Many Colleges Dont Require Students to Take Classes in Basic Areas

Many Colleges Don't Require Students to Take Classes in Basic Areas A report commissioned by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) reveals that colleges are not requiring students to take courses in several core areas. And as a result, these students are less prepared to be successful in life. The report, â€Å"What Will They Learn?† surveyed students in over 1,100 U.S. colleges and universities – public and private – and found that an alarming number of them were taking â€Å"lightweight† courses to satisfy general education requirements. The report also found the following about the colleges: 96.8% don’t require economics 87.3% don’t require an intermediate foreign language 81.0% don’t require a basic U.S. history or government 38.1% don’t require college-level math 65.0% don’t require literature The 7 Core Areas What are the core areas identified by ACTA that college students should take classes in – and why? Composition: writing-intensive classes that focus on grammar Literature: observant reading and reflection that develops critical thinking skills Foreign language: to understand different cultures U.S. Government or History: to be responsible, knowledgeable citizens Economics: to understand how resources are connected globally Mathematics: to gain numeracy skills applicable in the workplace and in life Natural Sciences: to develop skills in experimentation and observation   Even some of the most highly-rated and expensive schools are not requiring students to take classes in these core areas. For example, one school that charges almost $50,000 a year in tuition does not require students to take classes in any of the 7 core areas. In fact, the study notes that the schools that receive an â€Å"F† grade based on how many core classes they require charge 43% higher tuition rates than the schools that receive a grade of â€Å"A.† Core Deficiencies So what’s causing the shift? The report notes that some professors prefer to teach classes related to their particular research area. And as a result, students end up choosing from a wide-ranging selection of courses. For example, at one college, while students are not required to take U.S. History or U.S. Government, they have an Intercultural Domestic Studies requirement that may include such courses as â€Å"Rock ‘n’ Roll in Cinema.†   To fulfill the economics requirement, students at one school can take, â€Å"The Economics of Star Trek,† while â€Å"Pets in Society† qualifies as a Social Sciences requirement. At another school, students can take â€Å"Music in American Culture† or â€Å"America Through Baseball† to fulfill their requirements. At another college, English majors don’t have to take a class devoted to Shakespeare.   Some schools don’t have any core requirements at all. One school notes that it â€Å"does not impose a particular course or subject on all students.† On one hand, perhaps its commendable that some colleges are not forcing students to take certain classes. On the other hand, are freshmen really in a position to decide which courses would be most beneficial to them? According to the ACTA report, close to 80% of freshmen don’t know what they want to major in. And another study, by EAB, found that 75% of students will change majors before they graduate. Some critics advocate not letting students choose a major until their second year.   If students aren’t even sure what degree they plan to pursue, it might be unrealistic to expect them – especially as freshmen – to effectively gauge which core classes they need to be successful. Another problem is that schools don’t update their catalogs on a regular basis, and when students and their parents are trying to determine the requirements, they may not be viewing accurate information. Also, some colleges and universities don’t even list definite courses in same cases. Instead there is a vague introductory phrase â€Å"courses may include,† so the classes listed in the catalog may or may not be offered. However, the glaring lack of information gained from taking college-level core classes is evident. A Payscale survey asked managers to identify the skills that they thought college grads lack the most. Among the responses, writing skills are identified as the top skill missing in action among college grads. Public speaking skills are in second place. But both of these skills could be developed if students were required to take core courses. In other surveys, employers have lamented the fact that college graduates don’t have critical thinking, problem-solving, and analytical skills – all issues that would be addressed in a core curriculum. Other disturbing findings: 20% of students who graduated with a bachelor’s degree were unable to accurately calculate the costs of ordering office supplies, according to the National Survey of America’s College Students.   While schools, boards of trustees, and policy makers need to make the necessary adjustments to require a core curriculum, college students cannot wait for these changes. They (and their parents) must research schools as thoroughly as possible, and students must choose to take the classes they need instead of selecting lightweight courses.

Definition and Examples of the Amelioration of Words

Definition and Examples of the Amelioration of Words Definition In linguistics, amelioration is the upgrading or elevation of a words meaning, as when a word with a negative sense develops a positive one. Also called melioration or elevation. Amelioration is less common than the opposite historical process, called  pejoration. See Examples and Observations below. See also: EtymologyFive Words That May Not Mean What You Think They MeanHow Word Meanings ChangeLanguage ChangeSemantic ChangeStatus-Word EtymologyFrom the Latin, better. Examples and Observations NiceThe word nice is a classic example of amelioration . . .. This is a rare occurrence, compared with the opposite process of pejoration, or downgrading.The meaning of nice when it first appeared in Middle English (about 1300) was (of persons or their actions) foolish, silly, simple; ignorant, senseless, absurd. . . . A shift away from disparagement began in the 1500s, with such meanings as requiring or involving great precision or accuracy. . . .The movement toward amelioration reached its apex in the 1800s with such meanings as kind and considerate, friendly.(Sol Steinmetz, Semantic Antics: How and Why Words Change Meanings. Random House, 2008)DizzyA possible example of amelioration during ME [Middle English] might be, depending on ones viewpoint, the word dizzy. In OE [Old English] it meant foolish, a meaning that survives marginally in such expressions as a dizzy blonde; but by ME its primary meaning was suffering from vertigo.(C. M. Millward and Mary Hayes, A Biography of the E nglish Language, 3rd ed. Wadsworth, 2011) Amelioration and DeteriorationAmelioration, whereby a word takes on favorable connotations and deterioration whereby it takes on pejorative associations, are often telling indications of social change. There is a particularly pregnant category ably defined by C.S. Lewis as the moralization of status words (1960) . . .. By this process terms originally denoting status and class slowly acquired moral connotations, favorable and otherwise, evaluative of the moral conduct commonly attributed to that class. Hence, villain, a medieval serf, and Anglo-Saxon ceorl, still lower in the hierarchy, deteriorated to villain and churlish, while noble and gentle, predictably, rose in moral connotations. In more recent times, the steady amelioration of ambitious and aggressive reveals a change in attitude towards those who seek advancement or success in a highly competitive fashion.(Geoffrey Hughes, Words in Time: A Social History of the English Vocabulary. Basil Blackwell, 1988)Amelioration and Verb icideSometimes amelioration involves weakening of an originally strongly negative meaning: so, annoy is from Late Latin inodiare to make loathsome, in turn from the Latin phrase mihi in odio est it is hateful to me . . .. Likewise, terribly and awfully have weakened to become alternatives for very. [Geoffrey] Hughes (1988) associates this type of amelioration with the popular press, and labels it verbicide, citing tragedy which can now, in journalistic usage, be applied to an earthquake killing thousands or to a missed goal in football.(April M. S. McMahon, Understanding Language Change. Cambridge University Press, 1999) Pronunciation: a-MEEL-ya-RAY-shun

Improving a Maintenance Management System and the Productivity for Essay

Improving a Maintenance Management System and the Productivity for Safaniya Onshore Plants - Essay Example An integrated system of maintenance is achieved when the maintenance policy and objectives are established as a foundational component. It is very important to define the quality of maintenance management systems by having the full details for all covered stages of the industry. Retaining high quality of maintenance reflects the reliability of equipment and will generate a positive impact on the level and the efficiency of production. Maintenance activities of any industry need to be planned and organized under a systemic framework; this will ultimately result in the development of the appropriate strategy for the maintenance system, harnessing the maintenance effort to the appropriate places. The process of maintenance should be managed for many reasons. These include: keeping continuous updates, increasing life assets, reducing long term costs, meeting a competitive challenge, and helping address and control deterioration before it occurs. As is well known, the petroleum sector is one of the most important revenue sources for Arabian Gulf Countries. There are many companies working under this sector in the Arabian Gulf and we will focus on one of them in our project. Saudi Aramco is a global petroleum company that is in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1988. Saudi Aramco is the world leader in the production and exportation of oil. It is also considered the largest natural gas liquids exporter and a major producer of this natural gas. Safaniya Onshore Plants are considered one of the largest Aramco Company plants on the Arabian Gulf Sea. Safaniya producing division consists of five plants SGOSP-1, A/H Desalters, Utility, ZWCH (A/M) and Gas Compression Plant. Safaniya A/H facilities are designed to produce 1200 MBCD at 30% water cut with salt content less than 10 PTB. Safaniya A/M facilities are designed to produce 1200 MBCD at 10% water cut with salt content less than 10 PTB. Safaniya gas compression plant consists of two major sections -- offshore and

Brand Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Brand Management - Essay Example For the marketing program investment, NB is positioned as the best fit for athletes and people who want shoes that represent their fitness goals. NB concentrates on manufacturing shoes with diverse widths because it believes that a large fit enhances footwear performance. The brand is also known for the benefits of comfort, performance, and quality of fits and soles (Ryan 2008). The commodification is manufacturing for quality. NB is involved in international business; it sells products all over the world. Furthermore, employee relations are regarded as satisfactory, because the executive management is dedicated to responding to internal stakeholder needs (Baker 1999). For customer mindset, awareness is high, but not as high as for market leaders, such as Nike and Reebok-Adidas, when sales are considered. See Table 1 for Comparative Data on Major Athletic Footwear and Apparel Companies, 2004. NB also has good associate relations. NB imports finished soles and raw materials from Asian suppliers. The uppers would then be made and connected to soles in the U.S. almost seventy percent of NB’s domestic product is called â€Å"sourced upper.† For sourced-upper shoes, NB will import finished uppers and soles from Asia and will conclude the assembly at the American factories. Three warehouses in Skowhegan and Lawrence hold approximately $9 million (or 4 and half weeks) worth of raw materials inventory (Bowen, Huckman, and Knoop 2002, C-383). It can take 10 to 12 weeks for the shoes to arrive at Lawrence and Ontario (order to deliver lead time) (Bowen et al. 2002, C-383). The lead time has also been lessened, due to the efforts of NB to develop ordering and synchronization processes between the company and the suppliers. The management also strategically located the manufacturing plants near distributors and stores (Bruce, Daly, and Towers 2004; Jin 2004). Table 1: Comparative Data on Major Athletic Footwear and Apparel Companies, 2004 Company Worldwide Sa les Footwear Sales Total Assets Net Income Employees Nike 13,739.7 7,299.7 8,793.6 1,211.6 26,000 Adidas-Salomon 8,057.0 3,384.0 6,015.8 402.3 17,023 Reebok 3,785.3 2,430.3 2,440.6 192.4 9,100 Puma 1,903.3 1,065.8 1,263.1 320.0 3,910 New Balance 1,500.0 NA NA NA 2,600 Fila 955.2 NA NA -85.0 2,300 Vans 330.2 NA NA -30.0 1,890 Source: Bowen, Huckman, and Knoop (2006, C374) The attitudes of the company represent good work ethics and social responsibility. NB actively supports societal marketing. Some of its products use natural materials. NB also energetically donates to charity and other organizations. It has a New Balance Foundation that tackles child obesity, as well as other cultural and environmental concerns (New Balance 2011). Studies also showed that New Balance has loyal customers, because they appreciate the performance of its products and the grassroots marketing approach of the company (Datamonitor 2008). The main marketing promotions of NB are word-of-mouth and PR through de-emphasizing the importance of celebrity endorsements (Datamonitor 2008). Price premiums of NB are pricing for value. New Balance has different prices for its products, but mostly it charges premium pricing for its athletic apparel and footwear. Customers are not that price elastic. NB enjoys a market share of 8 to 12% market share (Bowen et al. 2002, C-384). Expansion success is high, since NB has strong brand equity. Cost savings is also good, because of the strategic supply chain management of NB

Geely Automobile Essay Example for Free

Geely Automobile Essay In the first part, the ECLIPTER factors including econography, culture, legal system, income profile, political risk, tax regime, exchange rate and restrictions, together with the multilateral institutions such as WTO, EU and ASEAN will be examined by using UK and Malaysia as examples. Then based on this analysis, it will provide an assessment of the company‘s overall international expansion strategy and process. In the second part, legal system and income profile, the two most important ECLIPTER factors on Geely‘ overseas operations, will be evaluated. Furthermore, the scheme which Geely used to deal with the impact of these two factors and leverage the multilateral institutions will be shown. Finally, this report will analyze whether the company‘s international adaptation of the business function is effective, and then give some recommendations and lessons. 2. ECLIPTER Factors Analysis 2. 1 Econography Econography refers to physical and human assets including distance from major markets, and natural resources of nations that affect industry performance. In the first, the close distance between parent company and foreign subsidiary can help the company to reduce the transport costs and overhead expenses; it also can improve the connection between them. If the parent company is in China, it is better to build a subsidiary in Asia such as Malaysia. Secondly, the natural resources used for making cars mainly include steel, copper, and aluminum. If the country owns rich mineral resources, it can greatly provide benefit in the production of automobiles. One of the major purposes for many multinational corporations establishing overseas subsidiaries is to exploit the foreign natural resources. This is good for companies to 5 International Business Environment II reduce production costs and get competitive advantages. As World Steel Association reported in 2009 that the crude steel production of United Kingdom is 13. 5 in 2008, whereas the crude steel production of Malaysia is 6. 1 in 2008. 2. 2 Culture This paragraph will analyze the effects of culture on auto industry through power distance index and saving rate. Firstly, power distance index measures the degree of inequality exists in a society (Hofstede, 1997). The power distance index is 80 in Malaysia whereas it is only 35 in UK (Hofstede, 2008). The unequal distribution of wealth makes most Malaysian citizens prefer to hold a commercial auto. So the inexpensive Geely auto could be a good option for them. Secondly, saving rate could be a standard to show the attitude of citizens. The saving rate of Malaysia was 47 per cent in the year 1998 which ranks second in Asia (Azia, 2004). In contrast, the saving rate in UK was significantly low, which was less than 10 percent in the past ten years. For instance, the saving rate of UK household in 2008 was only 1. 7 percent (chart 1)(Presser, 2008). So UK citizens are apt to consume a relatively high price car. Chart 1 Resource from Posser (2008) 6 International Business Environment II 2. 3 Legal system The auto industry has been affected by laws and government regulations since the 1960s. The first safety act passed in 1966 by Congress and was called the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act (Highfill, 2004). This act forced manufacturers to improve the safety for the passengers, the driver visibility, and the braking of the car. Not only safety, but also environment is being growingly concerned even before the oil crisis. The Vehicle Air Pollution and Control Act passed in 1965 was the first act to set standards for automobile pollution. Then in the 1970s, Congress passed the Clean Air Act that led to a 90% decrease in automobile emission within the next six years (ibid). In the 1970s the oil crisis led to the approval of The Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 which stated that all automobiles must meet a certain mileage per gallon. The act required that all automobiles had to meet a standard of 20mpg by the 1980 model and then 27. 5 mpg for the 1985 model (ibid). EU 2020 growth strategy also emphasizes the importance of low carbon automobile (Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, 2010). There are also many special laws for auto industry in different countries, such as Malaysia, which has built a free trade area for production and assembly of products for export-oriented enterprises. Companies can enjoy the minimum tariffs, raw materials and simplified mechanical equipment import formalities. Nevertheless, the Malaysia government regulates that more than 80% products should export to other countries (Daily News, 2006). Furthermore, the UK Byers Acts Measures to cut the average price of a car by ? 1,100 and save private car buyers around ? 1 billion a year. Although it may lower the profitability of auto industry, the number of consumers will increase gradually (DTI, 2000). 2. 4 Income profile Since automobile is not inferior goods, the demand of automobile would rise when income increases. In the economic aspect, income could be an indicator of the purchasing power of individuals and nations. Data from UK national statistics office (2010) demonstrated that despite the contracted 4. 9 percent of GDP in the whole year, the GDP increased 0. 4 percent in 7 International Business Environment II the fourth quarter of 2009. Furthermore, Household expenditure also rose 0. 4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009 in UK (chart2). For Malaysia, the GDP growth in the fourth quarter of 2009 was 4. 5 though the figure was negative in the whole year (chart 3) (Malaysia statistics, 2010). It can be observed that the economy of both UK and Malaysia seem to recover from the global financial crisis. This positive signal predicts the growing demand and distensible market for Geely in both countries. Chart 2 Resource from UK statistics 2010 Chart3 Resource from Malaysia statistics 2010 8 International Business Environment II The core competitiveness of Geely automobile relies on its high performance-price ratio. Per capital GNI (Gross national income) in Malaysia was 25784 RM in 2008. By analyzing the 2004 United Nations Human Development (UNHDP) report, except the 20% population of richest and poorest class, Geely will be a better choice for the rest citizens in Malaysia(chart 4) (Lumpur, 2004). In comparison, the young people account for a great amount of population in UK. A source from HMRC shows the average income of under 20 years is ? 9,570 and 20-24 years is ? 13,200 which is below the average (chart 5). It implies that when young generation decide to buy a car, price is the first consideration factor. For medium quality car manufacture companies, young population in UK could be a potential group of customers. Chart 4 9 International Business Environment II Chart5 Median Age Band Under 20 years 20 – 24 ? 11,800 years 25 – 29 ? 17,000 years 30 -34 ? 19,500 years 35 – 39 ? 20,100 years 40-44 ? 20,200 years 45 – 49 ? 20,300 years Resource from Lumpur (2004) ? 28,600 ? 24,800 ? 35,400 ? 15,200 ? 20,100 ? 28,100 ? 24,600 ? 34,600 ? 14,900 ? 19,800 ? 26,800 ? 23,600 ? 31,700 ? 15,500 ? 20,100 ? 23,900 ? 21,600 ? 26,700 ? 16,400 ? 20,100 ? 19,300 ? 17,800 ? 20,600 ? 15,900 ? 17,800 ? 13,200 ? 12,400 ? 13,800 ? 11,200 ? 12,300 ? 8,130 ? 9,570 ? 8,490 ? 9,810 ? 7,990 ? 9,250 Median Income Mean Income Income (Men) (Men) (Women) (Women) Income Income Income Mean Median Mean 2. 5 Political risk According to Guinger (2001), political risk describes the stability of government institutions. It can be measured in a variety of ways such as likelihood of foreign aggression and civil insurrection. The Transparency International (2009) showed that UK and Malaysia both face some problems of political corruption, which adversely affects the efficiency of economic operation. World Bank estimates that corruption could cost Malaysia as much as RM10 10 International Business Environment II billion a year – an amount equivalent to 1 or 2 per cent of GDP. The corruption in the UK is lighter than Malaysia, which ranked 17, whereas Malaysia ranked 56 in world in 2009 based on Corruption Perceptions Index 2009. But the corruption in UK is not unheard. Surveys by Control Risks and Simmons Simmons show that the awareness of UK laws against foreign bribery may be decreasing over time. In 2002, after the act came into force, 68 percent of respondents said they were familiar with its main points. But in 2006, 48 percent people said that they have totally ignored it (Global Corruption Report, 2009). 2. 6 Tax Regime Tax regime refers to the tax instruments that governments use to raise revenues from multinational firms, such as corporate taxes. The tax of Malaysia is transparent, the multinational corporate must be taxed 30% of the corporate income which is just the same as Malaysia companies Marketing directory, 2005) According to the tax incentive treaties, auto ( . industry may be eligible for pioneer status which is given by the way of an abatement of 70% of the profits for five years (ibid). The remaining 30% of the profits will be taxed at the prevailing corporate income tax rate. The profits abated are exempt from tax and will be available for distribution as tax-free dividends. In UK the resident corporate tax is the lowest in Europe, even the tax is zero for the small companies in 2002(Lawandtax-news, 2010). According to the tax treaties, multinational corporate which set up, purchase or control the companies in UK can follow the resident tax (Navstar, 2009). In the ordinary course of events, foreign companies cannot follow the low corporate tax, but with regard to double taxation and the agreement between UK and China, Chinese multinational corporates in UK now pay the low tax (ibid). 2. 7 Exchange rate Stable trade policies are extremely important for both the economic welfare of the countries and the multilateral trading system. Unfortunately, the liberalization measures were adopted by many countries. As Dornbusch‘s 1976 analysis has pointed out that when the exchange rate is used to provide protection for domestic firms, it is through undervaluation. An undervalued 11 International Business Environment II exchange rate protects domestic firms from imports and gives domestic firms greater incentives to export. For example, the Balance of Payments Committee of the WTO has received 39 requests from member countries for derogations from their international obligations and for a temporary increase in temporary protection. Moreover, several developing countries, such as Malaysia, have recently increased tariffs in response to financial crises even though the higher rates remain below the rates these countries bounded in the WTO. Moreover the analysis said China has become a great auto exporter, as a result of the huge subsidies, an undervalued exchange rate and dirt-cheap credit (Swaminathan, 2009). 2. 8 Restrictions Restrictions refer to the taxes and limitations that host governments place on foreign products and services or on foreign firms themselves when they enter or leave the host economy. Because of the policy of protecting their national automobile industry, the import tax of automobile is relatively high in Malaysia. Since 2004, Malaysia began to reduce the automobile import tax: for the import components the tax is reduce from 25% to 10%, and for the whole automobile the import tax is drop from 130% to 30% for the companies outside of Southeast Asia (MEI, 2009). In 2010, according to the agreement of ASEAN, the automobile import tax will be zero to all the regions of ASEAN. UK is a member of EU, it followed the economic agreement of EU which sets no import or export tax between members of EU and they must charge the same tax when they have business with the third country (European competitiveness, 2009). 12. International Business Environment II Scoring Analysis of UK and Malaysia Country Score Econography Culture Legal System Income Profile Political Risk Tax Regime Exchange Rate Restrictions Total (10) (10) (20) (20) (10) (10) (10) (10) (100) 8 7 18 8 8 8 7 7 71 7 6 16 15 5 9 8 9 75 UK Malaysia 3. Institutions 3. 1 WTO The major objectives of WTO‘s roles are ? the creation of a common automobile market through the elimination of barriers to intra-Community trade; the maintenance and expansion of a competitive world automobile industry; the use of voluntary import restrictions to prevent cheap imports and to maintain competitiveness? (European Commission, 2006). For example, in 2006, WTO announced the establishment of a panel to examine whether Chinas tariffs on imported auto parts violate WTO trade rules, following a joint complaint made by the United States, the European Union and Canada, who accused China for its discriminatory charges on imported auto parts. After examining China‘s related regulations, WTO panel declared that Chinas regulations are inconsistent with Chinas WTO obligations. China has agreed to make the necessary regulatory changes by September 2009 (Herd, 2006). 13 International Business Environment II. WTO facilitates Geely‘s international expansion since the elimination of trade barriers has cleared its path to world market and made it integrated to the world economy. In 2002, after China joined into WTO, 100 automobiles of Geely exported to Syria (Luo, 2005). 3. 2 EU EU functions as a rule-imposer. It sets strict requirements and institute rules and regulations to improve vehicle safety. Besides the vehicle crash tests executed by Euro NCAP (European New Car Assessment Program backed by European Commission), there are also some regulations set to protect the environment. First, in order to respond to the gradual aggravation of greenhouse effect, the European commission developed a mandatory emission standard to limit the emission of one major kind of greenhouse gas, CO2. The regulation set a fleet-average CO2 emission target for passenger cars, which is 120 g/km to be reached by 2015 (European Commission, 2010). The vehicle manufacturers must reach the CO2 emission target of 130g/km, with an additional reduction of 10 g/km to be provided by supplementary measures, such as the use of hydrogen fuel. A long-term target of 95 g/km to be reached by 2020 is also established by the regulation (ibid). This regulation will take effect in 2012. From 2012 onwards, vehicle manufacturers who do not meet this target will have to pay penalty for their excess emissions. According to DieselNet (2010), from 2012 to 2018, the penalties are â‚ ¬5 per vehicle for the first g/km of CO2; â‚ ¬15 for the second gram; â‚ ¬25 for the third gram; â‚ ¬95 from the fourth gram onwards. From 2019, manufacturers will pay â‚ ¬95 for each g/km exceeding the target. Another congressional mandate imposed by European Commission requires tire pressure monitoring systems on all new cars in 2012. According to Europe‘s Information Society (2010), many road accidents resulting in fatalities and physical injuries are linked to tire defects. Furthermore, under-inflated tires can result in severely inefficient use of fuel and cause an extra two million tons of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere per year. So this mandate enhances vehicle safety and protects the environment. 14 International Business Environment II These regulations have incurred a rise in car prices since vehicle manufacturers are forced to increase price to offset the cost of upgrading. These regulations put Geely in an unfavorable position. Since Geely is better known for making low-tech and cheap cars, making eco-friendly cars is not included in the competencies of the company and huge RD spending is inevitable for nurturing this competence. They set a high bar for the competition and limit Geely‘s ability to expand market in Europe. 3. 3 ASEAN ASEAN – Association of South East Asia Nations is a geo-political and economic organization of 10 countries located in Southeast Asia. China and ASEAN are both newly-emerged, rapidly-developing auto markets. Cooperation in auto industry between China and ASEAN will bring a win-win situation for the two sides and make their cars more competitive in a global competition. For instance, according to Xinhua News Agency (2006), a report released by the Ministry of Commerce Indonesia has announced that compared to the expensive Japanese sedans, the China-made ones gradually gain popularity for more favourable price-performance ratio. ASEAN country also needs investment from Chinese carmakers to expand local employment and for more price-favourable cars, said a Germany auto expert at the China-ASEAN Expo, 2006. Consequently, in general, ASEAN opens its gate to Chinese car companies including Geely to achieve a win-win situation. 4. Assessment of Geely’s overall international expansion strategy Geely‘s current international strategy is to produce affordable automobile, so the market size and consume power of a foreign market are highly valued by Geely. Malaysia automobile market resembles China more than UK, in the aspects such as the people‘s income, the similar culture, and the similar geographical position, etc. As by now most cars have been exported to some developing countries like South-East Asia, Ukraine, Russia, and Mexico, Malaysia will be good choice. Meanwhile, although UK does not represent a neighboring or ? home‘ market, 15 International Business Environment II as markets in South-East Asia do, UK could be seen as an interesting market with a potential for higher margins, higher price levels and a more mature market for branding, technology, etc, as the UK‘s income per capita, and the automobile sales volume are higher than that of Malaysia. Considering the future international development, Geely should focus on UK. Therefore, at first, it is better for Geely to develop its ? producing automobile which most of people can buy‘ strategy in Malaysia, and when Geely is able to enter high-end automobile market, UK will be a better choice. In terms of multilateral institution, after evaluating the influence of international organizations, we suggest that Malaysia is a better choice for Chinese car companies to exploit new markets. Firstly, a win-win situation guarantees a favourably corporate relationship between Geely and ASEAN (Eichengreen, 2006). Secondly, there are various quality-related requirements and constraints in EU and probably NAFTA, which puts up a strong challenge for those Asian auto makers. Moreover, by far, there is no evidence to prove the acquisition of Manganese Bronze and Volvo have considerably increased Geely‘s sale in developed nations. Thus considering the opportunities and threats faced by Geely, it is recommended that the company emphasizes on developing nations‘ markets, rather than the developed markets. 5. Marketing analysis 5. 1 Legal system According to Alistair Darling‘s pre-budget report, UK will bring new opportunities for the low-carbon industries. Through the Innovation Investment Fund and the Carbon Trusts Venture Capital scheme, UK will invest at least ? 160m in low carbon projects (Guardian, 2009). They will also invest ? 90m in the European Investment Banks new 2020 fund, which will put 6. 5 billion Euros of finance in green infrastructure projects. In this report, there are alterations to the climate change levy, company car tax, and fuel benefit charge (ibid). This is good news for Geely because now it dedicates itself to produce high-tech and eco-friendly automobile. In 16 International Business Environment II UK the amount of car tax depends on the price and the discharge amount for carbon, which is from 9% for electric motor car to 10%-35% for petrochemical car. UK also has a successful car scrappage scheme, which gives consumers a ? 2,000 discount off. If they scrap their old vehicle, it will help up to 125,000 families replace their inefficient boilers with new models (Julia, 2009). Through the government‘s support of low-carbon industry, Geely has more opportunities to innovate high-tech and eco-friendly automobile. Furthermore, because of the low tax and car scrappage scheme, customer is inclined to buy or change an electric motor car,. In 22nd March 2006, Malaysia published the new automobile policy (MEI, 2009). Since that day, the import taxes of CBU (Complete Built Unit) are reduced from 20% to 5% for the ASEAN members and 50% to 30% for other countries. The import taxes of CKD (Completely Knock Down) are 10%. In 28th October 2009, Mustafa Mohamed announced many new policies for auto industry which will give much more preferences and subsidies for the new energy automobile companies (ibid). 5. 2 Income profile It is known that the success of Geely relies mostly on keeping low cost and offering the affordable cars. For instance, Geelys best-selling four-door sedan, the King Kong, has been sold 6127 in April 2010 and the retail price is between 47,800RMB 58,800RMB (Jiang, 2010). Geely sold 329,014 passenger cars in 2009, making it is the third largest domestic car producer (Zheng, 2010). However, Geelys winning formula is under pressure in china because Chinese consumers are becoming wealthier; the higher-end models will gradually be affordable for them. Meanwhile, brands such as the Chery QQ, Ford Fiesta, and Honda Civic are threatening Geely‘s current market position. Geeky‘s winning formula is also challenged at the oversea markets like UK and Malaysia. Date from HMRC (HM Revenue Customs) indicates that nearly 50% of the population in UK earns ? 16400 annually which is much higher than the middle class income of Malaysia. This group of population could be a dominant power in the automobile market in UK. It is not a wise choice to sell its inexpensive cars in UK considering that low price would not be 17 International Business Environment II attractive for these relatively rich citizens. The similar situation also happened in Malaysia which made Geely‘s low price cars less competitive. This is because that the predicted real GDP growth in 2010, 2011 and 2015 are 4. 7%, 5. 0% and 5. 0%, Malaysian people are becoming richer than before(IMF, 2010). Their increasing incomes will directly affect their car buying choice. People nowadays prefer the higher-end models and the market share of Geely‘s lower-end models are estimated to reduce gradually. 6. Geely’s reacts to the impact of the ECLIPTER First, since the middle of 2009, the sales of car exports decreased from 37940 in 2008 to 6297. Furthermore, although Geely exports to more than 50 countries, most of them are developing countries which are not so effective in the promotion of the brand image. In order to get rid of low-end image, Geely changed its strategy from ?produce automobile which most of people can buy‘ to ? do not produce cars which price is below 40000 Yuan‘ (Fang, 2009). Besides, Geely take over Volvo which also expressed its desire to promote the brand image. Geely‘s strategy changes starts in May 2007, which is focus on transforming its competitive advantage from price to technology. In 2007, Geely used three new motorcycle type—Yuan Jing, King Kong and Zi You Jian, which have relatively higher value added to substitute the Haoqing, Meiri and You Liou. For doing that, Geely scraped its old molds, jigs and production line which worth up to 8 billion Yuan. In 2008, the sales of these three new auto types grew 12% without discount marketing strategy (Geely annual report, 2009). Furthermore, in 2010, Geely will market 21 new auto types, and some of them were designed by Fabrizio Giugiaro, the Italy‘s famous auto manufacturer. Moreover, the new energy auto will also be produced in 2010, which will include Panda and DiHao (Wenqing, 2010). These new energy auto types have been showed in the Beijing car exhibition 2010 (Phoenix auto, 2010). In order to deal with these two factors, Geely also has a complementary strategy: cooperate or takeover other well-known international auto manufacturers. It will not only help Geely to promote its auto manufacture technology, but also improve its brand image. Geely has already cooperated with 18 International Business Environment II Britain‘s Manganese Bronze to produce luxurious brand-named taxi (China car Times, 2010) and assembled cars with Information Gateway Corp Sdn Bhd (IGC) in Malaysia, 2006 (Tan, 2006). 7. Leverage the multilateral institutions 7. 1 ASEAN One of the stunning news in 2005 was the political barriers Geely met in Malaysia, which was considered as the biggest challenge for its overseas expansion so far. Geely‘s President Li Shufu described Malaysia as ? an unexpected trap? because of Malaysia government‘s rejection on fulfilling the contract. After examining the ECLIPTER factors of Malaysia market, Li Shufu and his team regarded Malaysia as the first pillbox and cornerstone of its expansion to ASEAN countries. He believed the learning in Malaysia could be helpful. Therefore, in May 2005, Geely has made a joint contract with Malaysia IGC group for building CKD factory in Malaysia. However, Malaysia government denied the contract after a new document on automobile being published. According to the document, all cars made by foreign automobile manufacturers were prohibited to sell in Malaysia. Then the situation in Malaysia went against its expection of getting a huge sale. However, according to Geely officials, to some extent, ASEAN agreements have made Geely to reconsider the importance of Malaysia (Harwit). In South East Asia nations, there are some strict tariff-related regulations for automobile industry. Contrarily, tariff among ASEAN countries is in a minimum rate. According to an inner-ASEAN agreement, from 2003 to 2009, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippine, Singapore and Vietnam exempted auto import tariff for each other. From 2010, all ASEAN countries will implement zero auto import tariff for each other. At the same time, Indonesia, Thailand and some other ASEAN nations‘ demand of cars is increasing considerably (JAMA, 2008). Especially after an impressive increase in 2007, the car-sale in Indonesia becomes significantly dazzle. Therefore Geely 19 International Business Environment II planed to only manufacture cars in Malaysia and then export cars to other ASEAN countries, which seems like a forward-looking plan in a long-term development. Finally, Geely decided to move its Malaysia CKD manufacture center to Indonesia. However, its vision of leveraging ASEAN to pursue a sale performance in all ASEAN nations has not changed. 7. 2 EU In terms of EU regulations, since Geely has acquired 100% ownership of Volvo, the Sweden‘s company, Geely is no longer an outsider of European market. According to the EU Single market concept (European Commission, 2010), a free circulation of capital, labor, goods and services between EU members is granted. Geely now have got over tariff barriers and competes as an insider. 8. Implications and Recommendations One of the strategies of Geely is to promote new energy automobile, there are two advantages for this strategy: Firstly, Geely can get powerful support from government since the development of new energy is encouraged by the government. Secondly, since new energy automobile is environmental friendly goods, it not only reduces the carbon emissions, but also decreases the expenses on routine maintenance (Bond newspaper, 2010). However, there are also drawbacks, such as the inadequate facilities. Acquiring other world famous bands is the other strategy of Geely, which facilitates the company‘s global expansion. For instance, Volvo is well-known by its safety, which could provide Geely with a competitive advantage on its brand trust. It also provides a valuable, more upscale user image. Therefore, through merger or acquisition of international well-known brands, Geely can get greater international fame and advanced technology, integrate into the world market and attract more consumers. However, certain risks should be considered when Geely acquires Volvo. The first risk is that the culture conflicts between two countries. It has been reported that one of the hindering factors is that the union of Volvo in Sweden disagrees the acquisition for their reduced 20 International Business Environment II welfare and unemployment (Gasgoo, 2009). The second risk is that the value of acquired equity. It has been said that Volvo‘s vaunted reputation for safety has been challenged by other manufacturers which can also provide automobiles with same safety standard. In this case Volvo‘s ? safe? advantage may not be as competitive as before. 9. Conclusion To sum up, this essay has analyzed the ECLIPTER factors of Geely‘s two overseas markets, Britain and Malaysia, and examined influence of the related multilateral institutions. According to this matrix analysis, legal system and income profile have the most important impact on the auto industry. For multilateral institutions, ASEAN and WTO generally promote the Geely‘s international expansion strategy, while EU regulations are less favored in its expansion. Considering both ECLIPTER factors and related multilateral institutions, it is suitable for Geely to enter developing nations to acquire market share at its initial development. But for long-term development, Geely need to pay attention to research and develop higher-end models. With the development of Geely Company and the overall auto industry, Geely‘s focus will shift from developing countries to developed countries. Currently, Geely‘s low price strategy is challenged by the legal system and income profile of developed countries. Therefore, Geely is increasing its efforts in releasing new model cars and tapping into developed countries through merger or acquisition. Geely intends to promote its brand image and enlarge its market share through these strategic moves, although it has to face the risk of culture conflicts and the uncertainty of acquisition value. 21 International Business Environment II 10. References: Azia, A. Z. (2004) Malaysia-Encouraging Saving in a Dynamic Economy [Online]. Available at: h.

Discussing Zephaniahs Face Essay -- Benjamin Zephaniah

I have read the book ‘Face’ by Benjamin Zephaniah, a Jamaican author and poet. He grew up in east London where he decided the book should be set. His previous experiences from being a victim of racial discrimination and prejudice and being a teenage rebel, involved in theft and drug crimes gave him a stimulus to write the book. The author himself having been discriminated upon found himself using previous burn victims like Simon Weston, who was badly burnt in the Falklands war, to help his book seem more realistic. This story is about Martin. He's the leader of the Gang of Three, and the classroom joker. He lives in the East End of London. You have to be careful what you say and who you say it to on the streets of Martin's neighborhood - not that Martin is particularly racist. This book challenges some very serious points from discrimination to teenage issues and coping with a traumatic situation and this is what I will discuss in my essay. There are many cases of prejudice and discrimination in this book. When Martin sees the Jamaican girls standing outside the club he imm...

Theories of Leadership

Professional and Staff Development FSPSD200 Leadership Theory Simplified Allisen Penn Assistant Professor  ­ Leadership Development â€Å"Pop leadership† philosophy abounds in our culture today. Book stores have shelves full of books on leader ­ ship. Leaders and leadership are discussed daily on tele ­ vision, radio, newspapers, magazines and on the web. As a result, many mixed messages about leadership are expressed. So – how do you decide what is accurate? Read the inside cover of a leadership book and you may find that the book is more about manage ­ ment and business than leadership. A agazine or newspaper may just express the opinion of a famous person about leadership. While the perspective of a well-known leader or the insight offered in a book may be valuable, you may want to ask – is this information supported by research? An understanding of the existing leadership research may help you shape your own opinion about what is good leadership. Once you determine what is good leader ­ ship, you can begin to develop your own leadership approach. Arkansas Is Our Campus Visit our web site at: http://www. uaex. edu What is leadership? There are almost as many definitions of leader ­ hip as there are books and opinions about leadership. You may want to define leadership for yourself. Write your definition of leadership: A commonly accepted definition of leadership is a process used by an individual to influence a group of members toward a common goal (Bass, 1990; Howell and Costley, 2001). Maxwell (1993) simply states that leadership is influence. The following overview of leadership theories is intended to provide a synopsis of some of the research conducted on leadership in the last 50 years. There is a list of suggested reading (page 4) to help you learn more about the theories hat appeal to you. University of Arkansas, United States Department of Agriculture, and County Governments Cooperating Seven Common Views of Leadersh ip Describe below: There are some common beliefs, which include both fact and fiction, about leadership that can be summarized into seven views of leadership (Lee and King, 2001). 1. The Genetic View – Some people are born with leadership talents and others are not. Only certain people can learn to lead effectively; they are naturals. If you do not have this inborn talent, there is nothing you can do. 2. The Learned View – If you study leadership arefully and practice, you can learn to be an effective leader, no matter whom you are. In a sense, this is the opposite of the genetic view. This view is common in the military and among leadership development professionals. 3. The Heroic View – The only good leaders are those who perform courageous, wise and compas ­ sionate feats that the rest of us can’t. Think of the movie roles played by Gary Cooper, Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne. The perception is that this is the type of leaders who get the rest of us ou t of trouble. 4. The Top-Only View – Leadership only happens at or close to the top of an organization.Everyone else â€Å"just follows orders. † If you are not the boss, you are nothing. If you are the boss, you are everything anyone could wish for. Being â€Å"the boss† is the ultimate goal. 5. The Social Script View – When it is your proper turn to be the leader, you will be asked. When asked, you should accept and be grateful. After all, not everyone is asked. This approach is common in professional associations and civic or community organizations. 6. The Position View – If you are in the job and have the title, you are a leader. This idea is tradi ­ tional in bureaucracies and highly structured rganizations and carries some validity even in the most effective systems. If your title is phrased â€Å"director of†¦Ã¢â‚¬  or â€Å"head of†¦,† your leadership virtues are assumed. 7. The Calling View – Although not neces sarily a religious experience, a â€Å"call† to lead can be quite compelling. This concept suggests that leaders have a sense of mission or purpose. Do any of these sound familiar to you? Which one of these viewpoints have you experienced? Every leader is different, and no single theory works for all leaders. Begin to develop your own leadership approach by learning more about the following leadership theories. †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Great man Trait Behavioral Contingency Transactional Transformational Great Man. Researchers who support the Great Man theory believe that people are born to leadership. This may include members of royalty, high-ranking military officers and industry heads. Today, many people still hold this traditional belief, and even though this theory may sound oldfashioned, research suggests that some people have personality traits, behaviors and knowledge that lend themselves to leadership (Yaverbaum and Sherman, 2008). Studying famous roya l, military or industry leaders may provide you with some tools that help ou develop your own leadership abilities. Trait Theory. Similar to the Great Man theory, Trait theory suggests that the characteristics or the personality of a person may make them an effective leader. Several academics believe that potential leaders can be spotted by studying the personality traits of the individual and matching them to the characteristics of actual leaders. Trait theory was almost abandoned by leadership practitioners as leadership research evolved, but in the past few years, there has been a renewed interest and more research related to Trait theory. Leadership traits include physical or background raits, personal or ability traits and/or task or social traits such as: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Articulate Committed Decisive Determined †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Educated Energetic Integrity Intelligence Persistence Responsible Social Social Status Self-Confident James Kouzes and Barry Posner, authors of The Leadership Challenge, interviewed 75,000 people to identify the top ten characteristics needed in a leader. Their list includes the following characteristics: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Broad-minded Competent Dependable Fair-minded Forward-looking Honest Inspiring Intelligent Supportive Straightforward All of these characteristics are not personality raits. Many researchers say you don’t have to be born with all of these traits. In fact, you can develop some of these characteristics as part of your personal leadership approach. Behavioral Theory. Behavior theory focuses on what an effective leader â€Å"does. † Leadership is not something you are born with, nor do you need a set of commonly accepted traits. However, effective leader ­ ship is dependent on the right behavior. Researchers proposed that for a leader to be effective, their behavior mus t vary with the situation. In other words, you can learn how to act like a leader. that match their ability.The leader provides coaching, direction, motivation and rewards for the followers. †¢ Situational Theory recommends that different situations call for different kinds of leadership. This calls for the leader to change their style to the abilities of their followers. Transactional Theory. Transactional leadership requires that the leader and follower agree to a contract. The follower is responsible for following orders to perform a task. The leader, in turn, gives rewards for following orders in completing the task. Transactional leadership suggests that people only complete tasks when there are external rewards.However, many people accomplish tasks and reach goals because of their own internal motivation. Transformational Theory. Transformational leadership is a process in which the leader engages others, builds trust and creates a connection that increases the motivation and morality in both the leader and the follower. (Northouse, 2001). A trans ­ formational leader focuses on others and their needs in order to help them reach their potential. In many ways, transformational leadership is about a leader’s ability to create a vision related to a goal that has meaning for both the leader and follower.Personalizing Leadership Which of these theories has the most appeal to you? Write a description about how and when you would use the theory, with whom, where and what skills you may need to learn to be more effective. What theory? Behavior theories are based on categories of behavior and leadership types. The myth in this thinking is that outward behavior is enough to establish leadership. In the 1970s, research found most of the Behavior theory research to be invalid (Howell and Costley, 2001; Yaverbaum and Sherman, 2008); however, leadership behavior is still frequently discussed.Contingency Theory. In a more progressive approach to leadershi p, Contingency theory recom ­ mends matching a leader’s style to the right situ ­ ation, which involves matching to the team of people and goals. Two common Contingency theories are Path-Goal theory and Situational theory. †¢ Path-Goal Theory proposes that effective leaders help followers reach goals through motivation by involving them in fulfilling and meaningful tasks How do you plan to use what you have learned? When will you use what you learned? References and Suggested Reading Bass, B. M. (1990). Bass and Stogdill’s Handbook ofLeadership: Theory Research and Managerial Application. New York: Free Press. Howell, J. P. , and D. L. Costley (2001). Understanding Behaviors for Effective Leadership. Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. With whom do you plan to use what you learned? Kouzes, J. M. , and B. Z. Posner (2002). The Leadership Challenge. San Francisco: Jossey Bass. Lee, R. J. , and S. N. King (2001). Discovering the Leader in You: A Guide to Realizing Y our Personal Leadership Potential. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Inc. Where do you plan to use what you have learned? Lewis, J. P. (2003). Project Leadership. New York: McGraw-Hill.Maxwell, J. C. (1993). Developing the Leader Within You. Nashville, TN: Injoy, Inc. Northouse, P. G. (2001). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. What else do you need to learn to be more effective in this area? Yaverbaum, E. , and E. Sherman (2008). The Everything Leadership Book, 2nd ed. Avon, MA: F+W Publications, Inc. Printed by University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service Printing Services. ALLISEN PENN is Assistant Professor – Leadership Development with the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, located in Little Rock.FSPSD200-PD-11-08N Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U. S. Department of Agriculture, Director, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Arkansas. The Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service offers its programs to all eligible persons regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age, disability, marital or veteran status, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.

One of the reasons the author must have written the book

One of the themes of the book is that outcome of the war was not determined by technology nor tactics. Victory in the South Pacific absolutely depended on human judgment and will. This is the tool that drives home the reality of the battle.One of the reasons the author must have written the book is to show just how much the human will and judgment can achieve. This makes the book the more relevant today because we live in a world that gravitates around Technology. We have slowly turned from Master to Slave and Sea of Thunder is a good way to show its readers that indeed the human being is still capable of achieving whatever is desired.The book is bound in the era of the early 1930s were the industrial revolution had taken off but its impacts had not fully been experienced around the whole world. This is one of the reasons why they battle was mainly depended on Human will power and judgment. It was also the era of the Pacific War and the book centers on its progression and centers on the Battle of the Leyte GulfOne of the subtopics could be inner conflict on the part of the officers especially the Japanese. They had dived loyalties to the Throne, the IJN and the fellow soldiers under their command.Another subtopic is Evans breaking all the Racial Barriers by gaining entrance into the Naval Academy. This is because commander Evans was a Cherokee Indian and it was absolutely rare of some one of Evans heritage to be accepted into the U.S Naval Academy.However according to Hal M. Friedman one of the reviewers of Thomas work, â€Å"Thomas mentions these things but without developing them. One would like to know more about factors in Evans’s family background that helped him in his education, motivated him to join the Navy, and enabled him to overcome the prejudices in the fleet to obtain an Academy appointment. Again, these are all mentioned by Thomas but not in as thorough a manner as the rarity of the accomplishments requires.† This could possibly be one of the shortcomings of the book.Another possible subtopic could be Kuritas decision not to sacrifice thousands of lives. Had he not made this choice then the Americans would totally have been destroyed. This gives us a point to ponder about. Why did he do it?The author supports his theme/thesis firstly by making it known that these men had inner conflicts that would have deterred them from achieving their goal. This is actually where the fact of will power comes in because had it not been due to this self convincing then they would have failed in their missions by simply giving upThe other support for the theme is that without any support, Sprague's forces puta shockingly fierce fight   in which Evans   strongly featured. This shows the human body being put to the test of time and it cleverly brings out the fact about human judgment for the Sprague’s could simply have seen their enemies then decide to run for cover. But on the contrary they perceived the situation in a different perspective (Judgment) then decided to give them the Japanese a very hard battle.Moving away from the dimension of the themes purpose in the winning of the battle, we realize that again it was will power that enabled the Japanese endure fifty long hours in shark infested waters of the ocean after their ship sunk.   It took a lot of self will to choose to hold on in this situation for many a people would have simply given up.Does the author successfully support his theme? Well according to these three examples and other numerous ones in the book I think he does. He just does not implicitly express his theme but he goes right ahead and gives evidence to emphasize his theme

Programming Exercise for Odd Magic Squares in Java

Programming Exercise for Odd Magic Squares in Java Its unclear who first came up with a magic square. There is a story about a huge flood in China a long time ago. The people were worried they would be washed away and tried to appease the river god by making sacrifices. Nothing seemed to work until a child noticed a turtle sporting a magic square on its back that kept circling the sacrifice. The square told the people how big their sacrifice needed to be in order to save themselves. Since then magic squares have been the height of fashion for any discerning turtle. Level: Beginner Focus: Logic, Arrays, Methods Odd Magic Squares In case youve never come across one before, a magic square is an arrangement of sequential numbers in a square so that the rows, columns, and diagonals all add up to the same number. For instance, a 3x3 magic square is: 8 1 6 3 5 7 4 9 2 Each row, column and diagonal adds up to 15. Odd Magic Squares Question This programming exercise is concerned with creating odd sized magic squares (i.e., the size of the square can only be an odd number, 3x3, 5x5, 7x7, 9x9, and so on). The trick with making such a square is to place the number 1 in the first row and middle column. To find where to place the next number, move diagonally upwards to the right (i.e., one row up, one column across). If such a move means you fall off the square, wrap around to the row or column on the opposite side. Finally, if the move takes you to a square that is already filled, go back to the original square and move downwards by one. Repeat the process until all the squares are filled. For example, a 3x3 magic square would start like so: 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 A move diagonally upwards means we wrap around to the bottom of the square: 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 Likewise, the next diagonal move upwards means we wrap around to the first column: 0 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 2 Now the diagonal move upwards results in a square that is already filled, so we go back to where we came from and drop down a row: 0 1 0 3 0 0 4 0 2 and it continues on and on until all the squares are full. Program Requirements a user must be able to enter in the size of the magic square.they must only be allowed to enter in an odd number.use a method to create the magic square.use a method to display the magic square. The question is can your program create a 5x5 magic square like the one below? 17 24   1   Ã‚  8 15 23   5   Ã‚  7 14 16   4   Ã‚  6 13 20 22 10 12 19 21   3 11 18 25   2   Ã‚  9 Hint: Apart from the programming aspects of this exercise its also a test of logic. Take each step of creating the magic square in turn and figure how it can be done with a two-dimensional array. Odd Magic Square Solution Your program should have been capable of creating the 5x5 magic square below: 17 24   1   Ã‚  8 15 23   5   Ã‚  7 14 16   4   Ã‚  6 13 20 22 10 12 19 21   3 11 18 25   2   Ã‚  9 Heres my version: import java.util.Scanner; public class MagicOddSquare {   Ã‚  public static void main(String[] args) {   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Scanner input new Scanner(System.in);   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  int[][] magicSquare;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  boolean isAcceptableNumber false;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  int size -1;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  //only accept odd numbers   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  while (isAcceptableNumber false)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  {   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  System.out.println(Enter in size of square: );   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  String sizeText input.nextLine();   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  size Integer.parseInt(sizeText);   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  if (size % 2 0)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  {   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  System.out.println(The size must be an odd number);   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  isAcceptableNumber false;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  }   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  else   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  {   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  isAcceptableNumber true;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  }   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  }   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  magicSqua re createOddSquare(size);   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  displaySquare(magicSquare);   Ã‚  }   Ã‚  private static int[][] createOddSquare(int size)   Ã‚  {   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  int[][] magicSq new int[size][size];   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  int row 0;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  int column size/2;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  int lastRow row;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  int lastColumn column;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  int matrixSize size*size;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  magicSq[row][column] 1;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  for (int k2;k matrixSize1;k)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  {   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  //check if we need to wrap to opposite row   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  if (row - 1 0)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  {   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  row size-1;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  }   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  else   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  {   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  row;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  }   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  //check if we need to wrap to opposite column   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  if (column 1 size)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  {   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  column 0;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  }   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  else   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  {   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  column;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  }   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  //if this position isnt empty then go back to where we   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  //started and move one row down   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  if (magicSq[row][column] 0)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  {   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  magicSq[row][column] k;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  }   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  els e   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  {   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  row lastRow;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  column lastColumn;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  if (row 1 size)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  {   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  row0;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  }   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   else   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  {   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  row;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  }   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  magicSq[row][column] k;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  }   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  lastRow row;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  lastColumn column;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  }   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  return magicSq;   Ã‚  }   Ã‚  private static void displaySquare(int[][] magicSq)   Ã‚  {   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  int magicConstant 0;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  for (int j0;j(magicSq.length);j)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  {   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  for (int k0;k(magicSq[j].length);k)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  {   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  System.out.print(magicSq[j][k] );   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  }   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  System.out.print;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  magicConstant magicConstant magicSq[j][0];   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  }   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   System.out.print(The magic constant is magicConstant);   Ã‚  } }

Five steps to writing a great LinkedIn profile - Emphasis

Five steps to writing a great LinkedIn profile Five steps to writing a great LinkedIn profile LinkedIn, thats that online CV thing, right? Well, kind of. But with more than 200 million registered users, 2.8 million company pages and 2.6 billion page views per month, LinkedIn is more than just that, writes Emma Beals. It has 11 million users in the UK, and 74 million in the US. This represents a select audience, too. LinkedIn users are far more likely than non-users to hold university or graduate degrees and be earning in excess of 50,000 per year, which means they are doing some serious business. It has become a powerful professional networking and personal marketing tool. So whether youre keen to get your work or company noticed, or youre on the look-out for a new job, getting the LinkedIn basics right is the first step towards reaching your goals. So here are five sure-fire ways to use your writing skills to up your game on LinkedIn. 1. Complete your profile and keep it up-to-date This may sound obvious, but its very easy to forget this basic step especially if youve been in a role for a while or youve been busy on a project. The very things that are keeping you busy are probably the same ones you should be adding to your achievements and you should mention that promotion as soon as possible. 2. Write a profile summary One of the best ways to stand out is to write a great profile summary. This is a punchy piece that tells the reader something about who you are and what you do. You need to engage the reader from the first line, by writing a great introduction. Your profile statement should be vibrant and distil your skills and experience into a short, clear statement. This is the time for the active voice. You should include your objectives and a call to action. Are you looking to network or for new clients or opportunities? Say so, and suggest the best way to get in touch with you. 3. SEO your LinkedIn page Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) isnt just for websites and Google rankings. Thousands of recruiters and companies search LinkedIn every day, and you want to show up in their search. There are two key ways to push your profile page up the search results: Keywords In your position descriptions, profile statement and throughout your entire profile, make sure you use the words people are searching for. Your can-do attitude might be a wonderful asset in the office but no one is going to search for it. Use specific, search-orientated words throughout your profile, eg project management, social media lead generation, immigration law. Social clout The number of connections you have, the companies you follow and the groups you belong to all affect how far up the search results you appear. If you have shared connections of any kind with the person who is searching, youll come in higher than thousands of other profiles with the same skills and keywords. Prove yourself Once someone is on your page, you need to gain their trust and respect. Links to your other websites or your work, recommendations from colleagues and ex-colleagues and the quality of your connections will all have an impact. 4. Status updates Have you just won a new account, produced a piece of work, or written an article or blog for something related to your work? Here is the place to share it and promote your work to your contacts. This is a great way to be seen as a thought leader in your field and to keep your contacts informed of what youve been doing. It will also help keep your profile relevant and up-to-date think of it as personal marketing. 5. Recommendations You cant make your colleagues and ex-colleagues recommend you (though you can ask), but you can recommend them. What you write will also show on your own page, so its an excellent way to demonstrate the working relationships you have built. Youll find that those youve written about will be more likely to recommend you in return. Using LinkedIn is a great way to keep up-to-date on developments and news within your industry, and in touch with its influencers and to keep them in touch and up-to-date with you. If youre not on it, youre missing out. And if you are on it, come and say hello. Have you been on an Emphasis course? If so, why not join our LinkedIn group Emphasis alumni? You can use it to ask questions, debate issues, or just keep up-to-date with our business-writing articles.

Kentucky staate funding Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Kentucky staate funding - Essay Example Additionally, funding has also been supported by district leaders who feel there is a need to support low-income students while emphasizing on the need for equity and fairness among all citizens of the state clarifies (Ellis, 2011). Some of the past and the current funding policies for Kentucky include Free or reduced-price school lunch benefits: Having lagged behind in educational initiatives by around 1990, Kentucky State under commonwealth initiative introduced an economic reform system. The system could see funding of students from low-income districts receiving financial support from the government based on fairness and equity throughout the whole state (Ellis, 2011). Allocation of less funding for higher education: In the past, Kentucky instituted a policy that was aimed at allocating minimal funding to higher education. The state decided to reduce spending in higher education between the periods 1992 to 1993 (Ellis, 2011). Despite the fact that the policy was being visualized by some of the state economist as idea to inflict recession at the national level, it became so important in generation of more revenue to the state. Distribution policy: The council of the state government also came up with education distribution act. The distribution act was based on a formula that mainly targeted funding needs of higher education for Governors and General Assembly. The benchmark for the above model constituted a statistical procedure that only contained 20 nationally reported institutions (Ellis, 2011). Currently, it is impressive to note that the government has put in place new policies targeting to enhance performance at Kentucky schools, which have over the years attribute to high performance at both K-12 and high educational programs states (Welner & Chi, 2008). Tuition and Fees Revenue Standard Deduction: The tuition fee revenue policy was set up later by the end of the year 2001 and again reversed in 2008 clarifies (Welner & Chi, 2008). Having