Should the Sat Be Required?

First introduced in the year 1926, for many years now – the SAT, or Scholastic Assessment Test, has been a major part of our high schooler’s education. It is a requirement in order to graduate – and is a chief determining factor in whether or not a student will be accepted into certain colleges. In fact, a student could have straight D’s and C’s, yet if they were to receive a perfect or near perfect score on this particular test – they would be able to apply and be accepted into the most prestigious of schools. I think this is absolutely ludicrous.The SAT test is one tailored to be one of the trickiest you’ve ever taken, one that is actually designed to fool you into misunderstanding every question. Not to mention the stress that overcomes most students as they’re taking this timed test, second guessing every answer and worrying about every little thing until finally the time is up – and they feel like a failure. Itâ€⠄¢s silly to put a student in this atmosphere – where most are not at their best – test them on random subjects, and then allow this score to come before every other score they’ve ever received in their life.Indeed a quote from Einstein comes to mind as I think about it, â€Å"Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a  fish  by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid†. The SAT has been under scrutiny for years now, often accused of being biased in the upper class’ favor. In fact, studies have shown that students from families with an income less than $20,000 a year received an average score of 1,310, while students from families with incomes over $200,000 averaged in at about 1,715 – a difference of 405 points.There was also a large controversy over the ‘oarsman-regatta analogy question’. The purpose of the question poised was â€Å"to find the pair of terms that have the relatio nship most similar to the relationship between â€Å"runner† and â€Å"marathon†. The correct answer was â€Å"oarsman† and â€Å"regatta†. The choice of the correct answer presupposed students' familiarity with crew, a sport popular with the wealthy, and so upon their knowledge of its structure and terminology.Fifty-three percent of white students correctly answered the question, while only 22% of black students also scored correctly. However, according to Murray and Herrnstein, the black-white gap is smaller in culture-loaded questions like this one than in questions that appear to be culturally neutral. Analogy questions have since been replaced by short reading passages†. In response to the controversy, a growing number of colleges have chosen to join the ‘SAT optional movement’, a movement made popular in the late 1980s.Said colleges do not require the SAT for admission. In a 2001 speech to the  American Council on Education,   Richard C. Atkinson, the president of the  University of California, urged dropping the SAT Reasoning Test as a college admissions requirement, â€Å"Anyone involved in education should be concerned about how overemphasis on the SAT is distorting educational priorities and practices, how the test is perceived by many as unfair, and how it can have a devastating impact on the self-esteem and aspirations of young students.There is widespread agreement that overemphasis on the SAT harms American education†. I very much agree with his argument, and many are starting to see his point as well. I am very hopeful that in the growing infamy of the test, it will vanish as a requirement all together, and that the next generation will never have to deal with the problems such a test presents.

Journalist and Pr Relationship

1. The question for the essay is â€Å"Journalism and Public Relations: Symbiosis or Parasitosis? † Journalists and Public Relations (PR) practitioners interact with each other everyday as part of the process of news production. Journalists communicate towards public relations practitioners with requests for information or material to help produce the stories they are writing. While public relations practitioners advise stories and deliver journalists with information they have created themselves in hope to be published in the newspaper.The relationship between journalists and public relations practitioners is, and has always been, complicated. The relationship between these two is one of mutually dependency if not symbiotic, but also ambivalent if not hostile. This ambiguous relationship has arisen due to the misconception of the outlook and the values of each profession. Shin and Cameron (2004) deem both parties bring conflict to the relationship through the nature of their roles and goals, and the values, attitudes and views they hold of each other (Callard, 2011).Journalist perception on public relations practitioners has a negative connotation to it, often troubled by the often about the levels of ‘information subsidy’ (Gandy, 1982) in the context of the way in which public relations material is able to shape the news by providing information that enables them to conform to there own agenda. Whereas public relations are concerned with the misunderstood perspective journalists have upon the role that public relations play. (Charron, 1989) Journalists are said to strive for objectivity, fairness, accuracy, and balance, and do not withhold information, hide or advocate for particular agendas, or act unethically (Belz, Talbot, & Starck, 1989). Public relations is regarded as more subjective, serving the interests of the client first and foremost’ (White & Hobsbawm, 2007) Although the tensions between the to industries may be strained , this is a relationship based on need n order for each other to succeed, whether each of them will admit it. . Even though they may have differences, both professions have the similar objectives created around there public. The main intention of journalism profession is to provide it public with accurate, reliable trustworthy information to the general public. Public relations objective is to influence a certain target public, intended to influence the opinion of this audience to promote an individual or organisation that the firm is looking after.The ‘adversarial relationship' between the two professions is commonly viewed as journalists being the gatekeepers who serve the public through offering them ‘a window to the world' (Singer, 1998) and public relations practitioners subsequent  the ‘press-agentry’ model (Grunig and Hunt 1984) where the purpose of the practitioner is to expand publicity for their particular organisation through controlled ‘i nformation dissemination'. But in an ever-competing world the tables have begun to turn, with journalist not being as pure as they make out to be.Journalists have a responsibility to an unspoken ethical code to produce stories of truth and reliability, as journalists are the source between the public and it knowledge of news information. Foxification as well as the news of the world scandal has tampered the perception of trust worthy journalism. Foxification was the misrepresentations of facts to the public by the fox network for the purpose of perpetuation their prejudiced conservative agenda and profit gain.Which was the same found with the news of the world scandal early last year, where unethical conduct in order to gain profit. So the foundation of apprehensive that journalism has on public relations becomes unjustified. The central elements to the functioning amongst journalist’s and public relations relationship is the subject of access to information. In an era where news is produced and consumed as fast as possible, the Internet has provided media with a new platform to serve its publics with the most up-to-date news. But evidently this no longer means that journalists have he day to write a story for the next day’s paper, journalist are looking at having to produce any where between 6-10 stories every time they enter the newsroom. 3. In March 2010 10 hard-copy news papers where analyised on Australia news and commentary website Crikey and the Independent journalism which concluded that nearly 55% of the stories discover were driven by some sort of public relations influence. The requirement of journalists doing more with less has insured the relationship between the two professions is securely bound together fostering a dependence on PR practitioners and their public relations materials.It is this demand placed upon each profession, which has manufactured what we now know as ‘churnalism’ the practice of journalists churning through press releases to manufacture news content as quick as possible the reader. Journalists are being asked to do more with less resources . . . forcing them to rely more and more on information from public relations practitioners . . . they are being forced increasingly into reactive, passive positions rather than pursuing their own investigations. (Gower, 2007, p. 2-3) Churnalism. om invites people to paste press releases on to the site and compare the copy with more than three million articles published by national newspaper websites, the BBC or Sky News since 2008. The site then offers a percentage score indicating how much of the release was copied and pasted by journalists. One of the founders of the Churnalism site Chris Atkins produced a fake press release about a â€Å"chastity garter† containing a micro-chip which would send a text message to the woman’s partner communicating of the partner was about to be unfaithful, to show how influential public relat ions press on the content of journalists stories.The story became the most read story on the Daily Mail’s website for that particular day. And was then repeated by many media outlets including that of a USA morning television show. This example just highlight the extent to how much journalist rely on the content that public relations practitioners have provided them with in order to produce stories. But this also placed an ethical responsibility upon public relations to produce press 4. releases, which are truthful as public relations practitioners rely on journalist to use these to promote their organisation.In the case of both public relations and journalism the related notions of trust and truth are central to their professional activities. The importance in creating a strong trustworthy relationship with journalist even more crucial to public relations practitioners as this is their main source of contact with their target publics. Public relations agencies aim to build a n ongoing relationships with journalists as the better relationships they can build, the more influence they can exert on the media.A journalist is more likely to pay attention to a press release that's timely, from a known source and targeted to the specific journalist's need. So it is a public relations practitioner job to make sure they know and understand the style and sought stories each journalist would report on, making it more likely for their press release to be picked up. Making it crucial to insure that the press releases are informative and truthful.Public Relations practitioners will offer journalists media kits, face-to-face meeting and invite them to private lunches and launches gaining an exclusive scoop to create a goodwill relationship between the two parties. But as public relations is the primary contact between organisations and the media, public relations people can control the access to information given to journalist, enabling them tremendous lead way in nego tiating with journalists. It’s a bit of you scratch my back I will scratch your back type on partnership. In today’s world, public relations and journalists go hand in hand.Journalists and public relations practitioners play distinct roles in their individual professions. On a whole public relations and journalism work together in order to achieve the same ultimate goal. Approaches may be different but both professions are mutually dependent upon one another and as well as one of symbiotic. In order to move forward with media coverage, both journalism and public relations need become accustom to the presents of each profession as by accepting what each party has to offer allows both industries to get ahead. Journalist and Pr Relationship 1. The question for the essay is â€Å"Journalism and Public Relations: Symbiosis or Parasitosis? † Journalists and Public Relations (PR) practitioners interact with each other everyday as part of the process of news production. Journalists communicate towards public relations practitioners with requests for information or material to help produce the stories they are writing. While public relations practitioners advise stories and deliver journalists with information they have created themselves in hope to be published in the newspaper.The relationship between journalists and public relations practitioners is, and has always been, complicated. The relationship between these two is one of mutually dependency if not symbiotic, but also ambivalent if not hostile. This ambiguous relationship has arisen due to the misconception of the outlook and the values of each profession. Shin and Cameron (2004) deem both parties bring conflict to the relationship through the nature of their roles and goals, and the values, attitudes and views they hold of each other (Callard, 2011).Journalist perception on public relations practitioners has a negative connotation to it, often troubled by the often about the levels of ‘information subsidy’ (Gandy, 1982) in the context of the way in which public relations material is able to shape the news by providing information that enables them to conform to there own agenda. Whereas public relations are concerned with the misunderstood perspective journalists have upon the role that public relations play. (Charron, 1989) Journalists are said to strive for objectivity, fairness, accuracy, and balance, and do not withhold information, hide or advocate for particular agendas, or act unethically (Belz, Talbot, & Starck, 1989). Public relations is regarded as more subjective, serving the interests of the client first and foremost’ (White & Hobsbawm, 2007) Although the tensions between the to industries may be strained , this is a relationship based on need n order for each other to succeed, whether each of them will admit it. . Even though they may have differences, both professions have the similar objectives created around there public. The main intention of journalism profession is to provide it public with accurate, reliable trustworthy information to the general public. Public relations objective is to influence a certain target public, intended to influence the opinion of this audience to promote an individual or organisation that the firm is looking after.The ‘adversarial relationship' between the two professions is commonly viewed as journalists being the gatekeepers who serve the public through offering them ‘a window to the world' (Singer, 1998) and public relations practitioners subsequent  the ‘press-agentry’ model (Grunig and Hunt 1984) where the purpose of the practitioner is to expand publicity for their particular organisation through controlled ‘i nformation dissemination'. But in an ever-competing world the tables have begun to turn, with journalist not being as pure as they make out to be.Journalists have a responsibility to an unspoken ethical code to produce stories of truth and reliability, as journalists are the source between the public and it knowledge of news information. Foxification as well as the news of the world scandal has tampered the perception of trust worthy journalism. Foxification was the misrepresentations of facts to the public by the fox network for the purpose of perpetuation their prejudiced conservative agenda and profit gain.Which was the same found with the news of the world scandal early last year, where unethical conduct in order to gain profit. So the foundation of apprehensive that journalism has on public relations becomes unjustified. The central elements to the functioning amongst journalist’s and public relations relationship is the subject of access to information. In an era where news is produced and consumed as fast as possible, the Internet has provided media with a new platform to serve its publics with the most up-to-date news. But evidently this no longer means that journalists have he day to write a story for the next day’s paper, journalist are looking at having to produce any where between 6-10 stories every time they enter the newsroom. 3. In March 2010 10 hard-copy news papers where analyised on Australia news and commentary website Crikey and the Independent journalism which concluded that nearly 55% of the stories discover were driven by some sort of public relations influence. The requirement of journalists doing more with less has insured the relationship between the two professions is securely bound together fostering a dependence on PR practitioners and their public relations materials.It is this demand placed upon each profession, which has manufactured what we now know as ‘churnalism’ the practice of journalists churning through press releases to manufacture news content as quick as possible the reader. Journalists are being asked to do more with less resources . . . forcing them to rely more and more on information from public relations practitioners . . . they are being forced increasingly into reactive, passive positions rather than pursuing their own investigations. (Gower, 2007, p. 2-3) Churnalism. om invites people to paste press releases on to the site and compare the copy with more than three million articles published by national newspaper websites, the BBC or Sky News since 2008. The site then offers a percentage score indicating how much of the release was copied and pasted by journalists. One of the founders of the Churnalism site Chris Atkins produced a fake press release about a â€Å"chastity garter† containing a micro-chip which would send a text message to the woman’s partner communicating of the partner was about to be unfaithful, to show how influential public relat ions press on the content of journalists stories.The story became the most read story on the Daily Mail’s website for that particular day. And was then repeated by many media outlets including that of a USA morning television show. This example just highlight the extent to how much journalist rely on the content that public relations practitioners have provided them with in order to produce stories. But this also placed an ethical responsibility upon public relations to produce press 4. releases, which are truthful as public relations practitioners rely on journalist to use these to promote their organisation.In the case of both public relations and journalism the related notions of trust and truth are central to their professional activities. The importance in creating a strong trustworthy relationship with journalist even more crucial to public relations practitioners as this is their main source of contact with their target publics. Public relations agencies aim to build a n ongoing relationships with journalists as the better relationships they can build, the more influence they can exert on the media.A journalist is more likely to pay attention to a press release that's timely, from a known source and targeted to the specific journalist's need. So it is a public relations practitioner job to make sure they know and understand the style and sought stories each journalist would report on, making it more likely for their press release to be picked up. Making it crucial to insure that the press releases are informative and truthful.Public Relations practitioners will offer journalists media kits, face-to-face meeting and invite them to private lunches and launches gaining an exclusive scoop to create a goodwill relationship between the two parties. But as public relations is the primary contact between organisations and the media, public relations people can control the access to information given to journalist, enabling them tremendous lead way in nego tiating with journalists. It’s a bit of you scratch my back I will scratch your back type on partnership. In today’s world, public relations and journalists go hand in hand.Journalists and public relations practitioners play distinct roles in their individual professions. On a whole public relations and journalism work together in order to achieve the same ultimate goal. Approaches may be different but both professions are mutually dependent upon one another and as well as one of symbiotic. In order to move forward with media coverage, both journalism and public relations need become accustom to the presents of each profession as by accepting what each party has to offer allows both industries to get ahead.

Magazine Advertisment Essay

Advertisements are everywhere on TV, the internet, movies, magazines, etc. They are there to get people to buy whatever it is that they are advertising. They do it with color, models, and tricky words. In this case my magazine advertised a lip balm called â€Å"Baby Lips†. This advertisement says that you can, â€Å"kiss dull lip balms goodbye and instead have baby lips† making it so that woman get interested into buying this product because you will have baby lips. The colors that are being used in my advertisement are grey, black, bright orange, and white. What is being suggested in this advertisement is that you should wear the lip balm shown in the magazine because it will give you baby lips. In the article the picture is of a pretty woman whose whole face is grey, except her lips. The rest of the article is in very light colors making it so that the lip balm and the models lips are the two things stand out the most. Both of them are in a bright orange color that makes them stand out more than anything else in the picture. Also in my advertisement there is a model, she is a female, although you can’t see all her body and just her face you can tell that she is pretty just by the way her eyelashes and eyebrows are done. The expression on her face is as if the woman is going to give someone a kiss. She has her eyes closed but she looks like if she’s in the mood of kissing someone and feels good about that. All these little details are made to imply that with this lip balm everyone will want to get kissed by your baby lips. In the picture there is also a before and after picture of someone’s lips but you can’t really tell the difference. Words are a big help in advertising. The words call the reader’s attention and also can sometimes fool the buyer. In my ad it says â€Å"In one week your lips will be visibly renewed.† Although it says that, there is no given proof of it. They don’t provide us with a survey of people or percentage of people who says that. Also the word baby lip is in bright orange to get the viewers attention because it stands out who wouldn’t want baby lips right? There is also a small caption next to the bright orange lip balm that says that it’s an exclusive lip renew formula. Furthermore the model is saying that she wants a clinical strength care with a kick of color to get woman to buy it because not only does it help you care for your lips but it also gives you some color. The intended audience for the lip balm is young woman or any type of woman who want to get baby looking lips and wants to stand out at the same time. The woman who are interested in this lip balm are probably the ones who are looking for non dull lips and instead interested in lips that are more moisturized and lips that stand out. Lastly, advertising helps buyers learn more about the product but it also tricks buyers into buying stuff that most of the time doesn’t work.

International Business Communication Paper Essay

International Business Communication Paper - Essay Example Bureaucracy is the other major obstacle as there are endless procedures and forms to fill, resulting in waste of time and money, which are the most important resources for a business. It is therefore, crucial for an investor to note that though the country does not have specific cultural practices to be followed, they should not forget that it is a foreign country. For instance, there are people who have to be pleased in order for an investor to succeed, mostly from the ruling class. It is hard for foreign investors to procure funding since the country is in debts and there is a lot of external pressure for reform implementation. A person of either gender can own a business in the country but the people are leaning towards women leaders. However, a foreign company can only own between 40% and 70% of a business depending on the sector. The law prohibits import of labor for locally available skills, and limits inputs import by imposing heavy import duty. Table of Contents Table of Cont ents ii International Business Communication Paper Before investing in a foreign country, a citizen of the United States needs to familiarize with such a country to ensure a smooth transition from one business environment to another. Therefore, background research is necessary to ensure success of the investment once the investor knows the rules by which to play. Factors about the country that should be of interest to an investor in any sector include, but are not limited to business norms and cultural considerations. Business norms include all the requirements of the business world that the investor must follow in order to be in line with government policies, clients’ preferences, competitive landscape and possible business partners. Cultural considerations encompass the social expectations on the investor from the various stakeholders in this foreign land. Countries have different definitions of what they consider as the ethical or the unethical and any investor keen on suc ceeding in a foreign land should familiarize himself with these values. On keen observation though, it is clear that even if the country has a favorable environment for foreign investments, there is still a lot of room for improvement. For instance, the process of obtaining trade licenses is tedious though the country is currently undergoing reforms in all sectors due to the recent adoption of what politicians and the media claim to be one of the best constitutions in the world. If Kenyan leaders do not do what they are famous for i.e. corrupting systems, the country is ready and is a prime location for new investments. The country’s economy is driven mainly by agriculture and service industries. Its economy does not experience exponential growth because unprocessed goods always fetch low prices in the international market. The service industry, on the other hand, has been deteriorating as tourists shun the country due to civil unrests and terrorism threats especially in the period following the 2007/08 post election violence. Business Norms For one to invest in Kenya, there are numerous licenses to be obtained. However, since the country always sends delegations here in the US to talk to investors encouraging them to do business, it is safe to assume that the country’

Presentation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 8

Presentation - Essay Example Mercanta International is a long time and decently reputed company that sources green coffee from seventeen countries in Africa and Latin America. We are especially well mentioned with regards to strong corporation and considerate corporate policies in the wider context of interests of our corporate partners. Moreover, we adhere to a strict code of operation and corporate ethics and meet all legal benchmarks in all our operations. It is thus our sincere assurance to you that you can have all the confidence as you consider this offer to corporation. Some of the immediate benefits your association stand to benefit working with us is the fact you would no longer have to take your coffee beans through the conventional roasting process and other primary preparation procedures as we would help out with that. The most likely by you question is how. Let break it to you that we have progressed to source the green fresh coffee berries almost straight from the farms. In this regard, your association will take advantage of our efficient infrastructure, systems and logistics in temporary packaging for fright and reduced transportation costs. You therefore stand to get higher returns for your produce as this potential partnership would reduce the bureaucratic and most wasteful stages of handling your produce. If these developments were to succeed, we have a plan in preliminary stages to establish a local office right here in Kenya to effectively handle your affairs and to strengthen our partnership. We have had lengthy deliberations on your main concern of delayed payments as has been perpetually been the case in your perspective. As a direct outcome of these deliberations, it is my pleasure to make it known that plans are underway to partner with Barclays Bank Kenya and The Jubilee Insurance Company to take care of any unforeseen instances that may delay disbursement of money in time to your association therefore to farmers. We also look forward to establishing a

How to increase customers commitment and loyalty to the products Research Paper

How to increase customers commitment and loyalty to the products - Research Paper Example Commitment, as Jones et al. outline, has some specific characteristics. First of all, it is targeted – a person can be committed to different things, including company’s product or the company itself. The subject of the commitment is, thus, what connects an individual with the organization through the person’s psychological attachment. Secondly, commitment may take different forms. Among them are affective, normative and continuance commitment. Each type of commitment has a different psychological basis. Finally, each of the three types of commitment generates â€Å"different effects on various relationship-related outcomes†. This means that, depending on which type of commitment a customer experiences, the individual is more or less likely to be willing to maintain the relationship with the subject of commitment. Similarly, the type of commitment determines how loyal that individual is to the brand or company, and how likely he or she is to abandon the br and or company. Affective commitment, according to Gruen, Summers and Acito can be defined as a degree of customer’s psychological attachment to the commitment target. This type of commitment is based on customer’s positive feelings towards the subject of commitment and is a predictor of such responses as advocacy, co-production, willingness to pay more, as well as the number of purchased items. Therefore, in order to build affective commitment of a customer the company has to make sure its brand, product or service evokes positive associations. Such positive associations can be supported by good company image, its CSR activities, or simply well-designed advertising campaign. Normative commitment is based on person’s feeling of being obliged to the subject of commitment. This feeling is usually evoked by certain social norms and social pressure for acting in a certain manner. Feeling obliged, the customer is more willing to help the company by means of, for instance, paying more for its product, helping in some way or recommending the product to others, thus also helping the organization. This type of commitment is more appropriate for organizations that are able to devote their resources to serving some positive social projects. For instance, a company might tell that it will send part from the received revenue to hungry children of Africa. In this situation an individual might choose this particular company to buy from because he or she feels obliged to help the children. Continuance commitment is based on â€Å"perceived costs associated with terminating the relationship† (Jones et al. 2010, 24). If, for instance, there are no alternatives to some product, or the customer has already invested much into certain company, the customer may feel continuance commitment. The cost of switching to another brand (product, company, etc.) is considered by such a client to be too high. In comparison to emotional affective and moral normative commitment, conti nuance commitment is the most rational form of commitment. Continuance comm

Depends on the facility you'll choose Assignment

Depends on the facility you'll choose - Assignment Example autiful and greatly ornamented interior, complete with a carved white marble staircase; benches and counters of carved marble alongside bronze tellers’ windows, and hardware. Formerly the Crocker-Citizens National Bank (later absorbed by the Wells Fargo in the year 1980†²s), the building has extensively been remodeled (Hume et al., 2010).It initially housed an 11 story office tower above it and was enclosed in terra cotta. One of its very outstanding features is considered to be the rotunda entrance that is supported by granite pillars, and having coffered ceiling. The building was originally a â€Å"combination bank and an office building† it is currently considered to be one of the lavish banking interior within the city. By 1960 the building’s sandstone faà §ade was crumbling. So Milton Pflueger, redesigned the faà §ade for the upper floors. Again it was proposed that a new world headquarters tower alongside galleria further west on Post Street to be initiated, the city provided air space instead of the demolition of the upper floors of the building at 1 Montgomery (Robertson, 1879). The roof of this bank is currently a garden for the Crocker Galleria Shopping Center. There are little bats on both the interior and exterior of the window. Within the frieze are wolves, mountain lions and foxes. The animal sculptures look good but their meaning left to be interpreted by the designers. The steel frame building is architecturally clad in gray granite. Its massive pediment which is 38 feet high is held by six ionic columns. The designing and sculpturing of the building was done cities highly prolific sculptures of that time. At a particular time the front was graced using bronze doors. The doors comprised of the four panels designs that symbolized the â€Å"descriptive of the historical succession of the Californian races.† That is; Indian, Spaniard, American and the San Fransciscan. Though, today the doors have been replaced with glass. The inside of the

The Shows Big Love and The Simpsons Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Shows Big Love and The Simpsons - Essay Example Both shows: deal with relatively large families, although one show is about an extended family and one family is a nuclear family; have interpersonal relationship troubles, although one show’s interpersonal problems are more complicated than the other; and deal with people who have troubles, but one show is less easy for people to relate to than the other. Big Love and The Simpsons both deal with large families. However, Big Love is really more about a quite larger family than The Simpsons. In Big Love, Bill’s family is a fundamentalist Mormon family practicing polygamy, which means he has multiple marriages. The main characters of the show are Bill (the businessman who owns a chain of home improvement stores), and his three wives, Barb, Nicki, and Margene. The first episode was about their family’s struggle to live their polygamous way of life while keeping it a secret. The Simpson family is a nuclear family with bold traits. Each character is an icon by itself, but when they are together they form the iconic nuclear family. The key family members are the parents Homer and Marge and their three children Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. Big Love and The Simpsons, in their first show, both breach the topics of relationship troubles within the family. The difference is that the troubles described within Big Love are more serious in nature than the troubles in The Simpsons, which are rather petty problems. The first episode of Big Love focuses on Bill’s effort to find balance in the midst of having three wives while dealing with Nicki’s father, who wants a larger share of the store's profit. Meanwhile, in The Simpsons, Bart sneaks away and goes to get a tattoo saying â€Å"Mother.† However, while getting the tattoo, Marge—his mother—finds out and interrupts the procedure.  

Leasing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Leasing - Essay Example This is a long term purchase where the price value should be substantially lower than the market value which determines the amount to be recorded. c. During the first year of the lease, Lani is expected to incur expenses that equals or exceeds at least 90 per cent of the fair value of the property that is leased. Basically, these expenses are determined by the value of the property at inception of the lease and this value is agreed by both the lessee and lessor. d. Lani should report the lease transaction on its December 31, 2006, balance sheet as an acquisition of an asset. Virtually, a lease agreement transfers ownership of property to the lessee and this should be reflected on the balance sheet as purchase of assets which adds property value to the company. 2a. The criteria that must be met by Doherty Company to classify it as a capital lease is that it must transfer substantially all of the benefits and risks of the ownership of property to the lessee. If the agreement transfers the property rights to the lessee, then it will be classified as a capital leases given that it will be an acquisition of the property by the lessee. In this particular case, Doherty Company should transfer ownership to the lessee in order for it to classify it as a capital lease. b. In order for Lambert Company to classify the lease as a sales-type, it must be able to realise a profit from the lease or be able to determine if it is making a loss. In actual fact, Lambert Company as the lessor must be better positioned to generate some revenue that can contribute to the profit margins of the organisation. Lambert Company can classify this lease as direct financing lease if it does not record any profit from the lease. It will be widely viewed as a lending institution. c. The main difference between a sales type lease and a direct financing lease is that the main reason behind a sales lease is to realise profits while direct financing is not primarily concerned with profits but just r evenue generation. Therefore, the purpose of the lease and the goals to be achieved are the major factors that make a distinction between the two. However, accounting steps for these two types of leases are just the same. Part 2 During the contemporary period, it can be noted that companies continue to acquire property to improve their operations. Leasing is an alternative means of acquiring long-term assets to be used by business firms (Schroeder, Clark & Cathey, 2005). Leases provide for the right for use of the property by the lessees since they are given the obligation to make a series of payments over a long period of time. As such, leases are similar to long-term debt which enables the lessee to utilise off-balance sheet financing. This paper therefore is mainly concerned with explaining the meaning of debt and equity financing in relation to lease verses purchase options. According to wisegeek, â€Å"debt financing is a way of raising some funds to generate working capital f or the organisation which can be used to fund special projects.† In this regard, the issuer may issue bonds or other debt instruments that can be used as a means of financing the debt associated with the project. Debt financing has a clear start and end

Gucci examine how brand theories or models apply in practice to the Essay

Gucci examine how brand theories or models apply in practice to the organisation assess how they use differentiated or undifferentiated marketing strategies f - Essay Example The main marketing strategy of Gucci is "designed to maintain a high profile and consistent visibility". This involves constant marketing of its products and image, which keeps the company constantly discernible to customers and the fashion world. To achieve this, Gucci has started increasing communications expenditure in the last 3 years, and is planning on continuing the increase of its marketing budget. Gucci's products and marketing methods are not tailored according to national needs or customs. It aims at reaching the growing global market segment of the rich and "newly rich", among which groups a homogenization of taste for luxury products has been detected. This group is a true example of the emergent phenomena of the global marketplace, where needs and perceived benefits are common from the USA to Europe to Japan. This global market segment's price elasticity is low, meaning that they are not affected by changes in prices. They see price as an irrelevant factor, and shop for luxurious, high quality brand names. I once read a report that quoted the CEO of a luxury goods company, as he stated that it is simpler to increase prices of luxury goods than to lower them, as this is what consumers expect. Since Gucci has several rival firms on a glo... Since Gucci has several rival firms on a global scale, it coordinates its marketing activities with careful timing and placement to achieve maximal penetration of its core message: the luxurious and fashionable image of all Gucci products. Gucci advertises in national and international fashion, lifestyle and business magazines. Advertisements are timed to appear at the start of buying seasons, where customers will be looking for fashion items to purchase for the coming season. This is effective use of advertising, since the ads appear at times of the year when customers are open to receive such messages. Direct Marketing Gucci publishes product catalogues and makes them available to existing and potential customers. These catalogues should be sent out via mail to the companies customers, and be reachable by potential customers at e.g. prestigious hair saloons, etc. Direct mail should also be sent to the wealthier people in each of the countries where Gucci pursues business activities, thereby making it convenient for the potential customers to familiarize themselves with Gucci products and even order through the order sheets provided in the catalogues. Gucci has set up PR offices in the fashion capitals of the world. Their job it to make local and international fashion press deal with Gucci as much as possible. (Silverstein, 2005, 155-63) Holding four seasonal fashion shows yearly, where the newest Gucci models are unveiled, also backs this. These shows are also good opportunities to appear in fashion press and other magazines. Image Tom Ford, the creative director of Gucci has been molding the company's image at his will. Gucci sells an attitude, as does all fashion today. Fashion is all about beauty, desire and sex and this is why Gucci's image is so

Hersheys Chocolate Essay Example for Free

Hersheys Chocolate Essay Hershey’s company originated with candy-manufacturer Milton Hershey’s decision in 1894 to produce sweet chocolate as a coating for his caramels. Located in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the new enterprise was named the Hershey Chocolate Company. In 1900, the company began producing milk chocolate in bars, wafers and other shapes. With mass production, Hershey was able to lower the per-unit cost and make milk chocolate, once a luxury item for the wealthy, affordable to all. A company on the move. The immediate success of Hershey’s low-cost, high-quality milk chocolate soon caused the company’s owner to consider increasing his production facilities. He decided to build a new chocolate factory amid the gently rolling farmland of south-central Pennsylvania in Derry Township, where he had been born. Close to the ports of New York and Philadelphia that supplied the imported sugar and cocoa beans needed, surrounded by dairy farms that provided the milk required, and the location was perfect. By the summer of 1905, the new factory was turning out delicious milk chocolate. New products, hard times. Throughout the next two decades, even more products were added to the company’s offerings. These included MR. GOODBAR Candy Bar (1925), HERSHEY’S Syrup (1926), HERSHEYS chocolate chips (1928) and the KRACKEL bar (1938). Despite the Great Depression of the 1930s, these products helped the newly incorporated Hershey Chocolate Corporation maintain its profitability and avoid any worker layoffs. HERSHEY’S chocolate goes to war. With the outbreak of World War II, the Hershey Chocolate Corp. (which had provided milk chocolate bars to American doughboys in the first war) was already geared up to start producing a survival ration bar for military use. By the end of the war, more than a billion Ration D bars had been produced and the company had earned no less than five Army-Navy â€Å"E† Production Awards for its exceptional contributions to the war effort. In fact, the company’s machine shop even turned out parts for the Navy’s antiaircraft guns. A family friend becomes a family member. The postwar period saw the introduction of a host of new products and the acquisition of an old one. Since 1928, H.B. â€Å"Harry† Reese’s Candy Company, also located in Hershey, had been making chocolate-covered peanut butter cups. Given that Hershey Chocolate Company supplied the coating for REESE’S â€Å"penny cups, (the wrapper said, â€Å"Made in Chocolate Town, So They Must Be Good†), it was not surprising that the two companies had a good relationship. As a result, seven years after Reese’s death in 1956, the H.B. Reese Candy Company was sold to Hershey Chocolate Corp. Growing up and branching out. The following decades would see the company renamed Hershey Foods Corporation in 1968 expanding its confectionery product lines, acquiring related companies and even diversifying into other food products. Among the many acquisitions were San Giorgio Macaroni and Delmonico Foods (1966); manufacturing and marketing rights to English candy company Rowntree MacKintosh’s products (1970); YS Candies, makers of TWIZZLERS licorice (1977); Dietrich Corp.’s confectionery operations (1986); Peter Paul/Cadbury’s U.S. confectionery operations (1988); and Ronzoni Foods (1990). The Hershey Company enters a new century. Today, The Hershey Company is the leading North American manufacturer of chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery and grocery products. As the new millennium begins, The Hershey Company continues to introduce new products frequently and take advantage of growth opportunities through acquisitions. HERSHEY’S products are known and enjoyed all over the world. In fact, the company exports to over 90 countries. The Hershey Company remains committed to the vision and values of the man who started it all so many years ago. A New Company: 1894 In the beginning, the Hershey Chocolate Company was simply a wholly owned subsidiary of Milton Hershey’s Lancaster Caramel Company. Using chocolate-making equipment purchased at the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago, the company produced baking chocolate, cocoa and sweet chocolate coatings for the parent company’s caramels. But things changed with the hiring of William Murrie to sell the excess product to other confectioners. Murrie was so successful a salesman that the Hershey Chocolate Company quickly turned into a viable concern on its own. Milton Hershey became even more convinced that his future in the candy business lay in chocolate, not caramels. Sweet Chocolate Novelties: 1895 – 1909 By 1895, the Hershey Chocolate Company was manufacturing 114 different items in all sorts of sizes and shapes. Many were flavored with vanilla and given luxurious-sounding names like LeRoi de Chocolate, Petit Bouquets and Chocolate Croquettes. Chocolate â€Å"segars† and cigarettes were also quite popular. Some chocolate cigarettes and cigars, such as Vassar Gems and Smart Set Cigarettes, were purposely marketed to women as an alternative to the tobacco variety. Chocolate was also touted as a source of quick energy for athletes. The Baby in the Bean: 1898 On August 1, 1898, the company adopted a very distinctive symbol for its trademark. The small child in a cocoa bean pod appeared on cans of HERSHEY’S COCOA up until 1936, when it was finally replaced by the block lettering familiar today. The â€Å"Baby in the Bean† went through many incarnations, sometimes holding a cup of cocoa, sometimes a chocolate bar. Even the child’s hair and facial expression underwent changes over the years. The logo symbol was finally retired in 1968, when the company was reorganized as Hershey Foods Corporation. Finding the Formula: 1895 – 1904 While his company was successful enough selling sweet chocolate products, Milton Hershey was certain the real market lay in milk chocolate. The problem was in developing a formula for manufacturing it cheaply and efficiently, while still maintaining a high level of quality. Hershey built a milk-processing plant on the family farm in Derry Township in 1896 and spent the next several years developing a viable formulation for milk chocolate. Hershey worked day and night, going back and forth between the condensing room and the creamery, rarely even stopping for meals. Finally, in 1899, he cracked the recipe and became the first American to manufacture milk chocolate. Hershey Goes to Cuba: 1916 With the onset of World War I, the European beet sugar, which Hershey had been using to make his milk chocolate, became increasingly scarce. So, searching for a more dependable source, Milton Hershey started acquiring cane sugar plantations and constructing refineries in Cuba. Typically, he also established a planned community for the workers, called Central Hershey, based on the Pennsylvania model. Hershey’s Cuban holdings eventually included 60,000 acres of land, five mills, a 251-mile railroad and, not surprisingly, a school for orphaned children. By the end of World War II, the company found it no longer needed its Cuban sources, and its sugar and railway interests were sold to the Cuban-Atlantic Sugar Company. Expanding and Innovating. Stepping Stones Many Hershey products that are familiar today were originally produced for the confectionary trade and were later reformulated for consumers. HERSHEY’S powdered cocoa, for example, has been manufactured continuously since 1894. Also, Hershey was the first to sell chocolate syrup for home use beginning in 1926. Not all products under the HERSHEY brand were so successful in the marketplace. HERSHEY’S mint-flavored chewing gum, introduced in 1915, enjoyed only brief popularity. And a creation named the Not-So-Sweet bar was introduced in 1934, only to be discontinued in 1937. A Kiss and Tell Story Of course, the very first addition to the HERSHEY’S product line of milk chocolate confections was HERSHEY’S KISSES Chocolates way back in 1907. Originally, each one was hand-wrapped in a square of silver foil, but in 1921 machine wrapping was introduced, along with the addition of the unique â€Å"plume† which marked it as a genuine HERSHEY’S KISSES Chocolate. The chocolates were not produced at all from 1942 through 1949 due to the rationing of silver foil during and immediately after World War II. HERSHEY’S KISSES Chocolates were wrapped in colors other than silver for the first time in 1962. HERSHEY’S KISSES with almonds were introduced in 1990 and the first successful HERSHEY’S product using white chocolate, HERSHEY’S HUGS, in 1993. Sweet Inventions Two of the most successful products launched during ‘20s were the MR. GOODBAR and KRACKEL bars. MR. GOODBAR, combining milk chocolate and peanuts, was introduced in November of 1925. According to popular legend, Milton Hershey himself named the new product. Upon tasting it, he is said to have exclaimed, â€Å"Now, that’s a good bar!† The KRACKEL bar was introduced on September 14, 1938. During its first few years, the formula for the confection changed several times, with almonds, and then peanuts, being included along with crisped rice in milk chocolate. Finally, the nuts were eliminated altogether in 1943, leaving the crispy milk chocolate recipe enjoyed by millions ever since. Mr. Reese and his Cups In 1923, a former Hershey employee named H.B. Reese decided to start his own candy company out of the basement of his home. He made several different kinds of candy, but it wasn’t until five years later that he hit upon his greatest idea: a confection of peanut butter covered by milk chocolate (purchased, incidentally, from the Hershey Chocolate Company). During World War II, he discontinued his other product lines and concentrated on producing only REESE’S peanut butter cups. Despite its dependence on only a single product, Reese’s company prospered, and in 1963 the H.B. Reese Candy Company was purchased by the Hershey Chocolate Corporation. Since then, the REESE’S product line has grown to include REESE’S PIECES candies, the NUTRAGEOUS candy bar and REESESTICKS. Going to War The Ration D Bar The U.S. Army’s requirements were quite specific. For troops engaged in a global war, they needed a ration bar that weighed about four ounces, would not melt at high temperatures, was high in food energy value, and did not taste so good that soldiers would be tempted to eat it except in an emergency. This last objective in particular was certainly a new one for the Hershey Chocolate Corporation. Nevertheless, its chocolate technologists came up with something that passed all tests. Named â€Å"Field Ration D,† it was so successful that by the end of 1945, approximately 24 million bars were being produced every week. More successful still was HERSHEY’S Tropical Chocolate Bar, a heat resistant bar with an improved flavor developed in 1943. In 1971, this bar even went to the moon with Apollo 15. Growing Global Advertising to the Nation Except for a TV and billboard campaign in Canada in 1964, the company had never really done advertising on a national scale. In 1968, the newly renamed and reorganized Hershey Foods Corporation announced plans for a nationwide consumer advertising campaign spearheaded by the famous Ogilvy Mather ad agency. Starting with a Sunday newspaper supplement in July, 1970, followed two months later by television and radio commercials, the campaign was an immediate success. Sales of REESE’S peanut butter cups and HERSHEY’S KISSES Chocolates, in particular, rose dramatically. But while the company today continues to advertise in all media, the quality of our products is still our best form of advertising. Milton Hershey would have liked that. E.T. Makes a Good Choice In the early 1980s, Hershey executive Jack Dowd met with Hollywood producer Steven Spielberg and struck a deal to include REESES’S PIECES candy in Spielberg’s upcoming film, E.T.: The Extraterrestrial. When Hershey Chocolate Company President Earl Spangler first saw the movie’s promotional materials, he told Dowd, â€Å"That’s the ugliest creature I’ve ever seen.†After its successful premiere, the movie was screened by the company’s managers and top brass. When the film ended, there was first silence, then wild applause. Like many others, Spangler emerged from the theater with moist eyes. â€Å"Is he still ugly, Earl?† Dowd asked. Replied the company president, â€Å"He’s beautiful!† Both the lovable alien and his candy of choice became instant hits nationwide. Hershey Goes International In addition to being the leading producer of chocolate and non-chocolate confectionary and other grocery products in North America, The Hershey Company also carries on a significant international presence with operations in more than 90 different countries. Hersheys International division exports HERSHEY’S chocolate and grocery products worldwide and maintains licensing agreements with partners in nations such as South Korea, Japan, the Philippines and Taiwan. We don’t believe Milton Hershey would have been at all surprised to learn that his HERSHEY’S KISSES Chocolates are especially popular in Japan. Top of the Charts Through unceasing technological modernization, strategically astute acquisitions and continued new product development, The Hershey Company grew spectacularly in the last 30 years of the 20th century. From $334 million in 1969, the company’s net sales soared to $4.4 billion in 2004. The Hershey Company is the leading North American manufacturer of quality chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery and chocolate-related grocery products. The company also is a leader in the gum and mint category.

Social Relationships Essay Example for Free

Social Relationships Essay The way in which we shop, and the items, products or services we buy reflect a great deal about modern western society. We define ourselves by the job we do, the house we live in, the things we own and the way we look. Since the 1950’s mass consumer societies characterised by bigger credit facilities, more consumer choice and a central role for consumption in every day life have flourished in the western world (Dittmar, 2008). In these societies consumer goods play a strong role: ‘we value and buy them as a means of regulating emotions and gaining social status and as ways of acquiring or expressing identity and aspiring to an ’ideal’ self’ (Dittmar 1992, 2004). It is proposed that the mass society in which we live arose from the ‘disruptive consequences of industrialisation and urbanisation†¦(which) have destabilised and eroded the societies and values which previously held them together’ (Strinati, 2004, p5). This implicates urbanisation in the decline in religion and tightly knit village communities resulting in ‘atomisation’; dissolving peoples relations to one resembling atoms in a chemical compound. This suggests in turn that these people are lacking in ‘meaningful or morally coherent relationships’ (Strinati, 2004, p6). Mass society theory also suggests that there are fewer and fewer institutions which people can turn to so that they can find their identity and morally appropriate values which to live by. The moral benchmarks set up by religion and community have been kicked out from underneath the public by globalisation and technical advances, it is consumerism that has filled the void. Consumerism, like all ideologies, must be internalised to be effective, its values must become that of the individual. One of the many ways in which the ideology of consumerism is internalised is through advertising and exposure to the mass media. Our exposure to mass media has increased dramatically over recent years and starts at a very young age. In her book ‘Born to Buy’ (Schor J 2004), Juliet Schor highlights the deliberate commercialisation of children by the media in order to turn them into materialist and buyer. The purpose of this is two fold, children may either buy the product themselves or ask their parents for it, and will then grow up to be a materialist. Items are advertised as must haves for any cool kid, that those without this product are a loser. Advertisers study children in great depth to see how to make them as susceptible as possible to their adverts; using questionnaires, child psychology, in depth interviews, observational research and even MRI scanning of the brain itself. Adverts aim to sell a specific product, making the child think ‘buying/having this product will make me happy/cool/pretty ect’. If this behaviour becomes normative a born to buy consumer is created. The success of the commercialisation of the youth is staggering: more than half of nine to fourteen year olds in a large study in America agreed that ‘when you grow up, the more money you have, the happier you are’ and over a third ‘really like kids that have very special games or clothes’ (Schor J 2004 p37). For the culture of consumerism to exist, it must be supported by individual human beings who follow the beliefs and practices of that culture. It also follows that in a culture of consumption individuals are exposed to enormous pressure to conform to the beliefs and practices of this culture (Kasser et al 2003). The culture of consumption must therefore be appealing to at least some individuals – it must offer them something. Kasser et al believe that the development of a strong materialistic value orientation (MVO their definition of the culture of consumptions constellation of aims, beliefs, goals and behaviours) arises because ‘experiences that undermine the satisfaction of psychological needs can cause individuals to orient toward materialism as one type of compensatory strategy intended to countermand the distressing effects of feeling of insecurity’ (Kasser et al 2003 pg13). The paper goes on to claim that people develop a strong MVO to ‘compensate for worries and doubts about their self-worth, their ability to cope effectively with challenges, and their safety in a relatively unpredictable world’ (Kasser et al 2003 pg14). This, combined with the mass society theory could indicate that consumerism is a replacement for the security and self-assurance once offered by religion and community, institutions and ideologies that have been eroded by globalisation, scientific and technological advancement and modern political movements. This rise in retail therapy is encouraged by modern institutions that directly benefit rom buying; mugs saying ‘keep calm, go shopping’ objectifies the message the mass media wish to perpetuate. Cultural and historical changes have clearly aided the rise of the culture of consumption. Firstly, greater expendable income brought about by the low cost of keeping oneself and family alive and the minimum wage have allowed even poor families to own flat screen TV’s. Since the industrial revolution, the production line and the division of labour people also have more free time in which to spend money. For women, it is arguable that post feminism has been instrumental in creating the allure of things. Feminist values of equality coupled with post-feminist ideals of claiming power over men through sexuality and looks means it is acceptable for woman to be in a high powered job, have an opinion, rule a household and be a sexual predator but only if she is wearing Gucci shoes and is completely hairless from the temples down. Success for the modern woman goes hand in hand with the ability to shop. It is argued that materialism arises from insecurity; as Kasser et al surmise ‘perhaps materialistic pursuits have been evolutionarily ingrained within humans as a way to feel more secure and safe (e. g. Hungry? Get food. Being attacked? Grab and club)’ (Kasser et al 2003 pg16). This suggests that the allure of things originally arose because we needed the ‘thing’ in question. This is definitely not the case nowadays; the reasons to have things have changed. We buy things to belong, to compete, to show others we are rich or loved, we buy things because they are there or even because a certain celebrity endorsed or owns the product. Shopping has even become a leisure and lifestyle activity where shopping malls become a place for socialising (Underhill 2004). As well as changing the reasons we shop the culture of consumption has also driven changes in the practice of shopping. Films can now be rented or bought from ones TV set, internet ordering and delivery is now a service offered by almost every shop. This feeds the culture of consumption and the power offered by advertising as there is no need to leave the house, an advert can pop up whilst you are checking your emails and a few clicks later an item you had never even heard of before is being delivered to your door the next day. The removal of this physical aspect of shopping makes it ‘very easy to spend a lot†¦(it) detaches you from a sense of actually spending money’ (Dittmar et al 2004 pg429). If we accept that we live in a culture of consumption we must give some thought to the potential risks of such an ideology. Kasser and Ryan (2001) showed that people who rate extrinsic materialistic values as high compared to others such as self-acceptance or community feeling have a lower quality of life. More directly Cohen and Cohen (1996) discovered that adolescents who admire others because of their possessions are at an increased risk for personality disorders. While these harmful effects are possible causes, not results of materialism, it is still very likely to be a link between them. Kasser et al suggest that ‘people experiencing higher levels of insecurity may be more susceptible to the influence of environmental messages concerning the benefits of acquisitiveness, which may in turn make them feel increasingly insecure, and so on in a vicious cycle’ (Kasser et al 2003 pg17). Potential threats of the consumer culture have been highlighted in modern fiction. In the film ‘Fight Club’ a man who is a ‘slave to the IKEA nesting instinct’ (Fight Club 1999) develops insomnia and then multiple personalities which rebel against the consumer society and attempts to bring it to its knees. The converts to this anti-consumer way of thinking are told You are not your job. You are not how much you have in the bank. You are not the contents of your wallet. You are not your fucking Khakis. You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake. You are the all-singing, all-dancing crap of the world. (Fight Club 1999). The film predicts that when people realise that they have been conned into believing that ‘things’ make them happy and that they would all become rich and famous there will be a uprising against the ideology (Fight Club 1999). There are other, more directly harmful effects of the culture of consumption which are caused by a change in the ‘things’ it is possible to buy. With advancements in cosmetic surgery it has become possible to buy thinness through liposuction, to buy a larger bust and buy fuller lips, it is now becoming inexcusable to be ugly. Levine and Murnen (2009) believe that the mass media is instrumental in driving this process in order to profit from the advertisement potential of making people believe that ‘owning’ the perfect body is ‘a central determinant of ones identity (Levine and Murnen 2009). Aside from the bvious dangers of surgery further risks of eating disorders and low self-esteem are risks inherent in an ideology where the body becomes a modifiable product. This issue is of such concern that in 2000 the British medical association reported that there ‘is a great deal of theorising and media criticism available but far too little systematic research’ (BMA 2000) in regards to the effect of the media on female body image perspectives and a summit in June 2000 the British government confirmed both general concern about self-starvation and the need for more research into the role of the media. This is likely caused or at least aggravated by the idea that buying certain beauty products, diet plans or advice from magazines will help one obtain the ‘ideal body’. High street shops also perpetuate the idea as larger cloth sizes are sectioned off or even in a different shop entirely (for example Evans and Bravissimo). The more ‘fashionable’ the shop the smaller the size available. Shops such as Miss Selfridge have sizes as low as a 4 in their standard adult section but go no higher than a size 16. New clothes are modelled by women no more than a size 4 and size 12 is described as ‘curvy’. This suggests that belonging to the culture of consumption is increasingly requiring a thin and beautiful body. The practice of shopping objectifies many aspects of the culture of consumption in which we live. The Culture of consumption arose with little resistance as it was replacing the supporting institutions of community and religion which had been eroded by the mass society. The changes in shopping behaviour, the reasons why people shop, the things they buy in the culture of consumption are potential cause for concern. Nowadays consumerism has become internalised due to exposure to mass media advertising from an early age. This has created a materialistic society where people believe that objects help them find and define themselves by material things and other people’s perceptions of them. Nowadays people have more expendable income. They no longer buy things in which they need they buy things they want. People buy things to show off. They like and admire people for ‘things’ they own and it is these people who are more at risk of personality disorders (Cohen and Cohen 1996). Shopping nowadays is becoming more and more than simply shopping for physical objects. With the rise in both minor and major cosmetic surgeries more and more people are trying to acquire nonphysical things such as ‘beauty’ or ‘thinness’. People will always want to belong to something, religion, community, a football team or nation. Outsiders on an evolutionary basis did not have the protection of the pack and were more at risk meaning we are evolved to conform. However all ideologies carry risks and global consumerism may not be the worst. Unlike other some other ideologies it does not require the overthrow of governments or the enslaving or murder of people. The security and self-assurance provided by owning things is useful for people in the western world following the rapid collapse of institutional religion and community in the 20th century. There do however need to be checks on the rampant and aggressive push of consumption and the allure of things which we are experiencing nowadays, people need to not be brainwashed into thinking that the ‘things’ are how we define ourselves and make ourselves happy.

The Fat Girl, Andre Dubus

The Fat Girl, Andre Dubus To accept the others, first we have to accept ourselves and accept who we are The Fat Girl is a short story about a girl that tries to fit in todays standards and satisfies her parents as well. The author , Andre Dubus , shows how trying to fit in the society standards , individuals have the pressure of conforming to a superficial image. This idea is developed through the early years of Louise , her weight change and new life , and back to the old habit. First of all, Andre Dubus, takes us into the life of a young girl whose mother is convincing her that she will become fat and how hard is to make friends. We can see this after the mom tell her daughter , You must start watching what you eat, her mother would say. I can see you have my metabolism. As the mother doesnt want that, she puts Louise onto a strict diet. In order not to displease her mother, but still satisfy her hunger, Louise started eating food when no one was watching. While her mother was strict and caring, on the other side her father was loving and misguided. Louise didnt have a lot of friends. Her two childhood friends, Joan and Marjorie were both thin but they felt as a social outcast in other ways. Louise only feels comfortable in the presence of others who were also insecure and unhappy. Ironically Louise intentionally chooses friends who are not heavy because she worries about the way others will see her. I was always thinking about what people saw when they loo ked at me and didnt want them to see two fat girls. It appears that Louise finds her weight issues to be bigger than her friends insecurities. She chooses to exclude those who are heavy from her life while welcoming those with different negative issues. In addition to her self-image issues, Louise also doubts her ability to find happiness in an intimate relationship. Her mother put in her head some negative perceptions such as In five years youll be in high school and if youre fat the boys wont like you; they wont ask you out . This quote shows the overall feeling of the people who dont meet todays standards. Louise continues down this negative road when she decides to go to an all-girl college so she can avoid rejection from guys. Up until this point her only contact with a boy was at a picnic with a drunken kiss . Once in college , Louise shows us how changing and losing weight makes a lot of difference in someones life. Louise continues her self-loathing into college where the only close friend she makes is this thin girl with emotional issues. In the story we can see a strong friendship between the two girls, which leads to the important point where Louise decides to go on a diet, and it is only because her best friend Carrie convinces her that she needs to become thin so that some boy will love her as Carrie does. Carrie pleads, I want you to be loved the way I love you. Louise, if I help you, really help you, will you go on a diet?. Although Carrie is trying to help her best friend, she is actually reinforcing Louises views of her own body. She starts losing fat and her mother starts threating her differently. She finds her way more beautiful and starts buying all kinds of stuff .As Louise progresses with her new diet, she becomes more and more irritable and unhappy with life. In all her l ife she had never been afflicted by ill temper and she looked upon it now as a demon which, along with hunger, was taking possession over her soul .With this quote the author wants to show us that Louise is being pressed into losing weight for strictly superficial reasons, and so she can get accepted into society and fit todays standards. This can be further seen when Louise feels shame and embarrassment when she goes to Carries house for thanksgiving, all because she is aware Carries parents know she is dieting. Louise is uncomfortable and feels excluded in partaking of the many dishes the other thin people can comfortably enjoy. In the end , we cant forget our old habits and sometimes we should accept who we are and stay the way we are. After college, the new thin Louise meets a young lawyer named Richard, who finds her attractive and has no knowledge of her life before. Louise is sure he would never have looked at her if she had still been heavy. They get married and Louise becomes a housewife. While Louise struggles to keep herself thin, her husband can eat anything he wants and still remain fit. She makes him all kind of Italian food that she is unable to consume. It is ironic that she marries a person who has the metabolism of a pencil sharpener when Louise must watch every calorie she eats. The next five years shows a Louise who is thin with new friends, a loving husband, and an active lifestyle, which is by most accounts a perfect life. In her fifth year of marriage, Louise becomes pregnant and her eating begin to become uncontrollable. The new changes in her body frighten her as Louise remarks that sh e is starting to gain weight but she told herself it was only the baby, and would leave with its birth. But at other times she knew quite clearly that she was losing her discipline she had fought so hard to gain during her last year with Carrie. A baby is born, but Louise has now returned to her bad habits and though she cares for her child, she continues to alienate her husband. They fight at nearly every dinner over her appetite and weight gain . Andre Dubus finishes his story with a surprised Louise enjoying a candy bar and shocked to discover her husband Richard is still there. In conclusion, The short story The Fat Girl by Andre Dubus shows many of the negative aspects associated with eating disorders, fat people, and the way society addresses them. Todays standards are too high and people who dont fit in them are getting rejected and they feel sad about their body. Sometime they try changing , but sometimes is better to be who you are and accept yourself.

The Impact of Ancient DNA Discovered in Siberia Essay -- Exploratory E

The Impact of Ancient DNA Discovered in Siberia For many decades, there has been an overwhelming curiosity about what life was like before humans ruled the earth - back when life on land, off land, and even the very land itself was very different than it is today. Pieces of this puzzle have been discovered all over the world, ranging from perfectly preserved skeletons at the bottom of bodies of water to fragments discovered in vast deserts. Due to the conditions of the ancient finds, there is only so much that can be deciphered about the past, which leads to the creations of various theories of what life was like in different areas and why and when it changed. However, in at least one stretch of land, there is a lot that can be told thanks to one of the best finds in recent history: some of the oldest DNA ever recovered. This amazing find was first reported in April of 2003, when it was told that animal and plant DNA was found in the permafrost of northeastern Siberia (Thomas 2003). The permafrost was located between the Lena and Kolyma rivers of former western Beringia and was drilled out under scrupulous conditions – using extreme care not to let any of the precious samples become contaminated. In fact, strains of specialized bacteria were used to ward off any possible contamination (Willerslev 2003). The event was led by Eske Willerslev of the University of Copenhagen in Denmark (Thomas 2003), who’s international team looked towards drilling for sediment deposits in the layered ice when other areas containing possible ancient DNA samples provided only rare samples that were highly susceptible to extraction and examination difficulties (Willerslev 2003). Fortunately, luck was with the international t... ...nd, oddly enough, the frozen digestive remains of prehistoric animals, important questions have been answered and fierce debates have been settled. This just goes to show that you never know where the next big ancient discovery is going to come from and gives hope for others to keep searching. Works Cited Thomas, Abbie. â€Å"Ancient Dung Reveals a Picture of the Past.† News in Science 18 April 2003. 24 March 2004 . Willerslev, Eske, Anders J. Hansen, Jonas Binladen, Tina B. Brand, M. Thomas P. Gilbert, Beth Shapiro, Michael Bunce, Carsten Wiuf, David A. Gilichinsky, and Alan Cooper. â€Å"Diverse Plant and Animal Genetic Records from Holocene and Pleistocene Sediments.† Science Magazine 17 April 2003. 25 March 2004 .

College Student Essay -- essays research papers

Throughout life people are faced with a variety of hurdles. How they choose to overcome these hurdles determines whether they become successful or not, it would be nice if there was an instruction manual to tell one how to be successful, how to overcome these hurdles. One of the most difficult hurdles facing people today is college. Often times people go into college with their eyes closed tightly, meaning they are totally unprepared for what lye’s ahead. There are a variety of aspects that determine whether students are successful in college. Meeting basic requirements to enter college, selecting the right courses, learning how to study on the college level, and managing time are all key factors in becoming a successful college student. To enroll in college, one must first meet the basic requirements of that institution. Requirements for some colleges are more difficult than others. To be successful in college, one must choose a college in which they meet the basic requirements. For almost all academically based colleges, a basic requirement is a high school diploma or G.E.D. Some colleges base acceptance on the students high school grade point average. Colleges with difficult admission requirements are looking not only for a student with a good grade point average, but are also looking for a well rounded individual. This basically means that not only are the admissions people looking for above average grades, but they are also looking for outside of school or extracurricul...

Lunch With God :: essays research papers

Lunch With God A little boy wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with Twinkies and a six-pack of root beer and started his journey. When he had gone about three blocks, he met an old man. He was sitting in the park just staring at some pigeons. The boy sat down next to him and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer when he noticed that the old man looked hungry, so he offered him a Twinkie. He gratefully accepted it and smiled at him. His smile was so pleasant that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered him a root beer. Again, he smiled at him. The boy was delighted! They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word. As it grew dark, the boy realized how tired he was and got up to leave, but before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the old man and gave him a hug. He gave him his biggest smile ever. When the boy opened t he door to his own house a short time later, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, "What did you do today that made you so happy?" He replied, "I had lunch with God." And before his mother could respond, he added, "You know what? He's got the most beautiful smile I've ever seen." Meanwhile, the old man, also radiant with joy, returned to his home. His son was stunned by the look of peace on his face and asked, "Dad, what did you do today that made you so happy?" He replied, "I ate Twinkies in the park with God." And before his son responded, he added, "You know, he's much younger than I expected." Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.

Nursing Process

Associate Degree Nursing Program Nursing Process Paper Maslow's Needs and |Assessment: Subjective |Nursing Diagnosis |Outcome Criteria/Goals |Nursing Interventions/ Nursing |Rationale plus |Evaluation/ | |Rationale for Need |Data and Objective Data |(Include the related |(Needs to be |Orders |Reference |Actual Outcome | | |(Designate Which) |to reason) |measureable) |(Individualize to patient/family)| | | | | | | | |Gulanick p. 19 and Mayo brochures on | | | | | | | |breastfeeding | | | |1. mother states she |Deficient knowledge: |Mother will demonstrate |1. Provide information on local |1. Allows patient to interact with others who|Outcome partially met. | |Teaching need. |does not belong to a |breast-feeding, |correct latching on |breastfeeding support groups, |have similar needs and a wealth of |We had one effective | | |support group for |related to lack of |technique by the end of |such as LLLI by dismissal. |information. |teaching session, but | |Maslow need: Safety |breastfeed ing moms. (s) |experience and lack of|my shift. | |mother needs more | |and security. | |exposure. | |2. Demonstrate the proper |2. Incorrect latching on is the primary |practice, more | | |2. mother states has only| | |latching on technique during my |reason for pain in breastfeeding, and lack of|self-confidence, and a| |Rationale: |observed pictures of | | |shift, and have mother try it |information can lead to feelings of |lot more sleep efore | |Safety and security |latching on, has never | | |herself. Offer feedback, and |helplessness. |she tries again. | |evolve from the |done so herself. (s) | | |repeat. | | | |absence of fear and | | | | |3. A lactation consultant has the most | | |anxiety, both of which|3. mother states she | | |3. Arrange for a visit from a |experience in teaching and answering | | |may be present as a |would like to have a | | |lactation consultant while at |questions about breastfeeding and will be | | |first-time mom |visit from a lactation | | |hospital. |seen as a competent authority. | | |attempts to |consultant (s) | | | | | | |breastfeed. | | | |4. Encourage repetition of |4. Repetition assists in remembering and in | | | |4. other states she is | | |information/skill during teaching|building confidence in new skills. | | | |overwhelmed and tired. | | |session. | | | | |(s) | | | | | | Associate Degree Nursing Program Nursing Process Paper |Maslow's Needs and |Assessment: Subjective Data |Nursing Diagnosis Outcome Criteria/Goals |Nursing Interventions/ Nursing Orders|Rationale plus |Evaluation/ | |Rationale for Need |and Objective Data (Designate|(Include the related|(Needs to be |(Individualize to patient/family) |Reference |Actual Outcome | | |Which) |to reason) |measureable) | | | | | | | | | |Gulanick p. 111 | | | |1. mother’s perineum is in |Risk for infection |Mother’s perineum and |1. Change pads often and teach |1. Use of correct cleaning technique and |Outcome met. Mother | |Mother need. |direct contact with a bloody |related to |the site of her |perineal cleansing technique to avoid|dry pads decreases the chances of spreading|demonstrated good | | |pad at all times. (o) |disruption of tissue|episiotomy repair will |infection during my shift. germs from anal area and deprives them of a|hand-washing technique, | |Maslow need: | |integrity of |remain free of infection| |moist environment to reproduce in. |good peri care during | |Physiological |2. mother has been observed |perineum secondary |during my shift, and |2. Instruct mother on the importance | |bathroom breaks, and | | |not to wash hands during |to interventions at |mother will voice |of hand washing for her own health as|2. Frequent hand washing with correct |ordered a good meal and | |Rationale: |trips to the bathroom (o) |time of delivery. |understanding of |well as that of her baby during my |technique reduces the spread of germs. plenty of fluids during | |This is a basic need | | |rationale for and |shift. | |my shift. | |for survival. If |3. mother complains of pain | |demonstrate proper hand | |3. It is important for mother to be able to| | |mother is fighting an |and swelling in perineum (s) | |washing technique and |3. Teach mother to recognize signs |differentiate normal pain and swelling from| | |infection, it will | | |good peri care. and symptoms of infection during my |signs of infection, and to know when to | | |prevent her from |4. mother has been on sips | | |shift. |contact her physician. | | |interacting with baby |and chips for past 36 hours | | | | | | |and caring for her new|(o) | | |4. Encourage intake of protein- and |4. Optimal nutrition will speed the healing| | |family. | | |calorie-rich foods during my shift |process, and fluids pro mote diluted urine | | | | | | |and encourage fluid intake of |and frequent emptying of bladder, reducing | | | | | | |2000-3000 mL daily during my shift |risk of infection in the perineal area. | | Associate Degree Nursing Program Nursing Process Paper Maslow's Needs and |Assessment: Subjective Data |Nursing Diagnosis |Outcome Criteria/Goals |Nursing Interventions/ Nursing Orders|Rationale plus |Evaluation/ | |Rationale for Need |and Objective Data (Designate|(Include the related to |(Needs to be |(Individualize to patient/family) |Reference |Actual Outcome | | |Which) |reason) |measureable) | | | | | | | | | |Gulanick p. 97 and Mayo brochures on | | | | | | | |breastfeeding | | | |1. mother states that prior |Risk for disturbed sleep|Mother will achieve |1. During my shift, instruct mother |1. This helps patients who would need to |Outcome partially | |Psychosocial need. |to the birth of her baby she |pattern related to the |optimal amounts of sleep|to avoid large fluid intake bef ore |void during the night, as mother did up |met. Complete | | |had not been sleeping well. |addition of a newborn to|as evidenced by rested |bedtime |until the birth. |evaluation of the | |Maslow need: |(s) |the household. appearance, | | |outcome will not be | |Physiological | | |verbalization of feeling|2. During my shift, create an |2. Allowing mother to rest whenever |able to be done as | | |2. mother is in a hospital | |rested, and improvement |environment conducive to sleep or |possible will give her the strength she |the behaviors extend| |Rationale: |setting, semi-private room, | |in sleep pattern.. |rest. Dim lights, limit visitors, |needs to care for baby and make good |to the period when | |This is a basic need |appears exhausted. o) | | |take baby to nursery. |choices. |parents return home | |for survival. If | | | | | |with baby. Father | |mother is |3. mother is nursing baby at | | |3. During my shift, suggest to mother|3. A new mother needs to get sleep when she|is participating in | |sleep-deprived it will|90 minute intervals (o) | | |that she nap whenever baby is |can. Allowing baby to wake her at night |care for baby, and | |affect her behavior | | | |napping, and to allow baby to wake |will eventually lead to baby sleeping |both parents slept | |and prevent her from |4. father appears | | |her for feedings at night. |longer at a time in the evenings. |soundly for an hour | |interacting with baby |well-rested, is supportive, | | | | |during my shift. | |and caring for her new|and voices eagerness to help | | |4. During my shift, encourage father |4. Involving father will give him a sense | | |family. |with baby cares (o, s) | | |to take baby for walks or to rock and|of responsibility for the baby and for the | | | | | | |play with baby to allow mother to |care of mother and will promote bonding | | | | | | |sleep. |with baby and rest for mother. | | Associate Degree Nursing Program Nursing Process Paper Maslow's Needs and |Assessment: Subjective Data |Nursing Diagnosis |Outcome Criteria/Goals |Nursing Interventions/ Nursing Orders|Rationale plus |Evaluation/ | |Rationale for Need |and Objective Data (Designate|(Include the related to |(Needs to be |(Individualize to patient/family) |Reference |Actual Outcome | | |Which) |reason) |measureable) | | | | | | | | | |Gulanick p. 109 and Olds’ textbook, p. 935| | | |1. baby is swaddled but not|Risk for ineffective |Baby will maitain an |1. Within the next 20 minutes |1. Heat loss tends to be greatest from the|Outcome met. | |Baby need. |wearing hat. (o) |thermo-regulation and |a xillary temperature of |procure and apply a covering for |top of the head. |Baby’s temperature | | | |cold stress related to |36. 4 – 37. degrees |baby’s head, and explain rationale to| |remained within | |Maslow need: |2. baby has not had her |extremes of age |Celsius during my shift. |parents for doing so. |2. One of the physical principles of heat |normal range during | |Physiological |first bath yet and needs one |(infant). | | |loss effects is evaporation: skin cools as|my stay and | | |on my shift. (o) | | |2. keep baby dry and covered as much |a result of water evaporation. Monitoring |throughout bath and | |Rationale: | | | |as possible during bath. Take |before and after bath will allow me to |assessments. | |This is a basic need |3. baby will be partially | | |axillary temp before and after bath. |react as needed if baby gets too cold. | | |for survival. If baby|exposed during her bath and | | | | | | |gets too cold, her |later during my infant | | |3. Use a radiant heater above |3. Another physical principles of heat | | |body’s effort to |assessments (o) | | |isolette during all procedures that |loss effects is radiation: loss of warmth | | |return to homeostasis | | | |involve uncovering baby. |to cooler surrounding air. | | |takes precedence over |4. baby is in the isolette | | | | | | |everything else. |in an open part of the room | | |4. Encourage mother to hold baby skin|4. Mother’s body temperature helps | | | |(potential for draft). (o) | | |to skin when nursing and to otherwise|regulate baby’s body temperature. | | | | | | |cuddle baby when awake during her |Additionally, skin to skin contact | | | | | | |stay at the hospital. |facilitates bonding as an added benefit. | |

Foucauldian Studies and HRM Essay

When considering about human resource management (HRM) being understood as discourse, it is necessary to connect Foucault’ s theory on discourse with employee selection as a crucial part of human resource management. Though Foucault himself not a specialist in HRM, it appears that numerous organization studies scholars tend to drawn on Foucault’s ideas for the purpose of re-analyzing and re-understanding HRM. (Barrantt, 2001) The reason is that Foucault’s understanding of the relationship between discourse, truth and power implies how we should regard HRM from different perspective and put it into re-consideration. Generally, discourse could be understand as ‘ a set of concepts, expressions and statements that constitutes a way of talking or writing about an aspect of the world, thus framing the way people understand and act with regard to that aspect of the world’ (Watson, 2002: 118). And in Foucault’s view, discourse is a flexible term. In one of Foucault’ s book, The Archaeology of Knowledge, published in 1969, was an outstanding work of post-structuralism example. He believes that discourse is a statement unity. It talks about the statement (enonce), which is a rule for the discursive expression to become meaningful. In Foucault’ s view, the statement has some special archeological meanings. The rules give the meaning of its existence. The meaning of the statement is dependent on the context where it presents. So discursive framing provide a language to representing a topic (Foucault, 1969). So discourse is more than language. It is the way we understand or interpret the world. Due to discourse is shaped or unshaped by society and culture, there are various discourses. The same as for HRM, it can be understand and interpreted from a different perspective. There is no doubt that Foucaultdian studies give new understanding of HRM. This paper will analyze and critically think of three contributions of reframing HRM Foucaultdian studies give. The first part will analyze human resource management as discourse. It focuses on how Foucualtdiansm understand HRM in different perspectives. The second part will discuss the relationship between HRM and power, which includes how Foucault decodes power, its relationship with knowledge or truth, and how HRM associated with power. The third part will focus on one important aspect of HRM, employee selection, to explore how employee selection can be understood and interpret in different ways. Finally, a conclusion will be drawn based on previous discussion. HRM as Discourse Generally, HRM are treated as a set of practices that regard human as resource to achieve companies’ targets or interests. It is a product of modern society. From managerial perspective, human resource management featured with ‘rationality, optimism and authoritarianism’ (Legge, 1995). Numerous scholars have explored human resource management from Foucualdian perspective. Generally, the discourse in HRM is associated with power. Poole (1999) argued that it is probably happened that the discursive analysis contains the description of the HRM discourse related occasion. It will provoke the issue between the subjects who have the right to speak and its influence on employees. When it comes to Foucault, he did not study in HRM but attracts a number of scholars of HRM. Townley (1993) was a representative who put the relation between HRM and Foucault’ s disciplinary power into consideration. She argued that HRM could be best comprehended as a discourse and provides Foucauldian analyses of distinctive feature of HRM. Because Foucault provided a hint that there are interconnections between discourse, power and truth. So Foucault gave HRM discourse much place to be considered from new perspective (Du Gay et al, 1996). From Foucauldian perspective, HRM is to ‘impose order on the inherently undecidable-the employment contract’ (Legge, 2005:345). It is excising of power that allow managers to manage. Following Foucault’s theory, it is argued here that the subject plays a critical role in HRM. To support this, Foucauldian studies lay emphasis on the influence of the subject in HRM. In human resource management, ‘the subject plays a more active role’ (Barratt, 2003). The process of HR management witnessed examination and identification of the subject. Foucualt (1988) himself argued that individuals are influenced and influence others by their certain means. All aspects of HRM including employee selection, company’s culture and performance appraisal are the product of subjectivity. Take performance appraisal for example, employees have to subject to an authoritative appraisal system to confess their performance at work (Townley, 1993). It can be regarded as an action of subjective power. Emphasizing on subject gives space for diverse understandings and interpretations of HRM. Despite of the dominant understanding of HRM from managerial perspective, HRM can be something else because post-structuralism and Foucaudian studies propose that there is no definite understanding of a topic. For example, Nayab (2011) argued that HRM could be interpreted in five ways. The fist is normative perspective, which separates HRM as personnel management and strategic human resource management. The second is to consider HRM in a critical way. It is believed that the reality showed the contradiction between traditional HRM and the new one. The ‘behavioral Perspective’ is different from others. It put more emphasis on their performance. The purpose of HRM is to guide and manage employees in order to ‘attain the desired performance’ (Nayab, 2011). Seen from the systems perspective, HRM concerns about the outcome of human resource. It is a factory that using employees as material and producing organizational turnover. The last one is ‘agency or transaction cost perspective’ (Nayab, 2011). This understanding is putting HRM as a mediator of conflicts for the purpose of minimizing the cost. The five understandings of HRM are thinking HRM from different perspective, which inspire the new understandings or some changes against the dominant way of managing human resource. However, the most important stakeholder in HRM may be employee, because it is the opposite poison against managers also the employee’s voice is increasingly needed in modern HRM. The dominant understanding of HRM is hinking and defining from a managerial perspective. Actually, the employee’s view on HRM varied based on the HRM models (Whitener, 2001) Fiona Edgar and Alan J. Geare (2005) did some research on exploring employee’s voice on HRM. The result showed that employees tend to keep a positive attitude towards soft HRM model and resist the traditional and hard one. However, the current HRM needs so me change in order to meet employee’s need for self-development. It is possible that the different understandings of HRM push the revolution in both theoretical and practical field. HRM and power Michel Foucault is famous for his critical studies on power, knowledge and discourse. However, according to Foucault (1980), discourse has no definitive explanation. It could be understood in various perspectives. There is no definite truth in the world. People always impose their subjective consciousness upon the truth. So it is hard to keep the right way to the truth seeking. (Wetherall, 2001) Classical theory represented by Marx implied the traditional understanding the relationship between knowledge and power (Barratt, 2003). Ideology is regarded as a tool for power. It covers the truth so that people who are governed subject to managing without resistance (Braverman, 1976). However, one main defect of his theory is that he neglects the subject. He defined individuals at work as representation of economic or employment relations (Knights and Willmott, 1985, 1989). In Foucault’s theory, the connection between power and knowledge is complex. Power is everywhere. Also, we have to put human subject into consideration. The reason why discourse is important is that the point of Foucault’s theory not only lies in how the language expresses meanings but also in what is the relationship between the discourse and the objective behind, or what kind of power imposed (Luke, 1999). In the Order of Discourse, Foucault (1971) claimed that the notion of exclusion is well known in our society, but the most obvious one is prohibition. In other words, not all the topic is allowed in a certain occasion and not everyone is given the right to speak out everything. Discourse itself is not an important issue. However, the prohibition behind the discourse surprised us due to its connection with the desire and power. In addition, there is another kind of exclusion principle, which is the opposition between reason and madness. On one hand, the discourse of a madman no doubt will be regarded as invalid and unreliable. On the other hand, the madman is given the gift of predicting and revealing the truth. So in fact, there is no definite so-called â€Å"madness†(Foucault, 1971). The abnormal itself presents the control from a certain group of people. Or in other words, power defines the truth the madness to convince people. In terms of knowledge, Foucault (1971) argued that power create knowledge, they are connected with each other. Also, knowledge is only available to the public only when stated within discourse. He claimed that knowledge and truth are not independent and objective. They are connected closely with power and become the legitimate protection for power operating. As Foucault stated it in The History of Sexuality ‘Discourses are not once and for all subservient to power or raised up against it, and more than silences are. We must make allowances for the complex and unstable process whereby discourse can both an instrument and an effect of power, but also a hindrance, a stumbling-block, a point of resistance and a starting point for an opposing strategy. Discourse transmits and produces power: it reinforces it, but also undermines and exposes it, renders it fragile and makes it possible to thwart it. ’ (Foucault, 1980) Also, the power displayed in Discipline and Punish helps us to critically think about the self-regulation, which can be applied into workplace. It mentioned the disciplinary power. As Foucault (1977) observed, the prison designed by Jeremy Bentham is a technique of the panoptic gaze. The central tower makes prisoners to discipline themselves. So when it comes to the workplace, the panoptic gaze also normalizing individuals’ behavior. In 1950, Elton Mayo and Fritz Roethlisberger put forwarded the Hawthorne effect (French, 1953). They observed the performance of labors in an electric factory. They found that when the lights become brighter, workers tend to discipline themselves and the production will increase. This kind of self-regulation also can be seen in modern workplaces where CCTVs and call centers are facilitated. It is a sort of ‘info-normative control’ (Frenkel et al, 1995) that evaluates employees’ performance objectively. But also the monitoring may damage the culture of leaning form each other and lay too much stress on workers (Knights & McCabe, 2003). However, it seems that power is everywhere but it does not mean power is everything. Knights and McCabe also argued that power is not possessed by certain group of people, even the disciplinary power cannot decide the individual’s behavior. Foucault (1980) supposed that when individuals put power into action, they are given their own identity and meaning. Subjects are getting gradually split from the collective class, but it is neither individualism nor collectivism (Knights, 1994). It should be treated dialectically. So the power has its influence on knowledge and discourse. Or even the disciplinary power promotes self-regulation and make employees subject to the power. However, the impact of the subject cannot be neglected. It interacts with power and discourse.