Saturday, August 31, 2019

Impact of Television Advertisement on Buying Behaviour of Adolescents Essay

Market arena in India has been witnessing several changes in character and complexity since the last few years. These changes include a higher reach of mass media, particularly due to an increased penetration of satellite channels, availability of a greater assortment of products and services, a higher level of consumer spending on items other than basic necessities, a more discerning choice behavior exhibited by consumer preference for better value in products and services. A gradual development of the economy has indeed influenced these changes. However, the most important impetus for the transformation of markets is the visible increase in competition. Given these signals, the key question vexing most companies is: how does one compete and grow in rapidly changing and competitive markets? The answer is Television Advertisement. Television the great invention of J. K. Baird has today became a mass media of modern communication; as a result there has been an increase in great amount of commercial propaganda. Today’s producer invests huge amount of money on TV advertisement and in finding new ways of attracting consumers towards his products. As a result consumerism is the new religion of the day. Consumerism is having great effect on various groups of the society. Adolescents are the important group of the society. So, it will be of great use to find-out how television advertising affects them? In the city consumerism had already begun to spin its web. Adolescents are the main targets of this, which attempts to change their consumption pattern, lifestyle & views. Consumerism is also influencing adolescent’s buying behaviour & higher desire of acquiring luxurious goods in their future-life. In short the producer of today is trying to capture the market by focusing its special attention towards adverting by keeping adolescents in their point of view. The best example of consumerism is advertising strategy adopted by China for capturing market. Their main focus is on adolescents. China has gained great share in the international market due to adverting its adolescents-related products. They became successful in earning foreign revenue just by changing adolescent’s psychology through advertising. This example of China depicts how a growth rate in economy is accelerated by mere advertising for adolescents. In 1991 Indian Government introduced new ‘Industrial Policy’ and adopted the concept of ‘Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization, as a result there is rapid growth in Industrialization. Many foreign and multinational companies entered into Indian market to sell their products. To capture the market many producers are engaged in advertising their products on Television. TV advertisements are displayed in a very attractive manner. Generally the help of film stars and cricket stars is taken for advertising the products. This strategy of the producers is having a great impact on buying behavior of adolescents. Adolescents get easily attracted towards these TV advertisements and try to follow their favorite film stars and cricket stars. TV advertisements are playing a crucial role in changing the buying behavior of adolescents. Today adolescents prefer to buy luxurious goods and desires to live a comfortable life in future. Today there is a drastic change in eating and clothing habits of adolescents due to TV advertisements as a result there is increased profitability of the producers. Meaning of Basic Terms Adolescence  Adolescence (lat adolescere,(to) grow) is a transitional stage of physical and mental human development that occurs between childhood and adulthood. This transition involves biological (i. e. pubertal), social, and psychological changes, though the biological or physiological ones are the easiest to measure objectively. Historically, puberty has been heavily associated with teenagers and the onset of adolescent development. [1][2][3][4] In recent years, however, the start of puberty has seen an increase in preadolescence and extension beyond the teenage years, making adolescence less simple to discern. 1][5][2] The end of adolescence and the beginning of adulthood varies by country as well as by function, as even within a single country there will be different ages at which an individual is considered mature enough to be entrusted with particular tasks, such as driving a vehicle, having sexual relations, serving in the armed forces, voting, or marrying. Also, adolescence is usually accompanied by an increased independence allowed by the parents or legal guardians and less supervision, contrary to the preadolescence stage. Puberty Puberty is the stage of the lifespan in which a child develops secondary sex characteristics (for example a deeper voice or larger adam’s apple in boys, and development of breasts and more curved and prominent hips in girls) as his or her hormonal balance shifts strongly towards an adult state. This is triggered by the pituitary gland, which secretes a surge of hormones, such as testosterone (boys) or estrogen and progesterone (girls) into the blood stream and begins the rapid maturation of the gonads: the girl’s ovaries and the boy’s testicles. Some boys may develop Gynecomastia due to an imbalance of sex hormones, tissue responsiveness or obesity. Put simply, puberty is the time when a child’s body starts changing into an adult’s body. The onset of puberty in girls appears to be related to body fat percentage. Girls start going through puberty earlier than boys, although there have been cases of boys having signs of puberty as early as the age of 9. The average age for girls to start puberty is 10-12 while the average age for boys to start puberty is 12-14. Adolescent psychology Adolescent psychology is associated with notable changes in mood sometimes known as mood swings. Cognitive, emotional and attitudinal changes which are characteristic of adolescence, often take place during this period, and this can be a cause of conflict on one hand and positive personality development on the other. Because the adolescents are experiencing various strong cognitive and physical changes, for the first time in their lives they may start to view their friends, their peer group, as more important and influential than their parents/guardians. Because of peer pressure, they may sometimes indulge in activities not deemed socially acceptable, although this may be more of a social phenomenon than a psychological one. [6] This overlap is addressed within the study of psychosociology. The home is an important aspect of adolescent psychology: home environment and family have a substantial impact on the developing minds of teenagers, and these developments may reach a climax during adolescence. For example, abusive parents may lead a child to â€Å"poke fun† at other classmates when he/she is seven years old or so, but during adolescence, it may become progressively orse, for example, the child may now be using drugs or becoming intolerably violent among other classmates. If the concepts and theory behind right or wrong were not established early on in a child’s life, the lack of this knowledge may impair a teenager’s ability to make beneficial decisions as well as allowing his/her impulses to control his/her decisions. In the search for a unique social identity for themselves, adolescents are frequently confused about what is ‘right’ and what is ‘wrong. ‘ G.  Stanley Hall denoted this period as one of â€Å"Storm and Stress† and, according to him, conflict at this developmental stage is normal and not unusual. Margaret Mead, on the other hand, attributed the behavior of adolescents to their culture and upbringing. [7] However, Piaget, attributed this stage in development with greatly increased cognitive abilities; at this stage of life the individual’s thoughts start taking more of an abstract form and the egocentric thoughts decrease, hence the individual is able to think and reason in a wider perspective. 8] Positive psychology is sometimes brought up when addressing adolescent psychology as well. This approach towards adolescents refers to providing them with motivation to become socially acceptable and notable individuals, since many adolescents find themselves bored, indecisive and/or unmotivated. [9] Adolescents may be subject to peer pressure within their adolescent time span, consisting of the need to have sex, consume alcoholic beverages, use drugs, defy their parental figures, or commit any activity in which the person who is subjected to may not deem appropriate, among other things. Peer pressure is a common experience between adolescents and may result briefly or on a larger scale. It should also be noted that adolescence is the stage of a psychological breakthrough in a person’s life when the cognitive development is rapid[10] and the thoughts, ideas and concepts developed at this period of life greatly influence the individual’s future life, playing a major role in character and personality formation. [11] Struggles with adolescent identity and depression usually set in when an adolescent experiences a loss. The most important loss in their lives is the changing relationship between the adolescent and their parents. Adolescents may also experience strife in their relationships with friends. This may be because of things their friends do, such as smoking, that they feel if they don’t do, they’ll lose their friendship. Teen depression can be extremely intense at times because of physical and hormonal changes but emotional instability is part of being a teenager. Their changing mind, body and relationships often present themselves as stressful and that change, they assume, is something to be feared. [12] Views of family relationships during adolescence are changing. The old view of family relationships during adolescence put an emphasis on conflict and disengagement and thought storm and stress was normal and even inevitable. However, the new view puts emphasis on transformation or relationships and maintenance of connectedness. Consumer behavior

FACTOR THAT INFLUENCE INTENSIVE BAHASA INGGERIS STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION TOWARDS LEARNING ENGLISH AT ALPHA COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY IN SEREMBAN 2 Essay

In the era of information and technology, there is a great need for individuals to learn and master the English language. Nowadays the English language is important to get a job easily. English is also used for different purposes such as news and information, business, diplomacy, entertainment and others, supported by Kitao as cited in (Kasuma, 2002). According to Travil as cited in (Kasuma, 2002) knowing the language can help us to express our opinions, hopes, and even our dreams. In Malaysia every school uses English as the language for teaching subjects such as Mathematics and Science, and a lot of people learn English at school, where English language is used as a common subject. Learning the language is important and people learn to read and write in English to make sure they can communicate with other people. However, there are still some people who may not read and speak in the English language fluently. In the primary and secondary schools English is taught as a second langua ge. By studying English, students can prepare themselves to improve their thinking and communication skills. Based on Rosli Talif as cited in (Kasuma, 2002), English could 2 contribute to knowledge, understanding and skills of students, who need to be equipped with such skills in order to be prepared for more complex problems in the future. As we all know English is important but there are still people who don’t want to take the opportunity to learn the English language because of their lack of motivation. Motivation is suggested to be an important factor to start learning English. Motivation is defined as the extent that one strives to acquire the language because of the desire to do so and satisfaction derived from it supported by Gardner as cited in (Wimolmas, 2001). For students to achieve their success they need to have a strong motivation for themselves. Motivation can influence the students learning results. Motivation is the biggest single factor affecting a language learner’s success. According to Tuan L as cited in (Jafari, 2013) one of the factors influencing the success of the learners in learning English is the person’s motivation. Students who have low motivation will  not attend the class, or enter the class late, that is why motivation is needed to make the students more likely to enter the class and want to learn English or other subjects. Motivation is one of the factors or keys to success in anything. When they lack motivation the students also get poorer results. Every student has his own goal and target. Some of the students have the motivation to learn and some students learn by working harder in understanding the subject. They will have different results, as some students may have good results and some student may not even though they have worked harder, because the student that have a higher motivation will get the credits and have better results. 3 1.1. Background of Study This research is done in Alpha College of Technology (ACT) which is one of the Private Colleges in Malaysia. The population of this college is about 1143 students. The topic that has been choose by the researcher is the factors that influence Intensive Bahasa Inggeris (IBI) students’ motivation towards learning English at Alpha College of Technology in Seremban 2. In this research the respondents that have been chosen is students from Alpha College of Technology, who are from Semester 1 to Semester 6. In this research students can be motivated by many factors, and the researcher will focus on four independent variables to examine the factors that influence students’ motivation in learning English. Intensive Bahasa Inggeris (IBI) is a programme that takes two month for the students to complete. Students who enter this program will gain a lot of knowledge. The objective in this IBI programme is after two months the students, they should be able speak English using correct grammar and they should be able have a confidence when speaking and communicating with others. In this IBI programme, the students will learn everything in English also speak in English with the lecturers. It is because Alpha College of Technology has decided to take lecturers from the other countries so that they can’t speak our language which is Bahasa Malaysia. With this method, the students will not have an option to communicate in Bahasa Malaysia. They need to speak English to communicate with the lecturers. So the students will be able to have a confidence in themselves to speak with others. The college also has provided good facilities to learn the language in two month. The students will have a comfortable classroom. Other than that the students will also do some activities in the class such as presentations, public speaking, acting, and many more. All of these activities will be in the English language. Some of the students will do the activities individually and in groups so this will make the students have more confidence in communicating with others using the English language. Other than that, the IBI programme also uses technology in the lessons, such as using a projector which teaching in class. This will make the students understand the lectures. The lecturers may use the projector in teaching grammar using presentations. The college also provides good audio systems in every classroom to make sure the students can hear the lecturers during lecture. The audio system also will be used in the listening activities. With all these facilities, the collage hopes to mak e the students have high motivation in learning English in the two months. Although after the two months, if the student still can’t have good grammar skills, at least they have confidence in communication and can speak with everyone. 1.2. Problem Statement English is important nowadays, because it is used in all our daily activities. English is the fourth most widely spoken language in the world. It is the most spoken official language in the world. In Malaysia English is known as a second language which is used every day and it is an international language. English language can help create many opportunities in international markets because English is used as an international language and it will be easy to communicate with others from different countries. Many of the world’s top films, books and music are published and produced in English. Therefore by learning English you will have access to great entertainment and have a greater cultural understanding. Other than that, most of the content produced on the internet is in English. So, by knowing English will allow you to access and get more information easily. There are several factors that motivate IBI students in learning English. Learning will not happen without good motivat ion, some students may have a good motivation but when it comes to learning English they will lose their motivation because they have a negative view to learning English. So, in  this research the researcher will view the factors that influence IBI students to learn English. There are four factors that influence IBI students’ motivation in learning English which are the activities, facilities, the lectures ability and the technology. Specifically, the research explored that with suitable activities, it will help students’ motivation in learning English. Learning English will not be effective if the students only learn theory without activities, because students will have better understanding of the language and have the courage to speak in front of others. As we notice, most of students who learn English do not fully understand and can’t speak and communicate well with others. This is because they do not have the motivation to do so. In Malaysia, some of the institutes don’t have effective activities for the students to give them motivation to learn English. The colleges must know what activities can be used to make the students want to learn more English. They can give activities such as public speaking, poem recitations, and spelling contests. With correct activities, the students will have good motivation to learn English, because they will not face any stress in learning English. Next the researcher also examined the facilities of the college to see if they are suitable for the students to learn English. The college must provide good facilities to make their students learn English. A college which does not have good facilities will not inf luence student’s motivation in learning English. The facilities will include whether the college provides a good class, which has air-conditioning or not, enough tables and chairs for study, and has a whiteboard or not. Good facilities are most important to make the students have motivation in learning English. Some of students don’t want to enter the class because they are not satisfied with the facilities that are provided by the college. In this case the students will not come to class and will study at the hostel. This show that the students have poor motivation because they don’t have the desire to learn and may be they will stop leaning in the college. The lecturers’ ability is also important in determining the students’ motivation in learning the English language. The lecturers need to have a willingness to teach the students and if the lecturers don’t have the willingness to give lectures to the students 7 than the students will not have the motivation to learning English. Lecturers play an important role in developing student’s minds and motivation in learning the English language. Some colleges may have all foreign lecturers to give a lesson to the students so that the students will have to speak in English to communicate well with the lecturers because the lecturers only understand English. With a good lecturer’s ability, the students will be able to learning English with a higher motivation. Also some students may not be liked by the lecturers. This is normally because they are biased, and some students may refuse to enter a class because they do not like the lecturers, either personally or professionally. Other than that, technology also may be a factor that influences students to study the English language. The college needs to update their technology for the betterment of the students. Technology that may be used by the college like projectors, for lectures can make students understand more clearly. Also with the use of technology, the lecturers can give a lecture to the students faster. For some students they can learn faster when using a technology because they enjoy themselves during the lectures and get the main point in the lecture easily. The lecturers also do not need to worry about insufficient time to give lectures to the students. 8 1.3. Research Question This research focuses on factors that influence IBI students’ motivation towards learning English. The research questions are: 1.3.1. Are activities a factor that influence IBI students’ motivation towards learning English? 1.3.2. Are facilities a factor that influence IBI students’ motivation towards learning English? 1.3.3. Is the lecturers’ ability a factor that influences IBI students’ motivation towards learning English? 1.3.4. Is technology a factor that influences IBI students’ motivation towards learning English? 1.4. Research Objective The specific objective for this research is the factors that influence IBI students’ motivation towards learning English. The research objectives are: 1.4.1. To identify whether activities are a factor that influence IBI students’ motivation towards learning English. 1.4.2. To identify whether facilities are a factor that influence IBI students’ motivation towards learning English. 1.4.3. To identify whether the lecturers’ ability is a factor that influences IBI students’ motivation toward learning English. 1.4.4. To identify whether technology is a factor that influences IBI students’ motivation towards learning English. 9 1.5. Significance of Study The significance of this study is to find the factors that influence IBI students’ motivation towards learning English at Alpha College of Technology in Seremban 2, Negeri Sembilan. It is believed that those students that have motivation in themselves will want to continue learning English and take the IBI programme. 1.5.1. Researcher This research, can be used by other researchers as their references. The researcher will also get more knowledge and get more information about the factors that influence IBI students’ motivation towards learning English at Alpha College of Technology in Seremban 2, Negeri Sembilan. Other researchers may use the information that is obtained in this study and apply it in other areas by using different or more samples. With this research also the researcher may increase his self-confidence and communication skills when dealing with other people in the future. 1.5.2. Intensive Bahasa Inggeris (IBI) students Through this research, the student will get the knowledge about the factors that influence IBI students’ motivation towards learning English in more detail. In addition, with this research, the researcher can also help the students to identify the factors that influence them to learn English. 10 1.5.3. Readers This research is important and very beneficial to the reader because it can be used as information in understanding the factors that influence IBI students’ motivation towards learning English. 1.5.4. Future researcher This research will be able to help others in their future research. It is important because future researchers can use this research as a guide for a new area of research with similar topics. The researcher also will be able to use this research as a reference to gain more knowledge about the factors that influence IBI students’ motivation towards learning English at Alpha College of Technology in Seremban 2, Negeri Sembilan. 1.6. Scope of the Study Student motivation for learning something is the factor for the students to continue studying. For the purpose of this research, the study will focus on factors that influence Intensif Bahasa Inggeris (IBI) students’ towards learning English at Alpha College of Technology. 11 1.6.1. Subject This research focuses on factors that influence IBI students’ motivation towards learning English at Alpha College of Technology. In this research, the researcher will know what are the factors that will influence the students’ motivation. For this research it focuses on four motivation factors that have been identified. They are activities, facilities, lecturers’ ability, and technology. 1.6.2. Respondents The respondents in this study were selected from students who have taken an IBI programme at Alpha Collage of Technology, Seremban 2. As many as 100 respondents were selected to answer the questionnaire that was already prepared. The questionnaire is based on the factors that influence IBI students’ motivation towards learning English based on the independent variables. 1.6.3. Location The location of the study that was chosen by the researcher is at Alpha College of Technology, Seremban 2, Negeri Sembilan. This place was selected because it is close to the researcher’s residence, and it is faster for the researcher to distribute and collect the questionnaire from the students. The researcher also selected this place because it is easy to get permission from the authorities to do the research. It is also suitable for 12 the researcher to get the respondents because it is easy to find respondents as they are in the IBI programme at Alpha College of Technology. 1.7. Limitation of the Study 1.7.1. The respondent This research focuses on 100 respondents who had entered the Intensif Bahasa Inggeris (IBI) programme, which is a two month programme. The researcher had difficulties when distributing the questionnaire because the researcher needed to give the questionnaire to persons who have entered the IBI programme only. The researcher will get late feedback from the respondents because the researcher may need to explain the questions to them. Also some respondents did not answer the entire questionnaire and gave false information while filling in the questionnaire. Other than that there were a few respondents who did not give their cooperation to the researcher. 1.7.2. The location This study was done at Alpha College of Technology which has an Intensif Bahasa Inggeris (IBI) programme. This study was only conducted in a specific area which is at Alpha Collage of Technology in Seremban 2, Negeri Sembilan. 1.7.3. Limitation of data The researcher found that the data needed was available only in Alpha College of Technology. Therefore the data may not be very accurate because it is only from the students of Alpha College of Technology. 1.8. Chapter Summary As a summary, this chapter explains the overview and background of the study. In addition, this chapter also explains about the problem statement of this research which explain about the problem that make the researcher make this research. Next the researcher will create a research question and research objective which will be used as an independent variable in this research. The dependent variable of this research is motivation and Intensive Bahasa Inggeris (IBI). After that the researcher will need to explain about the significance of the study which contain researcher, IBI students, and for the future researcher. Beside that the researcher will explain about the scope of the study which is subject, respondents, and location. Lastly the researcher will explain about the limitation that the researcher have during completed this research.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Jerry Rice

Have you ever met an athlete with a god given talent for a sport? Or have you ever had to play a sport to go â€Å"pro† and provide for your family? Well Jerry Lee Rice born October 13, 1962 raised in Starkville, Mississippi had a hard childhood; Jerry grew up â€Å"Simon pure†, no street lights, no sidewalks, no sidewalks, no stadium or concerts. As a youngster Jerry saw a lot of poor events in his life but very little of luxury that later became a part of his life.His father, a brick mason built a home for his large family. When money was short, rice helped his father carry bricks and mix mortar. When money was rational, Jerry started to worry about sports. In high school jerry played every position, from quarterback to tackle. The coach started to see that jerry can play at a college level; from there jerry made a promise to a Crawford coach, Archie Cooley, to take a recruiting trip.A graceful, speedy, and nearly unstoppable wide receiver was born. Rice helped put Mi ssissippi State on the map, the caught more than 100 passes in each of his last two seasons. As a senior he had 28 touchdowns receptions. He was so good that since he was 18 years old he has been doubled teamed. After leading state to a 24-6-1 record, Jerry was going down the road of success, Bill Walsh a 49ers coach heard about the amazing and best wide receiver in the, he had to come and talk to him.Walsh came to the 1985 pro football draft determined to win jerry’s services for the 49ers. so sold was the coach on rice that he traded up in order to select the young man sixteenth pick in the first round. Instantaneously Walsh took some heat for the decision, because rice had not proven himself in the high-stakes. Rice’s rookie season had a rocky start. He dropped a record fifteen passes, Rice blamed his early failures on the complex offense that Walsh ran. He simply had to acquire the moves.He said he need to revision, so to the point he could run a play without think about the route, Rice recovered quickly. Even before his first season ended he had set a team record with 241 receiving yards in one game. He was a unanimous choice for the 1985-86, living the dream rice never forgot where he came from he gave back to the community took care of his mom and family and became the role model he wished to be. In one of jerry rice’s quotes he said â€Å"Today I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can’t†.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

James Baldwin Giovanni's Room Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

James Baldwin Giovanni's Room - Essay Example The former is an internal and personal issue, while the latter is an external and cultural issue. Actions speak louder than words is almost clich in the novel. Lack of self-acceptance and fear of his sexuality is explicitly demonstrated by David all throughout his life. His first encounter with discovering his sexual orientation started when he was a boy. He had an affair in Brooklyn with his friend named Joey; they kissed and made love to each other. The next day, he bullied him just to feel that he is dominant and is a real man. The action clearly states that he was not ready to accept that he likes boys, and maybe, he was also afraid that he might get teased by his friends. This action is common among children, because fatherly and motherly roles reinforce a clear distinction between manly and womanly roles. Furthermore, in a conservative culture like that of Brooklyn, such orientation is near to banned. But David's past does not end there, for it haunted him until his adult life. He started drinking and driving in order to forget. He moved from America to France to eliminate those painful memories and renew his life. Finally, he decided to commit his life to Hella, a woman, her girlfriend.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology - Essay Example An organic compound with C10H8 formula, Naphthalene is the basic form of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon. It as a prominent smell which can be detected at 0.8ppm by mass concentrations or even lower and it is a white crystalline solid. Its structure is made up of the complex pair of rings made by benzene. It is known as the basic ingredient for many conventional mothballs. Short-term exposure to Naphthalene causes fever, vomiting, irritation, and diarrhea. People breathe Naphthalene while working on the jobs. The permitted exposure limit of Naphthalene for General Industry is 10 ppm, or 50 mg /m3 TWA. The OSHA permitted Maritime exposure limit to 10ppm, 50 mg /m3. People also breathe this compound when there is chemical clean up as sites or people who take shower or do laundry with unhygienic water or use mothballs in the surrounding area of their house.People are also exposed to Naphthalene when they use unhygienic water for preparing their food or drinking. This hazardous chemical can get into the skin of an individual as well when they handle the chemical while working with it or playing in soil; also touching unhygienic water for bathing and laundry also enhances the chance of getting Naphthalene. Naphthalene is used to make many products and both consumers and workers are exposed to it at some part of the process which poses latent dangers for them. Employees should learn how to take care of themselves and take safety measures to mitigate the exposure they have with gas or liquid.

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Information Technology Is a Competitive Tool in an Evolving Literature review

Information Technology Is a Competitive Tool in an Evolving Hospitality Industry - Literature review Example To demonstrate this reality some of the instances of on-site applications of IT in hospitality firms comprise the implementations of physical devices for instance hotel information kiosks, department store touch screen displays, and self departure counters at hospitality firm. As well, on-site applications are less data based than on-site applications. In this scenario, some of the instances of off-site applications can be online transaction web sites and automated telephone systems (Schrier et al., 2010; Dabholkar & Bagozzi, 2002). According to (Hotelmule, 2010), in the past few years, the use of IT in the hospitality industry has increased extremely. Though, this travel has not for all time been without problems, but it has turned out to be obvious that information technology is currently a vital competitive tool in the hospitality industry (Hotelmule, 2010). According to (Branca et al., 2002), improving service quality and enhancing efficiency are the critical functions of informa tion technology in the hospitality industry. ... Moreover, a lot of researches such as (DiPietro & Wang, 2010; Cho & Olsen, 1998; Nyheim et al., 2004) discuss the role of information technology in strategy building and gaining competitive edge. According to their viewpoints, the information technology has turned into a vital strategic tool for hospitality firms for the reason that it helps them improve their organizational efficiency and strategic competitiveness. Thus, there is an increasing importance of the function that is performed by the information technology in improving a hospitality firms’ competitive edge, and as a result playing a significant role in the success of the hospitality firm. In point of fact, the use of information technology in the hospitality industry has been increasing at a rate quicker than at any other time in the past (DiPietro & Wang, 2010; Cho & Olsen, 1998; Nyheim et al., 2004). One reason of this increase could be the adoption of modern technologies by the younger generations as they became well aware of the usage of IT, thus they want to carry that into their accommodation, lodging and dining experiences. In addition, the decisions regarding the acceptance and implementation of new technology or IT supported systems have become a great deal more critical and as a result the majority of hospitality firms have started to transform their corporate or organization environment in order to upgrade roles and responsibilities for instance building a IT department, hiring technology experts, or a chief information/technology executive to watch over IT related decisions. In the hospitality industry, the implementation of information is vital for a wide variety of purposes. In this scenario, the basic purpose is to more efficiently use technology to

Monday, August 26, 2019

Managing business ethics in China Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Managing business ethics in China - Essay Example In the modern day business world, a manager needs to ensure adherence to business ethics in a firm’s quest for profiteering motives. However, recent developments have resulted in varied definitions of ethics, and each person has to use own judgement to differentiate between ethical and unethical practise. Moreover, the capacity of a business to adhere to ethical expectations is dependent on political, social, economic, and environmental factors of a market. This means that a firm should balance its business practice with environmental and social responsibility, and in adherence to the ethical guidelines stipulated by the government in the country of operation. In essence, the highest level of ethical practice involves business practices that aim to ensure economic, environmental and social sustainability. The Chinese economy is characterized with widespread criticism on high levels of unethical practices; including corruption that is touted to be the most detrimental factor of the economy. However, recent changes have seen a change in focus to adherence to ethical guidelines by managers, most of whom are learning how to incorporate the system into their businesses without seeming to suffer from the alienation by western values. The Chinese investors insist on charting their own path to ethical practice despite the assimilation of various western characteristics into its economic system. On august 26, 2010, Landau reported on BBC about a businessperson who tried to incorporate Christianity as a tool to entrench ethical practice among his employees, mainly by encouraging his employees to convert to the Christian faith. While this practice is not illegal, it brings up the question of how far managers can go to ensure ethical practises in their firms (Landau, 2010). Factors Influencing Et hical Practice in China Many factors have been blamed for the widespread unethical practices in China, but the most outstanding ones are philosophical beliefs, globalisation and the rapid changes that the Chinese economy undergoes. Philosophical Beliefs The main philosophical approaches taken by the Chinese are Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism, all of which are based on the teachings of prominent thinkers who resided in the Far East. Confucius, the father of Confucianism, taught that the first obligation of every person is to the family, such that everyone is expected to take care of the needs of family members and close friends before extending favours to others. While this is a convenient way of living in day-to-day life, the philosophy may be destructive in the business world, as managers tend to hire their family members regardless of their qualifications. This has resulted in poor quality of Chinese products; erosion of work ethics since a favour leads to another, and the cycl e goes on despite detrimental effects to the economy. However, this does not mean that Confucianism only has negative effects on ethics; in fact, if applied correctly, the philosophy has three main aspects that promote ethical practise. These include the teachings on obedience, following laid down guidelines, and humanity (Suen, Cheung and Mondejar, 2007). Taoism incorporates the principles of learning the details of one's profession for improved workmanship, and promotion of maximum good for the greatest number of people. In addition, Taoism results in increased efficiency at the workplace though this is not the prime concern of the philosophy. Buddhism is the philosophy that encourages business personality to respect and preserve the business environment; and to create a healthy relationship between the business and the community around it. Any manager intending to do ethical business in China has to have an understanding of the perceptions of

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Peer reviews and population page Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Peer reviews and population page - Assignment Example However this is not the same for all ethnic groups. White Hispanics have the lowest numbers while African Americans have highest number. According to Vijan, Hayward and Langa (2004), diabetes is one other factor that seriously affect the productivity of people born between 1931 and 1941. In the USA, an estimated 16–17 million people live with serious diabetes conditions making it hard for them to be economically productive. Apart from these people being unproductive, they also have increased costs for healthcare. These authors argue that for most people who have diabetes related cost, these costs arise from diabetes related disabilities. Nishita, Uehara and Tom (2011) indicate that effective self-management for diabetes patients requires them to directly participate in the care in order for them to avoid disability and to maintain independence and employment. They found that the patient’s perception and knowledge of the impacts of diabetes can affect the way the patients are able to manage the disease to prevent disability related to diabetes. Younger people when diagnosed with diabetes are more likely to feel that they will be affected more by the condition, especially with regard to their employment and their ability to take care of themselves. Hawaiian young residents were more likely to be concerned with these facts when diagnosed with diabetes. Today, over 16 million Americans live with diabetes. Of these, a majority of them end up becoming diabetes due to diabetes related issues. The number of USS citizens with diabetes is growing at a very fast rate. Between 2007 and 2012 alone, the number of people with diabetes in the United States increased by about 41 %. This increment is a very alarming rate. most Americans do not have enough knowledge about the disease and that in most cases, if diagnosed with the disease, do not know how to take care of themselves to avoid the deterioration of the

Saturday, August 24, 2019

AUTOMATED TELLER MACHINE (ATM) Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

AUTOMATED TELLER MACHINE (ATM) - Term Paper Example Haag Cummings and Rea(2004) state that Automated teller machines are electronic telecommunications device that enables the clients seeking the transactions of a financial institution to perform financial transactions (Cummings et al., 2004). It achieves this without the need for human cashier, clerk or bank teller. According to Anand (2006), ATM is a banking terminal capable of linking customers with 24 hours deposit and withdrawal services for the clients at any time (Anand, 2006). The ATMs or cash dispenser devices are installed in the bank halls and spread across the city or specific locations for convenience of the customer. They mechanically accept deposits; give withdrawals, transfer funds between varied accounts and issue bills. Over the past years, many people have tried to claim that they are the investor of the ATM; others believe that Luther George Simjian is documented to be an inventor due to his idea that came first. Some believe it was Don Wetzel, some other people say the inventor is John Shepherd-Barron. In the late 1930’s, Luther George Simian tried to build an ATM but it was not a successful version of ATM. The author did not register related patents; initially designed with the idea of creating a hole in the wall. It was allowing customers to make financial transitions without going to the bank. However according to BBC London (27 June 2007), on the topic Enfield’s cash gift to the world indicated that the first of these that decided to roll out the technology was the Barclays bank. It is located in Enfield town towards the northern part of London,in the United Kingdom on 27 June 1967. The machine was the first in the world. English comedy actor Reg was the first person who made use of the ATM (BBC, 2007). The art of linking the different ATM devices to a central computer is a common occurrence at the moment. The idea came into reality when the world wide web and the internet were rolled out. Banks keep databases of

Friday, August 23, 2019

Al Ain Farms Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Al Ain Farms - Essay Example The company comprises of three Al Ain Dairy Farms, which delivers fresh dairy products, raw milk cow, camel products, and fresh chickens and eggs (â€Å"Al Ain Dairy Farm† 1). The company is in the food production Industry where it employs between 201-500 employees (â€Å"LinkedIn† 1). The company adopts and maintains a commitment to consistent innovation, quality, and freshness (â€Å"Al Ain Dairy Farm† 1). Indeed, Al Ain Farms and Livestock Production Company developed a comprehensive Program of corporate social responsibility and sustainable use of environmental resources. Specifically, the company measures and monitors waste, emissions, and water processing levels in consultation with Al Ain Municipality (â€Å"Al Ain Dairy Farm† 1). Moreover, the company abhors quality and complies with all national and international quality and safety standards such as HACCP and ISO. Indeed, Al Ain Farms and Livestock Production Company received its ISO 22000 certifi cate in 2009 (â€Å"Al Ain Dairy Farm† 1). It also gained the HACCP certification because of attaining the highest international standards of product hygiene and safety (â€Å"LinkedIn† 1). The company focuses on customer satisfaction, quality, safety, and innovation in all its operations. As a result, the company stands out as an award winning company where it continues to receive various consumer and industry awards for its quality and innovation. Specifically, the company received the WCRC "Asia's Most Promising Brand" Award in 2013, UAE Product of the Year award in 2012, BBC Good Food Middle East award in 2011, 2012, and 2013, and the Sheikh Khalifa Excellence Award in 2010 among others (â€Å"Al Ain Dairy Farm† 1). The Al Ain Farms and Livestock Production Company witnessed consistent expansion since its inception in 1981 (â€Å"LinkedIn† 1). Today, the company has three dairy farms with more than 1000 milking cows and 230 camels, which supply UAE wi th a wide range of locally produced safe, hygienic, and high quality dairy products (â€Å"LinkedIn† 1). Moreover, the company invested in technology and machinery, which makes Al Ain Farms and Livestock Production Company the most modern and efficient processing plant with a high volume capacity for production in UAE (â€Å"Al Ain Dairy Farm† 1). Indeed, the company stands out in all aspects as the most successful and prominent dairy company in the UAE. Subsidiaries and Products Al Ain Farms and Livestock Production Company provide a wide range of high quality milk products and juice products in UAE. Specifically, the company offers full fat and low fat dairy products, laban, breakfast drinks and smoothies, and drinking yoghurts (â€Å"Al Ain Dairy Farm† 1). The company is initiating a project to offer a complete range of camel milk products, which includes launched six new camel milk variants under the â€Å"Camelait† brand of fresh camel milk (â€Å"A l Ain Dairy Farm† 1). Al Ain Farms and Livestock Production Company provide long life, nectars, and fresh juices. The company produces a new variety of desserts, which include vanilla and creme caramel & ice cream that come from camel milk (â€Å"Al Ain Dairy Farm† 1). More so, Al Ain Farms and Livestock Production Company provide fresh chickens and eggs. Market Share Through innovation, quality production, corporate social responsibility, compliance, and commitment Al Ain Farms and

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Imaginative Staffing as New Yorks Temporary Services Firm Essay

Imaginative Staffing as New Yorks Temporary Services Firm - Essay Example Team selling can be defined as utilizing the full resources of a company to sell an account through all their relevant decision makers (Waterhouse Group, 2007). Imaginative Staffing should incorporate a team selling system. This system will bring more flexibility to the sales force. Employees will benefit from the feedback they can provide to each other. A sales representative assigned to a major account will be able to provide the client with more customer support and the lines of communication will open up. Such an environment will be enhanced the relationship and increase in sales should follow. The sales team in Imaginative Staffing should include all the employees. Direct involvement from the CEO, the CFO, and the sales director during the presentation are necessary, especially if the potential client is big. In order to successfully implement the new team sales system, the company needs to provide training for its employees. The appropriate training modality for this company is a combination of initial and recurrent training. Initial training should be provided to the CFO, the administrative assistants and to the receptionist. These employees probably have limited exposure and experience working in sales. A standardized training program is the most suitable solution for them. The sales director should provide the training. Some of the methods the sales director can utilize are lectures, discussion, and web-based training. The sales representatives, account managers, the sales director, and the CEO need a recurrent training program. The most appropriate way to provide recurrent training is through decentralized training. Decentralized training includes activities such as: It is essential to establish clear objectives when designing a training program. Three important elements to take into consideration when designing a training program are: reinforcing skills learned, assessing training needs, considering buyers preferences.

Advanced technology Essay Example for Free

Advanced technology Essay Now, in our society all over the world technology is the most important advancement, a necessity in bringing about progress as we move along in this computerized world. These changes in effect make man’s life easier and more convenient. Our advanced technology is unfortunately affecting the study habits of the students because there a lot of gadgets that they can use for searching information almost everybody depends on the internet, but there are still many importance of having a library. Many people think that they can find everything they need on the internet and that is not necessarily so. There is a lot of copy write material that is protected well beyond after the time the author is deceased. The internet can compliment the library and work hand and hand, but it cant replace it. Google hasnt even begun to digitized all the books that are available. Library is a place in which literary and artistic materials such as books, periodicals, newspapers, pamphlets, prints, records, and tapes, are kept for reading, reference or lending. A collection of such materials especially when systematically arranged. The library is a bunch of books with a librarian to check them out to you and back in when you return them. It is important that the library is well organized. Library Borrowing/Returning System is a process of organizing important information, used to track borrowed items and the scheduled time for returning. This system helps users or people who are responsible in recording the data appropriately. It also saves time and more convenient to use than the traditional manual recording. Lack of library System in a school can lead to disorder and troubles, and because of it the librarian is having a problem to serve each students and faculties who wish to use the library It is extremely useful in the school to use computerized system. The librarian has to keep the building neat and in good repair and also these things only shows a few of the things which make up your library. Schools set the various learning changes to achieve the current level of education in other countries. Because of the growing numbers of computer users, this became an effective medium to demonstrate the knowledge and skills of the students. From the traditional searching process for the books in the libraries, the interactive usage of computers can be now addressed as part of the library system. Statement of the Problem Traditionally, library systems are implemented manually. Forms are given to Librarian and they fill them of using pens. Afterwards, the school administrators process them manually and complied on large bulky file cabinet. Indeed, the manual Library system is very costly, time consuming and tedious. The primary complaint of school administrators with this system is the tiresome task of searching through records just to verify your query data. The fast phased of technology helped a lot to the improvement of the library system. Technology enabled software developers to computerize the library system. The automated library system helped the schools greatly. Library, transactions and queries can be created in a single click.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Impact of “Healthy Lives, Healthy People” Policy

Impact of â€Å"Healthy Lives, Healthy People† Policy Impact of â€Å"Healthy Lives, Healthy People† Policy on Childhood Obesity The clichà © ‘Health is wealth’ rings true for anyone and in any situation. As individuals address their own health concerns, governments endeavor to come up with policies related to health that would benefit all. However, even if such policies are intended to be for the common good, inequalities in the implementation of policies and still occur consistently. Policies are created as guidelines for people to follow. With regards to public health a more general and thorough policy paper is presented to everyone so that not only are they ably guided about the rules and provisions of government but they also know what to expect. For this paper, the policy document to be analyzed with regards to a social problem is â€Å"Healthy Lives, Healthy People: Our strategy for public health in England† (2010). Policy May Jochim (2013) explain that public policies â€Å"provide benefits, regulate harms and deliver services† (p. 426). In relation to politics, policies trigger the selection of people who are deserving and undeserving of its benefits. It also sets up a method to collect feedback from all sectors which could affect the political operations of the policy as well as its future changes and demands. Public policies are considered key in governance. Lowi (1972) simplifies it as â€Å"policies beget politics† (cited in May Jochim, 2013, p. 427). Hence, policies may change with each term of incumbent politicians. â€Å"Healthy Lives, Healthy People (2010) is one example of policy document that claims to adopt changes from its previous platform. It presents the government’s strategies for their programs in public health in England. It promotes a radical new approach that empowers local communities to implement the government initiatives to improve the health of their constituents and reduce the inequalities that exist. This means that the government will allocate funding for health programs and services to local government agencies as well as increase their accountability. Thus, integration and partnership working across care, the NHS and public health shall likewise increase (HM Government, 2010). Grogan (2012) explains that in terms of ideologies, liberalism favors such radical transfer of power from the government to local communities. Liberals support individualism and the market mechanism that promotes competition. They prefer that the government play a minimal role in the implementation of health initiatives and instead provide equal opportunities to all local communities and non-government agencies in terms of the provision of education, health care, housing and nutrition programs. On the other hand, conservative-controlled governments have been known to spend less on social welfare and would rather keep the funds centralized in government stewardship. Because it is in the interest of everybody, the government has taken the responsibility to ensure that everyone is healthy. The World Health Organization (WHO) (Sorte et al, 2011) defines health as â€Å"a state of total physical, mental and social well-being, not just the absence of disease† (WHO p. 286). If health issues arise such as health inequalities or some disease becomes prevalent in society, then it becomes a political issue. This is echoed by the government in the following statement: â€Å"a healthy population is fundamental to prosperity, security and stability a cornerstone of economic growth and social development. In contrast, poor health does more than damage to the economic and political viability of any one country it is a threat to the economic and political interests of all countries†(Government HM 2008,, p.7). Not only does ill-health weaken members of the population but it also depletes government funding, hence affecting its economic status. Childhood Obesity One health problem that needs to be addressed is childhood obesity. The Department of Health (2013) reports that nearly 30% of children aged 2-15 are considered either overweight or obese, which is following the trend for overweight or obese adults (60%) in England. Obese children are at risk for high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, orthopaedic problems, sleep apnea, diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, among others (Snorof et al, 2004). It can also affect their activity levels and self esteem (DH, 2013). Such children can also be prone to social discrimination and are likely targets for taunts from peers and negative reactions from others. This may cause much psychological pain, lowered self-esteem and even depression at their very young age (Holmes, 1998). These negative effects pose to be detrimental to obese children, so the problem of obesity needs to be addressed early on to reverse the trend (Barnes, 2011). If not, the health problems may escalate and the risks c an heighten as they grow up to be obese adults. Ignoring the problem leads to a great societal impact which concerns NHS because the burden and costs of health care provision for obese patients with various health complications fall on them (NHS, 2011). More importantly, it deprives obese children of their right to a quality of life that promotes their well-being. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (1989) declared that: â€Å"the child should be fully prepared to live an individual life in society, and brought up in the spirit of the ideals proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations, and in particular in the spirit of peace, dignity, tolerance, freedom, equality and solidarity† (para. 7). That is why the government takes much effort and planning of policies aimed to optimize the health of everyone, most especially the vulnerable children. Healthy Lives, Healthy People White Paper and The Marmot Review This policy documents the government’s strategic plans to ensure the health and well-being of people. It gives emphasis to providing better care for children’s health and development because these are key in improving their educational attainment and the reduction of mental health risks, unhealthy lifestyles, hospitalization and deaths (HM Government, 2010). It addresses the issue of health inequalities as reported by Professor Sir Michael Marmot in ‘Fair Society, Healthy Lives’ (2010). This report acknowledges a social gradient in health, meaning that the poorer an individual is, the worse is his or health. Social inequality should not hinder the delivery of health care services to all. Action on health inequalities â€Å"must be universal, but with a scale and intensity that is proportionate to the level of disadvantage†. Reducing health inequalities is vital to the country’s economy, and as one delays in addressing this issue, the costs to the economy continue to increase (The Marmot Review, 2010). The Marmot Review (2010) presented six policy recommendations to target the reduction of health inequalities as follows: Give every child the best start in life Enable all children, young people and adults to maximise their capabilities and have control over their lives Create fair employment and good work for all Ensure a healthy standard of living for all Create and develop healthy and sustainable places and communities Strengthen the role and impact of ill-health prevention Healthy Lives, Healthy People (HLHP) responds to the Marmot Review’s recommendations and seeks to reduce health inequalities by cascading authority to implement programs to local communities because it is believed that local officials have a greater knowledge about the specific conditions of their constituents. With Marmot’s highest priority in their policy recommendation of providing children with the best start in life, HLHP shall invest to increase the accommodation of health visitors in public health centres partnering with the Family Nurse Partnership programme and the Sure Start Children’s Centres. Sure Start Over the years, government efforts to improve health initiatives for the poor have increased. It targeted a great reduction in health inequalities and improvement in health outcomes. Sure Start is a multi-agency working initiative established in 1999 to ensure the well-being and welfare of children. This organization implements the government’s initiative to ensure the best start in the life of every child. Start brings together early education, childcare, health and family support services for families with children aged five and under. In line with the government’s drive to fight child poverty and social exclusion, Sure Start works with parents and future parents, carers and other professionals working with children to promote the physical, intellectual and social development of babies and young children so they are readied for the challenges of school (Sure Start, 2009). Sure Start also networks with other service providers from the health, social services and early education sector as well as voluntary, private and community organisations to provide the necessary services for young children and their families (HM Government, 2006). Sure Start is one organization that shares the aim of breaking cycles of deprivation, closing achievement gaps in education between the privileged and the disadvantaged, endorsing better parenting strategies, enhancing child development, confronting poverty issues, promoting safeguarding and community cohesion and supporting healthier lifestyles and seeking opportunities for learning for all individuals (House of Commons, 2009). Childhood Obesity Embedded in Health Inequality The Black Report (1980) identifies the issue of health inequalities starting that â€Å"ill health and mortality is related to social class but also more generally to the ‘health differences between people in more or less favourable situations with respect to income, prestige (â€Å"standing in the community†) and education† (p. 1). The House of Commons (2009) identify some causes of health inequalities as lifestyle factors that people adopt that make them and the people around them unhealthy. Some of these are smoking, poor nutrition, lack of exercise and sleep. Other determinants of poor health are poverty, poor or lack of housing, employment and education and limited access to healthcare. Children are vulnerable to parental influences on health habits and attitudes because they are dependent on their parents. Section 4 of the Childcare Act of 2006 mandates local authorities to improve outcomes for all children in reducing inequalities. It was suggested that pro vision of early years services should be a priority and these should be delivered in integrated ways that maximize the access and benefits to young children and their families (Armstrong, 2007). Childhood obesity also follows the social gradient. Economic deprivation is a strange bedfellow of childhood obesity. One wonders how children of the poor can afford to eat so much to the point of obesity. This may be mainly due to the existence of ‘obesogenic environments which encourage the consumption of unhealthy foods and the adoption of lifestyle choices over healthier ones (Jones et al., 2007). With the cost of high quality healthier foods, people from low social economic status resort to buying cheap foods often lacking in the right nutrients. The feeling of deprivation may drive obese children to eat more than they should. Like the law of supply and demand, individuals who have an abundance of good food do not see much demand in it, and therefore, just eats enough as compared to individuals who seek more food because they simply do not have enough. Criticisms of the Government’s Health Reforms The Department of Health (2011a) of the English government claims to have updated its strategy on obesity in 2011 in continuation of the Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives (DH, 2008) policy commissioned under the previous administration. With the implementation of health policies, HLHP claims that progress is being made with regards to child obesity. â€Å"the rise among 2–10-year olds from 1 in 10 children in 1995 to almost 1 in 7 in 2008 appears to be levelling off. However, more than 1 in 5 children are still overweight or obese by age 3. Rates are higher among some black and minority ethnic (BME) communities and in lower socioeconomic groups.† (HM Government, 2010, p. 19) Although such report may be true, critics of this policy may doubt if such progress is directly due to the policy implementation. Since the main feature of HLHP is devolution of authority to local communities and multi-agency cooperation, sources of the cause of progress have increased. Parental awareness can be one of them, and because parents have become alerted to the risks of obesity, it is most likely that they have taken charge. It is also possible, though, that such awareness may have been borne from campaigns instituted by the government as part of HLHP. The shifting of power to local authorities have shown marked changes in some programs. For example, the programme called Change4Life recruits families to participate in regular physical activity (Change4Life, 2011). Increasing physical activity and engaging in exercise helps to maintain a healthy weight. This marketing campaign has been criticized for not directly promoting awareness on obesity and being sponsored by food and drink companies which were considered â€Å"unhealthy†. Still, this initiative was endorsed by the government because it was believed to create balance between autonomous choices of adults while protecting children from an ‘obesogenic environment’. With the implementation of HLHP’s shift in authority to more localized agencies, central government decreased its funding, changing it from a proactive central government marketing campaign for physical fitness to a light-touch brand available for sponsorship from commercial and independent partners (DH, 2011a). The effects of HLHP’s reforms in the provision of health services such as cuts in funding and less participation of central government in implementation are slowly being noticed by concerned groups (Penn Kerr, 2014). Health professionals have been lobbying for taxation of products which are high in sugar and fat and for food and drink companies to significantly reduce calories on their products as well as well as recommended the banning of junk food advertisements (UKFPH, 2011). However, with due respect to the voluntary Public Health Responsibility Deal (DH, 2011b) which the government endorsed, food and drink companies were then asked to just lower the calorie content of their products. Penn Kerr (2014) argue that while the government’s actions shows respect for the autonomy and choice of people, it also frees it from responsibilities and leaves the bulk of the accountability to companies, local authorities and individuals. The UK Faculty of Public Health (UK FPH) a grees with this contention. This group of academic commentators criticized the government for being complacent with regards to tackling the problem of rising rates of obesity. They expect more ‘upstream’ government initiatives to investigate the underlying causes of obesity such as obesogenic environments, exposure of children to unhealthy food advertisements, control and quality of school meals and food prices. They also expect less of ‘downstream’ programmes that HLHP advocates, which encourage people to be more responsible for their own health and weight (UK FPH, 2011). Children who are at risk for childhood obesity are not yet reliable in assuming responsibility for their own food choices and frequency of physical activity to maintain a healthy weight. Hence apart from the influence of their families, schools and other social, environmental and economic influences, the government should take a more active stand in its advocacy to battle childhood obesit y and intervene in alleviating health inequalities, as the Marmot Review has strongly recommended (Penn Kerr, 2014). Implications on Children Being the most vulnerable members of the population, children need to be protected from threats to their health and well-being. The people around them, their parents, teachers, peers, and health advocates and government leaders should be dutiful in modelling healthy behaviours and attitudes to steer them in the right direction that prevents them from developing obesity. Parents should avoid creating obesogenic environments for their children, meaning they themselves should avoid unhealthy food and lifestyle choices as these are easily imbibed and copied by children. It is one of their main responsibilities to nourish their children with healthy and nutritious food and beverages that will help the children to grow and develop as healthy individuals. Such healthy practices should be consistently observed in all environments children are exposed to. Schools should have health promotion programmes in place which aim to inculcate in the students the value of adopting healthy practices suc h as eating right, exercising regularly, being well-groomed, having enough rest and visiting their doctors and dentists regularly. The Healthy Lives, Healthy People policy claims to put children as their top priority in the provision of programmes that reduce health inequalities. The document presents all their good intentions in helping children have the best start in their lives and achieve a their optimal development. It takes on the challenge recommended by the Marmot Review in battling health inequalities. The government enjoins all parts of society to actively take part in pursuing their own health and well-being and foster collaborative partnerships with local communities and other agencies such as Sure Start, which actively addresses children’s rights to quality health services, care and education. Because the policy is relatively new, its ambitious strategies for public health may often be criticized and regularly evaluated if they are being effectively carried out. Health advocates similarly have the best intentions in ensuring good health in everyone else so they keep a close watch on government efforts. Even without the mandate that individuals should be responsible enough to make wise lifestyle choices for themselves and their children, common sense dictates that all individuals in their right minds are expected to do this. However, it would greatly help if the presented strategies of the HLHP are truly put in place and appropriately delivered to the people especially those who are disadvantaged by health inequalities. HLHP should keep endorsing effective health programmes especially those for children which have been adopted by schools. Since it is in schools where children usually learn conformity to societal expectations, food choices in the cafeteria should be well-pla nned, leaving out junk food which contributes to childhood obesity. The curriculum should also emphasize the pursuit of healthy living and the encouragement of physical exercise. People from the medical field, especially doctors and nurses who mainly advocate for children’s health should also take a more active stand in pushing for effective health policies. They are in a position to empower children and their families to adopt healthy lifestyles. Penn Kerr (2014). Being vigilant in watching policy implementation unfold, nurses should support strategies that best serve children’s interests and speak out when they deem that they are not working well. With regards to the prevention of childhood obesity and the reduction of health inequalities in its management, an awareness of all factors contributing to obesity, coming from the environment, economics and society in general can help nurses support children and families better by providing informed, relevant and effective guidance to battle the illness (Penn Kerr, 2014).

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Kautilyas Arthasastra: Military Aspects

Kautilyas Arthasastra: Military Aspects CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1. Army has been regarded from time immemorial as one of the essential instruments for the maintenance of a state. Kings, not only in India but throughout the ancient world, maintained well organised and well equipped armies both for the defence and expansion of their kingdoms. History is abounds in instances that whenever any ruler or state neglected the proper maintenance of their armies, unpleasant results in the form of loss of sovereignty or territory have occurred. The study of the organisation and administration of the army of a particular country in a particular period shall always give clues of its basic fabric. The topic under study deals with the role of Kautilyas Arthasastra in organising and administrating large armies and its relevance in todays world armies. 2. Kautilyas Arthasastra had never been forgotten in India and is often mentioned in later literature, sometimes eulogistically and sometimes derisively. But the text itself was not available in modern times until, dramatically, a full text on palm leaf in the grantha script , along with a fragment of an old commentary by Bhattasvamin, came into the hands of Dr R Shamasastry of Mysore in 1904 who was then the Librarian of the Mysore Government Oriental Library. He published not only the text (1909) and an English translation (1915) but also an index Verborum in three volumes listing every word in the text. Subsequently another original manuscript and some fragments, in a variety of scripts, were discovered as well as old commentaries of the text. An another author Dr RP Kangle of the University of Bombay devoted many years of painstaking edition and comparing the various texts and translations. His monumental three volume edition of the Arthashastra was first published between 1960 a nd 1965 with detailed note.[1] 3. Kautilyas Arthasastra is a treatise on artha and sastra. [3]. Artha is an all- embracing word with a variety of meanings in 1.7.6-7 , it is used in the sense of material well being; in 15.1.1 livelihood; in 1.4.3, economically productive activity, particularly in agriculture, cattle rearing and trade ; and, in general, wealth as in the wealth of nations. Arthashastra is thus the science of politics as it is used in 1.1.1 or 1.4.3 .It is the art of governance in its widest sense. The subjects covered include administration; law, order and justice; taxation, revenue and expenditure; foreign policy; defence and war. 4. Kautilyas Arthasastra contains fifteen adhikaranas or books. Of these the first five deal with tantra or the internal administration of the state. The next eight deals with avapa or its relation with the neighbouring states and the last two are miscellaneous in character. The eighth adhikarna or book is concerned with vyasanas, that is, the calamities ,shortcomings or weakness affecting the various prakritis. It is necessary to overcome the shortcomings before any aggressive activity can be undertaken. The ninth adhikarna deals with preparation for war and describe the kinds of troops that should be mobilised for an expedition, the proper seasons for starting an expedition, the precautions to be taken and the dangers to be guarded against before starting and so on . The tenth book deals with fighting, and describes the camping of the army, its march, various modes of fighting, types of battle arrays and other topics.[4]Thus this study shall primarily concentrate on book eight, nin e and ten in particular and other books in general. 5. The Legend K autilya : This mastermind, who could write a definitive treatise on economics and government at a time when large parts of the world was steeped in intellectual darkness? All sources of Indian tradition – Brahmanical , Buddist and jain-agree that Kautilya (also refer to as Vishnugupta in a stanza included at the end of the work) destroyed the Nanda dynasty and installed Chandra Gupta Maurya in the throne of Magadha. The name Kautilya denotes that he is of the Kutila gotra ; Chanakya shows him to be the son of Chanaka and Vishnugupta was his personal name[6] Kautilya then retired from active life and reflected on all that he had learnt during the process of overthrowing Dhana-Nanda. Since he found the earlier works on statecraft unsatisfactory in many respects, he composed his own definitive work presenting his ideas concerning the ways in which a ruler should gain power and maintain his authority. He was way ahead of his times in his thinking and covered every conceivable aspect on th e art of politics and warfare, which could be imagined at the time he lived. For Kautilya, military strategy was an integral part of the science of polity and he made no distinction between military techniques and statecraft. Kautilyas Arthashastra is a practical work which could have been written only by one who had implemented the tactics which he preached. How to form alliances, how to organise and administer them, how to attack a powerful king, how to deal with revolts in rear, what tricks to play on gullible people- there is plenty of evidence in the text to indicate that the author was giving real life answers to every conceivable hypothetical situation. 6. Statecraft and battle craft have changed over the centuries due to the fast changing technology and increasing requirements of human beings. Kautilya a mastermind contributed immensely to the development of the same, his extraordinary arrangement of battle groups in war and administering them during peace keeping all extraneous factors in mind still remains a masterpiece for century armies. CHAPTER II: METHODOLOGY Statement of Problem 7. To study the military aspects as enunciated by Kautilya in Arthashastra with a specific reference to organisation and administration and analyse its relevance for todays armies. Justification of the Study 8. The Legend Kautilya in his renowned work ARTHASHASTRA has dealt with various contemporary subjects which formed the basis of Chandragupta Mauryas rule and victories, in fact there is a general view that Kautilyas Arthashastra deals only with matters of foreign policy and economy. It is seldom realised that a great portion of this book does in fact, deal extensively with matters of military, he indeed consolidated all the prevailing grand strategy and tactics of those times and gave his expert opinion on the subjects, which ultimately led to victories of Chandragupta Maurya , who never lost a single campaign. It thus emerges that the brilliance of Kautilya was not only in diplomacy but also in warfare, but the fact that strikes out is that he was able to lay down methods to organise and manage the armed forces in a vast empire. The concepts of military administration and organisation in war and peace were inadvertently covered and spread out in all the adhikaranas, thus leading for topic of research for bringing forth, integrating and analysing those sublime aspects of organisation and administration which formed the bed rock of administering and organising large armies as of Mauryan empire, and at the same time analyse its relevance for 20th century armies. Scope 9. This study concentrates on the relevance of Kautilyas teachings with regard to military aspects in general and organisational and administrational aspects in detail including the aspects of tactics, strategy. The study aims to focus on aspects, which are still relevant for the better management of a large army like ours. 10. Methods of Data Collection. The information has been gathered from books, journals and the internet. The bibliography of sources is appended at the end of the text. Chapterisation 11. The subject under study shall be covered under following chapters: CHAPTER III : ORGANISATION OF ARMY 12. Chandragupta maintained a large standing army , though he acquired a big army from his Nanda predecessors, he made impressive accretions to its strength, so that it stood at six lakh infantry,30000 horses,9000 elephants and 8000 chariots . An efficient war office supervised this powerful army. Its thirty members were divided into five member boards . The six boards were : (a) Admirality. (b) Transport. (c) Commissariat and Army Service Infantry. (d) Cavalry. (e) Chariots. (f) Elephants. 13. Kautilya had divided the army into four arms i.e Patti or Padati(Infantry), Asva(Cavalry), Ratha(Chariots) and Hast (Elephants) and hence it was named as Chaturangabala or the four limbed army headed by their respective Adyakshas or Superintendents[7]. They had Following roles to play: (a) War Elephants. The king relied mainly on elephants for achieving victory in battles. They were the premium arm of the army and relied on their strength and shock effect to route the enemy from the battle field. They were required to destroy all arms of the service of the enemy and to break his battle formations. Kautilya has laid much emphasis on the use of elephants as a battle winning factor with following functions: (i) Marching in front, making new roads. (ii) Protecting the flanks. (iii) Helping to cross water and climb and descend from mountains. (iv) Breaking up enemys unbroken ranks, trampling enemys army. (v) Causing terror, capturing battle positions. (vi) Destroying ramparts, gates, and towers. (b) The Cavalry. The cavalry being the most mobile arm in the army was used to influence the battle. It was tasked for the following. (i) Reconnoitring battle grounds, camping sites, forests. (ii) Securing level grounds, water supply sources. (iii) Destroying enemies and protecting own supplies and reinforcements. (iv) Extending the range of raids. (v) Assault the enemys battle formation. (vi) Attack the enemy from the rear. (vii) Cut off the enemys line of supply. (viii) Isolate the enemys strong point. (ix) Feign retreat so as to persuade the en to pursue, once the enemy lost its cohesion the cavalry was supposed to turn around and rout him. (x) Restoration of sit by plugging gaps in own def made by enemys assault. (xi) Making the initial attack, penetrating or breaking through (xii) Pursue the defeated en. (xiii) Rallying the troops.[8] (c) Chariots. The war chariots had lost their effectiveness particularly against well trained cavalry, Maurian army retained war chariots as an independent arm, and they were restricted to a single offensive role of launching a charge against infantry and a near static defensive role. The arm lacked versatility and was too sensitive to terrain; it could produce result only under ideal conditions. According to Kautilya the chariots were to act as the mainstay of the formation in offensive and defensive roles. Their main function was to break up the opponents battle formation during offensive operations and repulse the enemy assault own formation and recapture lost ground by counter attack. (d) Infantry. There were primarily two types of infantry in Mauryan times, archers and spearmen and both were employed together. Archers performed the role of close support weapons as well as artillery and spearman carried out close combat. The spearman carried a large shield for protection. Chandragupta Maurya had turned the infantry into large standing force like the other three arms in the service. Infantry was the main fighting arm as it had the ability to fight over all types of terrain during all seasons and both by day and night. They were also used to protect captured grounds. Apart from the tasks mentioned above, the infantry was also supposed to give close support to the other arms ie the Elephants and the Chariots[9]. Organizational Structure 14. Kautilya had emphasised on hierarchal system for administration of army. The structure of the defence forces at the highest levels was as shown below: Commander -in- Chief Senapati(Chief of Defence) Chief Commanders of Chariot Corps Elephant Corps Cavalry Infantry Divisional Commanders 28. The chief of the four wings were subordinates to the chief of defense. Under the Chief Commanders, there were Divisional commanders. There were other officers such as Camp Superintendents who were given specific functions during the march to battle. The structure below the level of Divisional Commanders is specific to battles. 29. Every division of the formation had its own distinguishing trumpet sound, flags and banners, these were be used to signal the commands to the division-dividing themselves in to sections, joining together ,halting, advancing, turning and attacking. Battalion commanders and Divisional Commanders were responsible for moblisation and demoblisation. Secret agents, prostitutes, artists and artisans and retired military officers were kept to watch over the loyalty or otherwise of soldiers. Duties of Defence Officials 30. The Chief of Defence. (a) Qualifications. The chief of defence was suppose to be an expert in the use of all kinds of weapons used in warfare, riding elephants, horses and chariots and he was conversant with the relative strength of the four wings of the army and how to deploy them in battle. (b) Responsibilities. (i) Discipline in armed forces. (ii) Formations. (iii) Strategy and Tactics. (aa) Choose the best time to start an expedition. (ab) Choose the best terrain and the best season for fighting. (ac) Arrange the disposition of own forces (in the light of the enemies array). (ad) Plan the breakup of the enemies rank. (ae) Destroy enemies scattered troops. (af) Besiege and destroy enemy forts. 31. The Chief Commander Of Elephant Corps. Responsibilities were:- (a) Protection of elephants. (b) Construction and Maintenance of stables, stalls. (c) Training of elephants. (d) Assigning tasks to them. (e) Equipping them for war 32. The Chief Commanders Of Other Corps. Responsibilities Common to all were: (a) Knowledge of different type of equipment needed for his wing and use of such equipment in war. (b) Giving appropriate training. (c) Keeping account of equipment and animals under his charge. (d) Maintaining their equipment in good condition and repairing them when necessary. (e) Supervising the work of all employed by him. (f) Maintaining Discipline. (g) Reporting to the king the state of readiness of his troops[10]. 33. Other Commanders:- (a) Commander of the Kings Guard (Antarvamsika). This very high official, who ranked just below the seven highest paid officials including the senapati, must have been an army general, promoted after having held the appointment of director-general of his own arm. He was directly in line for promotion to senapati. He was in the pay scale of 24,000 pannas, in the same scale as the kings chamberlain and the chancellor. His importance was due to his responsibility for the security of the king and other members of the royal family in the palace. There must have been two other officers directly under his command who assisted him in ensuring the safety and security of the king and the royal family. One was the commander of the male guards who guarded the palace and the commander of the female archers who were detailed as immediate guards for the kings person and his personal quarters. (b) Commander of the Marches (Antapala) The antapala was responsible for guarding the borders of the State. For this purpose border posts were established; their primary purpose was a check on entry of enemy agents, undesirable elements, collection of customs duties and control over the entry of foreigners. Kautilya advocates the establishment of only four border posts, one in each direction of the compass. The siting of border posts on naturally defensible terrain is advocated so these must have served a defensive purpose as well. The antapala must have been a military officer, possibly with detachments from the army for the protection of his posts. (c) Durgapala. Durgapala (fort commanders) must have been army officers who also commanded detachments of regular troops which acted as garrisons, Kautilya mentions at least one fortified city or capital of the State which needed a durgapala. In the text, he refers to other forts. sited to take advantage of naturally defensible terrain. Larger States obviously had more than one fort which acted as bases for military operations and offered refuge in case of need. Types of Troops 33. Kautilya lists six types of troops which may become available to a king and examines the relative merits. The troops are maula (standing army), bhrta (local volunteers auxiliaries), serni (organized mercenaries), mitra ( trops of an ally), amrta ( enemy deserters) and atavi ( tribal levies). [11] (a) Maula Troops. These are the standing army of a state composed of soldiers who may have served the kings family for several generations. They are residents of the state and their interest coincides with those of the king. Their loyalty is assured, their weapons, equipments and the animals are the best the state can provide and their motivation and state of training is high. It is however only prudent that a proportion of this force be left behind for the security of the state. Kautilya recommends that around one- fourth of the maula troops be left in the capital. The maula troops should form a large part of an expeditionary force if : (i) The enemys troops are well trained. (ii) The campaign is expected to be difficult and hard. (iii) Other available troops are unreliable. (iv) Surplus maula troops are available after fully meeting the requirements of the capital and the rest of the state. (b) Bhrta troops. These are locally raised volunteers engaged for the duration of the campaign. They are either veterans or first time volunteers, usually trained in the handling of personals weapons. By profession they were either farmers or small traders who decided to take part in a campaign. As natives they have a stake in the security and welfare of the state. Such troops are reverted back to their professions after the end of the campaign. Their employment is recommended if:- (i) The enemy is weak and a large number of volunteers are available. (ii) The campaign is expected to be easy with little actual fighting. (iii) Success is more or less assured by the use of other means like covert operations or diplomatic efforts. (c) Sreni troops. These were trained, equipped and organised bodies of mercenaries under their own leaders who were available for hire to fight for a specified period of time. Their employment is recommended when:- (i) The opposing forces consist of primarily mercenaries. (ii) Much hard fighting is not anticipated. (iii) Sreni troops are available in adequate numbers for the campaign as well as for the defence of the capital. (d) Mitra troops. These are troops loaned for a campaign by an ally. Their utilisation is advocated if :- (i) Such troops are available in large numbers. (ii) A short campaign is anticipated because of good chances of early success of diplomatic moves underway. (iii) To oblige an ally. (iv) It is proposed to deal at first with the irregular part of enemys army, with his allies and his population centres, prior to attacking his main forces. (e) Amrita troops. These comprise enemy deserters and prisoners of war. They are not to be trusted but their employment is recommended if the eventual outcome of battle is of little consequence. (f) Atavi Levies. These were bands of tribesmen from the jungle who join the king under the command of their own chiefs with the primary purpose of collecting loot. These bands and amitra troops are unreliable and Kautilya considers both categories as dangerous as a snake. The above two categories of troops may be employed if:- (i) If they are available in large numbers to attack the enemys cities and irregular troops. (ii) It is proposed to delay the employment of the main force. (iii) It is Politic to get rid of them because their loyalty is suspect. Atavi troops may be employed as guides or to counter the use of similar to levies by the enemy both categorys of troops. 34. An army composed of units recruited from diverse sources and ready to fight for plunder may be an energetic army. On the other hand, an army whose soldiers belong to the same region, caste or profession is a mighty army; it will continue to fight even if its pay is in arrears and there is shortage of food. It shows bravery even in adverse conditions and its loyalty cannot be subverted. 35. A king should make efforts to obstruct the mobilisation of his opponent. His potential recruits should be intercepted and if necessary recruited into own army. Such personnel should however be discharged at the right time but well before the commencement of actual operations. Analysis 36. A close analysis of Organisational structure propounded by Kautilya in his Arthashastra is a sterling resemblance of what is followed in Indian Army with slight modifications. And it is clearly evident that the basic finer intricacies of the organisation remained the same though the gross structure underwent a change keeping latest technological development in mind. 37. Kautilya was way ahead in his times with clear vision and military thinking thus created an organisational structure catering for civil supremacy and ensured effective coordination between various components of the army which is still relevant at large. Chandra Gupta Maurya had a large standing army to manage similar to that of Indian Army and without a sound organisational structure it would have been virtually impossible to achieve victories which he had set for himself. 38. Kautilya had clearly categorised his army into various corps i.e Cavalry, Elephants, Infantry, Chariots etc with a clear division of roles in war, which is very much akin to our present system of various line directorates in our armies. He had also formed clear command and control structure with minimum scope for ambiguity. He had emphasised on Hierarchical system Command and control in armed forces some 2300 years ago which is still relevant in todays times. 39. The organisation of the Maruan army was little different than the one followed in our army today. Though a striking similarity is the presence of the adyakshas that can be related to our line directorate which are too led by a Lieutenant General. The rank structure is not restricted to any arm but common throughout the army. To elaborate, the pattika was a rank not belonging to a particular arm but he commanded elements of all the arms. This helped in better command and control. This also ensured of a clear demarcation of command structure which was irrespective of the arm, this practice is still followed. 40. When coming to appointment of heads of departments, Kautilya had ensured that they had requisite degree of qualifications for tenanting that kind of appointment and had a clear defined standards and roles for all of them, which is still largely relevant in our armies where selection processes ensure that the said officer had undergone necessary courses and has a requisite skills suitable for tenanting that kind of appointment. 41. Kautilya had imposed various degrees of confidence in terms of loyalty and integrity depending upon the community of troops, probably a relevant thing in those times, but in present times it is debatable whether it is relevant or not as for some community specific armies it may hold good but in Indian context, though the Indian army still have pure regiments based on caste system but the pedestal of loyalty and integrity attributed to each community is the same thus this particular thing is not relevant to Indian Army of present times. 42. Kautilya proposed to have a standing core army consisting of officials down to the Pattika and the regular soldiers to be recruited for the period of war. Specialists like elephant riders archers etc were also recommended to be retained as permanent soldiers. Though India has a large standing army which is used both for protection of its borders and for launching offensive. There is no differentiation in the kind of troops used for both the tasks as envisaged by Kautilya. Probably We can have smaller standing army which can be well trained and equipped with the best of the equipment. On the other hand we can have a larger component of Territorial Army that can be mobilised before an operation. The defensive formation can have Territorial Army and some of the regular troops where as the strike formations can be composed of regular troops. This will help in reducing the defence expenditure and the money saved could be better used for equipping and training of the regular troops. CHAPTER IV: ORGANISATI ON OF LAND FORCES IN OPERATIONS Brave men, giving up their lives in good battles, reach in one moment even beyond those (worlds), which Brahmins, desirous of heaven, reach by a large number of sacrifices, by penance and by many gifts to worthy persons- Kautilya 43. Kauilya gives an exhaustive description of how to arrange the land forces for a set piece of battle, starting with positioning various kinds of forces at various echelons of battle field after giving due considerations to planning parameters. War fighting as propounded by Kautilya has an uncanny resemblance to the methodology in practice today. He was a believer of a strong central force along with two wings which can manoeuvre and the importance of reserves. He is perhaps one of the first thinkers to suggest a tactical grouping of forces with a clear cut commander. This helped in easier organisation of the forces as well as downsizing the army when not in need. Tactical Grouping. 44. Grouping of arms for battle at the lowest level has been practised in ancient India since epic times. Kautilya suggested a standard form of grouping of all arms, for the first time ever. The suggested groups corresponds to a remarkable degree with the current practice in modern armies adopted well after WW II . The lowest grouping was at platoon level, a group now referred to as combat team. Because of this remarkable similarity, the modern designations of combat team, combat group and combat command.[12] Each horse was supported by six foot soldiers three of which were archers (Pratiyodhas) and the remaining three were armed with a sword, spear and a shield (Pratigopas) Initially the archers were placed in front so that they could exploit the range of their weapons and as the battle came to close contact, they would recede and the pratigopas would come in front. 45. Patti. Each elephant or a chariot enjoyed the support of five horse groups. This entire group including an elephant / chariot, five horses, 15 Pratiyodhas and 15 Pratigopas formed the lowest tactically grouped sub unit called the Patti. The patti was commanded by a Pattika. 46. Sena. Consisted of ten patties and was commanded by a Senapati or a battle group under a battalion/regimental commander and ten or less senas formed a brigade commanded by a Nayaka. 47. Intervals .There are two sets of intervals or gaps between the files and ranks laid down by Kautilya, one is a narrow gap with the proviso to increase it by double or three times and the other is a larger gap between archers which extends to other arms. It is possible that smaller gaps are for forming up on ceremonial and drill purposes (close order) were archers do not need extended space and larger intervals (open order) for battle information. In a battle formation adopted in an open order the minimum gap between two files of archers was one dhanu(bow) of five hastas(forearm) or 2.5 mtrs, between horses it was three dhanu(7.5 mtrs) and between elephants or Chariots it was five dhanus(12.5 mtrs). The interval between the centre and a wing as well as a wing and its flank was also 12.5 mtr. Kautilya does not indicate the gap to be maintained between ranks but it may safely be assumed that the interval between sub ranks,ie. Within a rank of elephant or chariots, i.e between a sub rank of patiyodhas and a horse would be three dhanus and between ranks, i.e the rare sub rank or padagopas of the front rank and the front sub rank of patiyodhas of the second or centre rank would be five dhanus(12.5 mtrs). These intervals could be increased in accordance with the ground available for battle and the size of the force to be deployed. 48. Reserves. Reserves held an important place in the battle formations as per Kautilya, reserves were directly involved in shaping of the battle field and were placed directly under the control of the king. A firm base was to be established on a suitable terrain approximately 600 -700 m behind the army and it was here that the reserves were placed. The reserve consisted of about one third of the best available troops. The king was advised to be stationed at this firm base after the actual fighting commenced and be in a position to influence the battle by sending reinforcement when and where needed and to make the firm base as a rallying point in case of a reverse.[13] 49. Standard battle formation (vyuha). A standard brigade group was formed for battle is referred to as a standard battle formation or array. Additions and alterations were made to it, according to a formula, in order to accommodate additional troops available for deployment. The standard brigade group deployed five senas each which contained nine to ten pattis; total troops deployed were: (a) Elephants or Chariots : 45 (b) Horses : 225 (c) Patiyodhas(archers) : 675 (d) Padagopas(foot soldiers) : 675 This force of five senas formed up in five groups i.e centre (urasysa) in middle, the right wing (kaksa) and the left wing (kaksa) after an interval of 12.5 mtrs on both sides and after another similar interval the right flank and the left flank (paksa). Each of these groups or senas formed up for battle in three ranks of three elephants each (three patti). Each elephant had three horse groups in front and two behind it with standard deployment as illustrated earlier. Thus making a total of 27 archers a head of each sena. The archers could effectively utilise their long range capability before close contact was made with the enemy and the change over placed them with the spearmen behind the horses, just prior to the two sides engaged in close combat. However in such a deployment the interval between elephants was at around nine dhanus or 22 mtrs which is tactically unsound and out of supporting range of neighbouring elephants , in any case Kautilya places the suitable gap between ele phants at 12.5 mtrs. The only solution seems to be to for France and US: Employment and HR Strategies Comparison France and US: Employment and HR Strategies Comparison Nowadays any international firm worldwide is seeking for global completion in order to expand their activities overseas, and many organizations want to open subsidiaries to reach the competitive advantage, and the organization cannot build a good and affective working team without HRM, which includes recruiting skilful employees, dealing with HR problem, motivating workforce. So in this assignment Ive decided to talk about two of the leading countries in the world, USA and France, since theyre the top of the range in the worlds economy. Each country has a different and successful style to run their economy as well as the worlds economy and acquired an order winner. In this report Im going to include employment systems and HR strategies, policies and practices of this two countries (the common points and what differs them from each other) http://www.humanresourceexcellence.com/importance-of-human-resource-management/ http://arno.uvt.nl/show.cgi?fid=121722 Outline: https://www.oecd.org/france/Employment-Outlook-France-EN.pdf A brief history of HRM: Back in 1880s, the personnel became for the first time important in business, and has been accepted by many organizations, especially after the world war. After in 1940s the personnel became important and has a role in management. 20 years later the name of personnel in USA changed to human recourse management. This name was included worldwide and became more important in firms furthermore it acquired added values (ex. Education, organizational behaviorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦etc). Later on several laws came in regarding HR policies and discrimination within the companies (age, gender, nationality à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦etc), in addition insurances came in (health, accidents à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ etc). So HRM main mission was to deal with those laws as well as workforce and help managers that they worried about losing competitive advantage especially that chinas economy was increasing significally, so as an outcome, worker inclusion arrangements were executed. Employment rate in USA and Market labor: employment rate in USA didnt change to much, well it fell 0.1 percent in only 1 month from 4.8% in January to 4.7% in February, and that was exactly what the experts anticipated, and the number of unemployed people still without improvements with a 7.5 million people. The employment rate average in US is 5.81 from 1948 until 2017 https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf Talking about the workers classes, the unemployment rate in USA is classified by categories for white people, it declines to 4.1%, black people 8.1% and Asian 3.4% in February 2017(see appendix) For those who didnt work for a long time (long-term unemployment) kept almost stable at 18 million people the rate of 23.8%, however mathematically speaking it decreases slightly by 358.000 people, but it didnt change the rate. The employment rate for part time jobs for economic reasons (either lack of full time jobs in specific areas or their hours had been cut back), is 5.7 million in 2017 Nonfarm payroll employment enhanced by 235000 this month, people found jobs in construction, manufacturing, educational services, mining, manufacturing à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦etc. Construction employment has improved by 58 000 in multiple specialties, engineering with an increase of 15 000, and labor forces +36 000, this sector this year has created over 177000 jobs opportunities during this half-year The second place is private educational services that has risen by 29 000 during this month, this year the employment in this sector has enhanced by 105 000 In the manufacturing sector has offered about 28 000 job this month, in food manufacturing about 9000, machinery 7000, this pas 6 month this sector came the third and added 57 000 jobs And other sectors offer job opportunities even if its not with a huge number, still it helps the economy and employment system, like mining that has increased by 8000 during this month. Back to October 2016, this sector has known its lowest level, but in a period of one year, it develops by 20 000 since then. Employment I other sectors like: wholesale trade, transportation, warehousing, finance, hospitality, public sectors and government, didnt change to much that their percentage stayed the same. Employment system and culture in USA Employment system in USA is quite different and flexible, for employees there isnt much stability or warranties in work, in the matter fact workers in general prefer to switch jobs they dont like to stay for a long time in the same organization with the same routine, they like to change and learn more from different places, the average of changing jobs in US is basically every 3 years, employees think more about their own objectives and yearnings than those of the association. And for companies in US like to recruit graduate since they are full of energy and motivated to work, and they know they can perform more and learn easily, as well as graduates like to work for smaller organization to learn and acquire more experience, in addition they can feel that they are responsible, because USA believe in undependability. Another point in USA they have a flexible working atmosphere and more informal, that workers can feel comfortable during work, no dressing codeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦etc. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf Employment rate in France and Market labor: In France people aged between 16 and over are called the active population and theyre about a 29 million, and in the past decade it has enhanced by 1.8 million, and it keeps enhancing, that there are estimation to increase more by 1.6 million individuals by 2025, to reach 30 million by then. In this active population 18% are working part-time jobs, and these time are basically by females, a percentage of 30.2% comparing to males that represent 6.9% only. After the EU, the employment rate for people from 15 to 60 years old is an average of 64.1%, and as long as France still in the EU, they have a rate of 70% behind Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, Denmark and Austria. With 1.5 focuses more than in 2013, the rate of businesses who want to enroll no less than one individual over the span of 2014 has achieved 20%, which relates to 450 000 potential selection representatives. While the inclination to select is developing in organizations with at least 50 representatives, it has stagnated among those with 1 to 50 workers. The conditions of labor market in France are improving significally, and after Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. (OECD) the employment rate has returned after 6 years when financial crisis started in 2009. Real wage development has stayed subdued, since 2007, raising a few worries of a delayed time of wage stagnation. Recently in 2016 Unemployment rate stayed at the same level however it still in a high level, with a 9.9%, and its expected to decline by the end of 2017. And back in 2009 until now, the distinction in the unemployment rate has broadened altogether, from a 0.3% as a point gap in 2009 toward an estimate 3.6 point slack toward the finish of this year. In addition the employment rate in France is additionally at a 10-year high and is relied upon to increment advance       https://www.oecd.org/france/Employment-Outlook-France-EN.pdf Employment system and culture in USA Recently the most profile demanded in France are the most sought after are occupations are private services to individuals for instance, workers, baby sitters, cleaners, waiters, services for restaurants and cafes as well as hotel workers. In addition organizations too offer various open door for low-skilled individuals like (cleaners, security à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦etc.), or in official posts (RD, IT managersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦etc.) According to (Brunstein, 1995) French companies are often hierarchical and Tayloristic with elitist grandes ecoles' as they follow a strict education management, likewise (Klink, V., Mulder and Lane, 1994-1995), these gentlemen have represented French companies as being founded on ruling system, and control with power gathered at the top. And according to those researchers this tough managerial autonomy is a result of trust absence between the employers and the workers. In French system regarding starting a carrier in a company, and with this luck of trust administrators often appear to be hesitant to concede representatives access to data about the generation procedure and administrative matters, since its an important data is the important for the top hierarchy to keep their power, otherwise theyll put themselves in a danger of losing it. And basically the employees frequently stay at the same position their whole carrier in the same specialization. Not like American system, theyre more strict and formal and they believe in authority and hierarchy. http://hrmpractice.com/hrm-france/ https://ec.europa.eu/eures/main.jsp?catId=2647acro=lmilang=encountryId=FRregionId=FR0nuts2Code=nullnuts3Code=nullregionName=National%20Level references appendix