Bidding For Hertz: Leveraged Buyout Essay

TO ACCESS THIS DOCUMENT This is a protected document. The first two pages are available for everyone to see, but only faculty members who have verified faculty status with Darden Business Publishing are able to view this entire inspection copy. Username: Submit VERIFIED FACULTY If you have verified faculty status with Darden Business Publishing, simply enter the same username that you use on the Darden Business Publishing Web site, and then click â€Å"Submit.† Please note that this is an inspection copy and is not for classroom use. Faculty Register UNVERIFIED FACULTY If you are teaching faculty and do not yet have verified faculty access with Darden Business Publishing, please click on the â€Å"Faculty Register† link and submit your information requesting verified faculty access. Buy Case Now OTHER USERS If you would like to read the full document, click on â€Å"Buy Case Now† to be redirected to the Darden Business Publishing Web site where you can purchase this and other Darden cases. If you have any questions or need technical help, please contact Darden Business Publishing at 1-800-246-3367 or email sales@dardenbusinesspublishing.com Document Id 0000-1402-9024-00009159 The protectedpdf technology is  © Copyright 2006 Vitrium Systems Inc. All Rights Reserved. Patents Pending. UVA-F-1560 Rev. April 17, 2009 BIDDING FOR HERTZ: LEVERAGED BUYOUT Overview In late summer 2005, Greg Ledford, managing director and head of automotive and transportation buyouts at the Carlyle Group, found himself examining his BlackBerry atop the Great Wall of China. Though he had planned to be sightseeing with his daughter, his immediate focus was to finalize the terms of the second-largest leveraged buyout in history. The target in question was Hertz, a subsidiary of the Ford Motor Company, which was up for sale. Ledford needed to decide the price he and his co-investors would offer for Hertz as well as assess the potential returns and risks of the deal. Already months of work, many dollars of due diligence, and arrangement of tentative financing had gone into the bid. Complicating matters, he knew he faced tough competition from a rival buyout group, no doubt engaged in a similar process. The race to win Hertz had been set in motion several months earlier, when William Clay Ford Jr., the chairman and CEO of Ford, announced plans to explore â€Å"strategic alternatives† for Hertz in April 2005. That announcement was followed in June 2005 by the filing of an S-1 registration statement setting up a â€Å"dual track process† that would result in a Hertz IPO should other sale prospects fail. Ledford, who spoke to senior Ford managers on a regular basis, had gleaned that there was interest on Ford’s part for an outright sale of Hertz. He believed a private sale that was competitive with an IPO would be viewed favorably by Ford due to its greater upfront cash proceeds and certainty of execution. When no strategic buyer surfaced, Carlyle, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R), and Merrill Lynch Global Private  Equity (collectively â€Å"Bidding Group†) joined forces to bid on Hertz. It faced competition from another buyout consortium that included Texa s Pacific Group, Blackstone, Thomas H. Lee Partners LP, and Bain Capital LLC. This case was prepared by Susan Chaplinsky, Professor of Business Administration, Darden Graduate School of Business, and Felicia Marston, Professor, McIntire School of Commerce. It was written as a basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation. Copyright  © 2008 by the University of Virginia Darden School Foundation, Charlottesville, VA. All rights reserved. To order copies, send an e-mail to sales@dardenbusinesspublishing.com. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the permission of the Darden School Foundation. Rev. 4/09. UVA-F-1560 Hertz Ownership History Hertz’s ownership history was characterized by a series of sales, public offerings, and leveraged buyouts (Exhibit 1).1 The company was first established in 1918 by 22-year-old Walter L. Jacobs as a car rental operation with a modest inventory of 12 Model T Fords that Jacobs personally had repaired and repainted. The venture was immediately successful, leading Jacobs to expand and generate annual revenues of approximately of $1 million within five years. At the $1 million mark, in 1923, Jacobs sold his company to John Hertz, president of Yellow Cab and Yellow Truck and Coach Manufacturing Company, who gave his name to the company, creating â€Å"Hertz Drive-Ur-Self System† and a brand name that had endured ever since. John Hertz sold his investment three years later to General Motors (GM). In 1953, GM in turn sold the Hertz properties to the Omnibus Corporation, which simplified the company’s name to â€Å"The Hertz Corporation† in connection with a public stock offering on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). In late 1987,  together with Hertz management, Ford Motor Company participated in a management buyout of the company. Hertz later became an independent, wholly owned subsidiary of Ford in 1994. Less than three years later, Ford issued a minority stake of shares through a public offering on the NYSE on April 25, 1997. In early 2001, Ford reacquired the outstanding shares of Hertz and the company again became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Ford Motor Company. Hertz Financial History and Business Segments The large investor interest in Hertz over time was due in part to the company’s proven financial ability. In fact, the company had produced a pretax profit each year since 1967. During the period 1985 to 2005, revenues had grown at a compound annual growth rate of 7.6% with positive year-over-year growth in 18 of those 20 years. Over the past same period, Hertz had emerged as a truly global enterprise; it had car rental operations in 145 countries, and more than 30% of its total revenues were from outside of the United States. Hertz was among the most globally recognized brands and had been listed in BusinessWeek’s â€Å"100 Most Valuable Global Brands† (limited to public companies) in 2005 and every year since it was eligible for inclusion. Hertz currently operated in two business segments: car rental (â€Å"Hertz Rent A Car† or â€Å"RAC†) and equipment rental (â€Å"Hertz Equipment Rental Company† or â€Å"HERC†). In 2005, it was estimated that RAC would comprise 81% of company revenues and HERC 19%. RAC was supported by a network of franchises that together with company-owned facilities operated in more than 7,600 airport and local locations throughout the world. The company led its competition in the airport car rental market in Europe with operations at 69 major airports. Hertz owned and leased cars from more than 30 manufacturers, most of which it had long-term leasing.

Should Hate Speech and Hate Sites Be Banned from the Internet?

Should hate speech and hate sites be banned from the Internet? | 1. Introduction Internet can be termed as one of the most revolutionary inventions of the 21st century. However, just like any other thing in the world, it has its positive points and a dark side as well. Some users have made a productive use of this invention while others use it in a harmful manner. One of the most popular and convenient mode of researching nowadays, is to find the relevant information on the internet. But due to the everlasting cruelty in the world, some information on the internet can prove to be harmful for the respective person. It might be some content that gives inappropriate information or try to influence its viewers to go on the wrong path. 2. Overview A website that promotes or uses hate speech against race, community, gender, person, religion, nationality etc is called a hate site. The people who are responsible for putting these things on the internet; not only take use text but graphics, sounds and animations are also used to influence their readers more. It might be used to convince people to join a certain group of people who work against some concepts or people, for e. . ; StormFront. org hosts a hate site against Martin Luther King, Jr who was an American activist and a leader. More House College (2008) states that he is famous for his contributions in the African-American civil right movements. In the above mentioned site, content full of hate is written about the activist and claim that there is a long list of wrong actions done by him. The website terms him â€Å"modern day plastic God†. Such offending content about the man is possible due to the much proposed concept of â€Å"freedom of speech†. This concept focuses on the freedom of writing or saying anything that an individual feels is correct. This verbal freedom also gives the writer the freedom of speech without being accountable for doing it. But what these people fail to understand is that with freedom of speech comes gereat responsibility as well. They have a responsibility to only convey the message which would not offend anyone or harm anyone in life. 3. Ways to Inhibit Hate Sites There are approximately 4 billion web pages on the internet therefore it is very difficult to ensure that no hate content is pated on them. There are different ways in which this problem is handled by different countries. For e. g. Media Awareness Network (2009) states that according to the Canadian Human Rights Act Section 13, any text communicated by any telecommunication means (including internet) that may promote hatred towards a person or any of the following things is prohibited; 1Race 2Nationality 3Religion 4Gender etc Akdeniz et al (2008) stated that the Turkish governments are very sensitive about the hate content regarding their state and officials. They also take action against the hate sites promoting racism and terrorism. Whereas United Kingdom have a relaxed attitude towards racist content but are very alert about any hate content regarding their royalty. 4. Effects of Hate Sites on the Society 4. 1Effect on Children Children of the modern age are also tech-savvy and explore the internet just like adult. Therefore they are liable to exposure to hate sites as much as we are. Children’s minds are like blank papers and form perception of things very easily. They tend to take effect of things more than adults. If they are exposed to such content, a degree of aggression and negativity is induced in their character. This negativity leads to a negative and hopeless attitude about everything in life which hinders in their achievements. The aggression in their characters leads to making them commit crimes when they grow up; thereby making the society unsafe and unproductive. Therefore hate sites should be prohibited to ensure that our youth develop into successful and positive individuals. 4. 2Communal Groups It is a common practice for people to form small groups and communities on the basis of their similar ideas and concepts. The problem arises when they start being vocal about their ideas in an aggressive manner. Such an example is of the Knights Party (2010): The Ku Klux Klan organization in the United States; it is one of the biggest hate group organizations in the country. Their aim is to safeguard the rights and interests of the white American, may it be through violent or aggressive means. Their site is recorded to host content full of hate against the African-Americans, Jews and other minorities. They try to influence people to join them in their aims and also use this medium to promote their aggressive rallies. Such inappropriate sites should be banned from the internet. Fig. 1: KKK during their rally 4. 3Terrorist Organizations Nowadays, terrorist organizations also host sites. They convey their objectives to other people and openly state hate content for their enemies. This might influence the innocent people in the society and influence them to join these organizations thereby increasing terrorism in the society. They might state incorrect facts about their enemies just so that the people get influenced by the information and join their groups. 5. Sites Chosen for Analysis The sites that were analyzed for the hate speech are as follows; http://www. kkk. com/ – The official site of â€Å"The Ku Klux Klan† main site; advertises hate content against the minorities of the society and claims to safeguard their White supremacy at every cost. http://www. martinlutherking. org/ – Content full of hate against Martin Luther King, Jr 6. Conclusion After a comprehensive analysis of the topic under discussion, it can be concluded that hate sites on the internet are liable to cause harm to humanity and the peace and harmony of our societies. Therefore appropriate laws and regulations should be implemented to shut down the sites which ex0pose people to such inappropriate content. It is also the responsibility of the citizens of the society to report such hate sites to the concerned authorities so that we can hope for a safe future on the internet for our youth. References StormFront. org, Matin Luther – A True Historical Examination, [Online] Available at: http://www. artinlutherking. org/ More House College. (2008). Martin Luther King Jr Collection, [Online] Available at:http://www. auctr. edu/mlkcollection/ Media Awareness Network. (2009). Online Hate and Free Speech, [Online] Available at: http://www. media-awareness. ca/english/issues/online_hate/hate_and_free_speech. cfm, Akdeniz. Y, Altiparmak. K. (2008). Internet: Re stricted Access: A Critical Assessment of Internet Content Regulation and Censorship in Turkey, [Online] Available at: http://www. cyber-rights. org The Knights Party, (2010), [Online] Available at: http://www. kkk. com/

Business and management Essay

Introductions (Task1) In this task I will talk about the interpersonal and communicational skills, in the task I will demonstrate a role play to identify my interpersonal and communicational skills. After I demonstrate the role play my colleagues will give feedback where I need to improved it, than i will mention how can i improve my interpersonal and communicational skills. Lastly i will mention how key management functions may be met more effectively through the use of key interpersonal and communicational skills. Findings P4) What interpersonal and communication skills can you bring and why? Interpersonal skills are the skills connected with dealing with the people and working with other efficiency to make the business success. Interpersonal skills are used often into business contexts to refer to the measure of a person’s ability to operate within business organisation. Interpersonal skills including:   Working with other harmoniously Evaluating and excepting responsibilities   Understanding measured to respond conflicts   Working in team effectively Working with other harmoniously means we need to make sure the teams are get on with there responsibly and to check them whether if they are working together with out no arguing, it is better individuals to work together to achieve the success of the business. Evaluating and excepting responsibilities means as a manager we have set a target for the employees and they can be used for the individual or teams, the manager has to chase the employees whether if they getting on the responsibilities that is been given individually or as teams, after that the manager has to evaluate the have achieved the target that is been sat if its acceptable or not. Understandings measured the respond of conflicts first full its generally understood that communicating respect other people or professionals within the work place will enable to reduce the conflicts. And increase participations or assistance in obtaining information or completing tasks. Working in team effectively this is one of the important of the interpersonal skills, as a manger we have to check employees are work together as team cooperatively. The business to achieve a success it require employees working together effectively, effective teams are an intermediary goal toward getting goods, sustainable result, and at the end of the if the business become success the employees a accomplish they goals and will share the credit with the business. Communication skills are also skills connected the dealing with the people in the process by which the information exchange. Communications skills used often into business contexts, there are skills related to communication skills, these are: Formal and informal Tone of voice Body language Visual communication Formal or informal style of communication can also be used in written, some pieces of written such as letter or journal tend to be a formal whereas email and popular magazine article tends to be informal. The important thing with communication is to use the right form for the right purpose. Managers needs to think carefully about how to communication the employees appropriately. Tone of voice: Their impress are based on tone and the quality of voice. Verbal communication extends beyond words, audible sound, transfer meaning, in additional tone or attitude communication some times. Body language: Open body stance and positioning invite communication and interaction, whereas the close body stance a positioning impedes communication, using an open body language posture improves the communication with the employees, both managers and employees to learn to read each other body language. Visual communication: People communicate with the ayes as well as the ears. Communication occur cues of body language and facial expression, aye contact is the communication connector, making ayes contact helps confirm attention and interest between the manager and the employees. M2) Based on my experience of the role play, Explain how you could improve your own interpersonal and communicational skills. My role play I am a manager in new retail which owns a business man called Mr Tosh. And I feel that I have a problem to solve when i saw the feelings of the staff are unmotivated and feel that their job is not secure. In the class i discuss with my staff, i sat a SMART to ensure the business get back on track, we agree, me and my staff. One of the our agreement was if you achieve the target that in October if the sales go up 20% i will pay 10% bonus, and if you continue performing well and achieving the goal that we have agreed you job will be secure. Other points that we agreed was. To give continuation training Give bonus (reward the staff if they met the target) Cut the reward (if they done bad, down the sales performance) My interpersonal and communication skills Through the role play in the class, i got a feed back of my interpersonal and communication skills, after i get the recommendation. They suggested me that i need to improve some areas below. In verbal skills- i am not good at controlling my tone of voice in discussion, because i feel when i speak to my staff my English is not good enough. That makes me can not use the vary tone, pace, and loudness to stand out the points when i speaking. Non verbal skills_ my body language, i haven’t performed an aye contact and i haven’t smile in the conversation with my employees; because I my self I haven’t got enough confidence and that make me deal tense in the conversation. Improvement In the tone of voice; if I have varied of tone pace and loudness that can stand out the main points of my speech; that makes my audiences easier to grasp and got interest to listen my speech, in my problem, my English is not good enough to make my speech tense, i should be calm and concentrate first, a think what i have to say before i speak, make more preparation before i speak, and try excise with my tone, pace and loudness at home. My SMART objectives are: Spend 30 minute at each time for preparation before the role play and read newspapers with tone, pace and loudness in another 20 minute every two weeks. If it improvement my speaking skills after practice, that may let me speak more clear smooth and with vary tone, this also improve my English. The non verbal skills_ i haven’t look at staff with smile when i was performing my role play, because i was feeling that i am tense. I looked down when i was talking which may see the staff that i am weak, and not smiling the also may see that i am angry, anxious and not honesty. I should be calm, concentrate and make more preparation, so I set my self a SMART target to let me achieve: Spend 10 min more in preparation for the role play, and do more preparation as I said above, if I make more preparation, i can stay be more relax, calm and confidence than before, so that i can make an aye contact with a smile to the others. Start from now I will practice speak to the people with aye contact and smile when I talk, and i believe it will become a habit, then i can do that without thinking every time when I am suppose to speak. D2) Evaluate ways in which key management functions may be met more effectively through the use of key interpersonal and communicational skills. There are some key management functions, such as management resource, employees’ motivation, performance monitoring, reward and leadership. Those skills i have mentioned above can be met through the use of interpersonal and communication skills, that are the skills managers must be known, the reason is because having identified the roles of management its important to look at the employees’ capable of fulfilling the role and meet the challenges. There are examples below: Employees’ motivation: when we set a plan or target for the employees, we need to motivate then to cooperate and achieve it; employees usually work efficiency when they feel that they have been consulted about their target that they need to achieve. If the employees perform well and achieve the target, we need to reward them with appreciation and persuade them to set a new target. For example in the role play, i have sat a target and encouraged and motivated my staff to achieve it, after i have informed them and discuss what needs to be done, they really feel that they have achieved the target. Those are the interpersonal and communication skills the managers needs to persuade the employees to achieve it. Management resources: the management resource i have chosen to give and example in Human Resource. Sometimes managers may curry out decision the staff might not agree with, in that case manager needs to use interpersonal skills to persuade the employees to agree with him, at the end if the staff can not accepted, that might create conflict and they may curry out industrial action. Managers also need to resolve any conflict that comes up. Skills of management of conflict needed at all levels and all type of organisations. Performance monitoring and reward management needs to have good interview skills, for example an appraisal purpose, this has one technique to encourage them in the interview and make them relax and co-operate with the other staff. This is needs a body language such as tone of voice posture eye contact to suit the interview, if the employees feel relax, it easier to persuade them to achieve the target. The aim of appraisal is to set objective to the employees, usually at the start of the interview, they will look at if the staff achieve the objective set before the next interview, if they achieve the target, them you will pursued them to set another target again and again, at the end of the every quarter the manager have pay bonus to the staff to motivate. If they are not achieve the target the manager needs to persuade the staff to improve the performance or even discipline them they have continue achieve bad performances Introduction (Task2) In this task I will be giving two scenarios of how management activity can raise performance. Mr Tosh believes a good management lies in the planning and monitoring of system in place. For me to pass the second part of the show I will be given and open book time constraint covering the following. To explain how the aims and objectives may be achieved through planning and monitoring. Finding All businesses need to plan and monitored regardless of how small or large they are. For example, possibility plans need to be prepared in the eventuality of a setback which has a direct impact upon the way which the business goes about behaviour its business activities, normally by the same token, the importance of strategic planning for an organisation cannot be stressed enough. The strategic plan acts as a purpose for which the business seizes to exist; it highlights aims and objectives which need to be fulfilled by all the members of staff in order for the company to achieve both its short and long term objectives.   

Short story Critique Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Short story Critique - Essay Example The effectiveness of the ending is reduced by the language which falls short of the easy flow of the earlier part of the story. However, Virula does succeed in arousing the readers’ curiosity as to why Freddie objects to his Aunt’s church. The weaknesses of the story are (1) there is a sudden change in tense: â€Å"He wipes his sweaty hands on his jeans and gently picked up Robocam† (2) There is a tendency to repeat words in a sentence: â€Å"with Willie in front of him and Tia Eva in front of both of them† (3) There are some glaring errors in punctuation (â€Å"Freddie held robocam in it’s camera form†). The story can be improved by editing the last paragraph, which does not measure up to the writing in the earlier part of the story and has grammatical errors. Inserting necessary commas and making the sentences shorter will add more clarity to the narration. Elizabeth Hall’s beginning is definitely a powerful hook as it leads the reader straight into a dramatic situation, tinged with the suggestion of violence. It also skillfully introduces the profession and personality of the protagonist. The ending is too â€Å"in-your-face† for me. It could be more subtle. Nick’s ranting is out of character with the dignity Hall has given him earlier. His position is already clear to the reader and does not have to be spelled out so explicitly. The weaknesses of the story are (1) Some glaring errors in logic: â€Å"he drove home to the same domesticity, cycling in guilt.† (2) Repetition: â€Å"bought a historic home in the historical Pinch District.†(3) Errors in punctuation, particularly in the use of commas. The story’s strengths are (1) Excellent, detailed descriptions and good similes: â€Å"yellow hair stuck to her head like a layer of enamel.† (2) A sophisticated story line (3) Great depiction of Valerie’s descent into hypochondria. The story can be improved by making drastic changes in the conclusion. The ending should be

CHILD ABUSE and CHILD ENDANGERMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

CHILD ABUSE and CHILD ENDANGERMENT - Essay Example On the other hand, the investigator of an offense of â€Å"rape† (Teens Health, 1995, para. 1) has to be sensitive to the victim, understanding that she might be in extreme mental shock and agony. Thus, information will have to be elicited very tactically from such a person. In addition, while extracting their testimony, which will afterwards be used when the trial goes to court, the investigator needs to exercise extreme care and caution. Moreover, during questionings and interviews, an ingredient of sensitivity should be in place for gathering, protecting, and transmitting of facts from the commencement investigation at the scene of the offense. Particular care should also be taken while gathering and transferring of data relating to the case. The ethics of the investigators necessitate that they must maintain their journal in a methodical order, cautious and sequential order, by pen ink. These are the specific ethical considerations that require to be addressed when investi gating the crimes of rape and homicide. For all crimes, including rape and homicide, the investigator needs to treat the suspect as guiltless, until his or her guilt is proven in a court of law. Besides, the accused should not be coerced or tortured for extracting information from them. The defendant may also be warned suitably of the implication of the admission of crime, his statements and evidence that they offer the investigator during the course of the examination. The investigator should also state that such evidences will be used against them in a court. In the case of the offense rape, the sufferer should not be suspected, and their testimonial proof should be treated as one stride of continuing the particular investigation in identifying the person responsible for the crime. In some of the case investigative units consists of specially trained officers in child psychology, consisting of lady officers. It is always a good practice to use an

Discuss the relations between cultural claims, power and universal Essay

Discuss the relations between cultural claims, power and universal human rights - Essay Example To begin with, let us consider the controversy surrounding the design of the Australian flag. This case is representative of the ideological and power struggles that is rampant everywhere else in the world. The Australian flag evokes starkly different emotions from different sections of its populace. For the indigenous community, it denotes a selective and exclusivist interpretation of Australian history, which completely neglects pre-colonial heritage. For the majority of the European settlers, the blatant human rights violations perpetrated against innocent hordes of indigenous tribes do not evoke sympathy as much as colonial supremacy. This dual viewpoints of history is typical in the post-colonial societies elsewhere, with a marked shift between the sentiments of the ruling elite and the subaltern masses. As the authors point out, â€Å"These debates about the meaning of flags raise issues that point to the very foundations of international politics. States claim that they embody the identities of the peoples living within their territorial boundaries. These identities are a powerful force, even if they are sometimes contrived or imagined. The principle of state sovereignty is often upheld not just as a fundamental political and legal tool but also as the means of protecting the culture or cultures operating within the state’s boundaries†. (Brown, Bromley & Athreye, p.200) Over the course of the last century, states have claimed legitimacy to their causes using the language of rights. The hope lies therein for minorities and underprivileged within states to also employ the language of rights to claim their legitimate share of opportunity, prosperity and privilege. While traditionally, notions of cultural identity held sway over other abstract categorizations, the world of neo-liberal economic globalization has given precedence to universal human rights and justice. So, the

The Impact of Social Media Technology on Individuals Essay

The Impact of Social Media Technology on Individuals - Essay Example Browsing these sites makes one feel connected to a much larger community. However, such an easy and casual connection on the internet can also have its pitfalls (Ramli 646). The social media technology has an immense psychological impact on individuals. The positive aspect of this entire experience lies on social media’s capability to connect several people together. The central part USP of social media such as Twitter and Facebook is their ability to connect the world across every nation, and this has brought a certain sense of joy to its users. One is capable of meeting old friends on Facebook, and be in touch with these people irrespective of where they are located makes it have a strong psychological impact on individuals (Das 223). However, it has its detrimental side too. It is exciting to see a good number of adults and several teens wake up, and the first thing they do even before brushing their teeth is to log to Twitter and Facebook. Facebook encourages idling, and t his has made a number of people to get distracted completely from what they initially intended to do. It begins with two minutes of Facebook to two hours, and this may stretch to days. This addiction to social media sites has made some individuals become unaware of their time zones; thus, creating negative impacts on the mindsets of individuals. The prioritizing of these activities has led to misplaced priorities over varying many very important activities (Ahn 23). The social media technology has also led to revolutionary impact. The prominent power of this technology is its ability to muster support for social causes within a short time. A good example is an unrest in the Arab world. This is one of the achievements of social media (Ahn 24). Both Facebook and Twitter have been used in galvanizing the dictator regime, as well as to remove it from office. The Tahrir Square uprising in Egypt is a perfect example of how social media played a significant role in the struggle for change. In as much as social media brought about the revolution; it triggered tension and fear among people as a result of the threats and posts that were being spread through it (Ramli 645). So far, the biggest negative impact of social media technology revolves around the unfairness that they have intrinsically created on the private life of its users. These sites have encouraged many people to engage themselves and expose their private life to the public. This is because the intimate details of their lives can be posted so easily. This is attributed to the fact that some users are likely to bypass the filters that they should employ when discussing their private lives. Worse still, the things that are posted remain available indefinitely for people all over the world to see. While the users of these sites are capable of controlling the number of people who see what they post, these limitations are forgotten, and leakage of information through friends is also possible. Social media has a lso led to cyber infidelity, and this is capable of destroying relationships. It enables people to connect and make new relationships with people all over the world. You can imagine waking up and finding out that your spouse has updated her Facebook status as single. People posting comments of this sad break up in your relationship can make one extremely miserable. This shows how relationships of this age have been made cheap by social media.  

Networks and Security Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Networks and Security - Assignment Example On the other hand, it is not possible to have integrity existing without confidentiality. This is because the act of maintaining integrity concerns editing or changing the contents of data or a message. Therefore before integrity crime is committed then that person will have breached confidentiality (Cole, 2011). Since, he/she will have to be aware of the contents of the data or message. This occurs when the person involved is has access to the contents of the data or message either through authorization or not. Question 2 The random nonce in an SSL handshake is so that an attacker cannot replay the sequence numbers used in encrypting data sent over a network. This mechanism is effective in ensuring security of the data sent is highly secured. Random nonces are very effective in protecting data sent over networks. For instance, when Bob sends a sequence of data to Alice, an intruder by the name of Tom sniffs the message and wants to extract the data. Tom will set up a TCP connection with Bob and send the same sequence of message. Bob may think that Alice sent the same sequence of data (Lockhart, 2007). In this case, the solution would be for Bob to send different nonce for each connection. As a result, this will cause the encryption keys for the different days to be different. Random nonces are effective in providing adequate security especially when sending repeated messages over the same network. The main purpose of random nonce is to provide encryption and data security for messages or records. Question 3 An application gateway is a machine that is used in ensuring that used in proving relay services when there are different filters. Filters in most cases block the transmission of certain classes of traffic. As a result, it is possible for gateways to prevent the traffic leading to huge networks problems or bottlenecks. Although gateways provide good security for networks they may hamper traffic leading to total collapse of the network. For instance, packet filtering gateways are used in filtering data from networks (Lockhart, 2007). They do so by dropping packets which might cause problems in the network. Therefore the best solution for the case whereby gateways re used is to include a router. A router is used in routing traffic within the network and it is also utilized in connection to the internet. The advantage of a router is that it takes traffic and routes it to different machines in the network (Laet, 2005). Thus making use of a router with an application will be effective in keeping unwanted traffic out while at the same time improving efficiency in delivering data packets to different destinations. Question 4 The monoalphebetic cipher is one of the most secure data encryption methods that can be utilized in different scenarios. The monoalphabetic cipher utilizes around 1026 pairings of data in ensuring that a message unencrypted. This method utilizes paring of letter to encrypt a message. For instance in encrypting the messag e â€Å"I am a student of MSc IT† would equal to: I=s, a=m, m=h, a=m, s=I, t=u, u=y, d=v, e=c, n=j, t=u, o=k, f=x, M=h, S=I, c=b, I=s, T=u. As a result, Plaintext (I am a student of MSc IT) is equal to Ciphertext (s mh miuyvcju kx hisu). While translating cipher text â€Å"s vkjkuuasjfik† would equal plaintext: S=i, v=d, k=o, j=n, k=o, u=t, u=t, a=h, s=I, j=n, f=k, i=s, k=o. As

Comics, Power, and Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Comics, Power, and Society - Essay Example He writes by using the minimum of vocabulary and his graphics convey profound messages. The visuals depicted through â€Å"The Arrival† are impossible to translate verbatim. They appeals to the inner world of an individual depending upon the level of one’s intellectual capacity, power of discrimination and spiritual progression. The life of an individual does not relate to any one branch of social science discipline. Disciplines like sociology, history, economics etc. impact an individual simultaneously from all ends. From the American point of view, immigrant experience is an important aspect especially in the life of an African American. The graphic of ‘Arrival Suitcase’ highlights the life’s journey of a man on the lookout for a better life for his family in the unknown country. He is sure to encounter economic and sociological problems, and on reaching the destination country he becomes the part of the history of that country. He also continues to be the part of the history of the country from where he left and often remains torn between the two identities. He is the product of two histories and tries to mold his life accordingly. He cannot forget his past history; he cannot afford to neglect his present state of affairs. The graphic â€Å"The Journey† has the timelessness abo ut it. Time, its impact and functioning is impossible to fathom. Its greatness is about its ambiguity and profundity. Through this graphic Shaun Tan conveys the epic voyage of human life which is mostly compared to one’s efforts to negotiate the ocean. New York is a city of conglomeration of races. Multiplicity of cultures is the hallmark of this great American city. Whether cultural assimilation in the true sense of the term has been achieved by the cross-sections of the American population is altogether a different aspect. What has been achieved in this city can be the representative sample for the entire American system. When the immigrants newly arrived

Management of change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Management of change - Essay Example ctively utilize the employees as well as suggesting suitable human resource management strategy that can be used to manage and empower the employees within the organisation. Implementing a new order in an organisation is concerned with change of the current operational system and in most cases change is met with resistance by many employees as a result of many factors. For the initiative to be successful, there is need for re-orientation of the workers through provision of basic training and development which would be closely monitored upon implementation as going to be illustrated using the lessons learned from the case study of Image Makers. The Image Makers advertising agency was founded in Switzerland in 1990 by two graduates who studied together at University. Over the years, the agency has grown and has received recognition within the industry for its innovation and creativity, particularly in the use of information technology which continued to develop tremendously. Inspired by the positive growth of the organisation, the two directors recently embarked on an initiative to establish Image Makers as an international company with offices across the globe. This was also necessitated by the organisation’s good reputation for being an innovative as well as a renowned company for attracting and retaining talented workers. However, this initiative redefined its performance history as well as its operations. This meant that some of the skilled workers were to be relocated to other countries where the organisation intended to open up offices. This led to the resignation of two managers, loss of two accounts personnel as well as some form of resistance from other employees which has led to poor performance among other things. Thus, the major aim of this essay is to suggest strategies that can be adopted and give a critical analysis of the best structure, culture, and systems that are necessary to make the change initiative work. A reflection about the action plan

The Kinship System of the Australian Aborigines Essay Example for Free

The Kinship System of the Australian Aborigines Essay In the following paper I will be discussing the kinship of the Australian Aborigines. I will be discussing how this culture impacts the way they behave such as how the act and live. I will also be comparing this behavior to that of my life. I hope that you find this paper to be interesting as well as informative. I will start out by giving a little background on the Australian Aborigines. They are a group of several hundred Indigenous people that reside in Australia. They have existed before the British annexation of Australia in 1788, before that the number of people was over four hundred. In many cases the people or groups will talk about their â€Å"people† and their â€Å"country†. The countries are ethnographic areas. In many cases each country had extended families that lived in them. It was common to have cousins that marry. I would now like to talk about how the Aborigines dress. In many cases by early settlers they were observed to be naked. Some of the tribes had men and women that wore a belt around their waste that was used to carry tools and weapons. This belt was made of animal hair, animal fur, skin or fiber. Before the colonization of the Europeans it was just a simple flap in the front but, after they had to modify it. In the winter months the Aboriginal people made cloaks to keep warm. Next I would like to talk about their language. There were somewhere between 200 to 250 different Aboriginal languages spoken. Now there are fewer than 200 that still remain and all but 20 are considered to be endangered. In 1888 the language was proof that it was necessary to refer to the Aboriginal names and locations throughout the colonies. There are actually some Aboriginal words that are still used today. Next I will talk about the diet of the Aboriginal people. They will hunt or fish for their meat, gather fruits, berries, eggs, plants and insects as well. Some of the meats that they eat are kangaroos, wallabies, echidnas and possums as well as some reptiles and birds. When hunting they would use spears and boomerangs to catch and kill their food. The women were normally responsible for picking the berries as well as caring for the younger children. These are just a few things that the Aboriginal people did and still do today. I will now be talking about their society compares to my own. I do not think that it compares to my society very much. Some of the things that they do are similar to my society in the respect of hunting. I come from a family of people that enjoy hunting for a source of food. Many times these family members will share the food with other family if they are unable to hunt for one reason or another. My family also likes to fish which is another way that we are similar. The ways that their society differs from mine is that we do not believe in marring within our family. In many families though out the United States this is seen as incest and is punishable by law. The other way that we are not similar is that we wear a full body of clothes and always have. I have had the chance to meet some Aboriginal people through the work that my mother used to do. I enjoyed hearing stories of how their ancestors did things and how some of these things have changed throughout time. They still practice the hunting as well as the gathering of their food but, many times can be found wearing clothing. In conclusion I hope that you have found this paper informational as well as informative. I have talked about their diet, how they live as well as I touched on their marring practices. I also have told you why I think that their society is close to my own as well as how it is different from my own. References Anonymous. (n. d. ). Australian aborigines- indigenous Australians. http://www. crystalinks. com/aboriginals. html Nowak, B. , Laird, P. (2010). Cultural Anthropology. San Diego, Bridgepoint Education, Inc. https://content. ashford. edu.

Homelessness Essay Example for Free

Homelessness Essay Homelessness is defined as the situation where one has no decent place to stay mostly because they cannot afford it. Homeless families are those who lack permanent places to live in and instead have to live in shelters, motels, cars, campgrounds or with family members or friends. The extent of homelessness varies with varying factors in the US for instance the geographical location, gender and age. (Levinson D, 2004). Homelessness in the USA is a social or rather a national problem that has been increasing over the years. Giving the exact or accurate figures of homeless people in the US is a difficult task as it tends to be a temporary problem. Again, the approach used to count the homeless people is using the service providers who deal with them paving way for miscounting as not all homeless people would use such facilities. According to a research by the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty in 2007 there were approximately 3. 5million people in America out of which 1. 35 were children. The population affected by poverty is diverse in the sense that it incorporates single adults, adults with children as well as the homeless youth. (National Coalition for the Homeless, 2008). This paper will focus on the nature, scope and population affected by homelessness in the US; it will also highlight the possible solutions to the problem. As David in ‘Encyclopedia of homelessness’ noted one way of estimating the extent of family homelessness in the US was to establish the number of homeless people who were from homeless families. It was established that over 41% of the homeless people came from homeless families. (Levinson D, 2004). The National Coalition for the Homeless estimated that in 2003 the number of children below 18 years was 39% of the total homeless population 42% of which were children below five years of age. In terms of gender, the proportion of the males versus females varied when varying factors were put into account. For the single adults without children males were more than females at 65% but for those with children the proportion was lower at 35%. The number of homeless people with children has been increasing over the years in both the rural as well as the urban areas. (National Coalition for the Homeless, 2008). The history of homelessness in the US dates back to the period before the American Revolution and is therefore not a recent phenomenon. This was triggered by the need to seek better employment opportunities in places far from homes. The issue however came to the public domain in the 1980’s and the federal, state as well as local governments channeled finances to resolve the problem. (Rossi P, 1991). These efforts included the establishment of shelters and housing programs but the problem persisted precipitating the adoption of another model to address the issue. It became apparent that the homeless needed the provision of supportive programs and the housed ‘homeless’ would be treated as tenants in their permanent housing. (Levinson D, 2004). As various scholars have established the major cause for homelessness in the US is poverty which makes houses unaffordable to many who can barely afford the necessities of life let alone the expensive houses. (Ploeg J and Scholte E, 1997). Such people cannot afford food, health care, education and child care. Despite the fact that over the years the economy has been growing and it is expected that people’s standards would improve this has not been attained in a uniform manner. Low income earners have faced the music as their pays have remained relatively low and this situation is made worse by the fact that their jobs offer minimal or no benefits. (Burt R, 1999). Their wages have either remained stagnant or have been falling all attributed to the fact that the bargaining power of the labor unions has reduced and the value of the minimum wages eroded. Temporary or part time jobs, increased globalization and a reduction of jobs in the manufacturing sector also contribute to reduced wages. Reduced wages make housing unaffordable to many as housing costs more than the minimum wage. Proof that the reduced wages play a significant role in perpetuating homelessness in the US can be seen in the high numbers of fulltime employed worker living in shelters. (Levinson D, 2004). A reduction in federal assistance to the poor has also led to aggravated poverty rates which lead to homelessness. Programs that initially assisted the poor for instance the Food Stamps and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families have been reduced and the poor have to feel the full weight of all the costs they need to meet. (Levinson D, 2004). Lack of housing assistance programs also makes the problem of homelessness intense. Low cost housing units introduced were ineffective in realizing the intended goal of assisting the needy. Some were converted to expensive apartments and the poor were left unassisted. A stronger economy sees the prices of housing rise making them unaffordable to many poor people. Levinson D, 2004). There were also minimal house assisted units against a massive number of poor people and many had to stay on long waiting lists. As people wait to be placed on the low cost housing units they had to look for places to live in. Other factors that trigger homelessness include the lack of affordable health care which sees people with an added cost to meet. Domestic violence also leads to homelessness especially when battered unemployed women run away from their battering and bread winner husbands. Mental illness also plays a role in influencing homelessness in the US. Statistics have it that over 15% of the total homeless population suffers from some form of mental illness. Some suffer from chronic or persistent mental illnesses or disorders. (National Coalition for the Homeless, 2008). Natural calamities are also to blame for homelessness in America. A good illustration is the hurricane Katrina and Rita which saw the destruction of over 300000 homes. (Mathison S and Ross E, 2008). Since the problem of homelessness is caused by many factors, no single solution would suffice to whip it out. It is important to adopt both proactive as well as reactive approaches. Proactive measures would be geared to preventing homelessness while the reactive measures would be resolving the problem after its occurrence. It would be vital to ensure that the minimum wage is uplifted so that even the low income earners have a higher amount of money at their disposal. The government ought to renew its commitment in providing low cost housing units. Educational programs among the homeless would place them at a better position in seeking for employment opportunities in the very competitive job market. This way the vicious circle of homelessness would be reduced. The government can also adopt measures that would ensure increased job opportunities as unemployment triggers homelessness. The adoption of community based programs for instance transitional housing as well as emergency shelter only offers temporary solutions and permanent solutions are vital. Since the homeless face many problems ranging from insecurity, inadequate health food supplies and medical care facilities their provision would be effective. (Wiecha L, Dwyer T and Dunn-Strohecker, M, 1991). The government at the various levels must see to it that the homeless gain accessibility to quality health as well as enough and nutritional food. The young children especially those below five years of age must be treated with the specialty they deserve. (Backner I and Bassouk E, 1997). Appropriate strategies must also be enforced to allow those suffering from mental illnesses that can be effectively treated from home gain access to housing as they form a sizable number of the homeless population. Programs to reduce alcohol and drug abuse would also be appropriate in the eradication of homelessness in the US. (Whitt C. 1994).

Human Resourcing Planning in Global Brand

Human Resourcing Planning in Global Brand Introduction The report on Human Resource Planning focuses on the HR plan followed by one of the leaders in global IT services, the Wipro.The Company has booked itself a decent position in the niche market category of consumer goods, business process outsourcing services, product engineering services and illuminating solutions. The report tries to analyze the importance of a well structured human resource planning system in a multinational company like the Wipro.The need for a carefully constructed legal and organizational framework for the employment of staff, and the need for a very effective grievances system has been closely studied in this report. A sincere attempt has been put in to identify and understand the detailed recruitment process of staff. Wipro provides an ideal platform for organizations seeking IT solutions because of its strong human resources, superior performances and sincere commitment towards quality ensurement.It provides business and technology consultations services to a number of organizations worldwide. About the company Wipro stands for Western India vegetable Products ltd.It began its operations in 1945 as a vegetable oil manufacturer in Amalner,India.The company has its equity shares listed in India(both in National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange)and also in US(New York stock exchange) . Wipro has its services spread over wide horizon of activities. Some of which are manufacturing, media, healthcare, telecom, transportation, aerospace, automotive, communication, energy, pharmaceuticals, financial and banking services, insurance, and technology. It has over 800 plus clients and about one lakh associates from 70 different nations. It maintains more than seventy two outlets and employs ninety six thousand people over fifty five nations. Wipro is the third largest R D service provider in the world. It keeps track of all the latest developments in the technological field. It believes that such latest technological innovations has an important bearing on the competitive strength of the concern.Wipro can be termed as a leading vendor of enterprise technology. It is because of its strong brand power that Wipro is now able to reach new heights. Need Importance of Human resource planning The term human resource embraces the entire workforce in an organization form the top level to the bottom level. Human resources are considered to be the most important asset of an organization. The success of every organization depends on the efficiency of its manpower. The increasing global competition, rising customer demands, shortage of skilled and able workers has all contributed towards increasing the relevance of human resources in this era (Webb, 1989). The HR department of every organization should learn how to manage the employee performances effectively. Human resources are the power house of any organization and it is very much essential to nurture them through proper planning and management. The problem is how to utilize and manage these resources to deliver maximum results. Human resource planning is an effective technique of empowering the people with competitive skills required for business management. It is a systematic process through which the need and availability of human resources for accomplishing the organizations strategic objectives are identified and assessed (Mathis Jackson, 2007). HR planning is concerned with determining whether the organization contains the right number of employees, with right skills and competencies in the right place at the right time. The HR plan should contain a detailed study of the skills, talents, knowledge, competency, experience and creativity of its employees. This informations forms the basis for taking optimum career decisions like promotions, de-promotions, dismissals and transfers. Apart from studying the capabilities of its own employees HR plan also assesses the external environment for meeting the labor supply requirements of the organization. It involves forecasting of future manpower requirements of the company and making necessary moves to fill in the vacancies. The HR strategies must be in consistent with the organizational objectives. In any organization it is essential to link the human resource plans with its business strategies and objectives (Rothwell Kazanas, 2003). The HR plans have great impact on the strategic plans of the company. The aim of HR practitioners is to coordinate and align their efforts with the strategic planners. The business objectives can be closely related with the HR objectives as HR is an important part of the organization. Easy attainment of goals is possible only though combined human effort. HRP at Wipro HRP tries to highlight the means through which people are appointed and developed to increase the organizations efficiency (Armstrong 2006).HR plans estimates the number and kind of employees that an organization would require to perform its jobs efficiently and effectively. Following are the important HRP goals in Wipro: Determining the future staffing needs . Accepting and adopting the changes in the internal and external environment. Optimum and efficient utilization of existing workforce. Systematic procedure for advancement of employees. The figure given below shows the HR planning process followed in Wipro Estimating manpower Required Recruitment process Development and training of Selected candidate Promotions and transfers Fixing of payment scale Here the HR planning system is broken down into different phases and arranged in the hierarchical order. Recruitment process Recruitment is the process of inviting applications from suitable candidates and selecting the best candidate from amongst them. The aim of recruitment is to create a pool of applications (Aswathappa 2005).It involves searching various sources to find suitable candidates and persuading them to apply for the jobs. Recruiting is the term applied to the phase of personal management that involves reaching out and attracting a supply of people from which to select qualified candidates for job vacancies. An effort is made to attract potential employees with the necessary characteristics for the jobs available (Megginson, 1981) So recruitment means to finding and encouraging prospective applicants to fill up the vacancies in the organization. Recruitment can be made within the organization or from external environment. There are two sources for recruitment: The external source and the internal source. The internal recruitment can be done through promotions, transfers, employee recommendations and references. Whereas the external means for recruitment includes advertisement, campus recruitments, employment exchanges and agencies. In wipro the recruitment process follows three important stages. They are:- Stage I Written test, Stage II- Personal interview, (Stage II consist of two parts) (i)Interview to test the technical skills (ii) Interview to test the HR knowledge. Stage III Placements Stage I Written test Here the applicants shall be required to undergo a written test. It shall include questions to test the aptitude of the candidates. Sometimes the applicants might have to face verbal questions too. Stage II Personal interview Technical interview comes first in stage II. Technical interview is conducted to assess thee basic technical knowledge. The elimination process starts from here. The applicants shall be selected to the next stage on the basis of the performance. The next is the HR interview. Here the interviewers shall include some general questions like asking the candidates to give a self assessment, asking about their ambitions, family background, their knowledge regarding the company etc. A group discussion may also be conducted to assess the communication skills and vocabulary of the candidates. The filtering process shall be completely depending on the individual performance of the candidates in the above stages. The final stage is the placement of employees. Placement implies accepting the selected candidate and placing him in the post for which he has been appointed. It is concerned with matching the selected candidates with the jobs. Once a candidate clears all the stages the Manager (HR) shall provide him with the employee code number. He/she has to agree upon the terms and conditions of appointment and shall submit their joining letter. After recruitment the newly elected candidate must have to undergo compulsory training, to make them well equipped and familiar with the organization. The talent transformation department of Wipro takes care for this. The following illustration shows in detail the recruitment process followed in Wipro:- Recruitment process Written test Technical Interview HR Interview Placement Personal Interview Measures taken by the company to promote employee welfare Wipro considers its human resource as one of their most priced asset and hence has taken every precaution to make sure that they retain their employees and strengthen their commitment. It has launched various welfare measures for its employees. Such as educational facility for their children, medical reimbursement, housing finance, recreational facilities, insurance policies and canteen facilities. Among these, promotional opportunities play a very important role in making employees happy. Promotion means advancement from the current post to a higher post. Promotions offer better status and payment to the employees in the concern. Opportunities for advancement shall be based on the performance of the employees. Understanding grievances of employees A well structured grievance system is essential for effective identification and redressal of employee grievance. Such an efficient grievance system is a must for ensuring employee satisfaction and better labor relationship (Durai, 2010).It is a prerequisite for every organization to ensure quality employee performance. According to Wagen (2007) a grievance process should consider the following aspects: The process must be duly agreed by everyone in the company. The process must be communicated in English. The procedure followed for filing the complaint must be unambiguous. An objective approach must be followed while dealing with the complainants. Confidentiality must be followed wherever it is necessary. The entire process must be clearly documented. The grievance procedure to be followed is stated below (Selwyn 2006):- i. The employee shall specify his grievance or complaint (in writing) and a copy of the sane shall be forwarded to his employer. ii. The employer shall call upon the employee to attend the meeting where the matter is going to be discussed. The employee has to ensure his attendance. Once the meeting concludes the employer shall inform the employee about his decision with regard to the grievance. The employer must inform the employee his right to make an appeal if he is not satisfied with the judgment. iii. The employee should communicate his intention of making an appeal to his employer. Accordingly the employer shall again call a meeting to discuss on this matter. The employee should take every effort to ensure his attendance. After the hearing the employer shall convey his final decision to the employee. Wipro maintains a very effective grievance system. The grievance process followed by the company contains all the necessary ingredients as discussed above. By following such a system the company is able to easily resolve employee conflict and maintain a peaceful environment. Disciplinary process in the company Discipline is an indispensable factor in human resource planning in a large organization like Wipro.Discipline ensures strict adherence to the procedures, plans and rules of the company. Absence of discipline can bring utter chaos and confusion within the organization.Wipro follows a strict and fair disciplinary system. Following are the important questions raised during the disciplinary procedure of the company: What acts of offence, violation, misconduct have been done by the individual? Did such act amount to breach of code of conduct? The impact of the offence. Is the offence in anyway related to the job performance of the employee? In case of minor offences the employees shall be given warnings or memos. But if such act of offence has affected the company in a grave manner the employee shall be dismissed immediately. Acts of deceit, willful suppression or destruction of important information, willfull negligence of duty, causing personal injury or accidents shall invite dismissal with immediate effect. The dismissal procedure includes: 1. Issuance of sufficient show cause notices 2. Providing an optimum opportunity to be heard 3. Ensuring the presence of the individual during the hearing 4. Permitting the employee to present witnesses 5. Hearing of the witness account 6. Recording of all the procedures and decisions taken in the meeting by the officer in charge 7. Announcement of the decision It should be noted that the presiding officer be impartial and fair in his decisions. IMPORTANCE OF EMPLOYEE WELFARE ORGANISATION What is ACAS? ACAS means Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service. It was established in the year 1975 under the Employment Protection Act. The purpose of ACAS is to ensure better working life and improve the labor relations. ACAS is directed towards solving of employee problems and raising their standard of performance by conducting quality education and training programs for them. ACAS plays three important roles in improving the employee relations (Currie 1997).They are:- 1. Advisory role: ACAS can be viewed as an advisory body as it offers advisory and consultation services to the organization and employees who feel that they have been overlooked or unfairly treated. Through the informations contained in the code of conduct issued by ACAS, it shows an organization the need to maintain a fair grievances and disciplinary system. Many organizations have adopted the principles of ACAS. 2. Role of Conciliation: Here ACAS tries to resolve employee conflicts before the issue reaches the hearing phase. The conciliation officer tries to guide and make both the parties understand the probable outcome of a tribunal. 3. Role of Arbitrator:-In common practice, the employee conflicts are solved within the organization. But the need for an arbitrator arises when the internal dialogues fail to settle the issue. Most of the organizations prefer ACAS to don the role of arbitrator. While acting under this role ACAS may appoint an arbitrator or even form an arbitration board. Such decisions shall be based on the complexity and relevance of the issue. ACAS codes and principles mainly stresses on the importance of maintaining discipline in the organization(Taylor, 2005).ACAS has set specific codes and procedures to be applied on the disciplinary system and dismissal process of the company. Following are the important points covered by the ACAS code in this respect:- Every company should maintain specific and systematic disciplinary procedures and these procedures must be kept with the company in the written form. The name and designation of the person authorized for taking disciplinary actions must be separately stated. The procedure must precisely state the grounds on which disciplinary actions shall be evoked against the defaulting employee or employer. The employee has to be informed about the complaint raised against him. And he should be provided with a reasonable opportunity of being heard. The company should have fair warning system. Proper warnings have to be raised whenever it is necessary .An opportunity must be given to the employees to correct their actions. Every employee has the right to appeal. The company should have a well structured complaint redressal committee before whom the employees shall appear. The employees have the right to representation. Any employee or member of the trade union can accompany the employee during the hearing. Hence ACAS plays a very important role in ensuring a fair and effective grievance and disciplinary system in an organization. Employment Tribunal The Employment tribunals were introduced in the year 1964 for the first time under the Industrial Training Act (Pettinger 1999). Employment tribunal is another important organization which plays a very important role in promoting employee welfare in the industry. They deal with safeguarding employee rights. The tribunal is empowered to give a fair trial to the employees who have been unfairly dismissed (Chandler, Waud 2003). If an employee is dismissed on the basis of any incorrect informations or if he has been denied the right to appeal then the employment tribunal (if the employee is able to prove his innocence) shall dismiss all the allegations against him. Person, persons or bodies like labor unions filing the case to the employment tribunal is termed applicants. And the other party (employer or the company) against whom the case has been filed is termed respondents. The applicants as well as the respondents have the right to present witnesses to their support. The tribunal may require each of the parties to produce necessary documents or evidences while conducting the trial. The decisions shall be taken on just and equitable basis. Two remedies are available to the employees who have been unfairly dismissed. One is to seek re-engagement and the other is to claim compensation. The employment tribunal has the power to issue orders for re-engagement and awarding compensation for the aggrieved employee. The tribunal has been setup to provide a platform for easy settlement of disputes between the employees and the employers (Pettinger 1999).In this manner employee tribunal tries to solve the grievance of employees in a very effective manner. It stresses on the fact that no employee shall be dismissed unless he has been given a reasonable opportunity to prove his innocence .The ultimate objective of the tribunal is to promote and protect employee welfare and rights through fair trials. Apart from the tribunal, the Trade Unions, welfare organizations formed by the employees themselves, government agencies set up under various statutes are in the continuous process of protecting the rights of employees and increasing their job satisfaction. They ensure that the employee grievances are met in a satisfactory manner and a fair and just disciplinary process is followed by the concern. SUMMARY The report on Human Resource Planning tries to highlight the importance of human resources and the need to effectively plan and manage the human resource in a large organization like the Wipro. Human resource planning is concerned with determining whether an organization has the right number of employees, in the right place at the right time. The report goes through the various phases of human resource plan followed by Wipro.The HRP goals of the organization have been clearly stated in the report. The various stages in the recruitment process of the company have been well explained with the support of a detailed illustration. The report also explains the importance of having a well planned and systematic grievance and disciplinary system in an organisation.The disciplinary process followed by the company has been studied in detail. The dismissal procedures have been clearly mentioned in the report. The report attempts to bring out the importance and impact of various employee welfare organizations like ACAS and the Employment tribunals. The principles and procedures specified by the ACAS and the tribunals must be considered while developing the grievance and disciplinary process. CONCLUSION On the basis of the report we arrive at the conclusion that Human Resource Planning is an indispensable part for any organization. An organization enjoys the following advantages of having a well built HR planning system. They are:- It helps in estimating future manpower requirements of the organization. Scarcity of employees An entity contains a number of jobs requiring highly specialized knowledge. And there is a shortage of skilled employees.HRp helps to identify such talents and ensures adequate supply of such talented employees thereby alleviating the problem of shortage in the organization. Trying to cope up with the changes With frequent changes and development in field of technology, market conditions etc, it demands more sophisticated operations. And an effective HRP tries to solve this problem by supplying the right person with right skills. Growth and development Employees leave the organization due to various reasons like death, retirement, dismissals, transfers etc, and it is necessary that these gaps have to be filled. Through proper HR planning such problems due to growth and development can be dealt effectively. It understands manpower requirements and takes suitable actions to supply the right kind of persons, considering the current business operations and future activities of the organization.

Essay --

Pouya Ghasemlou Professor Lavelle Writing about Literature 102 22 February 2014 Terms Both plays are extreme illustrations of Greek Tragedy in a sense that ‘Protagonist’ suffers from some severe hardship which is due to his/her own actions (Tragic Flaw (Hamartia)) - that element of his/her character that will lead his/her to the failure, for example, Creon's obsession with power leads to him losing all of his loved ones . Antigone is the protagonist but cursed with a tragic fate. She has often been known as literature's first Feminist since she defies to the idea that men govern and enforce the law because they are stronger so she is one of the original heroines in the history of literature. Antigone is not just a Feminist play but also a radical one too based on the fact that she rises against the tyranny. Both of the plays are One Act Play due to the fact that they took place in a single location and disclose as one uninterrupted act. Both of the plays are structured based on the traditional shape of the prologue which consists of the introduction of t he characters and the plot; choral entry (Parados); and finally interchanging choral song and scene (Stasimon). The place for Chorus to dance (Greek Orchestra) is the level round zone which is close to the front of the stage. In both of the plays ‘God Machine’ or ‘deus ex machine’ is the hoist that brings the actors to the scene. Since both of the plays have the same time and place so they have the same Setting. They also use similar Conventions, for instance, using of Greek Chorus, which is a group of people who dance and sing without direct contribution in the play. Chorus normally adverse with the characters in the play, and in between each scene of dialogue they talk about t... ... Oedipus’ request of banishment. In the Antigone on the other hand Falling action happens when Creon agrees to free her from the prison. But it was too late and she already killed herself. Antigone’s husband tries to murder Creon but when he fails he committed suicide. Eurydice, also killed herself. Foreshadowing is another literary device that has been used. Oedipus’s explicitly defines â€Å"swollen foot,† this foretells his sighting of his own self in both plays, Teiresias announces the fate of both Oedipus and Creon and is ignored by both men – this predicts the idea that leads Oedipus to ruin his eyesight. Symbols, Oedipus’ â€Å"Swollen Foot† – Oedipus gets his name from the fact that he was abandoned on the mountainside while both of his feet were nailed; this wound left him with a scar that represents that destiny has ‘marked him and set him apart’( Spark Note).

Dorothea Dix Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dorothea Lynde Dix was quoted as saying, â€Å"In a world where there is so much to be done, I felt strongly impressed that there must be something for me to do.† Dix began at the age of 39, and spent the next 20 years as a social reformer for the treatment of the mentally ill. When asked to teach a Sunday School class at a women’s correctional facility, Dix was appalled at the conditions, as well as the fact that many of the women weren’t criminals, but were instead mentally ill. This is where her crusade began. Her work had immediate results throughout the country, and the changes are still being felt even today.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/dorotheadix.html. The website is an excellent source that chronicles Dix’s early life. As a child she lived in a household with a mentally unstable mother and an alcoholic father. This site details her first career as a teacher, then her second career as a social reformer. The Webster site gives an abundance of specific detail about how Dix influenced people and how passionate she was about her beliefs. The last portion of the website biography laments the fact that Dix and her accomplishments are sadly under-reported in most history and psychology textbooks, but that this fact would sit very well with Dix herself, as she preferred to not be in the spotlight.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.dhhs.state.nc.us/mhddsas/DIX/. This website gives a much more detailed description of Dix and her early life, as well as the time she spent in Boston. The writing is more personal and gives more intimate details. The site, in it’s entirety, is for the Dorothea Dix Hospital in Raleigh, North Carolina. The hospital history portion gives a stirring and highly detailed account of Dix visit to North Carolina and the events leading up to the state legislature’s decision to give money for a state hospital. It is an informative, as well as entertaining, account. The site also contains many photographs of Dorothea Dix and the hospital. This site and the historical elements that it contains is a microcosm of the change Dix brought about.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/dorotheadix.html. This site gives another overview of Dorothea Dix’s early life and career highlights, but does so with an emphasis on her finding her religious home among ... ...nian Institution site gives more detail on Dix ideas and involvement in the Civil War. It tells how Dix modeled her nursing after Florence Nightingale, even down to commissioning a black dress for herself, imitative of her heroine. The article also paints a portrait of Dix as a dour, disciplined and dedicated person who had trouble relating to the nurses and had a troubling relationship with the male doctors.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dix’s life work has had a lasting effect on the care and treatment of the mentally ill. Her goals were never concretely set in her mind, she simply did what was best for the people and accomplished immeasurable good in her lifetime. Not only did she bring to light the plight of the mentally ill, she helped to open the door for hospitals and asylums to be built across the country and bring about overall change in the care and treatment of the patients. She believed, and was able to show, that the â€Å"insane† weren’t a lost cause. With proper care and treatment many were able to recover and lead normal lives. This was something that professionals at the time didn’t think was possible. She awoke the nations conscience to the plight of the mentally ill.

Wind Power Essay -- Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Wind Power Energy production causes more pollution than any other industry in the country. Currently, nearly all of the electricity produced in the United States is generated by fossil fuel plants, nuclear plants, and hydroelectric plants. The build-up in the atmosphere of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases produced by the burning of fossil fuels now threatens far-reaching climate change. In addition to global warming, conventional methods of electricity generation release the gases responsible for acid rain, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide. In order to prevent further degradation of our environment and successfully transition to a sustainable society, we must change our current patterns of production and consumption. Conservation and switching to renewable sources of energy, such as wind power, are crucial steps to achieving this goal of sustainability. Wind power alone has the potential to meet 20 percent or more of the world's electricity needs within the next four to five years, (J ohansson, 157). Wind power, however, is still a developing technology, and is therefore far from reaching its full potential. How Wind Machines Work: Wind is the product of sunlight heating the surface of the Earth unevenly. Warmer air rises and cooler air tumbles in to replace it, causing everything from gentle breezes to raging tornadoes. Whatever the amount of power in the wind, it can be harnessed by a machine called a wind turbine. The most common type of wind turbine has a horizontal axis, with two or more aerodynamic blades mounted on the horizontal shaft, (AccessScience, "Types of Wind Machines"). As the wind passes over a turbine's blade, pressure forms on the downwind side, thrusting it upward like a propeller. In these... ... state's consumers the choice of who supplies their electric power and how that power is produced. With the implementation of at least some of these changes, wind power will eventually become a clean source of energy that all people can afford to rely on. Â   Sources: AccessScience.com. keyword: "Wind Power." Carley, Sanya, Sierra Curtis-McLane, and Galen O'Toole. "Renewable Energy at Swarthmore." April 15, 2001. Jacobson, Mark Z. and Gilbert M. Masters. "Exploiting Wind Versus Coal." www.sciencemag.org. August 24, 2001 Johansson, Thomas B. Renewable Energy: Sources for Fuels and Electricity. Island Press, Washington D.C., 1993. Raabe, Steve and Joey Bunch. "Advocates Say Wind Power Progressing from Novelty to Mainstream Practicality." The Denver Post Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. April 20, 2003. www.newwindenergy.com www.pennfuture.org

Othello – Act three scene three is one of the most important scenes in this play

Act three scene three is one of the most important scenes in this play; this is because it is the scene when we see Iago has successfully manipulated Othello into believing that Desdemona has not been faithful to him, this is very significant to the rest of the play as it affects everything Othello the main character thinks, feels and says from this point onwards. At the start we see a noble character, who by the end of the scene is left on his knees swearing revenge on his wife. Act three scene three is also the longest scene in the play, which reflects its importance because so much develops and evolves throughout this period. During act three scene three we can actually begin to see the importance of the scene to the rest of the play, as the plot really starts to move forward, this is once Iago has planted his seeds of suspicion in Othello's mind and starts to water them so that the suspicion will grow. This is a significant development in the play as we see Iago put the plans he spoke of in earlier soliloquies and asides into action. In act three scene three just as Cassio hurriedly leaves the room Iago says â€Å"Ha! I like not that† this is said to arose suspicion in Othello's mind as once this has been said Iago leaves Othello to ponder the various diabolical meanings provided within this short statement, which makes him quite agitated and irritable. At the end of the scene we also see a completely transformed Othello who uses vulgar language and crude animal imagery such as â€Å"I had rather be a toad and live upon the vapour of a dungeon. Than keep a corner in the thing I love for others uses. This is a clear influence of Iago upon Othello who know seems more violent. Towards the end of the scene the decided plan of action will be for Othello to kill both Cassio and Desdemona, we know this as he says, â€Å"I will withdraw to furnish me with some swift means of death for the fair devil. † This is linked to the rest of the play because we can see Iago's plan is starting to work, and that he has manipulated Othello enough to make him think Desdemona is unfaithful so much so he now wants to kill her, this shows a complete transformation in Othello's character. The scene is also important as it reveals the true extent of Iago's devilish nature and how he goes about putting it to use by manipulating Othello in way the audience would not have thought possible, he manages to tear Othello and Desdemona's seemingly strong relationship up within a relatively short period of time, although we have already seen this side of Iago before when he shouts to Barbantio in act one scene one â€Å"an old black ram is tupping your white yew. This reveals part of his racist crude ways as well as showing us how deceitful he truly is in as much as he is pretending Roderigo is saying these things, he also reveals the marriage of Othello and Desdemona to Barbantio behind their backs. By doing this early on the audience are immediately aware of Iago's deceitful nature. The quote also reveals Iago's racist ways and what he thinks of moors and non-Venetians. These comments he makes would shock a twenty first century audience, as we live in a multi cultural society and everybody should be treated equally within it, however a Elizabethan audience would not of been shocked due to the fact they thought black men were sexually charged predators as shown in many of the quotes. Other signs that Iago is a skilled manipulator is the way he persuades Othello of Desdemona's infidelity, he uses various techniques to do this, for a start he appears to let on more than he really knows, this makes Othello want to feed his suspicion. There are also points when fate plays a part in the proceedings such as when Iago receives a particular handkerchief, which was Othello's first gift to Desdemona, he then tells Othello that Cassio dropped it, this is the proof Othello requested. Iago then went on to make up a dream he said Cassio had of Desdemona in which Cassio started saying, â€Å"sweet Desdemona, let us be wary, let us hide our loves,† this completely enraged Othello, whilst Iago appeared to be getting a kick out of everything that was going on. He is also quick to point out Othello's cultural differences in an attempt to make him feel insecure and like an outsider this is revealed in the quote â€Å"They dare not show their husbands; their best conscience. † By saying this he is telling Othello that Venetian women are loose and that he does not know what they are like, as he is an outsider. Religious references are used a plenty during this scene an example is when Othello uses such phrases as â€Å"death and damnation† and â€Å"heavan and hell† it is a very important theme in the play. The fact people were very religious in the sixteenth century is very important as it appears Iago has no concern for his soul, he has no sense of shame or remorse which is quite a chilling thought. The reason this scene is so important is the complete transformation of Othello the main character from a dignified figure to a jealous rage, we can see how successful Iago was here as earlier we saw how noble and calm Othello was when confronted by Barbantio and he told him to put his sword away now at the end of act three scene three Othello has become extremely violent and less confident in his relationship with Desdemona. We are also able to see how Shakespearian tragedies work, clearly the hero moves from a state of happiness to misery and eventual death through some fault or weakness of their own in Othello's case his tragic weakness or flaw, can be linked to the theme of jealousy and honesty within the play, he is easily made to jump to conclusions through thoughts of jealousy when it comes to Desdemona's infidelity, he is also too open and trusting towards certain characters like Iago who take advantage. By the end of the scene Othello has been completely enraged and his stature and reputation turn for the worst seen mainly through his language, which was once poetic like, Othello's language was controlled and he was able to enthral an audience as he did with the duke when explaining his courtship with Desdemona. Towards the end he is left cursing using imagery of hell such as â€Å"death and damnation† which are clear influences of Iago. The point we see Othello has completely given up and lost faith in Desdemona is when he says â€Å"farewell tranquil mind† which is a clear indication of how he feels completely distraught. To make this scene stand out among the rest Shakespeare has been very clever with his dramatic devices and his use of them in particular the way people enter and exit, for example when Cassio exits hurriedly leaving Desdemona, which causes Othello to wonder why he left so hastily. There is also the matter of timing and when characters speak which causes an awful amount of dramatic intensity, as mentioned earlier the length of the scene is very significant to the rest of the play because it allows time enough for Iago to put his plan into action and to work Othello's trust. When talking about dramatic devices we must also mention the very important part of soliloquies and asides in which a character reveals their inner most thoughts and feelings, which leads to dramatic irony as the audience are already aware of plans and actions to be undertaken. In conclusion the fact that so much significant and crucial parts take place in act three scene three prove that it is very important to the rest of the play, as it really starts to develop the plot and themes we have seen growing throughout earlier scenes. It is especially important because of the fact we see such a tremendous change in Othello.

Marketing scenario Essay

Introduction Positioned as an premium offering focused to lowest overall cost to end users through superior overall performance. Leader in quality , performance and technological innovation Product lines Carton sealing and industrial tapes Specialized adhesives Other packaging products K2 tape – Manufactured using patented technology and a brand name for pressure sensitive carton sealing tape Very high tensile strength and sheer resistance Positioning High Price K2 Products Low Quality High Quality Ipack Tensile New Product Low Price Problem Statement †¢ K2 tape competed against inferior economy grade products in carton sealing type †¢ IPACK offered 25-35% lesser price †¢ Revenue of K2- $68.6 million IPACK – $28.5 million in 2012 †¢ Tensile – a new competitor had $2.7 million dollar sale with one sales representative Should PST stay with high quality product or enter the economy grade segment ? Option 1: Enter the economy grade segment under the same brand PROS Access to the economy segment Defend market share against competition Diversification of product portfolio CONS Dilution of the brand image as a maker of  technological superior product Cannibalization of its own product offering Cluttered product line Option 2: Enter the economy grade segment under different brand Implications for: PROS CONS Customer †¢ Ability to fulfill need of price sensitive  customers †¢ Possibility of change in perception of  being a quality leader Distributor †¢ Possibility to offer a low end PST  product †¢ Even wider product range; Limited  sales force Sales Force †¢ Ability to offer more variety in terms of  price levels †¢ More effort to explain product  differences Brand †¢ No positive impact †¢ Negative impact on brand image Option 2: Stay with high-quality products Implications for: PROS CONS Customer †¢ Maintaining image of quality Leader †¢ Loss of Market share; Not targeting  price sensitive consumers Distributor †¢ No need for adjustment in  distribution policy †¢ Low-price offer only from competitor not from PST Sales Force †¢ Consistent and easy product  quality †¢ No ability to offer solution for price  sensitive customer Brand †¢ Consistent overall brand image †¢ No negative impact Recommendation PST should enter the economy grade segment NEW BRAND †¢ New name (unrelated to PST) to avoid negative impact on brand image †¢ Marketed completely independent PRODUCT LAUNCH †¢ Development and launch of two new products to compete with Tensile †¢ Competitive pricing strategy (similar to Tensile) ENTER MARKET †¢ Make use of well established distribution network †¢ Offer economy equivalents for RD-48 & RDS-72 SUCCESS FACTORS †¢ There is a projected growth in demand (e.g. packaging segment 2.2%) †¢ PST has an established sales force and distribution network in the tape market †¢ There is a lack of brand loyalty of price sensitive customers (switching to PSTs new brand) †¢ There was suitable equipment and capacity for quick production Distribution Plan †¢ Distribution through existing network for faster brand growth †¢ Hire more sales people to increase service quality & sales in PSTs tape business

Hazara people Essay

The book is superior to the film in many ways. Both of these versions of the story are very well fulfilled, however I believe that book has more detail and explains the story better. The book is superior to the film because the author described various facets of Amir’s emotional world, it showed Baba dying, and included important parts of the struggle Amir and Sohrab went through to get to America together. In the book, the author gets into the detail of Amir’s feelings and inner conflicts between himself and Hassan. In the movie it only shows a few scenes that you can truly point out his guilt towards what he had done to Hassan. In the book it says, â€Å"I hit him with another pomegranate, in the shoulder this time. The juice splattered his face. ‘Hit me back! ’ I spat. ‘Hit me back goddamn you! ’I wished he would. I wished he’d give me the punishment I craved, so maybe I could finally sleep that night. † (92) This quote is proof that Amir still feels guilt inside of him for leaving Hassan the day he got raped by Assef. It also demonstrates Hassan’s loyalty towards Amir. Assef was the older boy who picked on Hassan and Amir because Hassan was Hazara. Amir wanted him to punish him for not standing up for him like Hassan had done since they could walk. This was the point in the film that you could tell that Amir was feeling guilt from not helping Hassan. In the book however, there was much more detail and I could tell that he was feeling guilt from this situation and when he told his father that Hassan couldn’t go on the trip with them because he had a cold. Also, in the book I could predict why Baba never wanted to let go of Hassan and Ali. The author gave hints that there was something going on between Hassan and Baba up until the part Amir found out Hassan was his half-brother from Rahim Khan. In the movie, it was hard to tell there was a reason Baba wanted to keep Hassan and Ali until Amir asked what he thought about getting new servants. By Baba’s reaction in the movie it just seemed that he wanted to keep them because he and Ali had grown to be the best of friends. However, it was not really Ali Baba was trying to save. In the book Baba says, â€Å"‘Hassan’s not going anywhere. ’† This was the biggest sign that I thought the author gave. This quote is only one example of when the author gave a clue that Hassan meant more than a normal servant did to Baba. The book is superior to the film by the suggestions given by the author about Hassan meaning a lot to Baba. The next reason the book is superior to the film is because the movie skipped important parts of Baba’s sickness. First of all, the film did not even say Baba was sick. The author made sure that he stated Baba had cancer and that he had to live with Amir and Soraya so that they could take care of him and give him his pain medication. In the film it only showed Baba coughing once and the scene that he died in. In the book, the author included many different incidences that Baba was suffering and coughing. Also, in the chapter that Baba died you could tell that he was dying and when he said he didn’t want his medications that night I knew he was going to die. However, in the film it did not show Baba until Amir brought him to sleep. Baba was one of the main characters in the story and I believe that the film should have shown him suffering, and dying. Later on in the story Amir gets a call from Rahim Khan saying that he needed him to come to Pakistan. When Amir got there Rahim Khan told Amir a heartbreaking secret that everyone knew except him. Rahim Khan told him that he had to go and get his nephew in Kabul. In the novel, the author explains the whole story that Amir and Sohrab went through so that Amir could take Sohrab back to America to live with him and Soraya. The film missed all of the trouble they went through to get him there. In the book, the two of them went through troubles including when Sohrab tried to kill himself. This was another turning point of the novel. It was a huge event that I think should have been included in the film. When Sohrab attempted to kill himself I thought that was his way of showing that he could not trust Amir anymore and that he didn’t want to go to America no matter what it took. But when he found out that he didn’t have to go back to an orphanage he was truly happy to go with Amir. In the film, it cut out everything, even though these were important events. In the novel it says, â€Å"‘We’re going to America! ’ I pushed the door open. Stepped into the bathroom. Suddenly, I was on my knees, screaming. Screaming through my clenched teeth. Screaming until my throat would rip and my chest explode. † (343) This was the part of the novel that Sohrab tried to kill himself. This quote was very important in the novel. I think this because you do not know what exactly Amir is screaming about, but you know it’s bad. The author did a good job at this part because it almost forced you to continue reading to see what happened to Sohrab. The book was able to capture all of the details about the characters and their emotions and the situations they were in. However, the movie skimmed the interactions of Amir, Hassan, Baba, and Rahim Khan at times. In conclusion, the book is superior to the film. The AUTHOR did a beautiful job writing the story about Amir’s life and his guilt and the redemption he experienced.