Homework Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Homework - Research Paper Example The system also helps in management of such factors as differences in exchange rates, language, and culture and therefore promises and enhances capacity in the global set up. The organization also needs ERP system to improve its management initiatives from monitoring processes to control potentials over its processes. The system can also save the organization from efforts and resources for ordinary management of data (Monk and Wagner 2012, p. 36). ERP benefits Bag Co. by ensuring efficiency in data management. The system detects and eliminates duplication of data, a factor that ensures accuracy in data for informed decisions I data application. The organization has also attained a significant level of efficiency from the system’s application because its processes are faster, more accurate and cost effective (Hossain, Patrick, Rashid and Rashid 2002, p. 45). ERP also benefits the organization through integration of factors to the organization’s benefits for eliminated barriers (Monk and Wagner 2012, p. 36). Enterprise Resource Planning has the advantage of facilitated independence across an organization’s department because it avails information from different departments at a centralized place. This has secondary advantages of faster processes that ensure efficient service delivery to customers. The system also offers a competitive advantage over other organization through established efficiency and is an avenue to success in the global environment. The system is however expensive in terms of time and financial resources. The system is also prone information breach and may lead to information loss to competitors (Sudalaimuthu and Raj 2009, p. 364). Integrating SCM and CRM with ERP has the value of improving an organization’s competitive advantage. This is because the integration improves effectiveness of each of the systems and combines the system’s objectives that add different values to an

External Forces that have brought Cross boarder restructuring in the Essay

External Forces that have brought Cross boarder restructuring in the airline industry - Essay Example The cause of this crisis was the increase in the fuel prices as in the worse economic fiasco faced by many nations across the globe. This led to the falling down in demand of fuel in USA and Britain. Breaking out of Gulf War saw many airlines shutting their business down, among these were the Eastern Airlines -US, British airline Air Europe, Pan American and a few smaller airlines like Midway-US and TEA in Belgium. The end of Gulf War was not any better for any of these airlines. From the worlds top-20 airlines only British Airways, Cathay, SIA (Singapore Airlines) and Swissair made a net surplus in each of the three years 1991-1993. The worst hit was the North-American airlines; on the contrary many Asian airlines functioned beneficially. Many airlines needed huge capitals to survive in those years among them was Air France. The member states of the European Union received US $ 10.4 billion in state aid in the year 1995. This was government support offered following authorization by the European Commission. In 1997, Alitalia was given $ 1.7 billion of state aid. Several Airlines received government funds about $ 1.3 billion that were not classified as state support. Subsequently, in 1994 and the years to follow, with financial prudence a number of airlines returned to stipulate development and gain profits. Generally, this was the time when a boom occurred in the airline business. In addition, 1998 was the most lucrative year ever. (Doganis, 2001) By and large, joblessness in the New York state remains towering, at 7.4 percent, and current statistics illustrate that more or less 40 percent of those laid off subsequent to 9/11 are still jobless. Even though billions of dollars in centralized support have been billed to help the airlines affected by the rebellious assault, removed airline employees have by and large been unsuccessful to profit up

Strategies to Improve Recruitment Processes

Strategies to Improve Recruitment Processes Report 1 An interview is an organised formal meeting of an interviewer (representative of the employer) and interviewee (job applicant) used to evaluate a potential employee for the purpose of employment at an organisation. Interviews are one of the most common recruitment and selection processes. Job interviews typically precede a hiring decision and often form part of the assessment centre process. Interviews can be conducted in several ways such as Face-to-Face interviews, telephonic interviews and interviews over the internet. Most job interviews last for about one hour, although telephone interviews and technical interviews are usually shorter. Even though interviews are the most widely used employment technique, research has not been able to show that it has high predictive validity. An interview does not accurately assess the candidate’s ability at work, relevant experience and work skills. A further problem with interviews is that factors that are not related to the job influence the employment decision: clothing, colour, ethnic origin, gender, accent, physical features or a disability might be such factors. There is also evidence that interviewers make decisions very rapidly on little information and hence interviews are exposed to interviewer bias and failure of human judgement. This low validity of interviews is compounded by evidence of poor interviewer reliability leading to a lot of complexity in the selection process. There are potential pitfalls in using interviews as a selection process and it is advisable to choose supplementary techniques. Therefore, being the Head of Personnel Management at Recovery Insurance Group, I would like to introduce supplementary techniques in order to increase the efficiency of recruitment and selection in the organisation. It is possible to complement information gained from interviews by different supplementary techniques and integrate additional measures into the selection and decision making process. These techniques can aid objective assessments of a candidate’s ability. However, the use of such techniques requires a high degree of skill and training and their use should be carefully monitored and controlled to ensure they are free of bias and that they do not inadvertently discriminate against disadvantaged groups. For example, special facilities may be required when testing disabled candidates. Following are the supplementary techniques to improve the effectiveness of recruitment and selection process: Tests The use of assessment processes based upon tests and questionnaires is expanding. It reduces the risks of hiring and developing people who turn out to be unsuitable. The financial costs attached to wrong decisions on employment can be considerable. Tests can be a very useful tool in the recruitment and selection process as it can actually replicate certain parts of the job. Whereas, an interview can only indicate that the applicant has the ability to do the job. Certain types of common tests used in recruitment and selection are Psychological tests, Aptitude tests, Personality tests, Intelligence tests, Ability tests, Work sample, etc. A test requires the candidates to do something which will be done in the job and hence increases face validity, making it more acceptable by the candidates. Therefore, tests can be used in interviews as the basis for further investigation and questioning about an applicant’s abilities. Group Exercises Most jobs involve working with others and so the selection process should involve an element of group work. A group exercise is an assessed discussion exercise that involves a small group of candidates (usually 8-10 people), following a question posed by a member of a company’s recruitment team. Group exercises allow plentiful possibilities for active working and interactions within the candidates. Interaction allows different experiences to be exchanged and applied to the subject. The candidates can be asked to complete a practical task or take part in a discussion and their ability to interact with people can be assessed. Group exercises help the recruitment team to identify leadership skills, responsibility, team working skills and a shared group dynamic. It supports role play and provides candidates with social feedback. Job Simulation This method involves the construction and application of a procedure or task that simulates or models the work involved in the company. The simulation is designed to represent, as closely as possible, the actual job situation. Candidates try out their performance in the simulated activity and have it evaluated based on how much a task is accomplished. The candidates are provided certain objectives, play the game, and have their output monitored. Their performance can be documented and measured and the candidates with highest performance are generally short listed. Job simulation is a very important supplementary technique for selection and recruitment of complex job profiles. Report 2 Organisations use a variety of recruitment sources to attract applicants like direct applications, employee referrals, newspaper advertising, employment agencies, and executive search firms. Recruiting the right person to the right position is of crucial importance to the performance of every company. At the same time recruitments are expensive, difficult and time-consuming. Web based recruitment tools can be used to publish job postings, administrate applications, including spontaneous applications, and build up a CV Database. This recruitment strategy includes identification of the right channels with a campaign that effectively summarizes the job requirements, company and community. A simple job posting in a publication or online career centre is no longer enough – the employer also needs to market itself as a place the candidate would want to work and its community as a place the candidate would want to live. Companies often adopt online systems because they believe e-recruiting is more likely than traditional recruitment sources to uncover individuals with unique talents and skills. The logic here is that online recruiting systems permit firms to cast a wide net across a broad labour market and, therefore, may be more likely to reach high quality applicants than other sources. I would recommend the line managers of Recovery Insurance Group to opt for this system of e-recruitment as it is clear that job applicants are using online systems to search for jobs and gather information employment opportunities in organisations. Furthermore, e-recruiting may be particularly effective as we are searching for personnel assistant proficient with computer systems. Also, online systems can be used to attract passive job seekers who are currently employed, but are secretly searching for new and better employment opportunities. There has been increased volume of online applications because individuals often spend more time searching for jobs online as the process is simpler and faster than traditional systems. However, increasing the volume of applicants may also lead to increase in administrative burden in an organisation and increase overall transaction costs over time. Furthermore, some analysts have argued that online systems allow employers to tailor their recruitment to specific labour markets through the use of specialised websites and job boards that target applicants with distinctive skills and backgrounds. Some candidates may be more receptive to e-recruiting and more likely to use the system than others. This is because candidates need to have an access to computers and have the skills needed to use the technology. As a result, online recruiting systems generally attract candidates who are well educated, have the ability to navigate the internet and are searching for relatively high level jobs. Online recruitment attracts individuals with higher achievement, drive, and persistence levels than traditional recruitment sources. Effectiveness of Online Recruitment Organisations use online recruitment systems for multiple purposes, including attracting candidates, communicating benefits about the organisation, and assessing applicants’ knowledge, skills, abilities and other personality requirements. Some companies now use software to scan applicants CVs for keywords and provide them immediate feedback whether they are qualified for the job. Other organisations use online aptitude tests, personality inventories or simulations to assess candidates’ critical thinking and decisions making skills. Many firms conduct online interviews or allow candidates to submit video clips as part of their application process. The online recruitment system allows a large number of applicants to be screened quickly and efficiently. The growing use of these systems justify that the online assessment techniques may be much more objective and, therefore, less biased by non job related factors like age, race, gender, etc. Online recruitment systems also allow companies to provide applicants with unique information about their company and give them a more realistic idea of what it is like to work for that organisation. Some organisations allow candidates to observe the firm’s activities through virtual systems, and others use highly creative means of providing applicants with realistic job previews. Applicants can collect more realistic information from the websites rather than traditional sources because websites allow flexibility in gathering data that were relevant to them. They choose jobs and organisations that fit with their personal values, beliefs and attitudes. As a result, many organisations emphasize information about their strategic goals and culture so that applicants can make informed decisions about whether they will be satisfied with the organisation. Another potential benefit of online recruitment systems is that websites can easily be used to communicate vacancy characteristics like pay, benefits, perquisites, and advantages of working with the company. Report 4 There has been a tremendous increase in the use of telephone interviewing for recruitment and selection. Many organisations conduct telephone interviews in the early stages of the recruiting and selection process because it can be a cost and time efficient way to short list candidates. This method of interviewing also offers valuable insight for positions that require phone communication skills. Recruitment teams generally conduct face to face interviews before making a final hiring decision, but telephone interviews can help them select the best candidates to meet. Telephone interviews can be used to screen out unsuitable applicants or as an integral part of the selection process. Telephone Interview for Screening: Short, rigidly structured interviews based on criteria. A competency-based screening interview, where candidates are asked a number of multiple choice questions to gauge suitability for the job role. Telephone Interview for Selection: A structured telephone role play when roles require advanced telephone communication skills. A sales telephone interview when a candidate is asked to sell something to the interviewer over the phone. An in depth semi-structured for senior or managerial positions where it is more difficult to capture experience and skills on paper. An alternative to face to face interviews for people who are based overseas or unavailable for long periods of time. Pros of Telephone Interviewing Can be quicker to arrange and conduct than other conventional methods. Can be cost effective as an initial screen. Can maintain a degree of confidentiality of post as these details will only be provided once the initial screening is completed. Acts as an ideal way to assess the candidate’s telephone manners. There are fewer interpersonal distractions. They provide little or no opportunity to discriminate on the grounds of race, disability, age or other non job related factors. Cons of Telephone Interviewing Candidates may be unfamiliar with the format or uncomfortable using the telephone, which could make them nervous and/or provoke uncharacteristic responses. It is difficult to make a thorough assessment of a candidate over the telephone. Non-verbal behaviour or body language, both of which are important in forming an opinion of people, cannot be gauged over the telephone. Telephone interview candidates learn less about your business than those who visit your premises and meet potential colleagues in person. The on-site experience helps candidates decide whether they wish to pursue the interviewing process. It is important to remember that the recruitment process works both ways, providing an opportunity for candidates to assess your business as it allows you to assess them. Considering the pros and cons of telephone interviewing, I will not recommend Recovery Group to reply on this method as a selection tool for recruiting a Personnel Assistant. The skills and attributes expected from the potential employee cannot be effectively assessed over the telephone. Therefore, it is advisable to conduct a traditional face to face interview supplemented by other selection tools for the recruitment of an ideal candidate. http://www.nuigalway.ie http://www.bnet.com http://www.businessballs.com

Analysis of The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros Essay

After having read the novel â€Å"The House on Mango Street† by Sandra Cisneros I will now concentrate on the background of the novel that moved Sandra Cisneros to write it by investigating the novel with special regard to its different dimensions. 1. The Novel 1.1 Summary The novel â€Å"The House on Mango Street† is written by Sandra Cineros. It deals with family, neighbourhood and dreams of a young Mexican girl, Esperanza Cordero growing up in Chicago. The novel begins when the Corderos move into a new house on Mango Street in the Latino section of Chicago. The fact that it is the first house they have ever owned, make them proud. But when Esperanza sees it, she is disappointed by the red, dilapidated house. It is not the one their parents told them nor Esperanza dreamt of. Esperanza is not just dissatisfied with her home, but she is also ashamed of her appearance and of her name, which is always mispronunced, and sounds if the syllables were made of tin and if they were a punishment for the ears. Esperanza was named after her great-grandmother, who was forced to marry and sentenced to a life full of sadness. But Esperanza swears that she will not have the same destiny like her great-grandmother. Esperanza longs for a name that fits to her, that expresses her identity: â€Å"Zeze the X† (Cisneros, p.11). In time, she notices how joyful and harsh reality can be in life. Her first friendship is just a brief one because Cathy’s familiy soon moves away because of the neighbourhood, that becomes more inhabited by lower-class, people like Esperanza’s family. By contributing five dollars for a bike, Esperanza is included in the circle of friends of two younger sisters. By Lucy and Rachel, Esperanza is introduced in the wonders of growing up by talking about clouds, hips and parading around Mango Street in high-heeled shoes. By the older kids, Esperanza can observe the hardships young people are confronted with in rough neighbourhoods: Louie’s car theft, the death of a boy by an accident Marin gets to know, and Marin’s desperate attempt to find a husband she can escape from this place. All these things open Esperanza’s eyes and show her the limited chances which are offered and she had in such a neighbourhood. Alicia, on the other hand, is an exemple for the less who leave nothing to his fate, but take the initiative. Despite her father’s view, she goes... ...v. ed., 1970) Keller, Jà ¼rg P., The American Dream Gone Astray. (Berne: Peter Lang, European Academic Publishers, 1995) Savin, Ada, â€Å"Mexican-American Literature† in: New Immigrant Literatures in the United States. (London: Alpana Sharma Knippling, 1996) Simone, Roberta, The Immigrant Esperience in American Fiction. (Boston: Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1995) Web sources: http://www2.cwrl.utexas.edu/sheila/314s96/students/mitch/mach.htm, 2000, 19.Mar.2001 http://twu.edu/www/twu/library/zumwalt.html, Mar. 2001, 24.Feb.2001 http://voices.cla.umn.edu/authors/SandraCisneros.html, Mar. 2001, 24.Feb.2001-03-22 http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/4/0,5716,121244+1+111233,00.html, 27.Feb.2001 http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/0/0,5716,115530+1+108719,00.html, 03.Mar.2001 http://www.dictionary.com/cgi-bin/dict.pl?term=home, Jan.1998, 17.Mar.2001 http://www.dictionary.com/cgi-bin/dict.pl?term=machismo, Jan.1998, 19.Mar.2001 http://www.hausaufgabe.de/cgi-bin/data/fetch.pl?id=1469&ids=1469+1188, Nov.2000, 03.Mar.2001 http://www.nclr.org/about/nclrfaq.html, 1999, 03.Mar.2001 http://www.students.depaul.edu/~mrodrig/history.html, 09.Mar.2001

Furniture: Marketing and Consumers

Question 2: Using a multistage CDP model, describe how consumers in this market segment( Gen Y and young professionals) typically make furniture purchase decisions. In this case, it mentions 4 stages which include need recognition, search process, pre-purchase evaluation, and purchase. Need recognition occurs when consumers really need more furniture commonly. Actually, many situations will cause their needs. For instance, replacing their furniture, having more money, get ting married and so on.After they decide to buy new furniture, if the need of new furniture is not very urgent, they intend to do external research to make sure. However, in many cases, they will be influenced by sales promotion and previous experience. Advice from friends and family will be a reference. Advertising, compared with that, is the most untrustworthy. They will go to real shops to see what they liked online and feel the comfort and workmanship in person. If they like a brand, they will find relevant prod ucts from that brand or another brand with similar styles.After deciding which to buy, it comes to the purchase process. Most of consumers had used financing in the past, but now they prefer to pay in cash. But for Gen Y and young professionals, they have lower income and cannot afford to pay cash. They desire to feel the perception, that they can enjoy a lifestyle that is above what they can afford by spreading the payments over a long period of time. Therefore, they would like to pay it with interests for six months. Question 3: How should Family Furniture respond to competitors?Over the years, Family Furniture has faced many big competitors. Some furniture store attract customers with â€Å"no, no, no† advertising, which means â€Å"no down payment, no interest and no payments until next year†. It was reported that an increasing number of Family Furniture’s customers went to other stores in other cities or nearby regions to buy furniture and some others were making their purchases through the Internet. This has put Family Furniture into a perplexing situation. In my view, Family Furniture should expand its target market to younger people, together with the old.The fact that the city has many young consumers, unemployment rate is low are an advantage for the company. That consumers here are mostly white-collar and well-educated workers with a high level of income tells us that they are totally be able to afford their purchases in Family Furniture. With a strong historical business, the company can promote big advertising campaigns to recall customer awareness, such as offering big sales on special occasions or sending magazines to their mail boxes every month to show new products with new promotional programs.These programs should always emphasize the familiarity of customers with Family Furniture over other competitors through a long period, well-known national brands and the quality of furniture. In addition, marketing techniques invol ving community involvement such as an official website or searching websites should also be improved, because they will catch customers’ attention and help them find information about the company and products much more easily. Question 4: What promotional strategy and media do you recommend for Family Furniture?Family Furniture is a business-to-consumer company but not a business-to-business one. They sell furniture directly to consumers. So I recommend this company to use a â€Å"pull strategy† which means spending on advertising, sales promotion and direct marketing to induce final consumers to buy their furniture. Advertising will help Family Furniture to present their promotion of ideas, goods, or services to compete with others, like Ikea. Direct marketing concentrates on individual consumers to both obtain immediate response and cultivate lasting customer relationships, such as the using of internet.According to the research on reasons of choosing a particular st ore, â€Å"previous experience† and â€Å"sale or promotion† account for 28 and 36 percentage respectively. It means these two reasons are the most important elements that make consumers choose a particular store. Family Furniture should choose both personal communication channels (two or more people communicate directly with each other) and non-personal communication channels (media that carry messages without personal contact for feedback) as their media to induce consumers to purchase.The last channel of personal communication is word-of-mouth influence. People may influenced by their neighbors, friends, family members and so forth. Print media, for instance, newspapers and magazines should be remained, because it works and has lasted for decades. As Cult Advertising said recently, nontraditional marketing techniques need to be involved. Young generations use computers more often than older people, they will pay attention to fresh and new things rather than printed brochures.Online media like company Web, e-mail should be used as well because most of their customers are older people, they should attract more young people. Then their consumers’ region will be broader. Using mass media often affect buyer behavior indirectly by causing more personal communication. If the products in Family Furniture are very good, consumers will spread this information by â€Å"word-of-mouth influence† channel.

Ray Bradbury’s “There Will Come Soft Rains” Analysis Essay

Many of Ray Bradbury’s novels tend to focus around the idea that humans downfall will be due to the increased attention to technology and machines are incapable of human emotion. Unlike most short stories, â€Å"There Will Come Soft Rains† does not have any human characters. It is just an automated house. The house performs a routine, similar to a human’s. It makes pancakes, cleans itself, reads poems in the study and more. But for whom? The family that used to live in the house, and the surrounding area, has been wiped out by a nuclear blast. The house does not realize and continues as if nothing is wrong. As the story draws to a close, a tree limb breaks through a window, beginning a chain reaction and starts a fire inside the house. The house desperately tries to save itself, but fails. Ray Bradbury’s â€Å"There Will Come Soft Rains† presents many themes, including that human values are becoming lost, arguing that people cannot control their out come; however, the greatest truth presented is that nature will live on without humans and humanity. Throughout the short story, the idea that human values are becoming lost is prominent. Human feelings, such as sorrow and joy, are only possessed by humans. At the beginning, the only surviving member of the family, the dog, walks into the house extremely sick with radiation poisoning. The dog has tracked in mud and the robotic mice that clean the house are not happy about it. Behind the dog â€Å"whirred angry mice, angry at having to pick up mud, angry at the inconvenience† (Bradbury 2). Instead of feeling sympathy and compassion for the dog, the robotic mice are â€Å"annoyed† at the mess he’s made. Say a human were in the house, they would find treatment for the dog or at least feel sympathy for the dog’s situation. However since the mice are robotic, they are incapable of feeling these emotions. They are simply â€Å"angry† at having to pick up the mess, and shortly after, the dogs corpse. In an essay by Jennifer Hicks, the author discusses the different images in â€Å"There Will Come Soft Rains† and their negative connections. In the story,  everything is computerized, including the kitchen appliances. She discusses a â€Å"stove that cooks by itself, a miracle we all might want, unfortunately creates ‘toast that was like stone’† (Hicks 236). The stove makes the majority of the food in the house for the family. But unfortunately, it lacks the ability to cook the toast to perfection; it is programmed to make it hard as a rock. People are able to cook their own toast to the way they want it. As the story draws to a close, a fire breaks loose in the house and burns everything in its path. The narrator describes the fire as â€Å"†¦crackl[ing] up the stairs† and â€Å"†¦feeding on Picasso’s and Matisse’s† (Bradbury 3). Picasso and Matisse have produced some of the most valued masterpieces that have ever b een created and the fire just burns them away. Machines and robots are not human and therefore cannot posses human qualities. Ray Bradbury suggests that when humans try to change nature, they will meet similar outcomes just like when they try to change their fate. While the house is going through its daily routine, the narrator stops to describe the setting. He describes the house standing â€Å"alone in a city of rubble and ash†¦[and the] one house left standing† (Bradbury 1). From the excerpt, it can be determined that a nuclear explosion has occurred and the entire city has been reduced to â€Å"rubble and ash†. The nuclear bomb was originally developed to protect the people of the United States. Bradbury is telling the readers that what humans create to â€Å"protect† themselves will ultimately bring their downfall. As the story progresses, the narrator describes the incinerator in the cellar. Bradbury compares the â€Å"sighing of an incinerator which sat like evil Baal in dark corner† (Bradbury 2). The incinerator in the cellar is compared to Baal, a false god created by humans. In this situation, Baal is a symbol for human’s creations and their stupidity. Therefore, he represents any other technology in the house. According to the Bible, anyone who worships a false god will be condemned to an eternity in Hell. Since the people in the house relied on technology for every aspect of their life, they were â€Å"worshipping† the technology and ultimately met their demise. Robert Peltier discusses the dangers of technology presented by Bradbury and how humans need to base their lives on arts and humanities rather than technology and objects humans create. Peltier states that â€Å"of  course, Bradbury is really asking us to make judgments about our own lives and the monsters we create to make our lives easier†¦and to make us feel safe in a world where we are destroying nature with our greed and arrogance† (Peltier 237). The â€Å"monsters† Peltier is referring to, are the machines humans use on a daily basis. These demons ultimately bring the downfall of the people, and very possibly the entire world. As humans try to change their existence in an attempt to make their lives longer or more prosperous, they inadvertently make their lives shorter. When humans attempt to play God and change their fate, sooner or later they will bring about their own demise. The most prominent theme throughout â€Å"There Will Come Soft Rains† is that nature will live on without humans. In the story, there are no humans and nature moves on as if they were never even there. In the middle of the story, the house reads a poem that speaks of nature and war. It reads, â€Å" And not one will know of the war, not one/Will care at last when it is done† (Bradbury 3). Similar to the story, a catastrophic disaster has struck and humanity has been wiped off the face of the Earth, but nature lives on and does not care that humans no longer exist. This is an example of irony because a similar tragedy has afflicted Allendale. Donna Haisty discusses the multiple themes presented in the short story. She discusses how Bradbury â€Å"illustrates humankind’s powerlessness in the face of natural forces† (Haisty 3). As the story draws to a close, a tree branch crashes through a window, spilling a bottle of cleaning solvent, which ignites a fire. The fire, being a force of nature, is unconquerable by the mechanized house, a human creation. The house symbolizes humans and their trifling creations while the fire symbolizes the unconquerable quality of nature. When the new day breaks, Bradbury describes it as Dawn showing â€Å"faintly in the east†¦even as the sun rose to shine upon the heaped rubble and steam† (Bradbury 4). After the fire completely destroys the house, the sun rises to a new day. A rising sun is archetypal for rebirth and in this situation; it is rebirth for the world after the attack. Instead of being a rainy and gloomy day, the morning is bright and joyful. Throughout the story, it is evident that humanity is not necessary for the world to exist. Through the duration of â€Å"There Will Come Soft Rains† the themes of human values being lost due to  humans trying to change their outcome and the idea that nature will live on without humans is very prominent. It must not be forgotten that hu man values can never be programmed into a machine; humans cannot change their outcomes, lest they should bring their doom nearer, and that nature has no regard for trivial things such as humans. Works Cited Bradbury, Ray. â€Å"There Will Come Soft Rains.† http://www.elizabethskadden.com/files/therewillcomesoftrainsbradbury.pdf. n.p. n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2014. Haisty, Donna B. â€Å"There Will Come Soft Rains.† Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition (2004): 1-3. Literary Reference Center. Web. 6. Apr. 2014. Hicks, Jennifer. â€Å"There Will Come Soft Rains.† Short Stories for Students. Ed. Kathleen Wilson. Detroit: Gale, 1997. 234-6. Print. Peltier, Robert. â€Å"There Will Come Soft Rains.† Short Stories For Students. Ed. Kathleen Wilson. Detroit: Gale, 1997. 236-8. Print.

Munich Conference essays

Munich Conference essays In 1938, a summit with Hitler, called the Munich Conference, took place. This meeting was in concerns with Germanys occupation in Czechoslovakia. The Western leaders agreed to divide Czechoslovakia with the promise that Hitler would take no more land. France and England were in hopes to conserve the peace in Europe. This act of appeasement did not work. Germany went to war with the rest of Europe in the next couple of years. The Democracies felt as if they had to fight back; and, thus, began the launch of World War II. Germany was essentially defeated. The term appeasement has been associated to the Munich Conference, and is defined as a pejorative term for a strategic maneuver, based on either pragmatism, fear of war, or moral conviction, that leads to acceptance of imposed conditions in preference to defending against aggressors. Furthermore, from this period of unfortunate concurrence rooted the description: Munich Syndrome. In the dusty beginnings of the Cold War, many American individuals felt as if giving into the Soviets would be a sign of weakness. These Americans wanted to resist with all, hard-driving attempt. However, the United States was apparently forced to compromise on some of the ideological policy objectives. The United States government grew increasingly worried of the expansionist actions of the Soviet Union, and its support for Communist revolutions in the third world and beyond. This atmosphere of conflict with the Soviets is what created those scenarios in which the United States had to compromise. For example, the support for certain dictatorships were often criticized to be in violation of Wilsons Fourteen Points. However, policy makers had to make justification with the response of this dictator being the only stable ruler of an unstable country. Furthermore, policy makers also noted that an alternative to this approach would lead ...

The Gulf Stream in the Atlantic Ocean Overview

The Gulf Stream in the Atlantic Ocean Overview The Gulf Stream is a strong, fast moving, warm ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico and flows into the Atlantic Ocean. It makes up a portion of the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre. The majority of the Gulf Stream is classified as a western boundary current. This means that it is a current with behavior determined by the presence of a coastline - in this case, the eastern United States and Canada - and is found on the western edge of an oceanic basin. Western boundary currents are normally very warm, deep, and narrow currents that carry water from the tropics to the poles. The Gulf Stream was first discovered in 1513 by the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon and was then used extensively by Spanish ships as they traveled from the Caribbean to Spain. In 1786, Benjamin Franklin mapped the current, further increasing its usage. Path of the Gulf Stream Because these areas are often very narrow, the current is able to compress and gather strength. As it does so, it begins circulating in the Gulf of Mexico’s warm waters. It is here that the Gulf Stream becomes officially visible on satellite images so it is said that the current originates in this area. Once it gains enough strength after circulating in the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf Stream then moves east, rejoins the Antilles Current, and exits the area through the Straits of Florida. Here, the Gulf Stream is a powerful underwater river that transports water at a rate of 30 million cubic meters per second (or 30 Sverdrups). It then flows parallel to the east coast of the United States and later flows into the open ocean near Cape Hatteras but continues moving north. While flowing in this deeper ocean water, the Gulf Stream is its most powerful (at about 150 Sverdrups), forms large meanders, and splits into several currents, the largest of which is the North Atlantic Current. The North Atlantic Current then flows further north and feeds the Norwegian Current and moves the relatively warm water along the west coast of Europe. The rest of the Gulf Stream flows into the Canary Current which moves along the eastern side of the Atlantic Ocean and back south to the equator. Causes of the Gulf Stream The northern branch of the Gulf Stream, the North Atlantic Current, is deeper and is caused by thermohaline circulation resulting from density differences in the water. Impacts of the Gulf Stream The greatest impact the Gulf Stream has on climate is found in Europe. Since it flows into the North Atlantic Current, it too is warmed (though at this latitude the sea surface temperatures are cooled considerably), and it is believed that it helps keep places like Ireland and England much warmer than they would otherwise be at such a high latitude. For example, the average low in London in December is 42Â °F (5Â °C) while in St. John’s, Newfoundland, the average is 27Â °F (-3Â °C). The Gulf Stream and its warm winds are also responsible for keeping northern Norway’s coast free of ice and snow. As well as keeping many places mild, the Gulf Stream’s warm sea surface temperatures also aid in the formation and strengthening of many of the hurricanes that move through the Gulf of Mexico. Additionally, the Gulf Stream is important to the distribution of wildlife in the Atlantic. The waters off of Nantucket, Massachusetts, for example, are incredibly biodiverse because the presence of the Gulf Stream makes it the northern limit for southern species varieties and the southern limit for northern species. The Future of the Gulf Stream There has been evidence that the Gulf Stream is weakening and slowing and there is growing concern about what impacts such a change would have on the world’s climate. Some reports suggest that without the Gulf Stream, temperatures in England and northwestern Europe could drop by 4-6Â °C. These are the most dramatic of the predictions for the future of the Gulf Stream but they, as well as today’s climate patterns surrounding the current, show its importance to life in many places around the world.

Causes of the Cuban Missile Crisis

Causes of the Cuban Missile Crisis Cuban Missile Crises Introduction Considered to be one of the most serious conflicts between the U.S and the Soviet Union during the Cold War, the Cuban missile crises brought the World a clash of democracy V.S communism with a deadly nuclear outcome. Known to the World as the Cuban Missile crises, to the Russians as the Caribbean Crises and to the Cubans and the October Crises it lasted sixteen days in October. The main characters involved were U.S President John F. Kennedy, Russian Premier Nikita Khrushchev and Cuban President Fidel Castro. The sixteen days in October 1962 was the closest time that a full out nuclear war was about to take place Background America USSR Free election No elections or fixed elections Democratic Autocratic / Dictatorship Capitalist Communist ‘Survival of the fittest’ Everybody helps everybody Richest world power Poor economic base Person al freedom Society controlled by the NKVD (secret police) Freedom of the media Total censorship The Cuban missile crises’ origins began at the end of the World War 2. After the war about to end the United States and the USSR started to disagree on the main ideas of how a post war Europe should look like. The American’s main aim of the war was to spread democracy and to spread their company’s economic opportunities into Europe. This was very different to what the USSR wanted, the USSR suffered a lot during the war, and they lost a lot of people and suffered a lot of economic and social problem directly resulting from the war, because of this the USSR main post war thoughts were to protect themselves from other wars that may happen and to spread communism across the globe.   These differences between the two countries were obviously great and were bound to cause tension and problems. Origins of Russian-American Tension Ideological: The United States and the Soviet Union represented two completely different forms of government. In the United States, the government is chosen by free elections. The people have the right to form political parties so that they can voice their political opinions. They also have the right of freedom of speech and freedom of the press. In the Soviet Union, the government is chosen by the Communist Party. The people do not have the right to form their own political parties; they do not enjoy the right freedom of speech and the freedom of the press. Since these two systems of government are completely different to one another, this is bound to cause friction between the United States and the Soviet Union. Economic: The United States wanted to encourage free trade throughout the world. The Soviet Union wanted to close off her itself from international trade. Russia was afraid that trade with the West would open up Russia to western influences which would have ruined the strength of the o ne-party communist regime. These differences led to much bad feeling between the United States and the Soviet Union. Power rivalry: After the Second World War, with the decline of Europe, power was shared between the Soviet Union and the United States. As one superpower wanted to dominate the other, conflicts were to be expected.

Feminism in Jurisprudence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Feminism in Jurisprudence - Essay Example However recent theories and critical legal studies have highlighted the patriarchal elements in jurisprudence – the law itself is male, because the separation of the State and the extent of legal relief is conditioned by the separateness of the individual, a principle which is flawed in the case of women who are connected human beings. Therefore the framework of law and jurisprudence must be modified to reflect a more multicultural, multiracial and multiethnic framework in order to incorporate more voices, so that the law can serve to effectively address the needs of individuals in accordance with the circumstances. The most influential feminists are MacKinnon and Gilligan, whose theories have largely shaped female attack on existing jurisprudence. Catherine McKinnon’s crusade began with pornography, which she sought to ban. What worked against her struggle to ban pornography however, was the existence of the First Amendment right to freedom of speech and expression. But MacKinnon appealed to the Zoning Commission in Minneapolis on the issue of pornography as follows: Catherine MacKinnon pressed for the curtailment of certain First Amendment rights through censorship, reflecting what has now become a widely debated feminist view of restriction of the rights to free speech and expression in such areas as pornography. In her view, presently it is certain powerful groups who are the only ones with the right to free speech and whose voices are heard, over and above the women and minority groups who have â€Å"been silenced by their powerlessness†2, therefore the role of Government and of jurisprudence cannot continue to be biased in favor of the powerful groups, rather the function of jurisprudence is to empower the minorities and the women. Thus, it may be seen that her views rise in opposition to the model of total

Outline, Thesis, and Introduction Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Outline, Thesis, and Introduction - Coursework Example Review of Literature – evaluates and summarizes relevant information from the identified secondary sources regarding legalization of marijuana in the United States. Findings – stipulates highlights of findings from secondary sources and from interviews Recommendations Conclusion References Introduction The use of marijuana as a medical tool has been subject to controversy with regards to the benefits and costs to the users and to society. Various researches have supported its use for medical purposes and interviews with patients have validated preferences to its use in contrast to the traditional medications. Contemporary statistics have revealed that there are currently 16 states plus Washington, DC that have enacted laws legalizing the use of marijuana for medical purposes, of which California, has been listed among its roster since 1996 (ProCon, 2011). The current research aims to proffer issues and concerns regarding the legalization of marijuana for medical purpose s.

Economic impact of health care reform Term Paper

Economic impact of health care reform - Term Paper Example ertaken major reforms in healthcare through the passing of bills such as the healthcare reform bill in the president Obama’s administration (Scarborough, 2010). However, such major steps can be argued as to have major positive and negative impacts on the economy at large especially due to the fact that this sector has been noted as to account for a the highest government expenditure as compared to other sectors. This essay is a critical evaluation of the economic impacts of the healthcare reform bill. The US has been classified as one of the developed countries in the world where health care contributes to a significant number of approximately 65% of all personal bankruptcy cases, which are reported (Scarborough, 2010). It is also known to spend much of its financial resources in providing healthcare for its citizens. However, reports show that the management of these resources has been slowed down in the past due to the lack of proper healthcare policies, which would ensure that every individual is covered by a medical insurance policy, in order to facilitate them with proper treatment in cases of sickness and accidents as well as lack of proper guidelines to control insurers from exploiting their clients. Due to this, insurance policy holders find themselves in situations whereby they are forced to dig deeper from their pockets so as to pay for the hospital bills after the insurers pay for small portions instead of clearing all the expenses incurred (Scarborough, 2010). This ha s resulted to people refraining from acquiring treatment due to lack of finances to take care of the expensive care provided to them. In fact, most of the people have accumulated a lot of debts and from research it is evident that the highest percentage in this group does not continue to seek further medical treatment out of fear that debts would increase. However, the coming of President Obama into power renewed hope and anticipation among the American communities due to his promise of

What Do ERP Systems mean Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

What Do ERP Systems mean - Research Paper Example From this paper it is clear that the above departmental processes are comprised of characteristics which have similarity and differences on various aspects. These characteristics are based upon the definition, order, customers, emdeddedness, cross-functionality and value-adding. In regards to the definition, the processes have well defined boundaries, inputs as well as outputs. Business processes operate on one or more functional units. The enterprise processes are either based internally or externally unlike the inter-enterprise process which is non-centralized. Next to ordering, the processes consist of ordered work activities based on their position in terms of time and space. In any process there must exist a recipient that receives the outcome of the process. Both enterprise and inter-enterprise process are not exceptional to this. They have targeted customers for whom they produce and deliver their products and services to. Another feature of these processes is embeddedness. Th is means that processes cannot survive alone and must be embedded to the structure of the organization/department. Further to cross-functionality, processes are expected to perform several functions. Finally, processes are characterized by transformations either upstream or downstream aimed at adding value to their products/services and their recipients at large. For the past 20 years, the detonation in the use of ERP systems across the world has proved a major factor in the advancement of business operations, services and the overall quality of products. This paper basically discusses how the ERP system operates, its elements and history. Customer intelligence identified as vital for it brings out the customers buying habits.  

Negotiating skills and strategies Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Negotiating skills and strategies - Term Paper Example It is argued that negotiation is unavoidable in life since we need something from others in our daily lives and an agreement based on common understanding can be reached through negotiation. Thus, negotiation broadly encompasses the process by which we arrange exchanges of things we want for the things we have. Negotiation can take place between different parties and this process is at times regarded as â€Å"a zero-sum transaction- what one gains, the other loses whereby their approach to the deal is to give less than they receive,† (Kennedy, 2004, p.13). More often than not, people negotiate because they value things differently. The monitory value is seen as very important when people engage in negotiation and these parties often prefer a win-win situation with the aim of reaching an acceptable agreement. However, it is argued that there are naturally gifted negotiators but when it comes to aspects concerning legal practitioners and mediators, it can be noted that negotiato rs are not naturally gifted and this can be observed from the difference between a ‘Master Negotiator’ and a ‘Novice Negotiator’(Noble, 2001). There are different styles of negotiation and there are also many factors that influence the success or failure of a negotiation process. From this assertion, this report seeks to discuss the factors that influence the negotiation process and measures that can be implemented in order to improve negotiation skills. The report will explain in detail the phases involved in the negotiation process through an analysis of the details of the interview that was conducted by the writer. 2.0 Summary of readings and the interview Negotiation is a process that can be divided into three phases namely: the pre bargain phase, bargain phase and the closure phase (Noble, 2001). This first phase is mainly concerned with gathering information that can be used in the negotiation process and is also concerned with establishing a rapport between the two parties involved. The goals and expectations of the negotiation process are set at this stage. Gathering information about the other partner is advantageous in that one will be better positioned to set realistic goals and plan according to the budget that might be available. The second phase in the negotiation process is concerned with the logistics involved and the tactics that can be used by the negotiator to reach a mutual agreement. Resolutions are made at this stage and the third stage is concerned with implementation of the agreement made. This phase also involves documentation of the contents of the agreement. Since this paper is based on negotiating skills and strategy, the writer chose to interview a manager at Kaiser Permanente who oversees many union employees out of interest emanating from

Economic impact of health care reform Term Paper

Economic impact of health care reform - Term Paper Example ertaken major reforms in healthcare through the passing of bills such as the healthcare reform bill in the president Obama’s administration (Scarborough, 2010). However, such major steps can be argued as to have major positive and negative impacts on the economy at large especially due to the fact that this sector has been noted as to account for a the highest government expenditure as compared to other sectors. This essay is a critical evaluation of the economic impacts of the healthcare reform bill. The US has been classified as one of the developed countries in the world where health care contributes to a significant number of approximately 65% of all personal bankruptcy cases, which are reported (Scarborough, 2010). It is also known to spend much of its financial resources in providing healthcare for its citizens. However, reports show that the management of these resources has been slowed down in the past due to the lack of proper healthcare policies, which would ensure that every individual is covered by a medical insurance policy, in order to facilitate them with proper treatment in cases of sickness and accidents as well as lack of proper guidelines to control insurers from exploiting their clients. Due to this, insurance policy holders find themselves in situations whereby they are forced to dig deeper from their pockets so as to pay for the hospital bills after the insurers pay for small portions instead of clearing all the expenses incurred (Scarborough, 2010). This ha s resulted to people refraining from acquiring treatment due to lack of finances to take care of the expensive care provided to them. In fact, most of the people have accumulated a lot of debts and from research it is evident that the highest percentage in this group does not continue to seek further medical treatment out of fear that debts would increase. However, the coming of President Obama into power renewed hope and anticipation among the American communities due to his promise of

Negotiating skills and strategies Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Negotiating skills and strategies - Term Paper Example It is argued that negotiation is unavoidable in life since we need something from others in our daily lives and an agreement based on common understanding can be reached through negotiation. Thus, negotiation broadly encompasses the process by which we arrange exchanges of things we want for the things we have. Negotiation can take place between different parties and this process is at times regarded as â€Å"a zero-sum transaction- what one gains, the other loses whereby their approach to the deal is to give less than they receive,† (Kennedy, 2004, p.13). More often than not, people negotiate because they value things differently. The monitory value is seen as very important when people engage in negotiation and these parties often prefer a win-win situation with the aim of reaching an acceptable agreement. However, it is argued that there are naturally gifted negotiators but when it comes to aspects concerning legal practitioners and mediators, it can be noted that negotiato rs are not naturally gifted and this can be observed from the difference between a ‘Master Negotiator’ and a ‘Novice Negotiator’(Noble, 2001). There are different styles of negotiation and there are also many factors that influence the success or failure of a negotiation process. From this assertion, this report seeks to discuss the factors that influence the negotiation process and measures that can be implemented in order to improve negotiation skills. The report will explain in detail the phases involved in the negotiation process through an analysis of the details of the interview that was conducted by the writer. 2.0 Summary of readings and the interview Negotiation is a process that can be divided into three phases namely: the pre bargain phase, bargain phase and the closure phase (Noble, 2001). This first phase is mainly concerned with gathering information that can be used in the negotiation process and is also concerned with establishing a rapport between the two parties involved. The goals and expectations of the negotiation process are set at this stage. Gathering information about the other partner is advantageous in that one will be better positioned to set realistic goals and plan according to the budget that might be available. The second phase in the negotiation process is concerned with the logistics involved and the tactics that can be used by the negotiator to reach a mutual agreement. Resolutions are made at this stage and the third stage is concerned with implementation of the agreement made. This phase also involves documentation of the contents of the agreement. Since this paper is based on negotiating skills and strategy, the writer chose to interview a manager at Kaiser Permanente who oversees many union employees out of interest emanating from

The Capital of Yemen Essay Example for Free

The Capital of Yemen Essay Sanaa is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world. it is the capital of the Republic of Yemen. The history of Sanaa started when founded by Shem, son of Noah. the story tells of how Shem reached Yemen after a long way from the north and found Sanaa a suitable place to settle in. Shem originally chose the western part of Sanaa but according to a popular legend, it says that the moment he began building the foundations of the city, a bird flied to himand picked up his sounding lead to the eastern part of Sanaa and dropped the lead. Shem believed that this bird was sent from god to lead him to a better place for settlement. Sanaa is located in the middle of the Yemeni heigh. It is about 2150 high from the sea lever. it is on the west foot of Nukum Mountain. The climate in Sanaa is usually moderate in summer. and cold in winter. However, it has rainy summers, and dry winters. Sanaa is known for its sand and dust storms which results in problems and crop damages. It is also known for its limited natural fresh water which leaves the country in an in sufficient supplies of potable water. Sanaa has a population of 1. million people. Jews are the oldest non Muslim minority that has emigrated to Sanaa, however, the dominant religion is Islam. Majority of the population are Muslims. Other religions in Sanaa is Christianity (Christians) and Hinduism (Hindus). Religion in Sanaa, Yemen reflects the culture and society of Yemen. Sanaa is famous for having many man-made trades including jewelry, silver, kinds of Jambia, copp er containers and agricultural tools that can be founded in the Sanaa Market. The Sanaa Market is located in the old city of Sanaa which Im going to talk about later on in the paper. The market contains a set of small shops open in the ground floor which overlooks narrow streets. Each shop is only few square meters. Today, the Sanaa Market is still as popular as before. Each trade or  goods has a special sub-market for it that the number of the sub markets are 24. All these sub markets are joined now in one name, which is Souq Almelh or Melh Market. As the capital city of Yemen, 40% of jobs in Sanaa are in the public sector. Other primary sources of formal employment in the city are trade and industry. Each county or a city is famous in its own way of diet and food. Yemenis eat three times a day at home. Generally, there is an early breakfast of sweet tea with bread made of sorghum, wheat, or barley. Dinner includes a porridge prepared from fenugreek with meat, eggs, vegetables, herbs, and spices, which is served hot in a stone or clay bowl, a light supper consists of vegetables or dates. Lentils and peas are traditional staples in addition to sorghum. At special occasions and celebrations, guests are served a roasted or boiled meat from goat or sheep with rice. In town and villages it is served with side dished of roasted or fried eggplants and mixed green salads. As for desserts, they serve fruits or custard with raisins and grapes. Sanaa has more than 50 mosques, five of the fifty has domes and others with minarets. The most important mosque is the Great Mosque which was built during the life of Prophet Mohammad and ordered by him in the 8th year of Hejra. which are not less beautiful or wonderful with respect to the style of minarets, domes and artistic embellishments. Sanaa is considered one of the Islamic historical towns in Yemen because it has the Old City of Sanaa which is a wonderful place of old architecture. The old city of Sanaa is one of the nicest cities in the Middle East and the Islamic countries. After the city got developed, they built a fence all over the city. The city had a for in it on a high area. Under this area are the markets and the great mosque of prophet Mohammad. The planning of the city is quarter-based. However, building are built to be next to each other in a close distance. Each quarter of the city has a mosque and a garden that provides its people with vegetables. The city has a big gate that serves as an entry gate. it was built about 1000 years ago and it is called (Bab Al Yemen). Sanaa has the highest mountain in the Middle East which is the mountain of the Prophet Shueib. This mountain is 3766 meters above the sea level. The best quality of Yemeni coffee and grapes can be found there. It also has the most beautiful village in Yemen which is Al-Hajara. Sanaa city is broadened in the horizontal and vertical directions. The old architecture of Sanaa has much of ornamentations existing in a variety of forms and percentages such as fences, mosques, the masses of towers, baths, samsaras, markets, schools and mils. These forms makes Sanaa a live city that meets a persons basic requirements. A person or a group can form immortal architectural heritage which reminds us of the Hymiarites (Hymiarite Kingdom) led architecture. One of the building I am talking about is still there since about seven centuries. Houses in Sanaa are marked by their advanced structural style. Their construction reflect high level of welfare, attraction and beauty. The upper floors are built with bricks, and each floor is separated from the other with a well designed belt. Museums are also a part of Sanaa. It has two important and interesting museum. The National Museum, and the Military Museum. The National Museum was built on 12 October 1987. Its rooms contain many important archeological treasures. It has more than 17 thousand diverse archeological pieces dating back to different historical ages. This begins from the age of the past history and ends in the current age. Second, the Military Museum. It is located in Tahreer Square, and it dates back to the second half of the 19th century after Christians Osmanis built it in their second rule in Yemen. It exhibits historical treasures such as primitive weapons, inscriptions, manuscripts, photographs and portraits. The latter are related to the military history that is why they call it the Military Museum. Cultural institution in   Sanaa takes a role also. Sanaa has five different universities consisting of a large number of different facilities. It has the most important university in Yemen The Sanaa University which was established in 1970 as the first and the primary university in the Yemen Republic. Other universities that are located in Sanaa between the private and government universities is the University of Science and Technology, Al-Eman University, Saba University which was named after Queen Saba, and Queen Arwa University. The most important monument in Sanaa is Dar Al-Hajar or the Rock House which located a few kilometers from Sanaa. Any tourist that wouldnt visit has missed it because not seeing Dar Al Hajar is not seeing Sanaa. Most of the visitors forgets visiting this fantastic artistic place. The typical Yemeni architecture is what really makes the building so special and appealing. The palace was built as a summer residence by Imam Yahya in the 1930s. As for the political life in Sanaa it is just like the country. Yemen have entitled a presidential republic and a multiparty parliamentary democracy. The parliament consists of the House of Deputies and an appointed Upper Chamber, or Senate. A president is elected for a five year term and the current president of Yemen Republic is General Ali Abdullah Saleh. He have been ruling the country ever since he won his last campaign in 1999 and that is 12 years of presidency. The Yemeni constitution guarantees the political rights of its women, however, gender inequality is generally widespread in Yemen. In conclusion, Sanaa City is the historical and capital City of the Republic of Yemen. It is one of the most wonderful historical cities in the world and the middle east . Its important because the whole city has a one of a kind architecture that serves as being a live museum to other countries and tourists.

Customer Relationship Management Dimensions

Customer Relationship Management Dimensions Purpose The primary objective of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework that depicts the impact of customer relationship management (CRM) dimensions on employee job satisfaction within the customer contact center industry. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses a qualitative methodology that comprises of a comprehensive literature review of both academic researches and industry reports. Findings Evidences from the extant literatures have suggested that effective implementations of the four dimensions of CRM (Customer Orientation, CRM Organization, Knowledge Management and Technology Based CRM) will positively effect employee job satisfaction within the customer contact center industry. Research limitations/implications Given that this paper is based on qualitative approach, there is need to embark on empirical data gathering to validate the conceptual model presented. Practical implications The paper suggest that to achieve operational efficiency together with employee job satisfaction, there is need for customer contact centers to integrate CRM dimensions into its operations and measurement practices. Originality/value This paper primarily conceptualize a measurement model that would assist in determining the impacts of CRM on employee job satisfaction and performance within the contact centers. It generally provides contact center Executives with CRM focus, by complementing recent works that have been conducted on the role of CRM constructs in improving employee job satisfactions and organizational performances. It concluded by proposing a model for future testing. Keywords Customer Relationship Management (CRM), contact centers, call centers, employee job satisfaction, caller/customer satisfaction, service quality Paper type Conceptual paper Introduction Customer Relationship Management (CRM) as referred is a concept that derives its popularity since 1990s. It is said to offer a long term changes and benefits to businesses that chose to adopt it. CRM has been argued to enable companies to successfully interact with their customers in a dynamic and profitable manner (Aihie and Bennani, 2007; Adam and Michael, 2005; Gummesson, 2004; Sin et al, 2005). However, many scholars still debate over what should exactly constitute CRM; some says CRM are nothing more than mere software, while others says it is a modern means of satisfying customers requirement at profit (Soon 2007; Nguyen et al, 2007; and Eric et al, 2006). CRM was also defined by Nguyen et al (2007) as information system that allows organizations to track customers interactions with their firms and allows employees to instantly pull up information about the customers such as past sales, service records, outstanding records and unresolved problem calls. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a unit of a bigger Marketing Management which is the art and science of choosing target markets and building profitable relationships with them by delivering superior customer value and satisfaction (Dean, 2007, Eid, 2007; Adam and Michael, 2005; Gummesson, 2004; and Fox and Stead, 2001). McNally (2007) defines CRM as a system which allows both internal and external customers of an organization to critical information through the integration of companys telephone system, Chat groups, Interactive voice response, facsimile transmission, electronic data interchange, Voice over internet, Web sites and e-mail touch points that will result in satisfying customer self services for new product purchases, assist in up-selling and cross selling and creating customer loyalty, value and profitability. While different researchers believed that there is no one correct definition of CRM, this research would like to define CRM as Organizations ability to efficiently integrate people, process, and technology in maximizing positive relationships with both current and potential customers. Authors such as Sin et al (2005) argued that CRM is a strategic business process that involves an efficient management of detailed information about current and potential customers channeled through a carefully arranged customer touch points that assist in maximizing customer loyalty and minimizing costs. Other scholarly arguments have also established that the cost implications in CRM implementations are double sided, from one from the company and the other from the customers (McNally, 2007; Wang et al., 2006; Sin et al., 2005, Yim et al., 2005). On one hand, the customer is able to reduce the cost of traveling to the respective companies to get what they need, while the companies are able to save cost on both their human resources, processes and promotions (Wang et al., 2006; Sin et al., 2005). To strengthen their arguments, Sin et al (2005) explained that whatever orientation that an organization might have put in place, the primary role of marketing management is to create a positive relationship with customers. Exploring CRM literatures Findings from recent researches have been indicating the enormous opportunities CRM is availing employees of several organizations in getting detailed customer information to make quick and intelligent business decisions that will resolve issues and provide efficient service to the customers (Soon, 2007; Rajshekhar et al., 2006; Yim et al., 2005; Adam and Michael, 2005). Similarly are arguments from both academic literatures and industry reports which have established the importance of customer relationship management in marketing activities, specifically in the customer contact centers where it has helped in digitalizing staffs knowledge about organizations customers through computer telephony integration, fax, email, web chatting etc (Dean, 2009; 2007; Sin et al., 2005; Yim et al., 2005; Roland and Werner, 2005). While this current study cannot disconfirm the available arguments in favor of CRM applications on employee job satisfactions and performance, there are reliable data that shows a range of major issues that is globally affecting contact centers such as shortage of skilled employees, high abandonment rate, high average speed of answer, employee job dissatisfaction, high attrition rate, high cost of operations, and customer dissatisfaction (Chen eta l., 2010; Callcentre.net, 2008; 2003; McNally, 2007; Adam and Michael, 2005). The model that is created from the literature review From the findings in the extant literature reviews, below is the proposed conceptual model. Relevant literatures in support of each constructs are detailed under the elements of each variable. + + + + Figure 1: CRM Dimensions and Employee Job Satisfaction Model Independent Variables: CRM Dimensions Based on the review of past related literatures on CRM and detail interview with some selected CRM managers, Sin et al (2005) hypothesized that the concept of CRM is a multi dimensional construct which consist of four broad behavioral components in every implementing organizations: key customer focus, CRM organization, knowledge management, and technology based CRM (Sin et al, 2005). They argued that their findings is in accordance with the general notion that a successful CRM is primarily designed to address four key areas in the implementing organization: corporate strategy; people; technology; and processes (Sin et al, 2005; Fox and Stead 2001), and that it is only when all these four components works according to target that a company will experience a superior customer related capability. It was equally argued that for a company to be able to maximize its long term performance in metrics such as customer satisfaction, employees trust, satisfaction and commitment, and return on investment, such a company must build, maintain, and do everything possible to establish the four dimensions of CRM (McNally, 2007; Bang, 2006; Wang et al., 2006; Sin et al, 2005; Yim et al., 2005). Customer Orientations Evidences from marketing literatures, IT literatures and Industry practices agreed to the fact that customer centric focus is a pre-requisite to any successful CRM Projects, particularly in shaping the minds and actions of the employees in becoming customer oriented (Dean, 2007; McNally, 2007; SQM, 2007; Roland and Werner, 2005; Callcenter.net, 2003). Looking at it from the contact center perspective, Dean (2002) defined customer Orientation as the degree to which an organization emphasizes on meeting customer needs and expectations for service quality. Dean (2004) went further to argue that customer orientation should incorporate commitment to customer needs and utilizing the available resources in gathering and efficiently managing customer feedback for effective decision making by the employees. Over the last twenty years, the concept of customer orientation have started to be very critical in the field of marketing management practices and theories, with apparent conclusions in support of the statement that any organization that adopts customer orientation approach are more likely to establish the required customer quality, increase its employee and customer satisfactions, and able to achieve the desired organizational objectives more efficiently than its competitors (Chen et al., 2010; Dean, 2007; Roland and Werner, 2005; Sin et al., 2005; Yim et al., 2005; Brady and Cronin, 2001; Lukas and Ferrell, 2000; Narver and Slater, 1990). To Sin et al (2005), they argued that although it is observed that most empirical studies have been concentrating on the degree and measurements of the concepts, but the extant literatures have long neglected the variations in the customer orientation dimensions or the features of the concepts as exhibited by each organizations (Sin et al., 2005). Therefore the general literatures on customer orientation could be argued as not been widely practiced specifically by the contact center professionals in the manner advocated by Sin et al (2005) and supported in other literatures such as Roland and Werner (2005) and Dean (2007) were they all have empirically established a positive linkages between customer orientation, perceived service quality, employee job satisfaction and customer satisfaction. Similarly are previous researches such as Kohli et al (1993) and Berry (1995) that cites several empirical studies that have suggest a linkage between the customer orientation and customer satisf action. Sources from other extant literatures have suggested that customer orientation (CO) is positively related to CRM adoption and customer relationships outcomes (Dean, 2007 and 2002; Eid 2007; James 2004). Customer orientation is said to reflect a companys culture on customers focus, needs and feedbacks (Dean 2007). In a very developed customer oriented approach, it is argued that there should be a continuous ongoing information collection and dissemination about customer and competitor for better decision making process by the employees (Kohli and Jaworski, 1993). The culture of customer orientation in a firm is considered to be very significant in the successful adoption, implementation and acceptance of CRM technology by its employees (Nguyen et al, 2007; Dean, 2007; and Eid 2007). Several other studies have also emphasized that there exist a stronger relationship between customer orientation and employee satisfaction, especially in the service industries where employees are the firs t contact with the customers and taking into consideration the length of time employees spend with customers in the contact center industry (Bhimrao and Janardan., 2008; McNally, 2007; Soon, 2007; Wang et al., 2006; Bang, 2006; Sarah and Meredith., 2006; Roland and Werner., 2005; Feinberg et al, 2002). Given the aforementioned evidences and many more empirical findings that have establish customer orientation as an important antecedent of competitive advantage and business profitability (Brady and Cronin, 2001; Narver and Slater, 1990), probing and measuring the impact of this orientation on employee job satisfaction is said to have captured the attentions of researchers (Wang et al., 2006; Sin et al, 2005; Yim et al., 2006). This research postulates that: H1: Customer Orientation of the customer contact center is positively related to Employee Job Satisfaction. CRM Organizations CRM organization has been argued as an essential means through which fundamental changes in terms of how firms organized and conduct its business processes around employees and customers can be actualized (Wang et al., 2006; Sin et al., 2005; Yim et al., 2005). Implementing firms are encouraged to pay necessary attentions to the inherent organizational challenges in the CRM initiatives (Rajshekhar et al., 2006; Adam and Michael, 2005). Both Wang et al (2006), Sin et al (2005) and Yim et al (2005) have all empirically tested and established that there exist a positive relationship between CRM organization and customer satisfaction, with serious emphasis on the positive roles of the employees. They argued further that the key considerations for any successful CRM to be implemented within the whole firm are organizational structures, the organization wide commitment of available resources, human resource management policies and employee job satisfaction that positively worked together t o influence customer satisfaction (Wang et al., 2006; Sin et al., 2005., Yim et al., 2005). By organizational structure means that CRM applications requires that the entire strategic business units in such firms be design to jointly work together towards achieving a common goal in terms of building a strong long-term customer relationships (Sin et al., 2005; Yim et al., 2005). For better efficiency of such organizational structure, it was advised that firms should incorporate productive process teams, cross discipline segment groups and customer focused departments (Aihie and Bennani, 2007; Sin et al., 2005; Yim et al., 2005). All the aforementioned structural designs are said to require a strong inter-functional coordination between the different departments, a statement that further confirms the existence of a positive relationship between CRM organization and employee job satisfaction and performance (Rajshekhar et al., 2006). Due to the high cost involvement of CRM applications, Sin et al (2005) and Yim et al (2005) conceptualized and established the importance of organizations wide commitment of resources to the intended design of CRM structures as having a positive relationship with employee satisfaction, performance and customer satisfaction. Also very important in their findings are the argument in favor of CRM organization as the established link between the human resources and the marketing interface (McNally, 2007; Sin et al., 2005). Also relevant in this area of studies are literatures such as Dean (2007) and Roland and Werner (2005) that empirically established that there exist a positive relationships between CRM dimensions (specifically customer orientation), employee job satisfaction, perceived service quality and customer satisfactions. Dean (2007), Roland and Werner (2005), Sin et al (2005) and Yim et al (2005) all empirically argued that this is a stage where firms need to logically instill in its customer service representatives the utmost importance of the CRM dimensions in order to positively influence employee job satisfaction, first call resolution, customer satisfaction and organization overall performance. In their concluding remarks they emphasized on four significant firms internal marketing processes, which includes employee empowerment, effective internal communications, standard reward systems, and employee involvement as efficient means of actualizing CRM organizations on employee job satisfaction and performance (Sin et al., 2005). In view of this, this research Hypothesize that: H2: CRM Organization of the customer contact is positively related to Employee Job Satisfaction Knowledge Management With reference to the knowledge based view theory of the firm, it states and I quote that the primary reason for any companys existence is to possess the ability to create, transfer, and efficiently utilize its available knowledge (Acedo et al, 2006; Meso and Smith, 2000; Miller and Shamsie, 1996). Whereas, looking at this from the angle of CRM concept in Marketing, knowledge can be describe as whatever a company or individual has learnt from experience/practice or any empirical study of consumer data (Nguyen et al., 2007; Sin et al., 2005). This will bring us to the key facets of knowledge management dimension which includes a companys knowledge learning and generation, its knowledge dissemination and sharing, and finally knowledge responsiveness (Wang et al., 2006; Sin et al., 2005; Yim et al., 2005). As previously discussed that Knowledge about key customers in a company is important for a successful CRM application (Rajshekhar et al., 2006), because it could be use as a master plan to developing a learning relationship between the employees and companys current and potential customers (Nguyen et al., 2007) and thereby availing each organization the opportunity to a successful establishment of a stronger competitive strength in the market through employee job satisfaction and customer satisfaction (Roland and Werner, 2005; Dean, 2004). It is premised on these arguments that both Sin et al (2005) and Yim et al (2005) have conceptualized and empirically established a positive relationship between employee knowledge acquisition and usage, employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction. Also very important under this heading is Customer information, such as customers needs and preferences which may be captured by both directly or indirectly, via a two way communications in the compa nys interactive feedback system (Sin et al., 2005). As argued that the primary reason of knowledge generation is for affording a 360 degree customer view, through an appropriate business intelligence tools such as data mining, data warehouse, and data mart all which could assist a company to incorporate a customer information into its strategic business intelligence (Rajshekhar et al., 2006; Sin et al., 2005). Therefore, it became very important for organizations to develop a sound mechanism for sharing the existing customer knowledge that will facilitate the concerted actions that could positively influence employee knowledge, satisfaction and performance in all the strategic business units of every organization (Sin et al., 2005). Finally it is arguable that marketing is now more concerned with better means of responding to customer demand, with the general believes that actions taken in a prompt manner not only enhance service quality, but also foster positive long-term relationships with both employees and the customers (Dean, 2007; Roland Werner, 2005; Antonio et al., 2005; and Sin et al., 2005; Yim et al., 2005). This leads to the following Hypothesis: H3: Knowledge management of the customer contact center is positively related to Employee Job Satisfaction. Technology Based CRM Although it has been established that consumers do complained about the time and efforts that is required in getting their individual questions or problems solved whenever they interact with contact centers (SQM, 2007; Call Centre.net, 2003), but equally important are arguments in favor of careful implementations of CRM Screen Pop-Up as an effective means of improving customer service representative satisfaction and performance, first call resolution, and caller satisfactions while simultaneously reducing the contact center processing costs (SQM, 2007; Yim et al., 2005; Call Centre.net, 2003). This is because most of the findings in the existing literatures and industry reports aptly depict that the major cost of running a call centre is the labor cost (Levin, 2007a), a strong need why every organizations must efficiently link is technological applications to its employee acceptance, satisfaction and performance (McNally, 2007). Meanwhile, not only within the contact centers that CRM technologies and systems are beneficial (McNally, 2007), there are enormous evidence in support of CRM systems as complements to other systems such as enterprise research planning systems etc (Nguyen et al, 2007; Dean, 2007; and Eid 2007). Evidence from existing contact center literatures shows that several authors have argued in favor of FCR technology enablers through intelligent skill based routing as a good means of achieving FCR, employee job satisfaction and caller satisfaction (SQM, 2007; Callcentre.net, 2003). This is because through the application of CRM technologies such as first call resolution enablers, contact centers can match their customers and/or their call types with the appropriate customer service representatives knowledge and skills (SQM, 2007). Equally observed in the extant literatures is the suggestion that there are two aspects of CRM systems integration that are pertinent to the adoption of this technology. Eid (2007) describes the first part as integration into the existing organizational systems and applications, while the second integration is done across other functional customer contact touch points. Part of the available evidence as identified by this research is that it is widely possible for researchers and practitioners to determine if an organization has put in place CRM technologies, but the major issues starts from measuring the effectiveness of CRM technology utilization in terms of user acceptance, and the desired operational performance which is argued to have since been neglected and has been confirmed as very vital to the success of the implementing firm (Sin et al., 2005; Yim et al., 2005; Ravipa and Mark, 2004). The existing academic and practitioner literatures on CRM are mostly in the areas of cust omer database, contact centers, online chatting systems, e-mails, Internets and some organizational group support systems, further creating a vacuum for future research in determining the impact of CRM technology on employee job satisfaction (McNally, 2007; Nguyen et al, 2007; Adam and Michael, 2005; Sin et al., 2005; James, 2004). Furthermore, some literatures contend that a companys ability to link the CRM system to different strategic business units such as marketing, finance, distribution, operations, and human resources will provide additional value to both internal and external users, and more importantly to the achievement of both employee and customers satisfactions (Aihie and Az-Eddine, 2007; Coltman, 2007; Nguyen et al 2007; Roland and Werner, 2005; Yim et al., 2005). If efficiently managed, CRM system is argued as having the capacity to assist organizations in handling customer queries and complaints more professionally with both accurate and timely information that would assist in reducing employee role stress, attrition rate and subsequently increasing employee job satisfaction, first call resolution and customer satisfaction (McNally, 2007; SQM, 2007; 2005). Also very important in this area of research is the a benefit inherent in the integration of every unit of the customer contact centers whether inbound, outbound or web enabled via CRM technology that provides a great opportunity for seamless and transparent services in customer touch points (Yim et al., 2005). In relation to the above, the extent of a companys CRM integration will strengthen its ability to resolving customers request in the first call resolution, and also give opportunity for achieving both employee and customer satisfactions (Dean, 2007; SQM, 2007; Sin et al., 2005; Yim et al., 2005). The above has led this research into hypothesizing that: H4: Technology based CRM of the customer contact center is positively related to Employee Job Satisfaction. Dependent Variable: Employee Job Satisfaction Issues on employee satisfaction are very much available in several studies, in which the majority postulates a positive relationship between employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction (Florian et al, 2007; Dean, 2007; Bernard and Stephen, 2004; Gummesson, 2004). These are so because employee and customer satisfaction are often measured in different ways by marketing researchers, where the majority has stated that employee job satisfaction has a clear effect on customer satisfaction (Eric et al, 2006; Coltman, 2007; Christian, 2005; Gummesson, 2004). Evidences from other recent researches have also confirmed that the relationship between employee satisfaction and performance could be strengthened if there is a high frequency of customer interaction with the employees (Dean, 2007; Florian et al, 2007; Christian, 2005; and Kode et al 2001). Whereas two major existing literatures in the contact center industry by Roland and Werner (2005) and McNally (2007) have empirically established that there exist a positive relationship between customer orientation, employee job satisfaction and customer satisfaction. In Roland and Werner (2005), they argued, tested and established that employee job satisfaction positively mediate the link between customer orientation and customer satisfaction of the contact center industry. A critical look at the foregoing information shows that all the above conditions currently exist in the customer contact centers. Because customer contact center employees enjoys a high level of customer interaction and the existing services within the contact centers shows that there is integration between external factors and the service delivery processes. A review of the reasons behind the relationship between employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction is often argued on the premise that the positive effects on every customer satisfaction are mediated by an existing positive effect on working performance (Florian et al, 2007). Importantly, the service marketing literatures have shown that there exist a positive effect of employee satisfaction on employees working performance and perceived service quality (Sarah and Meredith, 2006; Rodoula, 2005; Zeithaml et al, 1985). With evidences from the above extant literatures, this research supposes that employee job satisfaction positively goes along with the psychological state of organization customer orientation, CRM organization, knowledge management and technology based CRM. Conclusion, limitations and directions for future research Despite increasing acknowledgement of CRM importance, disappointedly very little studies have focused on the impacts of CRM dimensions on customer contact center performances (Soon, 2007; Bang, 2006; Yim et al., 2005). In support of the above emphasis are ample of evidences provided by several sources on the severe employee job dissatisfactions and customer dissatisfactions with contact centre systems and services across the globe (Callcentre.net, 2008; 2003; SQM, 2007; Feinberg et al., 2002; 2000; Miciak and Desmarais 2001), and that the major problems are stemming from factors such as lack of established customer orientation, CRM organization, knowledge management, and technology based CRM (Chen et al., 2010; McNally, 2007; SQM, 2007; Wang et al., 2006; Bang, 2006; Sin et al., 2005; Yim et al., 2005), The findings in this research indicate that there is strong reason to modifying the existing CRM implementations and organization performance measurements within the contact center in dustry. More importantly in areas such as measuring employee job satisfaction, first call resolution, customer satisfactions and dissatisfactions. Beyond these findings is a main limitation in the qualitative approach that was applied in this research, a strong factor that is limiting the ability to generalize its findings and recommendations to all industries and countries. Importantly, suggestions from this research are not quantitatively backed by empirical data and appropriate statistical analysis that could validate the proposed theoretical linkages that exist between CRM dimensions and employee job satisfaction, thereby further limiting its diagnostic power of predictions. To rectify the observed limitations, this research suggests that there is need for future study to embark on empirical data gathering to validate the proposed model. However, as could be noted that this research has conducted a detailed literature review to establish the positive relationships that exist between CRM dimensions and employee job satisfaction, it is important for future researchers to conceptualize and if possible determine other construct s for measuring employee job satisfaction within the contact centers, specifically the inbound call centers.

The Various Symptoms of Autism :: Autism,

Two to six children out of every thousand will end up with Autism. Autism is one of the fastest growing disorders with a great amount of studies being put behind it. With its vast amount of different signs and symptoms, different forms, how its treated, and arguments about how exactly the disorder came to be , Austin can very well be one of the most confusing, and researched disorders, for its a disorder that stirs up tons of questions but yet gets hardly any answers. Autism is usually developed between ages of one and three, it effects communication and how the child interacts with others. It is defined by behaviors of the child and â€Å" spectrum disorders† that re different with each person. (About Autism, 2008, para 1). Symptoms of autism can very in many different ways, and even different categories. Take the category of social interaction and relationships symptoms include : non verbal communication development problems such as , eye - to - eye gazing, body language, an d facial expressions, failure to make friends with people their own age, lack of interest, and lack of empathy. The category for verbal and non verbal symptoms include : Delay or lack when learning to talk, about forty person of people with autism never speak, problems with starting, and keeping conversations, repetitive use of language, and difficulty understanding what someone is saying. Finally the category of interests and play include : unusual focus on pieces, preoccupation on certain topics, a need for the same routine, and stereotyped behaviors like hand flapping and body rocking. ( Autism Spectrum , 2009 ). Kids with autism usually show signs within the first three years. Signs can be difficult to notice at first even though a child with autism has it at birth. Children at a young age might not be interested in simple common games such as peek a boo, and may not like to be held. They also may seem to have problems with their hearing ability. The child may not seem to be abl e to hear you and does not respond, but when hearing a distant noise like a truck or train, this will get their attention immediately. Teens with autism seem to start changing their behavior. They may seem to excel in certain skills but with that their ability to understand and relate to others expressions. They also seem to have more of an issue understanding and going through things with emerging sexuality and puberty.

Dom Casmurro by Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, and Chronicle of A Deat

Dom Casmurro by Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, and Chronicle of A Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcà ­a Mà ¡rquez Works Cited Not Included Religion is supremacy, perfection and spirituality. A typical Latin American religious community heavily relies on religion to provide a moral framework to guide and protect its citizens. However, projecting religion in the light of perfection is superficial. In actuality, it often contains flaws underneath its idealistic teachings. The inadequacy in maintaining the idealistic doctrines is deeply rooted in society. Such notion is reflected and commented upon in the novels Dom Casmurro by Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis and Chronicle of A Death Foretold by Gabriel Garci ­a Marquez. In both novels, the authors effectively criticize religion through their satiric portrayal of religious authorities and other characters' attitudes towards religion. The two novels reveal the practical result of religion in a critical light. The ideal doctrine of religion adjusts itself to the imperfect world in ways that some times do not command respect. The actual practice of the doctrine allows flexibility, which is often abused. In Dom Casmurro, Bento and Jose Dias imagine that a journey to see the Pope will undo Dona Gloria's promise to God. Eventually they settle the matter much more conveniently by resorting to the local church. As shown in Escobar's speech, the characters are constantly manipulating with the power of the religious authorities: "Consult the protonotary about it and if he hesitates, we'll speak to the bishop" (171). This implies that the people often seek and take advantages of the plot holes in religion. The concept of religion as an obligation becomes obvious through... ...o to mirror the Church's failure to uphold high moral standards and use their authority effectively and seriously. Through the subtle and detailed portrayals of the characters in the novels Chronicle of A Death Foretold and Dom Casmurro shed a criticizing light on the hypocritical Church present in the community. Bento's repulsion to be religiously devoted bluntly reveals the blemishes in the practical result of religion hidden underneath seemingly deep devotion. The tragedy of Santiago Nasar explores the other defects of religion, one that is present in the Church itself, and how failure to uphold moral standards in Church upsets the community. Of course the authors do not write solely to condemn religion, they also bring forth the concept that people must adjust their attitudes toward religion and then irrational, old values set by the past Church.