclopedia of Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2. International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. (2008). Self-Presentation. Retrieved from https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences/applied-and-social-sciences-magazines/self-presentation Marketing Charts, (2015, March 24). Why do millennials use Facebook and Twitter. MarketingCharts.com. Retrieved from https://www.marketingcharts.com/featured-52812 Marsh Private Client Services. (2015). Getting to know the millennial generation. Grand Rapids Business Journal, 33(20), 13. Meyer, K. (2016, August 28). Social Media Natives: Growing Up with Social Networking. Nielsen Norman Group. Retrieved from https://www.nngroup.com/articles/social-media-natives/ Pagliara, J. (2017, September 1). Millennials: Is social media use harming your finances. Tennessean. Part of the USA Today Network. Retrived from https://www.tennessean.com/story/money/2017/09/01/millennials-social-media-use-harming-your-finances/622639001/ PR, N. (2016). 3 in 5 Millennials Say FOMO Isnt an Excuse for Reckless Spending, According to New Survey Findings. PR Newswire US. Rapier, G. (2015, July 19). This chart reveals a huge difference in how millennials and their parents spend money. Businessinsider.com. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/millennials-consumer-spending- twice-as-much-at-restaurants-than-previous-generations-2017-7 Rampell, C. (2014). Millennials have some trust issues. The Washington Post, pp. A19 Riley, J. (2018) Millennials Are Saving, But Social Media Can Lead Them Astray. FA-Mag. Stephen, A. & Wilcox, K. (2013, January 14). Social Networks May Inflate Self-Esteem, Reduce Self-Control. Journal of Consumer Research. Retrieved from http://www.news.pitt.edu/news/social-networks-may-inflate-self-esteem-reduce-self-control Tate, A. (2018) The psychology of social networking: 6 counterintuitive ways to connect and influence. Canva. Retrieved from https://www.canva.com/learn/social-networking/ Witte, M. (2017, October 2). Checking in or checking out? Millennials go online to build their offline lives. UC Santa Cruz NewsCenter. Retrieved from https://news.ucsc.edu/2017/10/manago-technology.html

President John F. Kennedys Inauguration Speech Analysis

President John F. Kennedys Inauguration Speech Analysis Abstract This paper provides a rhetorical analysis of President John F. Kennedys inauguration speech. Included is the type of text it is, where it was first spoken, and the main objective. My analysis of this speech includes his clear call to action for the American people to unite together with the rest of humanity to ensure human rights, freedom, peace, and stability for the world. Also, the larger debate included is how we as Americans, live in a somewhat utopian society where other countries do not and we need to take the responsibility to ensure this right for everyone. Kennedy utilizes all three emotional appeals, weather stated specifically or inferred, but his most used was his appeal to the emotions of the audience. Also analyzed is his successful use formal and informal style which is inferred and organization which leads to the conclusion that great admiration for this man can come from this speech as well as a call to duty that we can all take upon ourselves with the responsibilit y to carry out this great mans idealistic concepts for the world. JFK Inauguration Speech John F. Kennedys Inaugural speech was given on January 20th, 1961. He spoke to not only the citizens of the United States, but to the entire world. It was clear that his main goal was to unify the entire human race and to make the world a better place for everyone. John F. Kennedy was calling on all Americans to be the difference, to take a stand, to make the change, and to do what is morally right. There was a great reference to our country being the first to revolt against the will of greedy men, and that we are the heirs of that revolution with the duty to uphold and bring basic human rights to all human beings across the globe. His great use of logic and powerful emotions used throughout the speech brought this sense of duty, argued his call to action, and allowed his words to be quite effective in the unification of the citizens of the United States and the rest of the world together. Utopia is the world that comes to mind after reading President Kennedys inauguration speech. In his call to action, he indicated that his administration would be the beginning of change for the betterment of humanity and will need to continue on. He states to Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americansborn in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritageand unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world (1961). We as Americans believe in liberty and justice for all people; we are all descendants of the soldiers who fought in the revolutionary war to stand united in upholding such principles. Having this same background, President Kennedy brings more to the unification of the citizens of the United States. As stated previously, Kennedy further brings a connection to the audience through a civic call to duty, which is directed to everyone. He states to the audience and the world to Ask not what your country can do for youask what you can do for your country (1961). Though this is a huge responsibility to the people of the United States, he makes the acknowledgment that this is possible if each citizen puts forth the effort to make a difference. Through the effort of an entire nation combined, the United States will be able to change the world for the better. In addition to uniting the citizens of the United States as a single entity, President Kennedy then continues to unite the human race as a single entity as well. For example, he made the reference to allies whom we share similar values and cultural origins with, our sister countries, as well as the United Nations, from which he makes a pledge to the many different societies around the world that we will ensure that all humanity will be given equal human rights. He continues to develop his theme of unification by references to goals and cultures common to which we share with countries throughout the world. As a result of this, he effectively united all humans throughout the world as one. Throughout his speech, conveyance of shared backgrounds and morals are used to unite the citizens of the United States and the rest of the world to accomplish the same goals that also unite us together. Kennedy then continues to unite the world by stating that even if we overlook our similar backgrounds, we as Americans share a core set of values, of morals, of ethics as well. President Kennedy uses these values, these ethical and moral appeals in his speech to unite the country even further. He states that Now the trumpet summons us againnot as a call to bear arms, though arms we neednot as a call to battle, though embattled we are but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulationa struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself (1961). There is a stark connection made, with the presidents ability to impact the world and the audience having the very same capability to make an impact on the entire world. With this, the audience is able to accept President Kennedys call to duty which then, proceeds to credit his speech as being quite effective. Kennedy was trying to unite all Americans and all humans as they exist on this earth and to bring the audience to his call to duty. He used Americans shared backgrounds and their core values to strengthen his call to duty as well as connect the country as one. His call to action is based on the three rhetorical appeals, ethos, pathos and logos. He has appealed emotionally to the audience with patriotism, hope, and justice for all humans. Kennedy uses the contrast of feelings such as pride and fear and pity, which works very well to convey his call to action. He then utilized these negative emotions of pity felt by the audience for parts of the world that have people living in poverty which push people further into his call to duty (1961). Kennedy creates these unwanted feelings in a successful attempt to push people to rid themselves of such emotions. Then, in contrast, he continues to utilize emotional appeals by evoking pride in unifying America and the world. He keeps enforcing hi s call to duty through emotional appeal. Last, but not least, he has used reason in how he used American values and the cause and effect of the revolution in America to becoming a country who believes in liberty and justice for all. His whole speech makes sense and flows well together from point to point. Kennedys utilization of pathos, appealing to the emotions of his audience is of most importance to his inaugural speech, in which the chief aim was to unify all Americans and the world together. He states to Let us begin anewremembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate (1961).ÂÂ   Kennedy conveyed himself as a man of great integrity that the audience and the world had no choice but to trust him. From my perspective, there was not a single logical fallacy to be found in this entire speech. Also, the speech was very successful in connecting the people of different backgrounds in the world which puts great emphasis on his call to action. It was clear that he was very successful in conveying his goal of working towards providing the people of the entire world with human rights as well as peace and stability. We can conclude by stating the fact that K ennedy had a perfect vision for the world. In his closing, he states that Whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth Gods work must truly be our own (1961). His call to action showed how admirable and responsible a man he is, and proves without a doubt that we should all take responsibility for creating the world in which all are granted life, liberty, and freedom. References Kennedy, John F. (1961). John F. Kennedy Quotations, President Kennedys Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961. Retrieved from https://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations/Inaugural-Address.aspx Life of John F. Kennedy. Retrieved from https://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/Life-of-John-F-Kennedy.aspx