Family, its meaning, important and functions free essay sample

Family, what is it? The Thesaurus dictionary defines family as â€Å"a primary social group consisting of parents and their offspring. † Dcitionary. com defines family as â€Å"any group of persons closely related by blood, as parents, children, uncles, aunts, and cousins. † Do you agree with it? What is your concept of family? For me, family has more to do with the emotional side because someone might have been adopted, might be an exchange student but still is part of the family. Two years ago, I was an exchange student. I lived in Snellville, Georgia with the Head family. I wasn’t related to them by blood, I was not even adopted (meaning that I didn’t have their middle nor last name) but that didn’t stop me from feeling like I was a part of the family. There I learned a new concept of what family is and what the functions of the family are. We will write a custom essay sample on Family, its meaning, important and functions or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The functions of the family are giving material and emotional security to the ones you love, social placement, and socialization besides regulation of sexual activity through the incest taboo (meaning that there shouldn’t have sexual relationship or marriage between certain kin). Between all the things I learned that were functions of the family, one seems to me the most important, emotional and material security because those are the base of a good and happy family, once the others can change. Due to career changes, a lot of families now-a-days move quite often, thus every time you move you have to once again adapt yourself to the new habits of the place you are and start to socialize, going through the whole social path again (meeting the people, getting to know there culture, showing them your culture and adapting yourself to the new). I admit that this path it is not easy but if you have material and emotional security you’ll go through it easier. For me it was a bit different because I didn’t have my â€Å"blood family† with me but they were supporting me every way they could. Even without them, it wasn’t hard to adapt myself to the American culture because I also had my American family with me. Whenever I had difficulty with something in the American culture I had my American family to help me to understand the new concepts and also to show me some other new things; and whenever I need help in accepting the new cultural values, my Brazilian family (even far from me) were supporting me and showing me that all the values they taught me when I was younger were now going to be used because, sometimes you don’t need to like the new but you always have to respect it. My family taught me that the love, affection and companionship family members have for each other are bigger than any other feelings someone can have and that is what makes a family, that’s what makes family such an important concept in everyone lives.

10 Anthologies About Writing

10 Anthologies About Writing 10 Anthologies About Writing 10 Anthologies About Writing By Mark Nichol It is quite possible to spend the rest of your life reading about how to write and never get around to actually writing especially with so many convenient collections of writers’ ruminations like the ones listed and described below. 1. Bad Girls: 26 Writers Misbehave Twenty-six authors share confessions about their transgressions in this collection. 2. Behind the Mystery: Top Mystery Writers Mystery writer Stuart Kaminsky’s conversations with friends and colleagues from old-school authors like Elmore Leonard and Mickey Spillane to more recent talents such as Sue Grafton and Tony Hillerman are distinguished from similar interviews by their informality. 3. The Creative Writing Coursebook: Forty Authors Share Advice and Exercises for Fiction and Poetry Beginning, intermediate, and expert writers alike will benefit from this assortment of advice and activities from a diverse array of published authors. 4. The Paris Review Interviews This four-volume set, also available in individual volumes, features interviews with a who’s who of twentieth-century literature by George Plimpton, longtime editor of the Paris Review. 5. The Resilient Writer: Tales of Rejection and Triumph by 23 Top Authors Arthur Golden, Bret Easton Ellis, Amy Tan, and a score of other successful writers share the agony of rejection and the ecstasy of acceptance. 6. Why We Write: 20 Acclaimed Authors on How and Why They Do What They Do Twenty top writers answer a set of ten questions about their motivations for writing and about the favorite and least favorite aspects of their work. 7. Writers on Writing: Collected Essays from The New York Times 8. Writers on Writing, Volume II: More Collected Essays from The New York Times In these two collections of essays originally published in the New York Times in its weekly â€Å"Writers on Writing† feature, some of the greatest writers of our age explore both the practical and the artistic aspects of what it means to be a writer. 9. Writers On Writing: A Bread Loaf Anthology Twenty-five poets, short story writers, and novelists offer a series of literary workshops in book form, sharing their thoughts about the writing process. 10. The Writing Life: Writers on How They Think and Work This collection of entries of â€Å"The Writing Life,† a Washington Post column, shares the thoughts of dozens of celebrated fiction and nonfiction writers. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Book Reviews category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Math or Maths?The Letter "Z" Will Be Removed from the English AlphabetEducational vs. Educative

The Ideal Person Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Ideal Person - Essay Example An ideal person is truthful to others and is honest in his deeds. He never fails or gives up his efforts of self-cultivation. He gives little importance to earthly gains. In The Analects of Confucius, translated by Charles Muller, Confucius states that, â€Å"The Gentleman has nothing to compete for. But if he must compete, he does it in an archery match, wherein he ascends to his position, bowing in deference. Descending, he drinks the ritual cup. This is the competition of the Gentleman† (as cited in Muller, 2010, 3:7). So, we see that a true Confucius gentleman does not waste his time in planning for worldly gains like prizes, awards, and property; rather, he is a man of standards thinking high above the earthly possessions. He is a well-determined person and a good sport in himself. He places morals and virtues above everything else. He stays composed in hard times and is an inspiration for others around him. This makes him an important part of the society. This is the principle according to which an ideal person inculcates in him a sense of modesty and self-control. An ideal person is well-mannered and respects his elders. He acts honorably and is not self-centered. It is good for him to be ambitious but those ambitions should not be achieved through unjust means. Social etiquettes and mannerism matter a lot. According to this principle, a person should develop love for his family and then for the whole society. When parents love their children and vice versa, this strengthens the family bond and the whole society benefits in the

In relation to one particular country, critically assess the claim Essay

In relation to one particular country, critically assess the claim that the roadmap progresses the EU gender - Essay Example But soon EU has realised the need also to improve the quality of lives among the constituents of the European Union. On May 1, 1999, the Amsterdam Treaty was enforced and that signaled EU's predilection to give importance to the rights of individuals as well as to render them justice, individual security and freedom. Suddenly EU felt it is its role to be at the vanguard for the protection of their human rights as well as to eliminate discrimination against them by reason of race, color, sex, religion and age (Eur-Lex 2008). Signing the European Convention on Human Rights then became a condition for membership to the EU and all member States must accede to the provisions of the Charter of Fundamental Rights which became enforceable when the Lisbon Treaty was formally signed on December 13, 2007 (Europa 2007). As an offshoot of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, the Roadmap For The Equality Between Men and Women was adopted by EU on March 1, 2006, which aim is to promote gender equality throughout the European Union. This Roadmap for Equality Between Men and Women must be fleshed out because equality between men and women is specifically provided for in the 1993 Treaty of Maastricht which established the European Community. This treaty provision must be enforced so as to give life to the Charter and thus make it a powerful document that rules the lives of the EU constituents and not merely inserted there for the heck of it or to serve as decoration to add words to the volume of the provisions of the Treaty (The Treaty of Maastricht 1993). Article 2 specifically provides "The community shall have as its task..to promote throughout the community..equality between men and women. Article 3 section 2 further provided, "In all the activities referred to in this article, the community shall aim to eliminate inequalities, and to promote equality, between men and women". Article 141 is more specific with its provisions as it exhorts "equal pay for male and female workers for equal work or work of equal v alue". It also defined the meaning of the provision"equal pay without discrimination based on sex". That it is imperative that the Roadmap must be established is clearly specified in article 141 section 3, whereby it stipulates that "the Council acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in article 251..shall adopt measures to ensure the application of the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women in matters of employment and occupation, including the principle of equal pay for equal work over work of equal value". Article 141

Employee competence & reward strategys - Read the provided case study Essay

Employee competence & reward strategys - Read the provided case study on UtilityCo then answer the questions set out in the Project Outline document - Essay Example An individual can be said to be competent if he possesses the skills, knowledge and abilities that are necessary to perform a particular task that the individual is given the responsibility of. With such a combination of traits, a person can be able to competently perform a task in any given situation or a working environment. In the same respect, one may lose competency without losing the skills, abilities or knowledge if the requirements for executing a particular task changes or the working conditions changes (Dickmann, 2008). Competency is also used as a general term when the requirements of people in communities and organizations whereby there are requirements for the people to perform various tasks for the community or organization. These can be described by the various requirements that organizations have put in a particular language for the employees to be considered competent or what educational institutes have put in a specific language for the students to graduate from them. One of the most important aspects of this kind of competence is that it has to be an action competence and this means that the people must show their competence in action (Armstrong, 1999). As far as human resources are concerned, it is more significant to have competence development policies especially for some general competences that an organization is dependent on to run its business. The general competences can be classified into levels and they include the novice whereby a person who can be classified as a novice has the behavior based on the rules of the organization and is very inflexible as well as very limited. The next level is the experienced beginner whereby this employee has the ability to incorporate aspects from a given situation. The third level is the practitioner who is capable of acting consciously in relation to any long term plans and

Strategic Management in FedEx in response to Competition

Strategic Management in FedEx in response to Competition History of air carriers as given by Coyle et al attributes the use of airplanes for mail transport as the starting point of the airline industry (Coyle et al, 2006:158). From mail transport air transportation moved to passenger, transport where the industry has all through established its dominance especially when it comes to transporting passengers over long distances in very short periods of time. The services offered by for-hire carriers can be classified into all-cargo, air taxi, commuter, charter and international services (Coyle et al, 2006:159). All-cargo carriers such as FedEx and UPS airlines are primarily concerned with the transportation of cargo. Federal Express Corporation, which is a cargo airline, is based at Memphis in the United States of America. Federal Express Corporation also known as FedEx is the largest airline globally with regard to freight tons but in terms of fleet size, it is the worlds second largest airline (Zhang, 2006:98). The corporation provides direction and financial reporting for a number of companies, which collectively compete under the Federal Express name globally. The companies include FedEx Ground, FedEx Express, FedEx Office, FedEx Freight, FedEx Services, FedEx Trade Networks and FedEx Custom Critical (FedEx.com, 2010:110). Before the Federal Express became Federal Express Corporation it was known as FedEx but it adopted the current name under which it currently operate in 1998 when it acquired Caliber System Inc. Federal Express Corporation built on its strength of express delivery service and formed more diversified company which incorporated different but related businesses (Denton, 1992:86). Federal Express Corporation is the leading firm in the transportation industry globally. The company has managed to attain its current position by incorporating what it takes to be a major player in the global market (Gp-Training, n.d.). FedEx Corporation has built superior virtual, physical and people network to shape network economy in the global scale. The following discussion will seek to conduct a strategic management analysis of FedEx based on two models; Porters five forces model and the SWOT analysis. The two models have been selected based on the reason that they provide a step-by-step analysis of an organization. They are objective and can enable a planner or strategic manager to make accurate predictions of a business or project. Further, they greatly assist in prior determinations before capital investments are made, for instance, they greatly assist in determining whether the goals and objectives of a particular business are attainable. SWOT Analysis and five forces model of Federal Express Corporation Introduction SWOT analysis refers to an evaluation technique deployed in determining the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and techniques in a business venture. On the other hand, Michael Porter established a structure that models a business as being influenced by five main forces. This model is very important and can be used by industries to understand their operations better. According to Overbeck (2009:126) porters five forces, which is a model for industry analysis, include rivalry, threats of substitutes, Buyer power, Supplier power and Barriers to entry or threat of entry (McGrew Wilson, 1982:75). In addition, FedEx SWOT analysis presents various opportunities as well as strengths of the company, which have made it become one of the market leaders globally. However, the company also has a number of threats and weakness that should be addressed to be able to become even more prosperous in future. Source: Hill, C. and Jones G. (2009:67). Strategic management theory. New York: Cengage Learning. Porters Five Forces model Rivalry According to Hill and Jones (2009:42), competition between rival firms according to traditional economic model drives profit to ultimately zero. However, competition is not perfect and businesses are not basic passive price takers but they strive for competitive advantage over rival firms. Application of rivalry, which is Michael porters first force to the Federal express, is evident. For instance, the corporation was faced with threatening rivalry challenge before it occupied the current position in the industry. For instance, the entry of competitors in their market. UPS in particular, posed a major threat. The company was ready to spend enormous sums of money in market penetration. For example, it invested in a thirty million dollar ad for purposes of competing with FedEx. Another challenge facing FedEx is the progressive developments in technology which act as substitutes to transnight mail delivery, for example, fax and emails. The entry of UPS into the market posed a severe thr eat to FedEx, serious enough to cause Pauline and Farhoomand (2000:88), to report that the transportation volume of FedEx was going down. FedEx Corporation responded to the threat of rivalry that threatened its progress and in January 2000, it resorted to reorganize the company into groups operation by doing business with the whole FedEx family. According to Hill and Jones (2009:42) it is important to reconsider strategy in order to compete effectively in the market. The theory of Porters five forces model state that such action should only be taken after understanding the structures of the industry (Goodwin, 2001:178). The resolution was that the five subsidiary companies and FedEx corporation was to compete collectively but to function independently, a strategy that boosted their pursuit for an advantage in the industry. This is in accordance with the strategic management theory and the model of Porters five forces, which further advocates the scrutiny of competitive forces in the market before identifying threats and opportunities as well as coming with a suitable strategy (Hill Jones, 2009:201). Another strategy that FedEx Corporation used was improving product differentiation by embracing innovation and offering high quality products and services to customers. According to (Goodwin, 2000:67), FedEx Corporation pooled its marketing, sales and customer service function that enable customers to access services of the group at a single point. The reorganization cost FedEx Corporation 100 million USD in a span of three years, but the end justified the means. These measures retained FedEx in the market, but did not frustrate UPS which in a number of years has managed to scoop its fair share of the market. Today, FedEx has grown into a multi- billion corporation owning various companies namely the FedEx corporation, FedEx Ground, FedEx Express , FedEx Freight, FedEx custom critical, FedEx Trade Networks and FedEx Kinkos . On the other hand, UPS has grown to the largest package delivery company on the globe owning companies like; UPS Mail Innovations, UPS Air Cargo, UPS Capital Corporation, UPS Consulting, UPS Aviation Technologies, UPS Mail Boxes Among Others. Threat of Substitutes A substitute product in Porters model is a product in other industries which could be deployed as an alternative to another product from a different industry. The threat of substitutes according to the five forces theory therefore exists when the demand of a product is affected by change in price of a substitute product (Overbeck, 2009:56). The same way the price elasticity of a product is affected by same substitute products hence when more substitutes become available, it influence demand, which becomes more elastic because customers have more alternatives. Competition can be endangered by threat of substitutes when they come from outside industry. Strategic management theory and five forces theory according to Hill and Jones (2009:53) assert that existence of very close substitutes poses a strong threat in the market and leads to reduced profitability. To deal with such a challenge the two theories support the idea of diversifying a companys products and service as FedEx did (Hill Jones, 2009:53-54). FedEx embraced technology and innovation, which enhanced reliability and speed of deliveries in the firm. The company adopted next day delivery services, which completely revolutionized the industry. This made it preferable to many customers because it became reliable and convenient. Perishable commodities could reach their intended destination with appropriate time, which consequently reduced competition among its rivals. According to Overbeck (2009:45), FedEx Corporation Company under the leadership of Smith pioneered a number of technological breakthrough that propelled the firm above all others. For instance, over 100000 PCs loaded with Federal Express software made to log and link customers into tracking and ordering systems were introduced in FedEx. Federal Express also, became the first to issue their drivers with handle scanners, a device that alerted customers when packages were either delivered or picked up. According to Pauline and Farhoomand (2000:113), Federal Express Co rporation was the first to launch a website with tracking and tracing capabilities. Such strategies helped the company to grow without feeling the pinch of the threat of substitutes. Buyer Power This is the impact that customers (buyers) have on a producing industry. According to Overbeck (2009:89), there are factors that determine the buyer power. Federal Express Corporation has been shaped by the buyer power especially corporate buyers who have enormous bargaining power resulting from the large amounts of purchases they make. Buyer power is also influenced by the switching costs. It is a fact that buyers power greatly influences FedEx. For example, it gained a huge share of the catalogue business because it was able to offer buyers lower prices as compared to UPS. The company has always tried to expand with the demand of its customers (Overbeck, 2009:89). FedEx Company has used information technology that has been quite significant in the globalization of trade, effective and efficient sharing of information within and outside the company, improved customer service and reduced costs of services offered by the company. As a result, the buyer power is skewed towards Federal Express Corporation because it provides the services that the buyer demands. According to five forces theory and strategic management theory, buyer power is a very significant consideration in designing business strategy (Hill Jones, 2009:50-52). On the other hand, buyer power also constrains FedEx in some ways. The delivery has nominal switching costs such that when a customer is not satisfied, they can easily switch to the competitors services. For instance, when UPS made its entry into the market, offering its services at half the price offered by FedEx, many of its customers disregarded the switching costs and moved to UPS. Supplier Power Supplier power illustrates the ease with which suppliers can determine prices. Supplier power id determined by the number of suppliers available in an industry, the distinctiveness of their services or products their influence over a company. The more supplier options open to a company, the less the likelihood of high supplier power. According to Hill and Jones (2009:52), a powerful supply has the ability to influence the producing industry. According to five forces theory and strategic management theory, suppliers can easily determine the future and progress of a firm and so can the third parties (Hill Jones, 2009:53). While other rival companies in the industry were sub-contracting their shipment to third parties and buying space on commercial airlines, Federal Express Corporation tried to acquire its own transportation fleet and in the tenth year, it became the first company in the United States to achieve 1 billion USD revenue mark in ten years without corporate mergers and acquisitions. According to Farhoomand and Pauline (2000), Federal Express Corporation does not have external factors that influence its internal decision and operation and has been able to advance greatly in the industry this is because Federal Express Corporation has limited influence of buyer power. Barriers to Entry/ Threat of Entry Hill and Jones (2009:43) argue that industries possess some characteristics, which protect the lofty levels of profit of firms in the market, which prevent additional firms from entering the market. It is this inhibition of additional rivals in the market, which is termed as barriers to entry. According to Strategic management and five forces theories, barriers to entry reduce rate of entry of new businesses, which therefore maintains the high level of profit for those firms that are already in the industry (Hill Jones, 2009:87). The sources of such barriers include government created barriers, Asset specificity, patents and proprietary knowledge and organizational economies of scale. Federal Express is already in the industry and dominating the industry already (Farhoomand Pauline, 2000:79). Therefore, it is not faced with any barrier to entry into the industry. FedEx and the other delivery companies already in the market like UPS are the cause of the barriers. They have large brand name as well as established relations with foreign countries. Smaller companies will have an almost impossible task of penetrating the market because of the large capital requirements. With little capital, it will be impossible to offer competitive prices. Further, reaching the standards set by the market giants is an uphill task. Federal Express SWOT Analysis FedEx SWOT analysis presents how the company has been able to use information technology in defining its strategies (Quality-Assurance-Solution, n.d.). Information technology apart from improving the performance has made it possible for the company reaches new associates or groups of people. SWOT analysis of FedEx Company involves analyzing strength, weaknesses, opportunities as well as the threats of the company in accordance with the SWOT analysis theory (Burger, 2008:12) Strengths of FedEx SWOT analysis theory according to Burger (2008:13) is very instrumental in helping companies identify internal and external attributes and factor, which affect the companies resource capability. According to the theory, internal attributes are strengths and weaknesses while external attributes are opportunities and threats (Burger, 2008:13). FedEx strengths in the transport industry include ; Efficient service delivery to customers. The company gives the needs of customers first priority. This has instilled customers with confidence in the company, thereby making it quite preferable among many people in the global market. In addition, Grignard (1994) argues that the strength of the company is the ability to offer express mail services, which ensures that mails are delivered overnight. This has made the company to outdo many major players in the industry such as United States Postal Service in terms of service delivery as well as customer service. According SWOT analysis theory such strength is very crucial in making FedEx realize its objectives (Burger, 2008:13). FedEx Company also has a very strong brand name, which gives it its place in the global market. FedEx is known for its innovativeness. It has proved time and over that it is capable of initiating great ideas that totally change the market. For example, the purchase of their own airplanes and ships instead of hiring. This boosts a customers confidence in the company as they are guaranteed that third parties are not a party to the delivery of their parcels. Further, FedEx is known as a market leader. Its known for its use of advanced technology and effective communications systems in all its operations. Its a recognized worldwide transportation company and its also known for its ability to take in smaller companies to expand its needs. Above all, its greatest strength is its brand name and the goodwill or reputation attached to it. Weaknesses SWOT theory according to Burger (2008:12) states that weaknesses are some of the internal conditions, which prevent companies from achieving their objectives. For instance, the dispute between the company and its pilots is an internal crack which could damage its reputation

Gay Men Should Be Allowed To Donate Blood :: essays research papers

â€Å"A man who has had sex with another man within the last five years, whether oral or anal sex, with or without a condom or other form of protection, is not permitted to donate blood and must please not do so.† This was the statement issued last Thursday by a spokesman from the South African National Blood Service (SANBS). This statement had caused a huge dispute between the SANBS and the Gay and Lesbian Alliance (GLA) Every newspaper has headline after headline about this new topic, every news update on all radio stations, every news program on the television, everybody is talking about this latest disruption in our some-what peaceful lives. The GLA states that on Friday, the day after the statement was made, they donated gay blood, some newspapers claim that 120 units were given, another says over 600 units were donated, all the stories are very conflicting, which one, if any, are we to believe? A big question everyone is asking is that if they did donate gay blood, why did they if they were clearly asked not to, and when they did, it means they lied on the forms about their sexual activities. What good is this going to do anyone one may ask, but if you were in that situation, would you not do something about it to? If they suddenly decided that any white female is forbidden to donate blood, no matter what your HIV status is, would you not retaliate and cause a rebel? This causes us to think, (for once), what the gay men did was wrong by donating their blood, but we cannot point fingers and judge them if we would have done the same. What the SANBS is totally wrong, discrimination of any kind is against the law and yet they are blatantly doing it in front of the whole country, and world. Way back when HIV and AIDS was first discovered, the gay men were the only ones that seemed to be infected with this disease, so at that time it was a reasonable rule to ban them from donating. But now we are in 2006 and every single gender, race, religion and group has been infected with HIV so to only ban gay men is unacceptable.