The Cloning War Moral Or Immoral Essays - Cloning, Genetics

The Cloning War: Moral Or Immoral? The Cloning War: Moral or Immoral? Outside the lab where the cloning had actually taken place, most of us thought it could never happen. Oh we would say that perhaps at some point in the distant future, cloning might become feasible through the use of sophisticated biotechnologies far beyond those available to us now. But what we really believed, deep in our hearts, was that this was one biological feat we could never master. -Dr. Lee M. Silver, 1997 With every revolution, there must be conflict. When the great thinkers of the past decided the earth was round, or that the planets revolved around the sun, their revolution caused excommunication. When Americans rebelled against the mother country, their revolution caused a war. However, if not for the great thinkers, the revolutionists, and the science explorers, everyone would be sailing off the edge of the planet, believing to be scientific fact that Earth was the center of the universe, and America would be under steady oppression from Europe. On February 23, 1997, Doctor Ian Wilmut successfully cloned the world's first mammal, giving the world a harsh wake-up call to the state of its technology. The implications of an effective somatic cell nuclear transfer in mammals are tremendous. The use of cloning for research purposes could yield fixes for aging and heart problems; new organs for patients in need of transplants; increased reliability of plastic, reconstructive, and cosmetic surgery; the extinction of Down's syndrome and Tay-Sachs disease; and the cure for cancer (Human). The applications of the research of cell development are already witnessed in the invention of fabricated skin, cartilage, bone, and ligament and tendons. In fact, cloning is only a result of many years of research. In 1965, Dr. Marshall R. Urist of the University of California discovered that powdered bone, when combined with the isolated bone morphogenetic proteins and DNA sequences, would create new bone when placed in a bone fracture (?Tissue?, 47). However, fears of this new procedure are certainly well justified. A cloned child, for instance, would lose all sense of individuality, and the potential harm (which first must be downsized to an acceptable degree before full production could commence), at this point, greatly outweighs the beneficial yields (United, 66,65). Plus, given the option to choose features in a prospective clone child, or ?designer child?, procreating would be more feasibly compared with car shopping than reproduction (Silver, 227). These factors contribute to the controversial issue of morality. A broad subject filled with gray matter, the decision of whether or not something is moral is spawned from religious thought, ethical concerns, and the comparison of the gains of a procedure to the costs. Facts must be gathered from the word of God, from logical reasoning, and from scientific inquiry. When all the data is gathered, the question of morality is answered with a definitively negative response. Cloning is a procedure that is definitely not moral due to its possible harm to child and parents; its religious implications; and its unfavorable ratio of harm to good. It is important to realize that the process of cloning that produced Dolly the sheep is a brand-new science that has only been successfully performed a small number of times. The actual process involves removing the nucleus of an ovum and replacing it with an epithelial cell, or a cell with the basic number of chromosomes doubled (?Cloning?, 677). However, this nuclear transfer has the potential for serious physical and psychological harms to all involved in the procedure, and when such harms exist, rarely are any procedures performed on humans without extensive animal research. In all actuality, even if there were a convincing reason to perform this procedure on human beings, it would have to fall under one strict criteria that morals and medical ethics alike consider to be impenetrable: the slogan ?to first do no harm? (United, 65). It should be noted that the somatic cell nuclear transfer that produced Dolly was successful in only one out of 277 attempts. If the same procedure was endeavored in humans, the requirements could be devastating to the potential mother. To start, the doctor would have to provide much hormonal manipulation in order to allow the procedure

How to Pick a Title for Your Research Paper

How to Pick a Title for Your Research Paper How to Pick a Title for Your Research Paper It sounds strange, but for many people choosing a topic of a research paper is the most difficult task. Well, thats often true and it can happen to you in any situation when you have to choose something. If you are not given a choice, you can simply accept it. On the other hand, the more options you have, the more difficult it may be to make a wise choice. So, if your teacher has given you a topic to work on, you are the lucky one. But sometimes you have to pick a title for your research paper by yourself. There is one thing to think of before choosing a title. So, ask yourself what you are interested in at this stage of your life. Wouldnt it be great to write about something you like and are good at? However, keep in mind that you write your paper not only for yourself. It will be read by your teachers, and your goal is to write about what you like to make other people interested in it. You have to keep it simple. Write in such a way, that even a child could understand you. Making simple things more complicated is a complete waste of time. Nobody would like to read that. In addition, have a look at the latest news, listen to what people or your friends talk about, try to remember things that you was impressed by recently. This may inspire you to choose the right topic. You can surely choose the title you like, however dont try to be too creative. What seems to be fine for you, may look absurd for the others. Or perhaps you cannot come up with an original idea. In such a case, there are lots of topics students use all the time. Some of them may look trite, but it is just a matter of your writing style, how you express your thoughts, your ability to look at a typical problem from another perspective, your willingness to make usual things unique. Thousands of papers were written about environmental pollution, greenhouse effect, deforestation etc. Nobody has suggested a way out that really works and differs from what the humanity attempted to do with this problem. Who knows, maybe you can write something that can surprise your teacher, and you will get a good grade. As children, we all liked to find out something new in everything that surrounds us. When we grow older, we become less curious for some reasons. Of course, writing a research paper about something you like is a great opportunity to find out something new, share your ideas and enthusiasm with other people. However, if you dont have much time for that, our academic writing service is always ready to help you with your writing task. If you need professional research paper title assistance from experts welcome to our research paper service !

A Comparison in Anthem

They will be stated in the following paragraphs. There are similarities between Equality 7-2521 and Adam. They were both born with a natural curiosity. The curiosity caused them to do something that was explicitly forbidden. This led Equality 7-2521 to rediscover something that was wiped from human memory for a great length of time as stated on page 52: â€Å"We, Equality 7-2521, have discovered a new power of nature. And  we have discovered it alone, and we alone are to know it. † (Rand 41)He attempted to share his discovery but was rejected and scorned. Adam’s curiosity led him to eat the â€Å"forbidden† fruit from the tree from the center of the Garden of Eden. This action caused his banishment from the Garden of Eden. What they both committed was considered by the governing authority to be sins. Equality 7-2521 was forced to run away because he dared to have an independent mind. Adam was forced out of Eden because he did not obey God. Also†¦ They were condemned for committing a great â€Å"sin. † The â€Å"sin† was disobeying a godlike authority. Equality and Adam both obtained information that was forbidden by the authority that governed them. Equality obtained forbidden information through secretly studying information on the time before the Great Rebirth, rediscovering electricity and creating a piece of electrical equipment. The World Council banned such actions so when he tried to convince the Council of Scholars, they threatened to report him and destroy his discovery as stated on 72: â€Å"You shall be burned at the stake,† said Democracy 4-6998. â€Å"No, they shall be lashed,† said Unanimity 7-3304, â€Å"till there is  nothing left under the lashes. † And page 74: â€Å"This thing,† they said, â€Å"must be destroyed. †Ã‚  And all the others cried as one: â€Å"It must be destroyed! â€Å"(Rand 41) He was forced to run deep into the uncharted forest where he hid. Adam obtained the forbidden information through eating the â€Å"forbidden† fruit from the tree at the center of Eden. He gained knowledge of many things that were forbidden by God. As a result, he was banished from Eden. The similarities have been stated although†¦ There are also differences between Adam and Equality 7-2521. One is the sin they committed. Equality 7-2521 committed the sin of individual thought. He dared to live, think and love for himself. He also rediscovered electricity by himself, which was considered evil because he didn’t work with the rest of his â€Å"brothers† as stated on page 73: â€Å"So you think that you have found a new power,† said Collective  0-0009. â€Å"Do you think all your brothers think that?   Ã¢â‚¬Å"No,† we answered. â€Å"What is not thought by all men cannot be true,† said Collective   0-0009. â€Å"You have worked on this alone? † asked International 1-5537. â€Å"Yes,† we answered. â€Å"What is not done collectively cannot be good,† said International 1-5537. †(Rand 41)Adam committe d the sin of disobedience. He ate the â€Å"forbidden† fruit when God specifically told him not to. As a result, he was banished from the Garden of Eden. Another difference is how they reacted after they left their residence. When Adam was banished, he did not seek revenge against God. He decided to continue living as normally as possible. Equality 7-2521 on the other hand, decided to start a new society that permits individual thought and makes it his goal to tear down the society he lived in and raze the city he lived in to the ground. In conclusion, Equality 7-2521’s story is some that can be easily compared and contrasted with the Expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. This essay summarized their similarities and differences. There are many other ways to compare and contrast Adam and Equality 7-2521 that are not written in this essay. They may be in a different one. Works Cited Rand, Ayn. Anthem: Student Edition Toronto: Signet, 1995. A Comparison in Anthem They will be stated in the following paragraphs. There are similarities between Equality 7-2521 and Adam. They were both born with a natural curiosity. The curiosity caused them to do something that was explicitly forbidden. This led Equality 7-2521 to rediscover something that was wiped from human memory for a great length of time as stated on page 52: â€Å"We, Equality 7-2521, have discovered a new power of nature. And  we have discovered it alone, and we alone are to know it. † (Rand 41)He attempted to share his discovery but was rejected and scorned. Adam’s curiosity led him to eat the â€Å"forbidden† fruit from the tree from the center of the Garden of Eden. This action caused his banishment from the Garden of Eden. What they both committed was considered by the governing authority to be sins. Equality 7-2521 was forced to run away because he dared to have an independent mind. Adam was forced out of Eden because he did not obey God. Also†¦ They were condemned for committing a great â€Å"sin. † The â€Å"sin† was disobeying a godlike authority. Equality and Adam both obtained information that was forbidden by the authority that governed them. Equality obtained forbidden information through secretly studying information on the time before the Great Rebirth, rediscovering electricity and creating a piece of electrical equipment. The World Council banned such actions so when he tried to convince the Council of Scholars, they threatened to report him and destroy his discovery as stated on 72: â€Å"You shall be burned at the stake,† said Democracy 4-6998. â€Å"No, they shall be lashed,† said Unanimity 7-3304, â€Å"till there is  nothing left under the lashes. † And page 74: â€Å"This thing,† they said, â€Å"must be destroyed. †Ã‚  And all the others cried as one: â€Å"It must be destroyed! â€Å"(Rand 41) He was forced to run deep into the uncharted forest where he hid. Adam obtained the forbidden information through eating the â€Å"forbidden† fruit from the tree at the center of Eden. He gained knowledge of many things that were forbidden by God. As a result, he was banished from Eden. The similarities have been stated although†¦ There are also differences between Adam and Equality 7-2521. One is the sin they committed. Equality 7-2521 committed the sin of individual thought. He dared to live, think and love for himself. He also rediscovered electricity by himself, which was considered evil because he didn’t work with the rest of his â€Å"brothers† as stated on page 73: â€Å"So you think that you have found a new power,† said Collective  0-0009. â€Å"Do you think all your brothers think that?   Ã¢â‚¬Å"No,† we answered. â€Å"What is not thought by all men cannot be true,† said Collective   0-0009. â€Å"You have worked on this alone? † asked International 1-5537. â€Å"Yes,† we answered. â€Å"What is not done collectively cannot be good,† said International 1-5537. †(Rand 41)Adam committe d the sin of disobedience. He ate the â€Å"forbidden† fruit when God specifically told him not to. As a result, he was banished from the Garden of Eden. Another difference is how they reacted after they left their residence. When Adam was banished, he did not seek revenge against God. He decided to continue living as normally as possible. Equality 7-2521 on the other hand, decided to start a new society that permits individual thought and makes it his goal to tear down the society he lived in and raze the city he lived in to the ground. In conclusion, Equality 7-2521’s story is some that can be easily compared and contrasted with the Expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. This essay summarized their similarities and differences. There are many other ways to compare and contrast Adam and Equality 7-2521 that are not written in this essay. They may be in a different one. Works Cited Rand, Ayn. Anthem: Student Edition Toronto: Signet, 1995.

Business Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 8

Business Plan - Essay Example Food provision market is a market that is constantly growing and at a high rate. Food provision is turning to be more professional in order to attract customers in the growing market. The market is assumed to be constant with no seasonal trends since its target customers work daily hence sales are expected to be constant throughout. The market is segmented in that there are quality hotels, restaurants, fast food and some providing food in open air kiosk. Oyster hotel is expected to include services of a quality hotel through provision of quality dishes and also meet the demands of travellers by providing fast foods. (Clifford, 2001) The hotel industry has varied customers. There are residence customers who usually frequent quality hotels for rooms. There are also travellers who mainly buy fast foods to consume as they are travelling and there are usual customers who frequent hotels for quality dishes in a relaxing atmosphere or to hold discussions as they take their meals. The hotel will be targeting all these customers. The hotel will use a variety of marketing strategy aimed at attracting and retains customers. The business will look toward cutting an edge in the market through provide of high quality meal, offering wide range of menu at reasonable prices and operating for 24 hours. The hotel will also carry out direct marking strategies to reach individual customer and also it will advertisement in the mass media. It will also be proving special nights on weekends for couples as a way of advertising. (Ron, 2003) The business will have a central procurement procedure for raw material which will be used to prepare quality meals. The menu for the hotel will provide quality dished and buffet meals. Apart from buffet meals there will also be plate service served by well trained food waiters. The hotel will be headed by the hotel manager who will be responsible for coordinating the activities of

ECO-FRIENDLY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

ECO-FRIENDLY - Essay Example 75% and remaining 25% remains unutilized. Because, the testing facility is not fully utilized, therefore, the fitting machine time can be increased, to produce more of higher power bulbs as it would lead to more profit, without increasing any other resource. Linear programming was used to model the problem. The decision variables x1 and x2 i.e. number of two kinds of light bulbs was used to formulate the profit function as well as the constraints of production for the two kinds of eco-friendly industrial light bulbs. The profit function was solved for maximum profit under the constraints of the production. It was found out that for maximum profit the company should manufacture 900 bulbs of very low energy and 600 bulbs with higher energy. This resulted in a total profit of 8700p, which is the maximum profit that can be produced from the given resources by their optimum utilization. This optimum solution of the problem, consumes all of the shells supplied as well as the entire assembly time. However, the testing time was utilized only up to 75% of its capacity. This is simply because; testing takes less time than assembly. Thus, there is unutilized testing facility. To utilize it fully, the fitting machines availability should be increas ed to produce more of higher energy bulbs as it would lead to more profit, without any additional resource other than increasing fitting machines availability. There are some options the company can look forward for increasing resources. One option can be to increase the availability of the fitting machine as well as that of the testing machine by 25% i.e. twelve and a half hour per day. In this case the company can produce as many as 1500 higher energy bulbs and increase the profit to as high as 10500 p. This amounts to ~22.1% increase in profit over what can be achieved by the present resources. But this will depend upon how costly it is to increase

Slumdog Millionaire Essay Example for Free

Slumdog Millionaire Essay One movies I’ve seen is â€Å"Slumdog Millonaire† directed by Danny Boyle. The movie tells about the story of Jamal Malik, an 18 year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai, who is about to experience the biggest day of his life. With the whole nation watching, he is just one question away from winning a staggering 20 million rupees on Indias Kaun Banega Crorepati it was about:Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? But when the show breaks for the night, police arrest him on doubt of cheating. How could a street kid know so much? Desperate to prove he is innocent, Jamal tells the story of his life in the slum where he and his brother grew up, of their adventures together on the road, of cruel encounters with local gangs, and of Latika, the girl he loved and lost. Each chapter of his story reveals the key to the answer to one of the game shows questions. Each chapter of Jamals increasingly layered story reveals where he learned the answers to the shows seemingly impossible quizzes. But one question remains a mystery: what is this young man with no what so ever desire for riches really doing on the game show? When the new day dawns and Jamal returns to answer the final question, the Inspector and sixty million viewers are about to find out. At the heart of its storytelling lies the question of how anyone comes to know the things they know about life and love.

Impact of cumputers on business and education :: essays research papers

The history of the modern computer age is a brief one. It has been about 50 years since the first operational computer was put into use: the MARK 1 in 1944 at Harvard and ENIAC in 1946 at the University of Pennsylvania. Early use of computers in education was primarily found in mathematics, science and engineering as a mathematical problem-solving tool, replacing the slide rule and thus permitting students to deal more directly with problems of a type and size most likely to be encountered in the real world.[6] In 1959, at the University of Illinois, Donald Bitier began PLATO, the first, large-scale project for the use of computers in education. The several thousand-terminal system served undergraduate education as well as elementary school reading, a community college in Urbana, and several campuses in Chicago.[7] Thus, the era of computers in education is little more than 35 years old.[8] The Early Pioneers At Dartmouth, in 1963, John Kemeny and Thomas Kurtz transformed the role of computers in education from primarily a research activity to an academic one. They did not like the idea that students had to stand in long lines with punch cards for batch processing. So they adopted the recently demonstrated concept of time-sharing that allowed many students to interact directly with the computer. The university developed the time-shared system and expanded it into a regional computing center for colleges and schools.[9] At the time, most programs were written in machine language or FORTRAN. Kemeny and Kurtz developed a new, easy-to-use language, called BASIC. It spread rapidly and was used for the creation of computer-based instructional materials for a wide variety of subjects and for all levels of education. RAPID GROWTH OF COMPUTER-BASED EDUCATION In the late 1960s, in order to make access to computers widely available, the National Science Foundation (NSF) supported the development of 30 regional computing networks, which included 300 institutions of higher education and some secondary schools. By 1974, over two million students used computers in their classes. In 1963, only 1% of the nationà ­s secondary schools used computers for instructional purposes. By 1975, 55% of the schools had access and 23% were using computers primarily for instruction.[13] 1975 a remarkable thing happened, the economics that once favored large, time-shared systems shifted to low-cost microcomputers and the personal computer revolution began. By the late seventies personal computers were everywhere -- at the office, the schoolroom, the home, and in laboratories and libraries.

Blogs and communication Essay

Corporate blogging is a new method of communication in which employees of different firms and corporations are allowed to express themselves in the current trend in media communications. Several studies suggest that corporate blogs should be limited to only conveying of information beneficial for the company or firm, and thus there is the need to create a strategic management scheme for blogging. As a form of communication, blogs can certainly evolve into a more powerful means of communication. This power entailed in written texts of blogs shall be seen as a tool in encompassing more productive results of the business sector. According to Business Week Online issued in 2006, â€Å"A Weblog (or blog) can be a powerful marketing tool, but it can also expose a business to a legal minefield† as reported by Jacqueline Klosek. â€Å"Blogs can be used to market a company’s products and services, facilitate communications with clients, and even counter negative publicity. † (Klosek, 2006). From the research, many benefits of corporate blogging have been found: it is a tool for search engine marketing, an aide in building the company’s reputation as a thought leader, a good support in crisis management, tool for building relationships with customers, used as a human voice to a company, illustrates transparency, immediate customer service and feedback, acts as differentiator, and tool to find out what others think about you and your company. Presently, corporations are now much more concerned about their reputations. The vigilant companies realize that knowledge is power in cyberspace. They are trolling chat rooms, discussion boards, online news media and Web sites run by their competitors and critics to detect rumblings that could end up making headlines if a reporter or financial analyst discovers them first (Alsop 2004, 21). The existence of cyberspace, wherein the transfer of information is relatively faster than it was ten years ago has just become a threat to the reputations of corporations which are forced to enter cyberspace for more exposure. Corporate blogging is one dependable medium which corporations may pursue in order to protect their reputations and cut of their costs in terms of crises scenarios which could have been avoided. Although, the most of the companies set up corporate blogs for the purpose of promoting their services, building their good image or gaining any other befits. There is however a limitation in blogging, since legal problems may arise in the process. â€Å"Careless statements posted on a company-sanctioned blog can come back to haunt the company through litigation and other avenues† Klosek stresses. Blogs can cause violations on intellectual-property rights since most corporate blogs do not have specific rules that can be followed by the employees. Trade secrets may be revealed accidentally risking the protected status of company information. Disclosure of trade secrets can jeopardize the blogger’s career since this problem may cause his suspension or termination from his position. From many studies and articles written about corporate blogs, the question has been raised on insufficient management. The integrity rules for protection and management of blogs are expected to be established immediately. This research proposal aims to determine that how does corporate blog as a kind of new innovation be widely adopted and used by the both of the individual blogger and various organizations? What are the benefits of the corporate blogs bring to the organizations? How the public perceives corporate blogging as a kind of new innovation? What are the perceived relative advantages of corporate blogging according to the bloggers? Why is it to be welcome and popular as a successful new innovation? Is corporate blogging compatible with the existing values and practices of the bloggers? 1. 2 Overview of the Structure This proposal is structured into several sections. This section provides the audience with the motivations, objectives and a brief introduction to the research proposal. In the following sections, it includes the Literature review concerning blogging phenomenon and the process of this successful innovation, the benefits and limitation will be critically reviewed to provide a background for the research theme. In order to further understand real world practices, a theoretical framework is introduced. In section 3, known as Diffusion of innovation theory will be applied in the analysis part. The DIO theory is also used in combination with literature review to analyze and illuminate primary data, which will be used to answer the research question and the respective supporting the arguments. Section 4 describes the research methodology and various techniques which the author used to collate empirical data. In this section, the case research has been choosing to track and understand the history of the perception and adoption of blogs as a new innovation by the successful corporation in the business industry. An interview will also be carried out in the research process. The interview will help to find out the relationship between the employer and internal blogger, and further testify, discover and summarize the effects and benefits of the corporate blog as a new innovation. Finally, the discussion and the conclusion sections will be given to summarize of the expectation of findings, contributions, limitations of the research and points in which the research could further be improved or developed. 2 Literature review 2. 1 Understanding of blogs A weblog or blog is a form of an online journal. Schiano, Nardi, Gumbrecht, and Swartz (2004) defined blogs as â€Å"frequently updated web pages with a series of archived posts, typically in reverse chronological order†. According to Gordon (2006), blogs use â€Å"straightforward content management tool, allowing web pages and entries to be created and updated easily, without the need to worry about design or architecture issues† (Gordon, 2006). Although blog posts are primarily textual, authors may also include photos or other multimedia content in their posts. The blog is the fourth biggest communication tool after the e-mail, BBS and ICQ. According to Cooke (2005), about 70 million blogs exist and over 75,000 blogs are being created each day. Blogs is indeed increasingly becoming popular. Sprague (2007) traced the growth and evolution of blogs. He also discussed how businesses use blogs to communicate with customers. There are different kinds of blogs present today at cyberspace. The most popular ones are personal blogs, service, and corporate blogs (Geerts and Kim 2005, 12). Personal Blogs provide information about the thoughts, interests and activities of different people whether they are individuals or are blogging by groups or affiliations. Service blogs are often topic oriented and they are context specific and much informative than personal blogs. Some groups use service blogs to introduce new technologies and recent development regarding the corresponding technologies which they present. Finally, the corporate blog which is created and maintained by a business entity, and is used to provide information about the company’s products and services and to interact with clients and customers. (Geers and Kim 2005, 12). Since most scholars who work in the area of life writing have chosen to see blogs as a development of the handwritten diary (Rak 2005, 166) more and more people engage in writing in blogspots or blogsites. There are both threats and advantages which corporate blogging gives to the corporations. At some point, corporate blogging has strengthened the transparency and corporate communications. Since at present, Corporate communication channels include not only printed materials but also information posted on a company’s Web sites and blogs (Argenti 2006, 358). However, some corporations fail to further improve their corporate communications because they limit their corporation’s blogspots only to their employees and their advertisers. It is highly doubtful whether they have fully utilized the capabilities of new two-way communication tools because more corporate home pages have been primarily used as a platform to push mundane advertising messages (Liu et al. , 1997; Salam et. al. 1998; Young and Benamati, 2000). Another point presents the fact that, there might be leaks in confidential corporate information which might be given out through the engagement to blogs of employees. Cases of such has led to the termination of employees active in Web blogs, which gives a corporate disadvantage as it losses some of its quality workforce due to the lack of policies and rules which apply to blogs. A good example would be the Delta Air Lines flight attendant who lost her job after she posted photos of herself in uniform on her blog. Delta stated that those photos, in which she is wearing Delta uniform with the blouse partly unbuttoned, were â€Å"inappropriate and unauthorized use of Delta branding† (USA Today, 2005). Web blogs is a critical accessory in information dissemination, yet at the same time, it might cause some corporate failures, as although the Internet allows companies to present their viewpoints directly to key constituents, control over information dissemination is lost (Ihator 2001). There are several studies that investigate the nature of blogs and bloggers. Schiano et. al. (2004) interviewed 23 bloggers between the ages 19 and 60. The interviews included questions about the participant’s blogs, blogging habits, thoughts on blogging, and use of other communication media such as e-mails, instant messaging, phone, and web pages. They found out that blogging is becoming increasingly popular because it serves as an easy-to-use personal journal in which he can express his thoughts and opinions. Nardi, Schiano and Gumbrecht (2004) describe blogs as a social activity. They interviewed the same population and questions as with their study entitled â€Å"Blogging by the Rest of Us†. After the interviews, the authors continued to read their participants’ blogs and communicate with some of them through email. The participants reported the reasons they started blogging, the reasons they continue blogging, and the changes in their blogging habits as time pass by. A variety or reasons emerge: readers inform bloggers they need the new posts; the friends influence their friend to blog. Due to these responses, Nardi et. al. (2004) conclude that blogs are â€Å"a form of social communication in which blogger and audience are intimately related through the writing, posting and commenting of blogs† . (Nardi, 2004) These studies give us an idea on the perceptions of bloggers about blogs in general. 2. 2 Corporate blogs and applications in the real world Different types of blogs have been posted in the internet ever since the adoption of different corporations in the late 1990’s. Corporate blogs however have different types in which each is branded according to the specific user or blogger. Dearstyne (2005) cites five different types of corporate blogs as: employee blog, group blog, executive blog, promotional blog, and newsletter blog. Employee blogs are blogs which are much like personal blogs and are maintained by a single rank-and-file employee. They vary in their content and are sometimes managed by different hosts which the corporations recognize. Although, often times, corporations gather all the blogs their employees post. Majority of employee blogs are still hosted independently of the Web site, employee blogs are increasingly being hosted independently of the company Web sit, employee blogs are increasingly being hosted on company-owned domains as more and more companies are officially sponsoring employee blogging. (Lee et. al. 2006, 319). Group Blogs are blogs which are written by several people or groups. Employees collaborate and write on a specific topic or different topics pertaining to a certain theme; they are made by those who are experts on the certain topics. Group blogs are sometimes made through the initiatives of employees themselves and self-hosted. Though, many group blogs are driven by strategic plans crafted by management and hosted by companies own Web sites (Lee et. al. 2006, 320). Executive Blogs, coming from the name itself, executive blogs are blogs which are written by various corporations’ executives. Corporations and consumers have been keener on what position blog writers are on as awareness about corporate standing is widespread. People have become more interested in top executives who run companies than in individual companies (Gaines-Ross 2000). Promotional blogs are those which primary purpose is to create a buzz about products and events of corporations. This blog however sparks controversy as most of the blogs which are promotional blogs are often times computer generated and is largely called as fake by some bloggers who remain critical about using blogspots as advertising media. The blogging community severely criticized this strategy as deceptive and bloggers even proposed product boycotts (Gallagher 2003). This case suggests that, marketing in the blogsphere is often times discouraged due to the lack of human voice in the ads which are placed in the blogsphere. Some corporations have moved from the traditional type of blog with a domain, and instead created a newsletter type of blog wherein opinions, thoughts, and positions of different corporate or organizational members are voiced out. They carry different information about the corporation, the people inside the corporation, and the corporation’s products which are widely discussed by members of the organization through the electronic newsletter. Sprague (2007) further explains the influence of blogs to the American society. There is an increasing number of both bloggers and blog readers each day. At present, the blog has already extended its influence to the business society. Blogs are reported to influence what people think, do and buy. By the summer 2005, it is estimated that there are nearly 5,000 corporate blogs. Nowadays, there are a number of companies who have already set up their own corporate blogs. Aside from the influx of bloggers, talking about anything and practically everything under the sun, in some countries wherein political turmoil is prominent and shouting against a regime could practically lose you your head. Blogspheres are considered as sanctuaries wherein anyone could voice off their thoughts. In Iran, the Blogsphere is one of the major mediums wherein the populace could voice out their political positions freely with minimal risk of persecution. Any foreigner who visits Iran is struck by the gap between the image projected by the regime to the outside world and the reality of Iranian society. The blogs quoted here vividly convey the bitter disillusionment many Iranians feel not just towards the hard-line mullahs, but toward the failed reformist project and its erstwhile leader (Berkeley 2006, 73). The safeness and freedom of the blogosphere from any political and other accusations which may arise from its use due to the arbitrariness of the policies governing the blogosphere may be seen as an advantage of corporate personalities in advertising and the diffusion of their advocacy especially in corporate social responsibility.

Education Plays A Very Important Role Education Essay

Education plays a really of import function in bring forthing human resources for all states around the universe. A state can go good developed based significantly on the quality of human resources and this can be achieved through carry oning instruction. Cambodia is one of the states in the universe which need a good instruction system to bring forth qualified human resources for developing the state. The instruction system in Cambodia is divided into four degrees, Pre-School Education, Primary Education, Secondary Education ( lower and upper ) , and Higher Education ( UNESCO, 2008 ) . The Royal Government of Cambodia ( RGC ) has set the end to assist kids acquire basic instruction to at least grade nine. After finishing grade 9, pupils can either travel to upper secondary schools or secondary vocational preparation plan provided by the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training ( MOLVT ) . After finishing upper secondary school, pupils can either enter vocational preparation or uni versities ( UNESCO, 2008 ) . Technical Vocational Education and Training ( TVET ) plays a critical function in the socio-economic development of any state. The Royal Government of Cambodia ( RGC ) is committed to economic and societal development as a precedence. The ‘Rectangular Strategy ‘ , the sanctioned national economic development model, and the more elaborate 5 old ages National Strategic Development Plan 2006 – 2010 are committed to skills development. Cambodia will accomplish the Millennium Development Goals ( MDGs ) of Poverty and Starvation Reduction, Enhancing Gender Equity and Creation of Globalization Partnership for Development partially through a antiphonal and better quality preparation system. For growing, employment, equity and efficiency the RGC is committed to beef uping the Technical Vocational Education and Training ( TVET ) sector, ( NSDP, 2006 – 2010 ) . To accomplish this committedness, the RGC mandated the constitution of a new ministry, the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training ( MOLVT ) , in 2004. Within the ministry the Directorate General of TVET ( DGTVET ) was established and under this sits the National Training Board ( NTB ) with a mission to guarantee that Cambodia meets its economic and development ends through an industry driven, quality TVET system, ( National TVET Development Plan, 2008 ) . A cardinal scheme to accomplish quality effectual TVET and competence based course of study and preparation is designation one of the TVET teacher instruction institute, runing under the Directorate General, TVET, as a Lead Institute and a Centre for Excellence for TVET instructor preparation in Cambodia. That institute is responsible for VET Teacher Training and Development for instructors serving both the Regional and Provincial Training Centers in throughout the state, ( National TVET Development Plan, 2008 ) . There are 38 TVET establishments run by Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training ( MOLVT ) in Cambodia and those establishments are separated as Provincial Training Centers ( PTCs ) , Regional Training Centers ( RTCs ) , and TVET institutes, ( National TVET Development Plan, 2008 ) . TVET instructors instruction are trained by a TVET establishments under the umbrella of MOLVT and it is the lone establishment which has the chief responsibility to develop TVET instructors both Senior and Junior degree for all of the 38 TVET establishments throughout the state. Since 2005, the MOLVT has set the policy to enroll three 300 of TVET teacher trainees every twelvemonth, ( National TVET Development Plan, 2008 ) .1.2 Problem statementA survey conducted by Nock and Bishop ( 2008 ) showed the major causes of Kampuchean instructor dissatisfaction such as low wage, corruption/nepotism, hapless leading, hapless life conditions, pupils behavior, and working environment. The same survey revealed tha t 99 % of the respondents said that they could non last on their salary and this problem caused 93 % of them to keep a 2nd occupation. Furthermore, other surveies in Cambodia besides found out the increasing discourtesy from society toward instructors in public schools ( CITA, 2010 ) . MoEYS ( 2010b ) admitted that many instructors have left their instruction places, transferred to new occupations, and reached the retirement age. The jobs besides occur in MOLVT. These surveies above did non stipulate the jobs in TVET but they outlined the common jobs go oning in the Kampuchean instruction environment. In add-on to the affairs mentioned above, it is widely accepted that TVET is a really hapless sector in Cambodia and it is frequently considered as the 2nd pick to all people including pupils, ( ADB, 2009 ) . TVET is a freshly established establishment which merely started developing in 2004, the twelvemonth that MOLVT was established. The registration rate in TVET is really low if compared to academic instruction, ( ADB, 2009 ) . Furthermore, the leading, learning installations, and particularly human resources are in the bad status, ( ADB, 2009 ) . Yet, there are many alumnuss who come and apply for the entryway scrutiny to be a TVET instructor at a TVET instructor instruction institute in Phnom Penh. Based on my occupation, I am able to acquire the information from disposal office and I see that, normally the figure of appliers who applied for the entryway scrutiny ever far exceeds the figure of recruits. For illustration, in the academic twelvemonth 2012 – 2013, there are more than 1,800 campaigners have applied for the entryway scrutiny while MOLVT recruits merely 300 of instructor trainees. Given the relatively low position of TVET, it is ill-defined why there are so many alumnuss enter the entryway scrutiny to go a TVET instructor.1.3 Research QuestionTo go through the entryway scrutiny at the TVET teacher instruction institute is non easy. Yet, there are some trainees who drop out from this preparation plan when they have another pick or better occupation chance. Therefore, this research is fundamentally aimed at happening out the chief motive factors that encourage trainees desiring to go a instructor in the TVET sector. The specific inquiry that the survey seeks to reply is: â€Å" What are the motivative factors of university alumnuss who have entered the proficient instructor developing establishment in respect to their pick of a proficient vocational instruction and preparation instructor calling? †1.4 Significance of the researchThis survey will be utile in some countries as following. First, this survey will lend to determination shapers or policy shaper when enrolling TVET instructor trainees. These people will hold some basic findings from this research so that they will be able to do good determinations when be aftering TVET teacher preparation. If TVET contrivers understand teacher motive, they will be able to turn to any failings in that motive. Second, through understanding teacher motive, this research helps to retain instructors in TVET instruction. Last, but non least, the survey will lend to the present literature on TVET teacher preparation sector, a sector in which virtually no research has been done on TVET instructors.Chapter II Literature reappraisalBy utilizing the hunt engine Google Scholar and the James Cook University Library hunt engine with cardinal footings including: Teacher motives, Motivation to go instructors, Motivations to go TVET instructors, and perceptual experiences of university alumnuss toward TVET instructors career, I have found and downloaded many valuable stuffs for my literature reappraisal related to my subject. Those stuffs give an overview on my subject, and they work as a footing of cognition to back up the literature reappraisal.Teacher MotivationsThe international contextA figure of surveies have been conducted in many states throughout the universe over the last 20 old ages researching the motive of those who decide to go school instructors ( Kyriacou & A ; Coulthard, 2000 ) . Such surveies indicate that the chief grounds for taking instruction as a calling autumn into three chief countries. First, selfless grounds: these grounds deal with seeing learning as a socially worthw hile and of import occupation, the aspiration to acquire kids successful, and the aspiration to do society developed as we can see that many people wish to portion their cognition and expertness to other people in order to supply the capable affair to their community. Second, instrinsic grounds: these grounds screens facets of the occupation activity itself, such as learning kids activities, and the willingness to utilize their capable affair cognition and expertness in which 95 % of pupils in this survey rated that they find the occupation gratifying as really of import factor in taking learning calling. Third, extrinsic grounds: these grounds cover facets of the occupation which are non built-in in the work itself, such as long vacations, degree of wage, and position as there are many people choose teacher calling for their ain benefit such as good payment, for journey, or for pleasance. The consequences of such surveies have received peculiar attending because of the enlisting cr isis confronting many states in pulling people of sufficient quality into the instruction ( Kyriacou & A ; Coulthard, 2000 ) . Kyriacou, Hultgren, and Stephens ( 1999 ) argued similar grounds to what is mentioned in the paragraph above. In this survey, 105 pupil instructors in Stavanger College School of Teachers ‘ Education, Norway, and 112 pupil instructors in University of York, United Kingdom, were asked to finish the questionnaire at the beginning of their instructor preparation class. They revealed the consequence that both groups of pupil instructors reported that their picks came from being strongly influenced by basking the topic they would learn, desiring to work with kids, the fact that teacher calling would give them opportunities to utilize their topic, and long vacations every bit good as societal hours. DeLong ( 1987 ) conducted a survey about â€Å" Teachers and Their Careers: Why Do They Choose Teaching? † in Brigham Young University, Provo, by indiscriminately selected 139 simple and secondary instructors to take part in the survey. The consequence found some similar grounds to the above paragraph why people choose their calling in learning as following: most people rated ‘I like working with children/youth ‘ the most follow by ‘I like to assist others larn and develop ‘ , following is ‘it fulfills a demand of mine to experience useful/contributing ‘ , and so ‘I wish the hours and holidaies ‘ , least rated one is ‘It ‘s a profession that besides allows me clip to prosecute other occupations or concern ‘ and ‘I wish money ‘ . The survey besides stated about the influences on instructors ‘ credence of first learning occupations such as geographical location, learn my country of expertness, me rely needed a occupation, occupation satisfaction, good administration/bosses, long-range security, a opportunity to be originative, good physical environment, benefits, liberty, and promotion into school disposal. The consequence of this survey suggests that instructors go into learning for really different grounds and are influenced in different ways to take learning as calling. Ebru ( 2012 ) surveyed 974 Turkish pre-service instructors to analyze their perceptual experiences about the instruction profession and to seek for ground for taking instruction as a calling. The consequences showed that the motive for taking learning that was highest rated was the â€Å" societal public-service corporation value † of the learning profession such as part to societal, determining the hereafter for kids or striplings, heightening societal equity, etc. Another motive was Personal public-service corporation value of learning profession, for illustration, clip for household, occupation transferability, and occupation security. Besides, the following most rated motive was the anterior instruction and acquisition experiences. Most of the engagement in this survey besides listed their personal abilities and accomplishments as a major ground to take instruction and â€Å" work with kids or striplings † was the following most often mentioned motive of the partici pants. Berger and D ‘ Ascoli conducted a survey about â€Å" Motivations to Become Vocational Education and Training Educators: A Person-Oriented Approach † and they argued some similar to what is discussed above. 605 in-service VET pedagogues in Switzerland were surveyed and the consequences revealed that the most of import for taking a calling as VET pedagogue are intrinsic calling value, perceived teaching ability, personal public-service corporation value, and chance. These consequences showed rather the same survey consequences in general instruction.The Kampuchean contextThe survey by Nock and Bishop ( 2008 ) about the instructor motive in Cambodia has stated the most common grounds why people want to travel to learning are: a strong involvement in the occupation, a desire to assist Cambodia ‘s development by bettering instruction, and because of they enjoy contact with kids. However, some instructors said that they were influenced by their household, had no other o ccupation chance, and chose learning to avoid muster into the ground forces. These three grounds seem to be contrasted with all the literature discussed above. The survey went farther to discourse about the features of a motivated instructor are as following. First, they have good relationship and communicating with pupils with a happy and pleasant personality. Second, they focused on and committed to the occupation by hardworking, punctual, painstaking, and confident, with a serious attitude. Third, they obey the regulations and ever hold a good working environment in the schoolroom and ever keep good pupil attending. Fourth, they are adept and willing to actuating pupil acquisition and accomplishing good consequences. Fifth, they behave in a normal manner and suitably. Sixth, they have a good lesson readying and are flexible when it is used. Seventh, they have good relationship with other members and ever portion each other the utile resource. Eighth, they are originative in learn ing by utilizing ocular AIDSs and schoolroom show. Last, but non least, they take pupils on field trips, Teach pupils about Khmer civilization, and doing betterments in the school environment. In drumhead, most old surveies have shown the most common motive factors that encourage single in taking learning calling. Those factors included: the desire to work with kids and immature people ; the willingness to do the society developed, desiring opportunities to utilize their originative endowment ; and the belief that instruction is a well-paid occupation with respectful from other people. Furthermore, many instructors besides claimed that they like learning calling and they learning is an gratifying occupation. However, some instructor besides stated that they were influenced by their household to be a instructor, they have no other better occupations, and to avoid to be conscripted into ground forces in some political crisis society, ( Nock & A ; Bishop, 2008 ) .Chapter IIIMethodologyResearch designTo carry on this research program, qualitative attacks will be used. Ary, Jacobs, and Sorensen ( 2010 ) depict the intent of qualitative research as being to contextualize finding s, interpret behaviour and purpose, or to understand positions. Qualitative research is used to analyze persons, households, and a assortment of group, organisations, industries, and more ( Ary, Jacobs & A ; Sorensen, 2010 ) . Lodico, Spaulding and Voegtle ( 2010 ) describe qualitative research workers focus on the survey of societal phenomena and on giving voice to the feeling and perceptual experiences of the participants under survey. Gay, Mills and Airasian ( 2009 ) stated that â€Å" Qualitative research is the aggregation, analysis, and reading of comprehensive narrative and ocular ( i.e, nonnumerical ) informations to derive insight into a peculiar phenomenon of involvement † ( p.7 ) . The survey will hold several strengths. The research worker has a good web or entree to the mark institute. Therefore, the research worker will be able to roll up the necessary information that might be needed in the survey. With this facilitation, the research worker will be able to randomly place teacher trainees in the field of agribusiness and technology. This will assist the research worker collect dependable informations. However, this survey will be limited by three factors. First, it will be a instance survey merely, which will be conducted in merely one moderate-sized TVET instructor developing institute in Phnom Penh. Second, the survey will aim merely 60 instructor trainees from agribusiness and technology group. Therefore, the findings will non be generalizable to other instructor trainees in concern Fieldss. Furthermore, the determination might non good plenty due to the sample size is non big. Finally, the sample choice of this survey might non guarantee wholly dependable findings. In this sense, research workers, bookmans, and pupils, carry oning researches from these findings should be careful about doing generalisations from this survey. However, these findings will decidedly offer the foundation for other research on TVET instruction establishments in Cambodia in which no research has been conducted in this field yet.Tools/instruments for informations assemblageSince the construct of factors act uponing university alumnuss ‘ determination to analyze at a TVET instructor instruction institute are complex and qualitative in nature, the research worker will utilize a study questionnaire and interviews as the chief qualitative informations aggregation methods. Furthermore, since there several different countries that trainee instructors being trained, the research worker will split the participants and interviews into two chief classs: agribusiness and technology. Both primary and secondary informations will be collected. The extended secondary informations demands to be consulted foremost. This includes assorted paperss, publications, books, and paperss from the cyberspace. After the secondary information has been collected, the primary informations research will be done through a guided questionnaire study. The questionnaire will be administered chiefly to trainee instructors in a TVET instructor developing institute. The obtained information will go a model for informations analysis and reading.Site, population, sample size and sampling methodThe survey will be conducted at a TVET instructor developing institute. The population of survey consists of TVET instructor trainees, pupils who are being trained to go instructors. In qualitative attack, the informations aggregation should include the purposeful sampling attack and informations aggregation signifier such as observations, interviews, paperss, etc. , ( Creswell, 2009 ) . Therefore, the sample will be made up of 60 respondents selected utilizing the purposive sampling technique. The sample includes 30 participants from agribusiness group, and 30 participants from technology group. The instructor trainees will be selected from the 12th Cohort at a TVET instructor preparation plan at a TVET instructor instruction which is being trained in the academic twelvemonth, 2012- 2013. Three 100s of TVET teacher trainees are recruited and trained every twelvemonth and all instructor trainees are divided into different categories based on their major accomplishments. Thirty instructor trainees will be indiscriminately selected from each category base on their countries of survey, where they come from, and the ages so as to guarantee the research is representative. Then, the selected respondents will be courteously asked to make full in the questionnaires and six of them will be selected to be interviewed.Data collection processsData will be collected from a TVET instructor ins truction institute, referred as Institute A, in Phnom Penh by agencies of two chief classs of study questionnaire and interview, aiming 30 in agribusiness big leagues and 30 in technology big leagues.Survey questionnaireThe research worker will explicate about the intent of research to all groups of instructor trainees and randomly choice 60 of them in the field of agribusiness and technology. All selected teacher trainees will be asked to finish a study signifier with some multiple picks inquiries and open-ended inquiries. The inquiries focus on the motive factors or grounds why they have chosen TVET as their calling. For illustration, what were the two chief grounds why you have chosen a calling in TVET? Who influence your determination to go a TVET instructor? There will be some more inquiries about their background. To guarantee success in the expected research program and expect possible troubles, the research worker will carry on a pilot survey prior to the existent research. The research worker will choose six teacher trainees indiscriminately to reply the inquiries in the questionnaire. After they have answered all the inquiries, the research worker will larn if the instructor trainees understand the inquiries and are able to wholly complete all the inquiries in a fit period of clip. The research worker will do any necessary alterations if he/she finds any misunderstand inquiries to suit with the existent state of affairs and besides to guarantee the expected consequence in the existent survey.Interviewing pupilsThe research worker will non-randomly choose three trainee instructors from each group, agribusiness and technology. The pupils will be asked about what factors influenced their determination to analyze at the TVET teacher instruction institute and what outlooks they are keeping from their survey after their graduation and travel to the existent instruction work. Along with the two major inquiries, there will be some more relevant inquiries about their background. The interview inquiries will be developed based on three of import phases. First, interview inquiries will be designed based on audiences with experient research workers. Second, the subjects which emerge from the study questionnaire I will administrate will supply a footing for some inquiries. Finally, semi-structured interviews will be conducted along with some extra inquiries for respondents ‘ elucidation if necessary in order to roll up more in-depth information.Ethical considerationsThe survey will be conducted in a TVET instructor instruction institute in Phnom Penh. The research worker will inquire for a missive from the MEd Program at RUPP to seek permission from the mark institute prior to informations aggregation. The intent and significance of the survey will be attached with the perm ission-seeking missive and clearly explained to the manager of the institute and all the participants. The manager will be asked to subscribe an blessing for the survey in his/her institute. Likewise, the research participants ( teacher trainees ) will be asked to subscribe an understanding to bespeak their willingness to take part in the survey. The names of the participants or IDs and the institute will be kept anon. . No information refering the study and the interviewees ‘ responses will be used other than the intent of the survey. Besides, the engagements in this survey will be genuinely voluntary. While replying the inquiries, the participants can retreat from the interview or jump any inquiries if they prefer to make so. Creswell ( 2009 ) stated that â€Å" the research proposal needs to turn to the function of the research worker: past experiences, personal connexions to the site, measure to derive entry, and sensitive ethical issues ( p.201 ) † . The connexions between the research workers and the participants, where the research worker behavior the survey at his/her ain organisation, will confront hard power issues and the consequence will be biased and uncomplete, ( Creswell, 2009 ) . Therefore, as the research worker in this survey work as a lector in the institute being studied, there will be a power inequality between the research worker and the participants. However, the research worker will inform the participants that they will experience comfy to decline the requesting to take part in the survey. After the publication of the concluding findings, a transcript of the consequences will be given to the institute.

Particular vs. Specific

Particular vs. Specific Particular vs. Specific Particular vs. Specific By Maeve Maddox A reader asks if there is a distinction to be made between the words particular and specific. In some contexts, the words are close synonyms, but not in all. Both particular and specific mean â€Å"distinguished in some way among others of the same kind,† so the following sets of statements would have the same meaning: Do you have a particular company in mind? Do you have a specific company in mind? Do you have a particular movie you want to see? Do you have a specific movie you want to see? To me specific has a more formal connotation than particular. Although the meanings are identical in these examples, I’d probably choose specific in the business context and particular in the leisure context. Specific has several technical uses. It can mean â€Å"pertaining to a distinct species of animals or plants. For example, â€Å"Gaspard Bauhin, a Swiss botanist of the late 16th and early 17th centuries, designated plants by a generic and a specific name.† In medicine, a â€Å"specific remedy† is a remedy supposed to act on a particular ailment or part of the body. In the study of logic, a statement that is true of all of a group is a universal statement, while a statement that is true of a certain kind of thing is a particular statement. For example, â€Å"All fish live in water† is a universal statement; â€Å"Goldfish are often kept as pets† is a particular statement. In general usage, the two words are used interchangeably when referring to plans: Did you ever have any particular plans at the beginning of your career, any particular vision of where performing would take you? The Barons did the show and, as an amateur group without particular plans, Asked about the future, Paul Simon says he has no particular plans. At this point, no specific plans have been announced, the statement said. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie havent yet set a date for the wedding or made any specific plans. Generally speaking, I’d choose specific when the content seems to call for precision. 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 Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Definitely use "the" or "a"The Many Forms of the Verb TO BEPractice or Practise?

Performance Evaluations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Performance Evaluations - Essay Example Plant engineer performance can be evaluated on criteria such as central services’ design, provision of technical support to maintain plant equipment and facilities, energy saving and production cost of energy (Amrine, Ritchey, Moodie, and Kmec, 2009). Similarly, specific criteria should be used to evaluate the performance of the employees according to their position. Secondly, the evaluation of an individual’s behavior is very essential for the provision of good outcomes, employees must have good behavior with each other; because collective decision making, work sharing, putting ideas for improvement and taking extra responsibility; helps in making organization productive. Therefore, behaviors of one employee with work and with peers should be evaluated. Behavioral evaluation is necessary for plant engineer because he has to work with others and if employees are not happy with him; they will not help him in making satisfactory outcomes. Third, the performance evaluation should be based on individual traits. This is the weakest criteria, but still it is widely used by organizations. Traits such as looking busy, having a good attitude, coming on work on time or before time and having experience are not significantly connected with optimistic results of tasks or may be connected (Robbins, Judge and Sanghi, 2009). Fourth, professional development is also an important criterion for performance evaluation. In such criteria, it is considered that either employee is continuing with his/her education, struggling for excellence, searching for opportunities in order to learn and grow and other such factors. By using different criteria, company and managers identify the strengths and weaknesses of employees. Performance evaluation criterion is an effective tool for the betterment of the organization. From analyzing the outcomes of the tasks, organization can assess

The development of the concept of competitive advantage and how these Literature review

The development of the concept of competitive advantage and how these ideas have been taken up and have influenced the enginee - Literature review Example Competitive advantage not only provides firms with the necessary edge but it also ensures that they are able to create and maintain niche position in the market. Hence, elements of competitive advantage become major tools of survival in highly competitive business environment of contemporary times. The paper would be mainly discussing the development of the concept of competitive advantage of firms and it is exploited by businesses to maintain market position. Concept of competitive advantage The concept of competitive advantage is complex in its scope and therefore is difficult to define with conclusive authority. Many scholars have tried to unravel the factors that can be applied universally for all businesses but have failed to do so. Though early scholars had tried to identify strength and weaknesses of business strategies and plans that could be exploited by businesses to compete against their rivals, the words ‘competitive advantage’ remained elusive (Andrews, 1971 ; Ackoff, 1970). Interestingly, Penrose (1959) and later Ansoff (1965) had used the word but only to describe as how to compete. For them, various components of business strategies were important issues within competitive advantage and were required to be identified as strength or weaknesses so that they can be used to compete against the rivals in industry. ... It therefore, provides huge possibility for factors or elements that could still be used by firms to gain competitive advantage. The generic strategies vis-a-vis cost leadership, differentiation and focus were promoted as major ingredients of competitive advantage by Porter. But in the contemporary environment of recessive trends and changing format of social structure, these factors are used by all firms. They have become an easy means of survival but in the tough times, they could be caught in the vicious war of price cut leading to loss and closure. Thus, something ‘more’ is required for firms to gain competitive advantage or CA. Hay and Williamson (1991: 42) describe CA as capabilities which give the firms relative advantage against the rivals. Barney (1991: 99) also asserts that CA is value creating strategy that is unique and is not used by competitors. Both scholars were aware that CA is important aspect of businesses but were deficient in describing the elements that constitute CA. The definition was abstract in its content but at the same time, gave invaluable insight into the importance of having competitive advantage. Kay (1993: 24) believed that CA is a measurable financial performance outcome that can be defined as ‘ratio of added value to the firm’s gross or net output’. Most important is the fact that Kay had used it as a tangible asset or value addition to the product and services that help the firms to improve their financial outcome. The criteria lose its essence in the fast transforming scenario of emerging new paradigms in intangible assets and business compulsions. Competitive advantage cannot be confined within the context of tangible products and viewed objectively for its value added services. The transforming values have