Managing change, Qatar Telecommunications - OOREDOO case study

Managing change, Qatar Telecommunications - OOREDOO - Case Study Example From the research it can be comprehended that there are some of the changes that calls for organisations to have change management that would help them cope with ever evolving changes. As businesses continue to experience growth, the contemporary businesses world continue to become complex as new and old businesses develop new competitive strategies that triggers change in the way business is conducted. For instance, since the law of controlling monopoly was enacted, Ooredoo has been facing stiff competition from other plays in the market. Vodafone has, for example, been gaining grounds slowly as customers start to focus on a wide range of factors that are favourable to them. Low prices have been the main focus for customers since the market has been preoccupied by high calling rates. In this regard, Ooredoo has no option other than change management to cope with the new challenges for it to continue being at the top as it used to be during monopolistic time. Although many people wou ld argue that Ooredoo did not have change management in its earlier years when it used to operate on monopoly basis, it is arguable that the company employed organisational strategy to provide ever changing dynamics of business in regard to emergence of new products and services. However, the change for strategy in the recent years is what has triggered more physical changes especially on pricing that has made people think that the company just begun change management concept due to competition.

Higher Education and Vocational Degree Essay Example for Free

Higher Education and Vocational Degree Essay â€Å"What’s Wrong With Vocational School,† by Charles Murray is an Article that states Vocational schooling would be better off than a four year College degree. In Murray’s opinion, college should only be with those with a high IQ rate of 115 or higher and able to handle rigorous and challenging courses. If you are at an IQ below 110 it becomes an issue and you would be more successful in a Vocational program. This article calmly and rationally presents the notion that the population would be better served by the reintroduction of more training for careers in trade occupations becoming more prominent, therefore creating more job opportunities for people graduating with a vocational degree. Many students that graduate from a four year University do not learn what is needed to go into the working field. Murray states â€Å"For a few occupations, a college degree still certifies a qualification. This brings up the question, why do we pressure everyone to get a four year degree? In our society the college you go to means more than your actual qualification or talent you might have. Employers tend to pick a student that graduated from a university over that of a vocational school student just because of the name of the school not the talent the individual has. The degree itself also does not automatically qualify the student for the job and there are much faster and better ways such as a vocational degree for young people to provide credentials to employers. These credentials are needed in the job market for students with vocational degrees. As Murray says, â€Å"Finding a good lawyer or physician is easy but finding a good carpenter, painter, or electrician is becoming difficult. † The jobs needed such as an electrician or painters are those with vocational degrees. We often overlook some of the great jobs that don’t require a degree and are still very rewarding. A vocational degree can bring just as much income sometimes even more than a four year college degree in half the time. We have a mindset that a four year degree is much more valuable than a vocational degree. As Murray conveys this is not true he used an example of a craftsman bringing intrinsic rewards with high income. Vocational degrees are becoming more susceptible in our community. A college degree is no more important than any other high tech occupation such as an NBA player or a cabinet maker. Many of our most high income people do not have a college degree and do not care because they are living happily without it. Murray states the social cachet of a college degree still remains but will erode over time when large numbers of high income people do not have college degrees. † Many employers are looking more at the evidence you are good at something without the benefit of a college degree and will increase more overtime. If this does continue our false outlook of a college degree will diminish. As a society we look at the only way of becoming successful is going to a four university and look over vocational degree programs.

Ancient Chinese Civilization Essay -- dynasties, China, technology, Ch

A significant part of the ancient Chinese civilization was that it shared a common background that is longer than any other ethnic group on Earth. China mostly isolated and unknown to the outside world, was quietly progressing at a rate greater than or equal to other notable civilizations of the prehistoric world. China was composed of several dynasties. The dynastic cycle played a definitive role in the successions of Chinese empires. Each era’s achievements and failures influenced the next. The combined contributions from all the regimes, not only led to the success and progress of China, but defined it as well. Technological discoveries, inventions, creations and its ability to adapt all participate in its maturity. The evolution of ancient Chinese dynasties provided the cultural, economical and governmental structure that developed and shaped their country into one of the marvels of ancient times. The governmental structure of the Chinese dynasties evolved with each changing regime. Even the title of king, as was called in the beginning, changed to emperor because it was not grand enough. Each dynasty had the king or emperor as the head of its government. They had supreme power over the economy, government, military, and religious beliefs of the country. The empires used a centralized bureaucracy that had overall control over the country. They learned vast amount from this form of government, each reign modified its structure accordingly, ranging from very strict to almost a hands-off approach. It was not replaced with any other form government; it simply evolved into what was suitable for each period. As the country expanded and became too vast for one man to rule, a feudal system was created, similar to the ones in ancien... ...guage, paper, the decimal system, nautical steering rudder and the use of negative numbers in mathematics to name a few are highlights of this nation’s cultural development and contributions to the world. China has the oldest surviving civilization in the world, lasting over 4,000 years. Its uniqueness was its stability. Ancient dynasties absorbed culture, economy and governmental structure from each other. It was the foundation of their civilization. History has revealed China’s enduring heritage and perseverance to preserve its society. Chinese technological advancements not only helped its nation and people, but also, influenced the development of other countries as well. Many of the systems from thousands of years ago are still a part of Chinese culture today. Works Cited John P McKay. History of World Societies. Palgrave; 9th Revised edition 2012

Uneasy Homecoming

In the short story Uneasy Homecoming written by Will F Jenkings, Connie is the first character introduced in the story, and is the protagonist; the antagonist in the short story is Mrs. Wilson and Mrs. Wilson’s son. After we are introduced to the characters we are then led into the setting, Connie was being driven home by a taxi as, â€Å"The red, dying sun cast long shadows across the road† (pg. 83), this created a picture that the sun was setting.During this cab ride home from her two week vacation, Connie feels uneasiness and dread, which help us understand the mood and atmosphere of the short story. Initiating Incident The event that begins the conflict is when Connie called Mrs. Wilson for comfort, and Mrs. Wilson ask her if her house was all right, and that it was dreadful here, there have been a series of burglaries in the town and somehow the burglary know where Mr. saddler kept his day’s receipts from his shop. Connie had a wired feeling about this and b eing alone, but she didn’t follow it because she thought it was meaningless.Rising Action Three things that are rising action is when Connie finds some cigarettes buts on the rug in Toms room and starts to panic a bit, then she finds a lump in the bed not knowing what it is she starts to walk away from it, then she look and saw it was all the burglary’s stolen stuff. Connie realized that they probably know she’s home and can see her from the bay so she turned off all the lights quickly â€Å"The window was broken. A neat jagged section of glass was missing. †(pg. 9) that’s how there were getting in, she locked all the doors and windows but not the broken one because she can’t they’ll just unlock it so she goes and hides. The climax Connie hears a noise coming from the outside garden; she knew that they knew about her knowing that they were there and had proof. They turned off the power so the house would be darker; she hears him in th e house and carefully goes out the back door, and then she lit his motorcycle on fire. â€Å"She hid herself in the shadows and watched, sobs trying to from in her throat† (pg. 91)

Analyse how the development of relationship between characters helped you to understand the characters in the written texts. Lord of the Flies Essay

Published in 1954, William Golding’s novel the ‘Lord of the Flies’ developed many relationships to shed light on the characters. Perhaps the most important of these would be between the two main characters Jack and Ralph, however relationships between other characters including Ralph and Piggy’s relationship and Jack and Rodgers relationship are equally as important and help provide evidence of the behaviours of the children. The relationship between the two main characters Ralph and Jack at the beginning of the novel is an indication for how different the boys truly are. When the boys crash and arrive onto the deserted island they attempt friendship despite their differing personalities, â€Å"Jack and Ralph smile at each other with shy liking† just as any school boy would do. After being elected as chief of the tribe, Ralph makes his first move of power in electing Jack as chief of the hunting group to ease his embarrassment of wanting to be over all chief but not receiving this role highlighting Ralphs caring side to his personality. The boy’s continue to work together as a team and acknowledge one another’s leadership differences but manage to work together still in creating the best island possibly for the tribe. As the tension between them builds arguments begin to break out as their priorities begin to drift â€Å"they look at one another, baffled by love and hate†. With Ralph being a democratic leader, he takes in the opinions of the other tribe members in order to create the best society possible. It becomes an obvious barrier between the two boys drawing them back from being able to create the perfect society as they simply cannot respect one another’s way of leading. Jacks desire towards hunting and disobeying Ralph’s rules situation is similar to the biblical reference of Jack likening to Satan and Ralph Likening to God. People choose to follow Satan because he persuades and tricks people into believing his way is the more enjoyable way as it is a lot easier to go with Satan’s way then to follow Gods way, just as the tribe begins to fall under Jacks excitement towards hunting and ignoring the need to get rescued with a fire this being Ralphs rule. However this is all expected as for a child the more exciting and enjoyable approach to life is the path an average child would choose to follow proving the actions of the tribe to be considerably normal for them to want to begin following Jacks way of life. At the end of the novel the relationship between the characters Jack and Ralph proves the boys personality differences and helps the reader understand them. Throughout the whole novel it was evident of their unspoken hate towards one another and this tension is finally broken when the remainder of the tribe turns on Ralph as their previous chief and choose to follow Jack and his way of life. â€Å"And you shut up! Who are you anyway? Sitting there telling people what to do. You can’t hunt you can’t sing.† Jacks idea of a perfect leader is someone who had the previous roles of leadership in other scenarios, such as Jacks role of being leader of a school boys’ choir, giving Jack the impression that he is indeed perfect for the position of tribe leader. Jacks displays of power and leadership is Golding’s representation of an autocratic government where the power was taken from the tribe and not voted upon whereas Ralphs leadership and power was voted on just like a democratic government where he takes to mind the opinions of the other children. Understanding this, the reader can then begin to understand how dramatically different the characters each are and Golding uses the idea of ‘good versus evil’ in the characters Ralph and Jack by showing them opposites in their positions on social responsibility, personality, and appearance. The only thing Ralph and Jacks have in common is their utter hatred towards each other. Jacks arrogant and self-centred mind set causes him to believe that once hunted and killed, the pigs he catches make him worthy of the role of leader. However, in a tribe today any person who can bring back meat to feed the rest of the tribe is generally the best leader of the group, but due to the boys situation, it is only a bonus that the boys can have meat and the real focus should be getting rescued, this being Ralphs focus. With the tension being released within the last few chapters, Ralph is hunted due to the tribe’s sudden hatred towards him and their complete savagery takes over despite Ralphs caring nature and civilised personality. Throughout the novel Piggy and Ralphs relationship has been an eye opener to expose the boy’s nature and helps the reader to understand each character independently. When Ralph is introduced to Piggy instantly the differences between the two is shown by the way they speak: â€Å"sucks to your ass-mar!† said Ralph as he mocked Piggy’s unusual accent; from Ralph’s mockery, the reader can see that the two upbringings were very dissimilar. Piggy is in a lower socio-economic class and the two boys being forced into co-habitation together highlights the contrast between the two defined classes of society. Being a typical child Ralph chooses to name Piggy as Piggy just by looking  at his physical appearance once again showing Ralphs back round of being from a more upper-class region in England highlighting his ‘bullying the poorer child’ mind set. Understanding this, it is not expected that the boys would have a good relationship due to Ralphs immaturity but as Ralph soon realises the capability of Piggy’s knowledge and how that would help his leadership skills they soon become friends amongst the chaos. Piggy’s knowledge represents the law and order of the adult world. Throughout the novel, Piggy attempts to condition the society the boys had made to mirror the society they all lived in in England. Piggy’s continual references to his auntie demonstrate this philosophy. He tries to pull Ralph towards the reason-oriented side of human nature. The overall characteristics of each of these two important characters proves that amongst the islands nightmare state it had spiralled into there was still a sense of hope for humanity amongst it due to the maturity of Piggy who then taught Ralph his ways making Ralph an overall stronger leader, but despite all this the rest of the tribe still fell short and turned on both Ralph and Piggy making them â€Å"outsiders†. Ralph’s character can be once again shown through his relationship with Simon where Simon’s characteristics help shape Ralph into the boy he becomes. Simon can be seen as pure goodness, and he is something of a Christ like figure. Simon is fearless as he is the only one who goes to confront ‘The Beast’. The pureness in Simon, like Jesus Christ, prevents him from submitting to the beast-like nature of mankind just as Christ did not succumb into the terrible ways of man at his time. Simon also is the only character who stays true to his personal morals and beliefs although Ralph did try to stay true to his beliefs he did fall into the temptations of the tribe by joining them in a tribal dance around a pig they had just caught. Simon gives Ralph encouragement. Whenever Ralph becomes despondent or loses hope that they will be found, Simon lifts his spirits: â€Å"I just think you’ll get back all right.† Golding portrays Simon, the first boy to be killed (followed by the death of Piggy) as a symbol of a Christ-figure, of grace and light. Ralph’s characteristics of goodness, on the other hand is in contrast to Jack’s evil. Ralph’s goodness is based on order, logic, rationality, and reason. But due to Ralphs beliefs it ends up turning on him as he believed everyone has good in them, but through the novel the reader is introduced to the idea that not all people have good in them, and this is  highlighted through the imagery of school children turning into a â€Å"pack of painted niggers†. Throughout the novel â€Å"The Lord of the Flies† William Golding uses the relationships to ultimately shed light on the characters. The relationship between Ralph and Jack lets the reader begin to understand the true vision of good versus evil which is portrayed throughout the entire novel by Jack being the evil character and Ralph as being the good. Ralphs relationship with Piggy and Simon accompanies Golding’s idea of the good characters as Piggy and Simon pay important roles in aiding Ralph to make him the character he is at the end of the novel.

The Freelance Writing Course is Back with 50% Discount If You Join Today

The Freelance Writing Course is Back with 50% Discount If You Join Today The Freelance Writing Course is Back with 50% Discount If You Join Today The Freelance Writing Course is Back with 50% Discount If You Join Today By Daniel Scocco Today we are opening the 2018 edition of the Freelance Writing Course. Over 1,300 students have taken the course in the past and the feedback has always been immensely positive. This year we are implementing some changes that will make it even better! The Course The course aims to give you all the information and tools you need to start making money as a freelance writer. Its a practical course; you will spend about 10% of your time reading the lessons and 90% working on the assignment tasks. The program lasts for 6 weeks and every week you get access to a new module. The 6 modules are: 1. Writing Productivity: You’ll learn how to become a prolific writer, which is essential if you want to make money writing. 2. Building an Online Presence: Setting up a website is not enough these days. You need to know how to promote it and how to reach the right people online. 3. Writing for the Web: Freelance writing is changing, and this module focuses on the differences you’ll face while freelance writing for websites and online publications. 4. Finding Clients: Probably the most important module. Here you’ll learn where and how to find your first clients, and how to obtain high-paying writing gigs over time. 5. Running a Writing Business: Freelance writing is like any business, and as such you’ll need to manage it efficiently if you want to increase your earnings over time. 6. Social Media: In this module you’ll discover tactics you can use to leverage social media sites to boost your career. What’s New Here are the novelties for the 2018 edition: 50% discount for the first 50 students: the regular price of the course is $97. We believe its value is much higher. However, we have readers from all over the world, and $97 is a lot of money when you convert it to local currencies. The beauty of freelance writing online is that you can do it from anywhere as long as you have an Internet connection. In order to make the course accessible to as many people as possible we decided to offer a 50% discount (i.e. $49 instead of $97) to the first 50 people who join. PayPal is no longer required: on previous editions creating an account with PayPal was a requirement to join. However, many people didnt like that requirement, so we decided to change our payment processor. Now we are using Stripe, one of the largest and most reliable payment processing companies in the US. All you need to join now is a valid credit card, and you are still 100% protected because Stripe handles everything (we never get to see your credit card number, and we cant store it). Progress tracking: We implemented a simple system to allow you to track your progress over the assigned tasks where you place a checkmark on each task you complete. New lessons: We have updated some of the existing lessons and added new ones to make sure that the course reflects the current market trends. Join Today We still offer a 60-day money-back guarantee. If you find the course is not right for you simply send us an email and we will refund your money on the same day. Click here to get all the details and join the course. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Freelance Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:The Royal Order of Adjectives 26 Feel-Good Words150 Foreign Expressions to Inspire You

article 23 essays

article 23 essays Universal Declaration Of Human Rights -Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment- Article 23 has established how the free enterprise has evolved. Choice is a key element of free enterprise. Workers have the right to choose where to work and who to work for. Article 23 clearly states people have the right to work. Another feature in the free enterprise system is competition. In Article 23 it says people have the right to a free choice of employment. This creates competition between businesses so they strive to keep their best employees. In Article 23 people have the protection against unemployment, and the free enterprise relies on individuals, not the government so Article 23 lets people own or work so our economy can succeed. An example for freedom of choice of employment is if I want to open a business and I want to hire a guy named Bob out of college. In the free enterprise system Bob has the right to work for me. Bob has the right to work where he chooses. If Bob were smart he would work for a business with lots of competition, because if the competition is there and the business is doing well he might get paid more, if the business isnt very competitive then the business wont do as well. Lets say, I hired Bob and two months later I decide to dismiss (fire) him because he I need to down size my business. Bob has the right to get another job in this field so he isnt unemployed, which will help keep the economy running because he will provide his skills for another business in need. ...

Pronounce the Spanish R

Pronounce the Spanish R The Spanish letter R is easy to pronounce but is often mispronounced by English speakers. Here are some tips for getting it right. Difficulty: Easy Time Required: 10 minutes Heres How: Keep in mind that there are two R sounds in Spanish: the single R sound and the double R (or RR) sound.Keep in mind that the single R sound is used whenever the single R appears in a word, except when its at the beginning of a word or after an L, N or S, when the RR sound is used.Keep in mind that the Spanish R doesnt have the distinctive R sound of English. Think of it as a separate letter entirely.Remember that the single R is pronounced with a single flap of the tongue against the roof of mouth.Say these words rapidly as you would if they were English words, and with the accent on the first syllable: peddo, pahdah, cahdah.Congratulate yourself. You have approximately pronounced the Spanish words pero (but), para (for) and cara (face).Note similarly that in English many words that have T or TT between vowels have the same sound, which is different than the T in today. Examples are cattle, bitter and attic.Practice using the same sound in other positions. For example, to say primo ( cousin), rapidly say pdee-mo, but pronounce the d by hitting your tongue against the roof of your mouth. Again congratulate yourself. Youre on your way to learning this sound.You can hear the r pronounced by native speakers in our audio lesson on pronouncing the r . Words spoken in that lesson are pero (but), caro (expensive), primo (cousin), tres (three), seà ±or (Mr.) and hablar (to speak).You can also get advice from About.com readers on pronouncing the r. Tips: Try to imitate the sound of the R as it is pronounced by native speakers.Dont even be tempted to pronounce the R as it is pronounced in English.

Annotated bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Annotated Bibliography Example Students were then allocated to either ethnically diverse or all Anglo groups. There were around 135 subjects. Individual and group responses were tabulated using Prisoner’s Dilemma task in which participants could either compete or help the other party. It was hypothesized that groups carrying collectivist cultural traditions will be more co-operative compared to the one carrying individualist cultural traditions. The results confirmed the hypothesis. The reasons cited by 82% of the subjects confirmed that they were expecting the other party to cooperate. Further analysis showed that ethnically diverse groups made more co-operative choices than the groups that composed solely of Anglos. The study emphasizes and addresses on one cultural dimension and one behavioral dimension in a collectivist setting. More research needs to be done using cultural differences on the individualism-collectivist dimension. The study helps explain the reader the impact of cultural differences on decision making in an organization when working in groups. It can help him when he is working in a culturally diverse group as he will know what to expect from other group members. It can also contribute to different models on leadership and group work and help reader gain a broader understanding of the organizational demographics. Hoftsede’s framework provides methodological, theoretical and practical contributions in the cultural domain. Its popularity has raised a lot of eyebrows and attracted considerable debate. Thus it became necessary to conduct further research to overcome its limitations. This study, seeks to address those limitations. The general belief that cultural influences reward preference is found in this study. The applicability of Hoftsede’s framework is tested through cross cultural comparison of reward preferences in four countries. The study used data collected from four different countries, comprising of 1000

America's Media Contribution to Anorexia and bulimia Research Paper

America's Media Contribution to Anorexia and bulimia - Research Paper Example Although mass media is said to be the underlying source for increased incidence of eating disorders, from unhealthy weight loss and perception to obesity, the innate cultural influence of ideal weight and body shape are already well-embedded in the social system of American nations, especially in United States. The prevalence of â€Å"smoke-screened body type† incidence seemed to impact regions in the western culture. Admittedly, Jones et al. revealed the realistic situations plaguing most citizens in Western countries, where weight and shape dissatisfaction concerns had actually yielded to a number of remedy measures to correct the supposed â€Å"inappropriate† body that the media devised (247). As earlier discussed, media coverage had precluded how people should project themselves in society, to the point where their physiological and psychological well-being are affected in the process. Two main groups are said to be affected most by the challenge of attaining an ide al model-like look, the adolescents and the female groups. Adolescents are in a stage where they are in two opposing sides, the innocence of a child and the near maturity of a young adult. In the brink of such confusing state, adolescents are easily influenced for a number of factors. They are vulnerable to nonconstructive events, as this group experience more pressure from their peers (Dines and Humez 260). As their social circle tend to consume large amounts of media information, it may also shape their ideas on what a great social circle must be--one in which teenagers are ideal in both looks and style. Moreover, women of varying age are also prone to implicit media attacks, as the society they live in had long ago constructed and deeply embedded idea on what women should look like--as skinny individuals who are good to look at. It is where they base their attraction to the opposite sex, by striving to attain physical attributes that media wants them to project--a well-made perso n using beauty products and weight-loss services (Brown, Steele, and Walsh-Childers 126). The revelations show that physical beauty must be worked on, and not a natural thing, where those who fail to do so have little chance of getting a life time partners, or be accepted in a society that highly values the concept of beauty. In the Western regions, the rampant cases of bodily dissatisfaction had threaded towards pathological conditions as result of mass media obsession to what is considered the standard look of attractiveness. In failing to do so, individuals develop cases of conscious behavioral patterns in the hopes of gaining the ideal weight in the future. The rising rate of anorexia nervosa, a condition of inability to be content with extreme weight loss, and bulimia nervosa, the state of normal weight but with further attempts at weight loss methods, is pointed to be caused by the burgeoning mass media influence. Such intensive restrictions in dietary consumption may lead to â€Å"repetitive pattern self-deprivation (which) result in bingeing...and worsening self-image† (Derenne and Beresin 257). The high value placed on attaining the too-ideal to be true body projected by media may result in further damage to the health of deprived individuals. In a study to prove the

Business Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Business Management - Essay Example Defined as all the man-made or man-modified physical structures that include buildings, space and products, infrastructure of communities, built environment encompasses homes, schools, roads, fixtures, parks, cities, and everything else touched he has touched (Cohen, 2005). Presently, the built environment addresses various divisions, from art and design, architecture and interior architecture, construction management, and urban and regional planning. Art and design, although minuscule and seemingly irrelevant in scale, have intermarried with architecture and urban planning never to part again as aesthetics no longer are limited to association with the age-old Renaissance. Urban planners and engineers work closely with architects, constructors, contractors, and designers and the built industry grows into a nature-friendly aspect of human enterprise. "Competing for the Future" presents considerable forward-thinking strategies for companies as they are challenged maintaining present status which are compared to mere running in place and threatened with global competitors (Mizrach, 1997). The book invokes management and employees to work together to innovate and foresee what may be given to consumers that would amaze and satisfy. Globalisation at that time already poked its threat to established multinational companies, when dot.com bubble was about to break, the book better-advised the senior and junior managements to have second thoughts. "instead of doing a lot of market research, we refine our thinking on a product and its use and try to create a market for it by educating and communicating with the public... our emphasis has always been to create something out of nothing," Hamel and Pralahad (1994, p.109) wrote. It suggested that senior management team must set aside a time of about 50 percent over a period of months in order to "develop a prescient and distinctive point of view about the future" and this may apply well to built industries, as earlier problems did not seem as complicated as they are right now. "Unlearning" was a keyword so that it meant there is a close scrutiny of the past, interlinked with market share opportunities and creation of core competencies transcending business units (Hamel and Pralahad, 1994). The book also encourages coalition, which has become inevitable now as an industry alone could no hardly address a single issue facing built environment. Speed, as the book have claimed, is important "in the battle for the future" but not necessarily in the future anymore. There are considerable pressures today invokes speed as an element to answer problems within the built industry as "Whole industries become vulnerable to new rules when all the incumbents accept, more or less, the same industry conventions," (Hamel and Pralahad, 1994). Industries were challenged not only to address genuine profit crisis but encouraged to create "quasi-crisis in advance" so that pointing out of the difference of achievement is considered by both a s pass, allowing for evolving competencies. One that hits the built industry bulls-eye is the book's claim that "A strategic architecture is the essential link between today and tomorrow, between short term and longer,' as urban planners now scamper to detail out solutions for the urban dilemma. More so, "Every company should

Computer applications in management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Computer applications in management - Essay Example Social networking sites include Facebook, Tagged.com, Xanga.com, Live Journal, MySpace, Friendster.com, Liked In among others have cropped on the Internet for the past few years. Social networking services can facilitate learning and skill development outside formal learning environments and especially for the youths below 25 in Australia through support brought about by peer to peer learning of skills and knowledge, diverse cultural expression, collaboration, skill development within the working area (Ito et al, 2006; Jenkin, 2007, cited by Palfrey, 2008, p7 cited by Collin, Rahilly, Richardson and Third, 2011). These sites play key roles in youth culture as they give youth space and a place to hang out amongst themselves, where they share cultural artifacts. Most of these sites enable young people to flirt, post pictures, share videos, creative artwork and also meeting new people. They connect students from different schools across the nation (Barnes 2006). Young people pour their minds, into these social networking sites in order clear their heads, show their thoughts and get feedback from their peers (Hoang 2006 cited in Barnes 2006). Social networking services foster a strong sense of community and belonging which has the potential to promote resilience, that helps young people to adapt to change and also stressful events (Collin, Rahilly, Richardson and Third, 2011, p7). ... Boys, who are reluctant when discussing their feelings, tend to benefit more than girls from this effect (Farrer 2009). University of Minnesota conducted a study last year using social media which revealed improved technology and communication skills boosted creativity and exposed students to new views. This activity has taught students on editing content, designing and also encouraged the production and sharing of poetry, art, photographs, video content etc. This improves on students resulting to better performance in exams (Farrer 2009). These sites create a central repository of personal information. As American adults are concentrating on how the government and other organizations are collecting data regarding its citizens as teenagers freely give up their personal and private information in their social media. School officials, government agencies, marketers and online predators can collect data about youths through online teenage diaries. We can conclude these by saying adults are more concerned about the invasion of privacy while youths are freely giving up personal information. This occurs mainly because youths are unaware of the public nature of the Internet (Barnes 2006). Whereas adults argue that some certain information like that may lead to hacking of one’s account. However, formal communication is not vanishing. As social networking is displacing other forms of online communication to some degree such as email, chartrooms among others incorporates others like blogging, music downloading, and instant messaging and remediates yet more notably, face to face and phone communications (Bolter and Grusin, 1999; Jenkins, 2006 cited in Livingstone 2008, p395). To sum up on the benefits, Social Networking Services constitute new spaces for civic

An introduction to internationalizing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

An introduction to internationalizing - Essay Example Having successfully established itself in the UAE, the firm must consider a target market whose needs and preferences match those of members of the UAE. In the event that the suitable market has a number of diverse groups with different preferences, the firm will need to customize its product to suit these tastes. Moreover, we need to diversify our business portfolio by engaging in business activities that go beyond the company’s current portfolio, for instance, manufacturing of less refined pottery to suit the low income earners in the target market. This will result in the development of higher market pools, therefore, enhancing the firm’s profit margins. The firm should seek areas with a high population of its target market. The global market consists of various environments such as urban and rural environments. These environments each have a distinct bureaucratic process and labor law; it is paramount to avoid markets that have excessive bureaucracy and inflexible and outdated labor laws. Dubai for instance, would be a good market option as it is strategically close to Abu Dhabi, our head office. This market is well served by modern infrastructure; hence transportation of both raw materials and finished products will be easy. Moreover, the market has high market opportunities internally and internationally as it is served by over 170 airlines and 86 shipping lines (Rehman, A.  2007, p.57). This will lead to the firm’s expansion into the international market through exportation opportunities. Moreover, this nation has suitable labor laws and bureaucratic process; it neither has corporate and income taxes nor foreign exchang e controls. In addition to this, Dubai is one of the most economically developed nations, and its population mostly consists of people leading a Cosmopolitan lifestyle, which is our most suitable target market; one that appreciates fine art. The nation is also known to hold top

Several Topics(Psychology 101) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Several Topics(Psychology 101) - Essay Example According to social-learning theories, people learn by merely observing what others do and what happens to them. Cognitive theories emphasize cognitive processes such as thinking and judging and are guided by cognitions (e.g. expectations) about the world, especially those about other people. Trait theorists assume that traits are relatively stable over time, differ among individuals and they influence behavior. Hence personality theories focus on different key elements to explain the relationship between personality and other psychological constructs. A2.Sigmund Freud spent most of his life developing the theory of personality to describe how the human psyche or mind operates. According to his theory, human psyche is composed of parts that are conscious, preconscious, and unconscious: the conscious part of the psyche consists of all the thoughts that currently occupy our mind, the preconscious part of the psyche consists of the thoughts, memories, and knowledge that we are not currently aware of, but that are available to us as memories and knowledge and the unconscious part of our psyche holds thoughts, memories, impulses that we are not aware of. Freud also posited that the psyche is composed of three structures: the id, ego, and superego which interact and wrestle with each other for dominance and results in the whole of each human’s behavior. The id is driven by primitive animal instincts and seeks to maximize pleasure and minimize any discomfort. However, it does not care about what is practical, safe, or moral. The e go refers to one’s sense of self and functions according to the reality principle because its job is to gratify the id in accord with reality. The superego operates according to the morality principle in that it seeks what is good and moral above all else. The ego aims to gratify the id’s primitive needs within the constraints of reality and within the moral

An introduction to internationalizing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

An introduction to internationalizing - Essay Example Having successfully established itself in the UAE, the firm must consider a target market whose needs and preferences match those of members of the UAE. In the event that the suitable market has a number of diverse groups with different preferences, the firm will need to customize its product to suit these tastes. Moreover, we need to diversify our business portfolio by engaging in business activities that go beyond the company’s current portfolio, for instance, manufacturing of less refined pottery to suit the low income earners in the target market. This will result in the development of higher market pools, therefore, enhancing the firm’s profit margins. The firm should seek areas with a high population of its target market. The global market consists of various environments such as urban and rural environments. These environments each have a distinct bureaucratic process and labor law; it is paramount to avoid markets that have excessive bureaucracy and inflexible and outdated labor laws. Dubai for instance, would be a good market option as it is strategically close to Abu Dhabi, our head office. This market is well served by modern infrastructure; hence transportation of both raw materials and finished products will be easy. Moreover, the market has high market opportunities internally and internationally as it is served by over 170 airlines and 86 shipping lines (Rehman, A.  2007, p.57). This will lead to the firm’s expansion into the international market through exportation opportunities. Moreover, this nation has suitable labor laws and bureaucratic process; it neither has corporate and income taxes nor foreign exchang e controls. In addition to this, Dubai is one of the most economically developed nations, and its population mostly consists of people leading a Cosmopolitan lifestyle, which is our most suitable target market; one that appreciates fine art. The nation is also known to hold top

John Blackthron, I, Che Guevara Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

John Blackthron, I, Che Guevara - Essay Example The man was presumed dead since 1967. They said that the man might actually be the martyr Ernesto Che Guevara. His campaign trail was mainly focused on converting illiterate peasants to the revolutionary political philosophy of the True Republic. After the short appearance of Ernesto, Castro’s power finally relinquishes as he steps down from power in exchange of Cuba’s recognition from the United States. Another mission was also to lift the crippling embargo. In order to have U.S diplomatic recognition and to remove all embargoes and sanctions, he had to allow free elections and step down from his official position. After this, two traditional parties formed quickly. These include the Communist Party from one side and the U.S and Mafia backing Cuban exiles on the other. The bargain was accepted, and the communists left the Mafia backed exiles square off the presidential elections. Then came a bitter rivalry of the political titans but as soon as the new party, True Repu blic, was introduced things started to change. Che, though he did not admit to the name, started to gain popularity. The True Republic movement spread rapidly throughout Cuba that each person from every side devised plots to get rid of Ernesto Blanco. The left, the right and fumbling White House started groping on the quick spreading rumors that Guevara is back, and they all tried to get rid of him in every possible way. This included manipulation, treachery, threats, intimidation, bribery; media pay-offs and even assassination attempts. Despite the efforts by the rivals to get rid of Che, he was able to achieve unstoppable momentum to put a stop to the revolution. Che’s spirit of governing oneself gave him grassroots drive to populist local self-determination to his missions. The book tries to speculate Cuba’s future through the early retirement of the President Fidel Castro and the return of the man who appeared after his alleged death and began to draw attention to the various provinces of Cuba. Facilitated by the efforts of two women, a journalist and an assassin, the movement captured a lot of the world’s attention. In the back cover of the book, there is an interesting opinion about the author â€Å"John Blackthorn is the pseudonym of political figure whose name is well known in international capitals and intelligence circles† (Blackthorn) This can only mean that John’s work is outstanding and excellent. In my opinion, John writes from his inner passion and skill. This is so b ecause he is well knowledgeable about Cuba through his American-Latin citizenship. The book has been able to show a clear view of the much-illuminated social, political, and economic realities of the government. I think the author’s intentions were to assist in greater understanding of politics and socioeconomic factors of a society with an aim of molding great leaders and thinkers. Blackthorn wanted to show the forces that Cuba had to contend with and the uprisings. He also wanted to bring about the idea of Marxism and communism. John Blackthorns is a former senator and two-time presidential candidate whose public career came to a halt after a sex scandal in 1987. He is now a lawyer especially in international law. The book made him travel several times to Cuba usually to convey messages unofficially between Fidel Castro and the Clinton administration. Other works done by John Blackthorn include Sins of the Fathers, which was also a non-fictional book. The fact that Ernesto re-appeared years later after the

Trends in Computer Hardwares Essay Example for Free

Trends in Computer Hardwares Essay In the last two decades, businesses have come to rely more and more on technology, notably with the increased prominence of the PC and the ever demonstrated boundless resilience of the Internet.   Whereas, if 10 years ago had these innovations fallen out of use, businesses would not have even worked themselves up, these days virtually all of these companies would have completely grounded to a halt.   Indeed, there is not much work any business can do today without the aid of technology.    In the not-so-distant past business defined technology.   Today, the question is already of how to use technology in growing the business.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The most familiar computer hardware to most people is the PC.   Over recent years since 2000, the PC has basically become faster with the improvements on the micro chip, which came in various versions designed and released by industry leaders Microsoft, Macintosh, and AMD.   Improvements in circuitry make the PC more reliable, while memory capacity is increased.    Meanwhile, the physical size has become smaller, though no less powerful, resulting in more compact machines, as well as the rise of more powerful laptops (Computer Hardware, in Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, 2007).   Scott Williams of Hispanic Business Magazine (2004) quoted Christopher Ireland, CEO of consulting firm Cheskin, in that sales in laptops would increase in the future and thus earn a larger share of the pie of the PC-buying dollar.   According to him, sales volume for laptops was less than 25 percent in January 2000, which shot up to 54 percent in 2003. As can be observed even by the non-specialists, the trend in computer hardware development has moved towards faster, smaller, cheaper –getting better, overall.   As far as the hardware market will go, Gartner, Inc. released in 2003 their predictions on the hardware market trend in the Asia Pacific Region over a 4-year period, specifically focusing on client-part, server, storage and documentation hardware.   The report graphed the PCs to dominate most market sales, while workstations would tend to be the least purchased.   Market for all the mentioned hardware was said to peak at 2005, and then gradually decrease into 2007 (Wu, 2003).   The benefits for the business world from the onset of technological developments, therefore, are two-sided: it affects both vendors of computer products and the corporate consumers who use the products. As for the present time, technologies continue to become more sophisticated and expand possibilities in communication and business, as well.   Advancements in wireless technology have resulted in greater connectivity.   Continued improvements on the USB have led to the Certified Wireless USB, which will utilize the connectivity of Ultra-wideband (UWB) radio technology. Wireless USB revolutionizes the â€Å"interoperable connections† and brings it into the wireless world (Universal Serial Bus [USB], 2007).   UWB, meanwhile, is a recent short- innovation in low-power, short-range wireless technology, specifically designed for wireless personal area networks (WPANs).   It functions similarly to Bluetooth, but enables the transmission of high-bandwidth data like video and audio between devices, and complements longer range technologies (Intel Corporation, 2007).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Arguably the second most familiar gadgets after the PC, mobile phones and handheld devices are among the rapidly morphing technologies in recent years.   Along with increased mobility, features like a colored display, built-in digital camera, mp3 player and internet access are among the latest innovations, and are undergoing still more transformations yet.   A new technology expected in the near future in cell phones and handhelds is an Organic Light Emitting Device (OLED) display, which is self-luminous and does not require backlighting (Williams, 2004).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The development of technologies closely related to business has evolved, as well.   One of the big challenges to companies is the storage of massive amounts of information that is sustainable, secure, and into as less space as can be managed.   As information pours out from more and more channels, humans cannot react to the volumes of data that needs to be managed. Now more than ever, businesses need the applications in information technology to store and manage incredible amounts of data in a scalable manner.   A concept that is emerging in talks among business analysts is virtualization.   One of its perceived functions is running multiple virtual servers so as to no longer add new servers when running new applications.   This method will help reduce costs in the future, and is actually more feasible as companies become more swamped with market  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   data (Wall Street and Technology, 2006).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Technologies involved in business are ever more reaching new heights.   The endless possibilities that pour from the Internet, for one, creates a more active and challenging environment for businesses, especially in information management.   Accenture.com (2007) recognizes four major trends that will shape information technology, in relation to business, three of which relate to hardware.   Regarded the most significant trend on the horizon is the large-scale adoption of service-oriented architectures (SOAs). It is said to have the potential to alter the fundamental structure of businesses and the information industry, and the software industry as well.   The adoption of SOAs will ultimately mean simpler systems and lower costs for CIOs.   With the growing demands for information processing and storage, technology for business is moving towards an abundant era of infrastructure.   The world of technology will experience an increase in the number and type of embedded devices, and with the demands of SOA, infrastructures must be dynamic and flexible.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Information management will be challenged by the massive growth in information, especially due to the emergence of real-time information from sensors and embedded devices that existing databases cannot handle.   Companies will become more dependent on external information, which is beyond their control.   The major consequence of these trends would be virtualization, ultimately digitizing communication and information. Accenture.com predicts it will industrialize information technology on all levels.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Ultimately, the matter is not really whether future trends in computer hardware, and technology for that matter, help or hurt businesses in the long run.   Companies essentially need technology to be able to keep afloat in the sink-or-swim world of business.   It is, rather, about learning to read technological trends and applying insights gained from them, as applicable in the company’s affairs.   The company should know, then, its technological requirements.   It is applying technology inappropriately or unnecessarily, or failing to do so, that would hurt business, not technology in itself.   After all, in these times, it is technology that drives business to evolve. References Accenture.com (2007). Major Trends That Will Shape IT. Retrieved February 12, 2007, from http://www.accenture.com/Global/Services/Accenture_Technology_Labs/Services/FromIT.htm Anthes, G. (2006, May 1). Computer Science Looks for a Remake. Retrieved February 12, 2007, from http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,110959,00. html Betts, M. (2002, November 18). The Next Chapter: The Future of Hardware. Retrieved February 12, 2007, from http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticle TOCspecialReportId=120articleId=75887 Blu-Ray Disc (2007). In Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 12, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Disc Clark, T. (2007, January 24). Surging Electronic Trading Volumes and Reg NMS Require Financial Firms to Enhance Underlying Technology Infrastructures. Retrieved February 12, 2007, from http://www.wallstreetandtech.com/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=K0135A L3OVGAGQSNDLOSKH0CJUNN2JVN?articleID=197000218 Computer Hardware (2007). In Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 12, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_hardware Funny Relationship Between Technology and Business in Startup Companies (2004, March 4). In Viewpoint of an Entrepreneur: A Business Intelligence Software Blog. Retrieved February 12, 2007, from http://blogs.ittoolbox.com/bi/entrepreneur/archives/funny-relationship-between-technology-and-business-in-startup-companies-517?sp=CM Hayes, F. (2002, November 18). The Story So Far: Hardware. Retrieved February 12, 2007, from http://computerworld.com/hardwaretopics/hardware/story/0,10801,75888,00.html History of Computing Hardware (2007). In Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 12, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_computing_hardware_ (1960s-present) Intel Corporation (2007). Ultra-Wideband (UWB) Technology. Retrieved February 12, 2007, from http://www.intel.com/technology/comms/uwb/ Mid-Hudson Library System (2002). Future Trends. Retrieved February 12, 2007, from http://midhudson.org/resources/administration/trends.htm Universal Serial Bus (2007). Certified Wireless USB from the USB-IF. Retrieved February 12, 2007, from http://www.usb.org/developers/wusb/ Wall Street and Technology (2006, July 19). Equities Market, Technology Infrastructure and Virtual Servers Are Top-of-Mind for ISE SVP. Retrieved February 12, 2007, from http://www.wallstreetandtech.com/search/results.jhtml;jsessionid=DMSJCSVYBCV3GQSNDLRSKH0CJUNN2JVN?site=500004sort=datequeryText=virtualizationxse.x=0xse.y=0 Williams, S. (2004). Top Trends. Hispanic Business Magazine. Retrieved February 12, 2007, from http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/news/newsbyid.asp?id=16030cat=Magazine more=/magazine/ Wu, J. (2003, July 15). Asia Pacific, 2003 Hardware Forecast. Retrieved February 12, 2007, from http://www.gartner.com/teleconferences/attributes/attr_46494_115.pdf

George Orwells Nineteen Eighty-Four 1984 Essays -- essays research p

1984 Truth In George Orwell’s â€Å"1984† society is manipulated and guided by an organization called the Party and an anonymous figure named Big Brother, who is used as God. One of the main aspects the Party controls is truth or tries to control is truths in the society and the truth in the minds of the individual themselves. The Party creates what they want to be true to make the individuals ignorant so they can manipulate them easier. This twist of the truth by the Party makes it seem like truth doesn’t actually exist, but for Winston it does exist or it once did. Truth does exist if the individual is rebellious to the extent to where it will not get them vaporized and Winston is one of those rebels. He and others are able to experience the idea of truth mainly mentally or psychologically to better please themselves, but when the Party captures him his sense of rebellion is taken from him. When his rebelliousness is loss he loses his more vulnerable to the brainwashing o f the Party. Unlike the others in the society who have fallen by the Party’s waist side Winston tries to maintain his own true identity. The Party needs to mold and shape these people so they are able to go through with their plans of ultimate control of all aspects of a persons life. They want no kind of individualism because of the fear of rebellion, which is what Winston has conformed to. He upholds his identity with his diary. He expresses himself and allows his thought to come out more freely. Winston knows that he is breaking the law of the Party and is afraid, but he still does it. â€Å"Whether he wrote DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER, or whether he refrained†¦He had committed—would still have committed†¦Thoughtcrime they called it.(19)† Thoughtcrime is a fear the Party is able to put in the individuals mine. This crime is another hinderer of the Party to keep individuals minds locked in the state they want them to be in, to keep the truth in their identity and the en vironment around them in a locked state and the Party and Big Brother are the only ones with the key. The Party operates society into thinking they need the Party because they need to get into what the Party has for them, which is nothing but control, and since the Party is the suppose to be the key society must come through them. Winston is unable to refrain from committing thoughtcrime and lessening his self to believe what the Party has... ...him and that is compassion and love for his family. Winston continuously denies that he could not give Julia away like that. When Winston’s torture begins he hold out for an extensive amount of time but when Obrien uses one of his greatest fears, which is of rats, against him he sacrifices Julia and himself to the Party. After makes this sacrifice it is like he has died so he has no reason fight anymore. He gives his identity up and the truth he once new over to the ideas of the Party and is changed into another full blown Outer Party member. After Winston had lost all he lived for and was nothing more. Truth did once exist with Winston with his rebellious ways. He longed for having his own identity and he was almost successful. He was able to experience the idea of truth mainly in his mind but he did get the satisfaction from that. The Party wanted and needed to make the identity they wanted for all. They did this because they wanted power. In the beginning Winston was not going to fall into their trap but he became quite careless with his trust in other and was captured with his love Julia. After the use of torture and mind interference he was finally broken and lost his self.

A funeral in my Brain Essay -- essays research papers

I Felt a Funeral in My Brian â€Å"I felt a funeral in my brain† by Emily Dickinson traces the speaker’s descent into madness. It is a terrifying poem for both the speaker and the reader. The speaker experiences the loss of self in the chaos of the unconscious, and the reader experiences the speaker’s descending madness and the horror most of us feel about going crazy. Dickinson uses the metaphor of a funeral to represent the speaker’s sense that a part of her is dying. This is reason for her, being overwhelmed by the irrationality of the unconscious. A funeral is an appropriate image for this ordeal. The most obvious connotation with a funeral is death. Also a funeral is a formal event, whose rules and procedures suggest control and order. The control and order implicit in a funeral contras...

Nursing-Sensitive Indicators Essay

The structure, processes, and outcome factors of nursing care are reflected in Nursing-Sensitive Indicators (NSIs). There are several things that the nurses in the provided scenario could have done to promote quality patient care. By being aware of restraint use as an NSI the hospital staff would be more likely to increase their focus and attention to its need and any development of complications. This increased focus and attention could have led to the development of educational opportunities for the hospital staff on the identification of pressure ulcer related complications. Had the nurse and nursing supervisor been aware of patient/family/caregiver satisfaction as an NSI they may have reacted differently in the situation. According to the physician in the scenario, there have been multiple complaints by Jewish patients about the disregard for their dietary requests. Having this data and information available can aid in developing and educational session for hospital staff includi ng dietary workers, nurses, and certified nursing assistants about the importance of respecting patient’s cultural requests. It is possible that some of the problems identified in the scenario were a related to the structure of the system and a result of inadequate staffing, educational, or experience levels. Being able to collect data on these NSIs can aid in identifying issues within this organization structure and make appropriate changes to ensure better quality patient care outcomes. For example, some issues may be related to there not being an adequate number of nursing on the unit. Collecting relevant data would help to identify this as an issue, possibly a recurring issue, which would lead to the assigning of more nurses to that particular unit. Quality Patient Care Nursing-sensitive indicators can provide data to help identify needs and diminish risks. Part of the reason why nursing-sensitive indicators are used is to be able to make changes and adjustments to policies and procedures of  a hospital, if necessary. Quality patient care can be advanced in this situation by collecting data on specific nursing-sensitive indicators. Data on the prevalence of restraint use and consequential complications (e.g. pressure ulcers, contractions, anxiety, incontinence, and other complications) can aid in maintaining awareness of risks and allowing the nurse to take proper steps to limit their occurrence. Data on patient/family/caregiver satisfaction can help illustrate whether the quantity and quality of nursing care needs to be improved. Data on nursing satisfaction and staffing can help to assess whether changes need to be made to staffing numbers, whether more experienced nurses are needed, whether more educational opportunities are need for the hospital staff, for example. System Resources, Referrals, or Colleagues There are a few ethical issues that in the provided scenario which need addressing from the nursing shift supervisor. The first occurs when the Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) fails to appropriately address the possibility of a developing pressure ulcer. A wound care team can be consulted about developing an educational program about pressure ulcers for hospital staff. Also, there is the issue of restraints. The ordering physician should be contacted about the necessity of restraint use. Along with the wound care team, data could be collected about the use of restraints and the subsequent development of pressure ulcers. In the scenario, the patient was not served a â€Å"kosher† diet as the order indicated. The physician could be contacted to illicit more information about the several dietary complaints. The hospital administrator can, also, be contacted to inquire about any other dietary complaints before contacting the kitchen supervisor. The hospital ethics committee is a valuable resource when a need for education arises. The daughter was not told of the dietary mistake and was later inadvertently informed by a dietary worker. Members of the Ethics committee may be able to conduct an educational session for hospital workers about being patient advocates.

Test for Business English

Test 1 READING 1 hour PART ONE Questions 1-8  · Look at the statements below and at the five extracts on the opposite page from an article giving advice to people setting up a business.  · Which extract (A, B, C, D or E) does each statement (1-8) refer to?  · For each statement (1-8), mark one letter (A, B, C, D or E) on your Answer Sheet.  · You will need to use some of these letters more than once. 1. You should plan ahead in case a founder of the company chooses to leave it. 2. A company which is expanding today may not always continue to do so. 3.The distribution of equity among the founders can affect the smooth running of the business. 4. Your function in the organisation is different from that of the other managers. 5. Your method of running the business will have to be modified as your company develops. 6. Your business may evolve into a form that you are not satisfied with. 7. Delay offering employees a financial stake in the company. 8. You need to identify your per sonal strengths and weaknesses. A So you think you're an entrepreneur, and you want to start up a company. First, be sure you're really an entrepreneur, and not an inventor.Inventors come up with ideas, entrepreneurs make a business out of them: it's important to know where your abilities lie, as inventors can fail miserably at running a business. Also, you need to be confident that you can adapt your management style to meet new demands if your company is a success. Leading the management team of a growing business is very different from leading a newly founded company. B If your company proves successful, it will probably change out of all recognition, and may seem to possess a life of its own, with institutional shareholders, regulators and employees to consider as well as customers and bank managers.That is the time to consider how far the aspirations of the business you founded still mirror your own. If they have diverged widely, and you feel you have built just the sort of bus iness that you perhaps tried to escape from in the first place, it may be time to leave. C Bringing an idea to life requires an organisation. If you are going into business with your friends, make sure you treat them as professionally as you would your arms-length business partners, because the odds are that you'll fall out with them.It may not seem important at the start, but it will strengthen the company if you ensure that its constitution documents are designed with your specific business and circumstances in mind, and that they clearly establish what will happen in the event of a withdrawal from the business by one of the founding shareholders. D Think carefully about the capital structure of the business. You could be storing up a problem for the company in the future – for example, by allocating shares to founders in a way that could lead to a stand-off if they refuse to see eye to eye on key issues.Similarly, when you eventually recruit new senior team members, think carefully about what to offer them. Don't give away share options too early. As a rule of thumb, cash is sufficient reward for knowledge and skill. Keep equity up your sleeve for rewarding commitment. E As your business grows, you need to keep the right balance between management control and entrepreneurial spirit. Too much control, and the business will ultimately cease to grow. Too little, and growth could be unsustalnable.You'll need to employ managers, but remember that their job is to build the infrastructure to underpin a business that until now may have run on the basis of your salesmanship and excitement. The risk is to bring in managers who are too much like you, without the necessary experience of nursing a newly founded business through its evolution. PART TWO Questions 9-14  · Read this text taken from an article about marketing.  · Choose the best sentence from the opposite page to fill each of the gaps.  · For each gap (9-14), mark one letter (A-H) on your Answer Sheet.  · Do not use any letter more than once.How effective is your marketing? Gone are the days when companies had departments full of staff whose role nobody under- stood. Today we are all accountable and have to be able to demonstrate the value of our contribution to our businesses. And rightly so. But when it comes to marketing, what is effectiveness, how do you measure it, and why is its measurement so important? Businesses are starting to recognise the key marketing questions. Are we providing the right products for the right people at the right price? Are our brands better than those of our competitors? 9) That's because marketing is not the fluffy stuff that can be axed when the going gets tough – it is the essence of business. So if marketing is important, it follows that it pays to know if yours is working. The first stage in the process is understanding your current position. How successful is your brand today? What is your market share? You should equip yourse lf with some sound facts and figures on which to base your conclusions. (10) It could be simply to boost sales. You may want to reinforce your leadership in a market or trounce a competitive brand.Influencing future profitability, possibly by building a short-term brand share, may be a priority. A clear objective is essential. But how do you know if your marketing is achieving your goals? (11) Their success is not just related to how many boxes leave the factory. Effectiveness may not be tangible. It may be financial, it may not. ‘The brand' is an intangible asset, but it is now seen as an import- ant one. Quantifying the value of an intangible asset is a difficult, but not impossible, task. It is also necessary to evaluate both long-term effectiveness and the short-term outcomes of any campaign. 12) But the care of a brand is a marathon, not a sprint, and it is important not to lose sight of the long-term consequences. Choosing the right measurement tools to evaluate a campai gn is another important issue. (13) The accuracy they thus ensure should be consistent over time and correspond to the wider objectives of the business. Ultimately, marketing must deliver profit. The essential debate should no longer be about the importance of marketing, but what we should do to measure its effectiveness, and what measures will ensure survival. 14) But to others it is likely to be a controversial issue – and one which can produce responses leading to widely different directions for their enterprises. A Having done that, next comes establishing what it is that marketing activities should be achieving. B Because of this, you may want to generate return on investment, perhaps by raising the quality of your brand. C This shift in focus will be taken as read by the most successful businesses. D Addressing such issues should mean that profits take care of themselves.E Concerning the latter, it may be tempting to be seduced by efforts that yield quick results and sa tisfy investor pressure for immediate returns. F These should be precise and based on empirical data. G Good strategies are not necessarily linked to production or sales figures. H Today we are all accountable and have to be able to demonstrate the value of our contribution to our businesses. PART THREE Questions 15-20  · Read the following article about recruitment in the UK and the questions on the opposite page.  · For each question (15-20), mark one letter (A, B, C or D) on your Answer Sheet. graduate recruitment has a growing role.But companies need to know whether their recruitment staff who interview candidates for jobs really know what they're doing. Carl Gilleard, chief executive of the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR), acknowledges that in a perfect world, the people who recruit graduates would have been in the role for some time building up workplace knowledge. He says the reality is that the high turnover of graduate recruitment managers in most blue chips me ans there is little continuity in how companies operate. ‘There's the difficulty in maintaining important contact with university careers departments, for example,' he explains. You need a depth of understanding to appreciate where the company is coming from and how it's progressing. ‘ We can identify two specialisms within the recruiter's role. Those that work on the recruitment and selection side need traditional human resources (HR) skills such as good interviewing technique, observation, common sense, objectivity, patience and listening skills. But increasingly there are those who take a strategic view and look more widely at how their company is represented in the marketplace. It's a clear advantage if you can identify with your target audience.Many young members of middle management are seconded into HR for a year because their firms feel they can identify with job-seeking graduates. Yet in an industry that has been revolutionised by the internet, privatised career services and rocketing numbers in higher education, it is questionable how relevant these managers' experiences are. Some high-fliers see a secondment to HR as a sideways move; a firm's HR function might not carry the same kudos as, say, the finance department, although obviously the recruitment and retention of staff is of crucial importance.Georgia de Saram, specialising in graduate recruitment at a law firm, is one of a new breed of young dynamic recruiters who see HR as their vocation rather than a transitory career move. ‘I was attracted to the profession because I enjoy working with people and it's an obvious follow-on from my anthropology degree,' she says. ‘In this capacity, you get to know people and they know you even though they might not know other people in the firm. ‘ As a recruiter, she sees herself as the interface between graduates and the firm that's looking to attract them?It's such a tug of war between law firms for the best trainees – o ften they'll turn you down in favour of an offer they've received from elsewhere. You need to be good at marketing your firm, to know what interests graduates and how you can reach potential employees, whether that's through virtual law fairs or magazines. ‘ A recent AGR survey suggests that the sectors in which there is less turnover of graduate recruitment managers are more successful in recruiting the graduates they want.The legal sector's sophisticated understanding of the market, for example, means they manage to recruit exactly the right number of trainees despite intense competition and thousands of applications. The people recruiting seem to build up a specialism and then pass on their knowledge and expertise to those new to the graduate recruitment sector. Jackie Alexander, an HR partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, feels that HR professionals are finally reaching board level and receiving the sort of acknowledgement they deserve. They are judged by the value they add t o the business,' she says, ‘and, as a professional services firm, the right people are our biggest asset. ‘ As Georgia de Saram points out: ‘From our company's point of v. iew, if I can't establish a rapport with a candidate and bring out their best, it might not be just their future but also ours that is at stake. ‘ 15. According to Carl Gilleard, many recruiters lack A. detailed knowledge of their sector. B. appropriate academic qualifications. C. understanding of graduates' expectations. D. experience of the companies they work for. 16.What change in the recruitment process is mentioned in the third paragraph? A. Recruitment staff are re-training. B. Broader approaches are being adopted. C. Traditional abilities are being given less value. D. Different interview processes are being used. 17. On what grounds are certain managers seconded to HR departments? A. It is believed that they will relate to potential recruits. B. It is thought that they will benefit most from new developments. C. It is assumed that they will be able to apply specialised knowledge. D. It is expected that they will take advantage of new promotion opportunities. 18.Which of the following areas does Georgia de Saram mention as an aspect of her work? A. representing her company effectively to its recruits B. increasing recruitment numbers at her company C. encouraging a wide range of company recruits D. influencing her company's recruitment policy 19. What was revealed about law firms in a survey? A. They are competing more effectively than before against other sectors. B. They prefer to retain trainees for extended periods wherever possible. C. They have managed to employ particularly knowledgeable HR staff. D. They appeal to those HR managers who are keen for promotion. 20.What point is made about recruitment in the final paragraph? A. New levels of qualification are being developed for it. B. It is now being perceived as key to increased profitability. C. Higher numbers of managers are being attracted to it. D. It is becoming central to a business's survival. PART FOUR Questions 21-30  · Read the article below about job satisfaction.  · Choose the correct word to fill each gap from A, B, C or D on the opposite page.  · For each question (21-30), mark one letter (A, B, C or D) on your Answer Sheet. How important is job satisfaction? At its most basic, a job is just a collection of tasks and duties.An employee's enjoyment of his or her job will thus (21) depend upon whether or not he or she is happy with the particular mix of tasks and duties (22) to that position. Naturally, each and every member of staff is different – some employees want to do easy, (23) tasks without any responsibilities at all, whilst others prefer challenging, varied ones and are pleased to accept any additional responsibilities offered to them. Of course, with a job there are more (24) in play than this: work conditions, pay, working relations and future prospects are (25) too.Nevertheless, tasks and duties are the central feature, and should therefore be considered as a separate (26) in themselves. So, how important is an employee's enjoyment of his or her individual (27) of tasks and duties? Most business owners and managers would (28) that it is very significant indeed. If a member of staff considers his or her tasks and duties to be too easy or unchallenging or, in contrast, too diverse or irksome, then he or she will feel dissatisfied, and all the inevitable knock-on effects will (29) themselves – absences, lateness, reduced work-rate and performance, conflict, low morale, or even resignations.Thus it is important that staff are well suited to their employment, that jobs are improved as far as possible and redesigned as and when necessary – all to (30) that your employees enjoy what they do. 21. A. highly B. largely C. extensively D. widely 22. A. devoted B. intended C. identified D. allocated 23. A. customary B. habitual C. usual D. routine 24. A. pieces B. roles C. factors D. parts 25. A. connected B. relevant C. appropriate D. related 26. A. result B. effect C. issue D. outcome 27. A. et B. order C. rank D. line 28. A. insist B. accentuate C. reiterate D. assent 29. A. uncover B. demonstrate C. unmask D. manifest 30. A. confirm B. ensure C. convince D. assure PART FIVE Questions 31-40  · Read the text below from a brochure.  · For each question (31-40), write one word in CAPITAL LETTERS on your Answer Sheet. Paragon: great business space A new concept for the twenty-first century, Paragon is a totally unique showpiece development of high-quality office and call centre buildings, hotel and leisure facilities.Many cities find (31) increasingly difficult to allocate office space, but the city of Wakefield is already ahead (32) the game with Paragon. Paragon offers an extensive parkland setting with low-density buildings, and room to expand in the future. Yet, (33) the vast majority of bu siness parks, Paragon has not been exiled to the distant edges of the city. Instead, this large site is only I km from the centre of Wakefield. This offers massive advantages: employees can easily walk or cycle to work, saving stress and pollution, and significantly cutting (34) on commuting time.There is (35) more driving along the motorway to distant outposts of business empires for the Paragon worker. But Paragon's location sacrifices nothing (36) terms of communications. It is perfectly placed for road and rail networks. A further attraction of Wakefield for Paragon is the ready avail- ability of a skilled workforce. (37) are more than 233,000 people available for work within an hour's journey, and an enormous catchment population of 20 million within two hours' travel.The city has a long history (38) an administrative centre, and its recent success in attracting top-name companies is evidence of its solid business credentials. Figures from the developers suggest that up (39) 5, 000 jobs could be available in the initial phase of its development, with more to follow, making it (40) of the most significant areas of employment in the region. PART SIX Questions 41-52  · Read the text below about IT training.  · In most of the lines (41-52) there is one extra word. It is either grammatically incorrect or does not fit in with the sense of the text.Some lines, however, are correct.  · If a line is correct, write CORRECT on your Answer Sheet.  · If there is an extra word in the line, write the extra word in CAPITAL LETTERS on your Answer Sheet. IN-HOUSE IT TRAINING One of the most important things you should consider before implementing an IT training program is whether that the content is current, accurate 41 and easily be understood by trainees. In general, you should look 42 for a training program that has done an affiliation with industry 43 leaders. For example, a course on Windows 2000 should at least 44 be pproved by Microsoft. A course that has bee n co-developed in 45 this way ensures so that trainees will study relevant and correct 46 information. Also, take into your account the availability of practical 47 exercises. Many off-site, instructor-led programs which provide learning 48 labs for trainee practice, but take good on-site training courses can 49 include hands-on simulations that resemble to an actual networking 50 or desktop environment. This supply allows trainees to interact with 51 the programs without crashing down a live system.It also means that 52 trainees can study while at work so that less time is going missed, and production schedules are not interrupted. WRITING 1 hour 10 minutes PART ONE Question 1  · The graph below shows the turnover for three kinds of retail outlet, all owned by the same company, during a three-year period.  · Using the information from the graph, write a short report comparing the changes in turnover in the company's three types of outlet.  · Write 120-140 words. [pic] PART TW O Write an answer to one of the questions 2-4 in this part. Write your answer in 200-250 words.Question 2  · Your company would like to break into a new overseas market with your new range of sports goods. You have been asked by the Marketing Director to investigate ways of doing this.  · Write a report for the Marketing Director, including the following information:  · how you carried out your research into the market  · the existing competition  · your target customers  · ways of promoting the products in the new market. Question 3  · Recently you have become unhappy with a service that has been provided to your company for a number of years. You have decided to write a letter of omplaint to the service provider.  · Write your letter to the company that provides the service, including the following information:  · which service you are complaining about  · why you are dissatisfied with the service  · what action you want the service provider to take  · what you will do if there is no improvement in the service. Question 4  · Your Managing Director is considering how to improve the company's internal communications, and has asked you to write a short proposal giving your views on communication within your department.  · Write the proposal for the Managing Director: describing how communication currently takes place within your department  · pointing out the weaknesses of the present situation  · recommending one or two improvements that should be made LISTENING Approximately 40 minutes (including 10 minutes' transfer time) PART ONE Questions 1-12  · You will hear the founder of a company called Manshee talking to business students about its development.  · As you listen, for questions 1-12, complete the notes, using up to three words or a number.  · After you have listened once, replay the recording. THE DEVELOPMENT OF MANSHEE 1.The speaker had a problem finding †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. for his compute r. 2. Initially, the speaker bought from †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ businesses. 3. Four years after its launch, Manshee's †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. was ? 6 m. 4. The company grew rapidly without having †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 5. The main factor in the company's decisions was the current month's †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 6. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. fell as a result of competition. 7. Manshee's consultants work mostly with †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 8. The consultants made Manshee's directors put their future †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. in order of priority. 9.The directors first focused on †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. and financial goals. 10. What the speaker feels was particularly valuable was the †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ of the consultants' advice. 11. Manshee classifies it s customers on the basis of their †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 12. The most successful division is the one working with the †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. sector. PART TWO Questions 13-22  · You will hear five different people talking about problems and responses to them in the companies where they work.  · For each extract there are two tasks. For Task One, decide which problem each speaker mentions from the list A-H.For Task Two, decide which response the company made to the problem from the list A-H.  · After you have listened once, replay the recording. Task One – Problems  · For questions 13-17, match the extracts with the problems, listed A-H.  · For each extract, decide which problem for the company is mentioned.  · Write one letter (A-H) next to the number of the extract. A The directors' experience was narrow. B Certain products went out of fashion. C There was a reliance on poor-quality supplies. D There were conflicts between directors. E Too many new products were launched at the same time.F Reasons for previous success were misunderstood. G There was a failure to understand economic trends. H Some advisors made poor recommendations. 13. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 14. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 15†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 16†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 17†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Task Two – Responses  · For questions 18–22, match the extracts with the responses, listed A-H.  · For each extract, decide which response the company made to the problem.  · Write one letter (A-H) next to the number of the extract. A Large severance payments were made.B New shares were issued. C A takeover bid was accepted. D Low-cost products were introduced. E A partnership abroad was formed. F One division was sold off. G Some products were rebranded. H A cost reduction programme was introduced. 18†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 19†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 20†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 21†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 22†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ PART THREE Questions 23-30  · You will hear a discussion between two senior managers, John and Deborah, about an assistant manager, Colin, who has applied for a new post. For each question (23-30), mark one letter (A, B or C) for the correct answer.  · After you have listened once, replay the recording. 23. The new post is being created as a result of A. plans to change corporate culture. B. criticisms of management practice. C. change s to overall company structure. 24. What reason has Colin given for applying? A. to have a more challenging role B. to make full use of his qualifications C. to raise his profile within the company 25. John was particularly impressed by the way Colin A. treated a dissatisfied client. B. responded to an unreliable supplier.C. dealt with an inefficient member of staff. 26. What current strength of Colin's does Deborah commend? A. his analytical skills B. his product knowledge C. his flexible approach 27. On a recent sales trip, Colin succeeded in A. improving the terms of a contract. B. identifying a new method of selling. C. making a number of new contacts. 28. In what area did Colin excel during recent training? A. team working B. report writing C. prioritising 29. What does Colin's reference say? A. He expects too much of others. B. His confidence will grow in time. C. He sometimes lacks objectivity. 30.What support will the successful candidate receive? A. contact with an in-house advisory body B. performance appraisal meetings C. coaching from a consultant SPEAKING 16 minutes SAMPLE SPEAKING TASKS PART ONE In this part, the interlocutor asks questions to each of the candidates in turn. You have to give information about yourself and express personal opinions. PART TWO In this part of the test, you are asked to give a short talk on a business topic. You have to choose one of the topics from the three below and then talk for about one minute. You have one minute to prepare your ideas.A Customer relations: the importance to a company of reliable customer opinions of products B Staff development: the importance to a company of developing effective career plans for staff C Business strategy: how to maintain the confidence of company shareholders PART THREE In this part of the test, you are given a discussion topic. You have 30 seconds to look at the task prompt, an example of which is below, and then about three minutes to discuss the topic with your partner. Af ter that, the examiner will ask you more questions related to the topic. For two candidatesTravelling to Work Your company's location in a busy city centre means that staff often complain about the time taken to get to work. You have been asked to make some recommendations. Discuss and decide together:  · whether it would be better for staff to use public or private transport  · what the effects might be of allowing staff to work flexible hours. For three candidates Travelling to Work Your company's location in a busy city centre means that staff often complain about the time taken to get to work. You have been asked to make some recommendations. Discuss and decide together: whether it would be better for staff to use public or private transport  · what the effects might be of allowing staff to work flexible hours  · what other measures the company could take to deal with the situation. Follow-on questions  · Would you be willing to spend a long time travelling to work eve ry day? (Why? /Why not? )  · Should companies provide staff with financial assistance if they have long journeys to work? (Why? /Why not? )  · What do you think influences a company's decision to be located in a busy city centre? (Why? )  · What effect do you think technology will have in the future on where people do their work? Why? )  · What could be the long-term effects of changes in the hours people work and where they work? (Why? ) Test 1 Reading Part 1 1. C 2. E 3. D 4. E 5. A 6. B 7. D 8. A Part 2 9. D 10. A 11. G 12. E 13. F 14. C Part 3 15. D 16. B 17. A 18. A 19. C 20. D Part 4 21. B 22. D 23. D 24. C 25. B 26. C 27. A 28. A 29. D 30. B Part 5 31. IT 32. OF 33. UNLIKE 34. DOWN 35. NO 36. IN 37. THERE 38. AS 39. TO 40. ONE Part 6 41. BE 42. DONE 43. CORRECT 44. CORRECT 45. SO 46. YOUR 47. WHICH 48. TAKE 49. TO 50. SUPPLY 51.DOWN 52. GOING Test 1 Writing Question 1 Sample A The development of the turnover of FROZEN FOOD Ltd. The following report describes the chan ges in turnover by type of retail sector over the three years periods 2000 to 2002. In all three years the turnover made by supermarkets was the highest of all three retail outlets. Department stores remained the second greatest before small shops-outlets. The turnover reached by supermarkets increased steadily over the three years and was ? 80m in 2002. The turnover of department stores was? 50m in 2000 but fell to ? 35m in 2001. In 2002 it remained steady to the previous year.After a loss in 2001, the small shops-outlets reached again a higher level but could not reach the ? 30m turnover of 2000. Band 3 All the content points are included and, despite minor grammatical errors and several lexical errors, there is reasonable control overall. It is a well-organised answer with an adequate range of language and fits the descriptors for band 3. Sample B Below is a report on the changes in turnover for three kinds of retail outlet, owned by one company, over a three-year period. The ove rall highest turnover of eighty million pounds was obtained by supermarkets in 2002.On the other hand, the smallest turnover was made in small shops in 2001. Over the year 2000, a turnover of fifty million pounds was reached in department stores, whereas it then plumetted to about thirty-five million pounds in 2001 and maintained this position throughout 2002. The supermarkets turnover rose steadily from 2000, reaching its peak in 2002 with eighty million pounds. Clearly, small shops had the smallest turnover altogether. Thirty million pounds in 2000, a noticeable drop to twenty million in 2001 and a slight increase of five million in 2002.In conclusion, the highest results were achieved by supermarkets, followed by department stores and then small shops. Band 4 This answer shows an accurate and natural use of language with a good range of structures and vocabulary. The slightly awkward organisation and the minor omission of a starting point for supermarkets prevent it from being a band 5. Question 2 Sample C Ways of break into a new market. The aim of this report is to present some ideas of the actions to be taken in order to succed penetrating the new overseas market.First of all, it is fundamental hiring a well- known Marketing Research company in order to get all the information about the market of sport goods in that place. After that we need to know own competitors their strenghth and weaknesses, in that way we can find our posibilities and opportunities against them. The company have to build an diferencial advantage. Another important issued is our target customers, people interested in sports and health and also the kind of sports that it can be done in that place, it is vital information that the company need to know before go to the new market.For our brand, we need to be agressive in our publicity campaign, by TV, making promotions and offering discounts in first purchase. In conclusion, the company need to have the certainty that there are opportu nities in that market and then gain all the weapons to have a good performance with caracteristics differents from the competitors and good publicity. In short time become market lider in sports good. Band 2 This answer contains some irrelevance as the candidate has written a proposal rather than a report. This, combined with the number of errors, results in a band 2. Sample D Report concerning a new overseas market IntroductionThis report sums up the results of my investigation in overseas markets, according to what was demanded by the Marketing Director. Findings Staying a few weeks in this part of the World allowed me to collect precious information about the market, buying habits, competitors, and to gather complete figures and statistics. I could carry out a market research interviewing potentials consumers on the street or even in sports shop. Then I had the opportunity to test local competitors' products and to visit production premises. Furthermore, I analysed the data and f ound out two mains competitors, X and Y, who both shares half of the total market.The others competitors are small companies representing few percentage of global sales. Finally, teenagers are the biggest consumers. In fact, 30% of them buy regularly sports articles, while adults declare only buying once a year. Therefore, the main target profile would be a 15-year-old to 25-year-old male. Conclusions In my opinion, this market would be a great change for the development of the company and I then recommand breaking into it. Recommandations I suggest carrying out an advertisement campaign in order to make them know their is a new competitor.Then consumers are attracted by sales promotion like price reductions and I propose launching our products this way. Last but not least, we could starting offering three products to the price of two. Band 3 This is a generally well-organised answer with good use of cohesive devices. The candidate uses an adequate range of structure and vocabulary with a number of minor, mainly non-impeding, errors. Question 3 Sample E Dear Mr Smith, I am writing to express my concern about your poor delivery service. First and foremost, not only arrive the orders late, but they are also damage.Secondly, when we telephone your office to resolt the issues, the dutty person is always busy on the phone. Although his secretary takes our mesages and tells us that he is calling back, we never recieve his call. Finally, it is not surpriced to have problems with your invoices (suplements and extra-services which are inclueded in our contract with your company). Because of this, I have extra-cost in telephone calls and paper work. I will be grateful, if you do delivery the orders on time and in perfect conditions. Moreover, I will be easy to contact to you, if you do have more staff. And finally, it is important to issue correct invoices.As a result of your poor service, I think it is only fair, if your company starts to improve. If I do not see any i mprovements, I will be forced using another suplieyer. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Yours sincerely, Amparo de la Iglesia Band 2 All the content points are included and the answer is clearly organised with a good opening and closing. However, the number of basic errors means this is a band 2 rather than a band 3. Sample F Dear Mr Smith, We have been using your company for a number of years, however, recently we have experienced some problems with the quality of products and delays in delivery.As our customers have been devoutedly visiting our shop for years purchasing the best quality products, we feel obliged to make some remarks. Not only have we notice that the date for which dairy products should be consumed was extended but also in some yogurts we found that the labels describing the content were misleading. A cherry yogurt turned out to be a strawbery one. Furthermore, bottles of milk were not sealed properly which resulted in leaking and making the milk go off qui cker. On top of everything, there have been delays in delivery if not a non-delivery that occured already a few times.We trust you will give this matter your immediate attention and that everything will get back to normal, as we would still like to use your service. We hope it is just a temporary disposition. Sadly, however, we have to state clearly, that if no improvement will be made both with the quality of items and delivery we will have to change the supplier, for our customer sake and our reputation. Yours sincerely, Aneta Mroczek Band 4 This is an ambitious attempt at the task, showing fairly natural use of language, despite a number of non-impeding errors. It is well organised and cohesive. Question 4 Sample GI have carried out a research about company's internal communications and show you our study methods and our findings. METHODS 1. We designed a paper to cover all kinds of questions which may show company's internal communications. Then we selected a team in charge of t he whole process of implemetion the survey. 2. We chosed some people random who come from different departments to have a panel to express themselves freely regarding the topic. Then, we had a good record and notes of that. And some of them provide some useful suggestions. On the whole, the methods we conducted the program are scientific and effective.FINDINGS 1. Most of staff think we should improve company's communications. 2. The causes of preventing internal communications are as followed below: 1. Different departments seldom exchange informations about what they are doing now and what are their newly outcome and something like that. 2. Different team rarely cc e-mail to other relative team of other staff to share their informations. 3. The time to express oneself is too limited and everyone is just oriented to their own job itself and seldom share resources. 4. The activities which are attended by different departments or different teams are not common.PROPOSALS To respond the above problems and findings, I will propose as below. 1. To CC e-mail each other in the internal company which include not only in the department but among departments. 2. To exchange information among different departments and different teams oftenly. In order to achieve this goal, we can organize different activities to creat a atmosphere for them. Such as a panel, a training class, a outdoor travel and so on. 3. To open a company know-how discussion or training routinely to let every staff have a strategic idea and a long-term eyesight. Band 1There is considerable irrelevance in this answer and a serious lack of control. An appropriate format is used, but the lack of cohesion and non sequiturs (e. g. in ‘Finding' number 3) result in a very negative effect on the reader. Sample H Making communication better We have 10 people working in our admin department. All kind of communication between each other is very important and it needs to be quick and affective. At the moment w e do send Emails for sharing happening in every day basis. We also have a weekly meeting where some of us get together and look over the subjects from previous week and also make plans for the up coming ones.There is also someone there to make notes which will be typed over to correct minutes and sent to everybody who attended the meeting. My concern is that on those meetings we don't have the whole admin team present and therefore many times we have talked on the behalf of the ones who are not attending. This kind of communication might bring miscommunication to place. To resolve this matter I think that we should have everybody on that weekly meeting to get correct information from the right people. At least it is worth to have a go. Best regards, Kaie Sirak Band 2 This answer contains frequent errors, which sometimes obscure communication.The content points are all covered but not dealt with in depth. The end is particularly weak, leaving a negative impression on the reader. Over all, it fits more of the descriptors for band 2 than 3. Test 1 Listening Part 1 1 ACCESSORIES 2 MAIL(-)ORDER 3 TURNOVER 4 (A/ANY) STRUCTURE 5 CASH FLOW 6 (PROFIT) MARGINS 7 SMALL BUSINESSES/SMALL COMPANIES/SMALL FIRMS 8 INVESTMENT(S)(PLANS) 9 STRATEGIC (TARGETS)/ STRATEGY/STRATEGIES 10 OBJECTIVITY 11 BUYING BEHAVIO(U)R(S) 12 TRAINING Part 2 13. G 14. B 15. D 16. C 17. F 18. E 19. H 20. A 21. B 22. F Part 3 23. C 24. C 25. A 26. B 27. B 28.C 29. A 30. A Tapescript Listening Test 1 This is the Business English Certificate Higher 3, Listening Test 1. Part One. Questions 1 to 12. You will hear the founder of a company called Manshee talking to business students about its development. As you listen, for questions I to 12, complete the notes, using up to three words or a number. After you have listened once, replay the recording. You now have forty-five seconds to read through the notes.. [pause] Now listen, and complete the notes. [pause] Man: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I'm hono ured to have this opportunity to talk to you.Eight years ago, I bought my first computer, but I soon discovered that where I lived, it was difficult to find accessories for that particular make. That made me realise that other people must have the same problem. Then I found that foreign magazines contained plenty of advertisements of mail order companies, so I started buying spare parts and things that way and selling them on to my friends at a small profit. That was how my company, Manshee, was born. Four years later, Manshee was making a profit and had reached a turnover of six million pounds. We had four directors – myself and three of my friends – plus a staff of seventeen.The culture was young and the working environment didn't have any structure. The company just grew and grew with its own momentum, and everything we did seemed to strike lucky. If we needed to buy some equipment or redecorate the sales office, we decided yes or no in isolation, only taking the sh ort term – usually the cash flow for that month – into account. However, the market became increasingly cut throat, and that led to falling margins. We realised, rather unwillingly, that the time had come to structure our future, but we didn't really have much idea how to set about it.So we went to a firm of consultants who specialise in helping small businesses, and it proved a turning point. They insisted that we four directors sit down and rank our investments in order of importance for the coming years. It seems obvious now, but we'd never realised the value of doing it before. Initially, we set out strategic and financial targets for the next three years, and now we're pleased with just how many of those objectives we've met. The value of bringing in outside expertise was that it gave us objectivity. It's so easy to take things for granted, and to go on in the same mindset.Using consultants meant we received invaluable advice on our business priorities. Planning h as allowed us to make notable improvements. For instance, by segmenting our customer base, we realised that we could put our customers, currently in excess of a thousand, into four distinct groups, according to their buying behaviour. That made us realise we could increase sales if we allocated different people to deal with each group. So we set up four specialist divisions, and the most successful one has increased its sales by over twenty per cent, and that's the division involved with the training sector.We're signing off the next plan for growth. People are sometimes concerned that planning leads to rigidity, but we certainly don't find that it stops us from being as flexible as we need to be. Thank you. [pause] Now listen to the recording again. [pause] That is the end of Part One. You now have twenty seconds to check your answers. [pause] Part Two. Questions 13 to 22. You will hear five different people talking about problems, and responses to them in the companies where they work. For each extract there are two tasks. Look at Task One. For each question 13-17, decide which problem each speaker mentions, from the list A-H.Now look at Task Two. For each question 18-22, decide which response the company made to the problem, from the list A-H. After you have listened once, replay the recording. You now have thirty seconds to read the two lists. [pause] Now listen, and do the two tasks. [pause] Speaker One Woman: Well, now it's all over, I can only hope we've learnt the right lessons from the experience. Although the consultants at the time urged caution, the board were sure of the plan – after all, it was the sort of thing they'd pulled off before – and ploughed ahead with the launch of the new division.But the board wouldn't accept that the predicted boom in these new overseas markets was bound to be unstable because of likely fluctuations in currency rates and share prices, and that's where it all came unstuck. They reacted sensibly, though, and now we have established a good joint venture there, which is a better bet than going it alone, or slashing costs all over the place and laying people off in a panic. [pause] Speaker Two Man: In the end, you'd have to say we had a lucky escape – I mean, it could have been a lot worse. It's very difficult to know where your brand is really positioned.. we've always accepted that our research almost inevitably will be running a bit behind. Consumer tastes change so quickly these days, and that's where we suffered, and lost market share. The directors, once it was clear what was happening, attacked the problem and looked at various options. They could have looked to generate revenues with a share issue, but I think they were right to go for clipping back by reducing expenditure wherever possible – you're better placed to re- group with a tight ship. The plans to develop higher quality products for the future look pretty plausible now. [pause]Speaker Three Woman: Well, I now know to take all this talk about the importance of communication skills seriously†¦ I used to think it was all rather woolly, but when you've seen the damage misunderstandings can do†¦ I suppose the board was a grouping of people with such strong backgrounds individually that each of them expected to be top dog, and that it was perhaps inevitable that they'd clash over what direction the company should go in. Anyhow, it looked very grim for a while but, in the end, two of them took the pretty sizeable payoffs they were offered and moved on. From our point of view, at east it saved us from the prospect of the group being split up and the shares sold off. [pause] Speaker Four Man: We were all extremely glad to see the back of that particular episode in the company's history. I know there's quite a trend to constantly reviewing your sourcing in the search for cost savings, but it was crazy to move over to such an untried firm. The trouble was we were getting nearly all our parts from them, so everything was leaving the factory here with faulty components, with appalling results. We should have listened to the consultants, but on this one we thought we knew better.It got so bad that predatory offers were being made for the division, and we had to think hard about how to save the brand's reputation. Raising fresh capital through new shares was the right way to go and enabled us to cover the losses we made in sales. [pause] Speaker Five Woman: I sometimes really do think that the people who know least about a company are the people who run it†¦ that's why there's such an industry in advising on and supplying the skills for managing change. We went along assuming that we were selling well because of what we saw as our core qualities – but we were wrong.It was just that we happened to have got our pricing right, so when we changed that, it all started falling apart. Things got decidedly grim for a time, and drastic action was required. A m erger was considered, and an aggressive takeover had to be fought off. In the end, it was easier to accept an offer for the Budget Products Division, and avoid major redundancies, than to go on trying to keep the whole thing afloat. [pause] Now listen to the recording again. [pause] That is the end of Part Two. [pause] Part Three. Questions 23 to 30. You will hear a discussion between two senior managers, John and Deborah, bout an assistant manager, Colin, who has applied for a new post. For each question 23-30, mark one letter (A, B or C) for the correct answer. After you have listened once, replay the recording. You have forty-five seconds to read through the questions. [pause] Now listen, and mark A, B or C. [pause] Man: Well, Deborah, we need to think about the candidates who've put in applications for the post of area manager. Woman: Yes, John, it's an exciting new role, and it fits in with the strategy development plan. Man: Quite. It's part of a logical progression in our app roach to management, carefully consolidating our skills base.It should mean a new chain of command, but based on tried and tested methods.. , we'll be stronger as a result. Woman: Well that's the idea. Now, the first one that's come in is from Colin†¦ Man: The assistant manager for the south-east? Woman: Yes. Colin's clearly keen†¦ Man: But of course, it's an attractive proposition. Woman: And I think that's what's drawn him. He's said his current post is demanding – as well he might – but that he's keen to position himself in the spotlight here. Reading between the lines, I think the alternative, as he sees it, is to move sideways to IT, which is where his background is.It would be a shame to lose someone like him †¦ he's hungry. Man: Yes, it's a genuine application. He's a serious contender. I was struck recently†¦ I think it was last month.. , by his problem- solving abilities. He was passed a complaint – it wasn't really his problem at al l – but he took it up anyway, about some faulty goods we'd supplied, apparently. I think he saw it as an efficiency issue, and so relevant to any responsible person here. And he reacted really well, so that the customer went away happy after all. Woman: Right, and that suggests the qualities that are most germane to the job.Ultimately, I suppose, we're looking for a level of adaptability that it's fair to say someone in his position may not have had the chance to really demonstrate yet.. , but his familiarity with the goods we produce is second-to-none, so I think the signs are there that he may become an astute analyst and problem-solver. Man: That's certainly encouraging. And it's not just in the office that he's been looking good. I sent him abroad as part of that group a few weeks ago. The basic brief was to secure a continuation of the Asian contract. To be honest, that was a bit of a given, and what I was really hoping for was something extra.And sure enough, he clearly really worked on all our contacts out there, and he came back with some great new insights into how we might be able to develop bulk sales directly through warehouses, rather than through the standard agency channels. Woman: Oh right, interesting – I missed the debrief on that one. But I do know he went on a training course not so long ago, and clearly reaped the benefits there. The content was mundane enough – ‘how to produce effective reports' or some such – but he identified the points that really mattered, and saw that what it actually addressed was how to order the most pertinent facts for delivery to a team.Man: So, it's good news all round? Woman: Let's look at what his reference has to say. He does have shortcomings, of course. His confidence is very strong, almost to a fault, you might say, which could lead to difficulties on the patience front.. , just because he gets the point quickly doesn't mean he's entitled to think everyone else does, that they share the same conclusions.. , others may be behind in terms of objectivity, still grappling with issues that impact personally on themselves. Man: Hmm, that'd certainly be something to watch, I guess.Still, we're not looking for perfection, are we? And we're not going to be setting up a lone operator. Woman: Oh, far from it. Whoever gets the job will be well backed up. I was talking to the consultants the other day, and they were quite critical of our reliance on checking performance through the one-to-one appraisal system, so it's been decided that this new post will be linked into the cross-departmental advisory group that was set up a few months ago, and benefit from dealing with them and getting their input.That should help quite a bit. Man: That makes a lot of sense. Well, let's talk about some of the other candidates†¦ [pause] Now listen to the recording again. [pause] That is the end of Part Three. You now have ten minutes to transfer your answers to your Answer S heet. [pause] Note: Teacher, stop the recording here and time ten minutes. Remind students when there is one minute . remaining. That is the end of the test.