What causes gas prices to fluctuate Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Josh Groban - Closer free essay sample

Two years after his self-titled presentation collection, Josh Groban is as yet bringing individuals to an abrupt halt. With a master of fans called Grobanites that incorporates everybody from Oprah to soccer mothers, vocal aficionados to young people. A huge number of individuals have been mesmerized by â€Å"Popera Boy.† At 24 he has pipes past his years and can handle complex operatic ditties and pop-style tunes that have placed him in the hybrid class of music. With the arrival of â€Å"Closer,† he extends his own innovativeness and different abilities, for example, piano and drums. The title is fitting since this collection draws fans further into his lovely capacity. Working together on a few melodies and writing one himself demonstrates that he isn’t only a voice. The triumphs of the collection are â€Å"Mi Mancherai,† â€Å"Remember When it Rained,† â€Å"You Raise Me Up† and â€Å"Caruso.† Joshua Bell, a wonderful musician, is included in â€Å"Mi Mancherai,† making an amazing, Italian love tune. We will compose a custom exposition test on Josh Groban Closer or on the other hand any comparative point explicitly for you Don't WasteYour Time Recruit WRITER Just 13.90/page The enthusiasm effectively connects the language hole. â€Å"Remember When it Rained† is Groban’s first close to home arrangement to be recorded. It’s additionally the main melody where he is highlighted on piano, including a dazzling cadenza. His expertise at making is second just to his shocking voice. Also, that voice! Strategy classes pressure breathing, tone and the utilization of the stomach. Groban sings straightforwardly from his heart in a voice that opposes all clarification. Photos of his mop of earthy colored twists and logo tees are dispersed between Italian, English, French and Spanish verses on the CD sleeve. With his energetic picture and a few sappy, old love tunes, it is anything but difficult to cruise him by. Grobanites everywhere throughout the world are asking everybody to simply get â€Å"Closer† and let his profound voice cure all of today’s garish pop and incensed stone.

Tuk Tuk Library Brings Joy of Books to Jakartas Poorest Children Critical Linking, December 6, 2018

Tuk Tuk Library Brings Joy of Books to Jakartas Poorest Children Critical Linking, December 6, 2018 Sponsored by Book Riots 10 Best Nonfiction Books of 2018 Giveawayenter here! Sutino Kinong Hadi was not even 10 years old when he dropped out of school. Now in his late 50s, he has spent most of his working life driving a tuk tuk, known in Indonesia as a bemo. The three-wheeled vehicles were a popular mode of public transport until they were banned in  Indonesias capital, Jakarta, last year in an effort to reduce pollution. Kinongs bemo, however, is still on the road. The government gave him a special exemption from the ban, since his bemo no longer carries passengers but books. Most weekday mornings, he visits schools in some of Jakartas poorest neighbourhoods, providing disadvantaged children access to books. Your feel-good reading and viewing of the day.   ____________________ Given the deluge of movies, TV, and tweetstorms, it may be more important than ever for publications to help books accomplish these goals. But the best format for them to do so is likely no longer the traditional, single-book, literary review. To break through the noise, editors must translate old-fashioned book coverage to the lingua francas of today’s impossibly paced media climate: shareable lists, essays, digestible QAs, podcasts, scannable email newsletters, hashtags, Instagrams, even book trailers. “You can have a blog post that at least draws people’s attention to the book. Maybe they’ll read it, maybe they won’t. But at least the ideas from the book will filter through into the conversation,” Kachka says. “I think it’s important to get those ideas in, so books can have an influence beyond their readership, whatever it might be.” I mean.  We  know why people love reading about books and reading about them thoughtfully.   ____________________ Bill Gates’ book lists are an influential force in publishing, capable of  giving a title a sales bump. On Tuesday (Dec. 4), the Microsoft founder  shared his favorite books of 2018, which  he says is “pretty eclectic” and has “something for everyone.” True to form, Gates’ 2018 favorites are all nonfiction, and touch on subjects as varied as  autonomous weapons and mindfulness (he rarely picks up fiction).  Here are the five books, linked to his comments on each. Includes Educated, which has been on so many lists.   Sign up to Today In Books to receive  daily news and miscellany from the world of books.

Analysis Of Invisible Man By Ralph Ellison - 1314 Words

Jessica Rogado Mrs. Merrell Period 1 AP Language and Composition June 6, 2016 Question 2 In Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison explores and reveals situations of when people wear a mask of ambiguity to conceal the true burden of certain expectations, then in return of hiding their true feelings and emotions, they can survive within a society. Invisible Man’s grandfather is a prime example of one who holds an imaginary mask which he uses to follow for his entire life. He provides a memorable quote explaining that the black people s lives â€Å" is a war and [he has]...been a traitor all [his] born days.† The grandfather ties a sense of kinship for all the black people who allow white people’s authority guide their decisions. He refers to himself as being a traitor to his own people because by being submissive and not standing up for his emotions and beliefs towards them, it allowed white people to undermine their existence until they have a chance to rise up against them. The grandfather then wants to teach the â€Å"younguns† to â€Å"overcome ‘em with yeses, undermine ‘em with grins, agree ‘em to death and destruction let ‘em swoller you till they vomit or bust wide open.† The grandfather uses parallelism to provide an emphasis on his words. Since he was â€Å" the meekest of men,† all the relatives â€Å"were more alarmed over [the grandfather’s] last words than over his dying† gives them the chance to see that he has not gone mad and that he is serious about his advice that he wants to pass onShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Invisible Man By Ralph Ellison1665 Words   |  7 PagesRyan LaFleche 2-21-16 Dr. Valkeakari AMS 365 The Complexity of Identity in Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison Invisible Man (1952), written by Ralph Ellison, tells the story of a young, college- educated African American man struggling to survive and succeed in a society that is racially divided that refuses to consider him to be a human being. Taking place in the late 1920s and early 1930s, this novel describes the extraordinary journey of an unnamed African AmericanRead MoreAnalysis Of The Prologue Of Ralph Ellison s Invisible Man1367 Words   |  6 PagesIn the prologue of Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, the unnamed narrator says that he is invisible, for he is not actually seen—or rather recognized—for his true self but through the imaginations of others’ minds. As surreal as his life under this â€Å"invisibility† and, literally, the ground is, the Invisible Man convinces with vivid details and emphatic diction. But the passage detailing his hallucination seems out of place, as it has far more ambiguous language and moral. However, his hallucinationRe ad MoreAnalysis Of The Book Invisible Man By Ralph Ellison834 Words   |  4 PagesSierra Freudenberg Mrs. Caluya-1 AP English Literature 14 September 2014 Nothing is Simply Black and White The novel Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison is the story of a black man s struggle to live in a society dominated by whites. The colors black and white are contrasted many times throughout the novel. There are three contrasts in particular that stand out to the reader as representative of the narrator s struggles. This repeated contrast serves to remind the reader of the novel s theme of theRead MoreAnalysis Of Ralph Ellison s Invisible Man1190 Words   |  5 PagesSocial Position in Invisible Man In Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, the author portrays a world in which black men are dominated by a white, racist patriarchy. With this, Ellison draws a connection between both the plight of women and black men—both are oppressed by white males. The author repeatedly portrays women’s suffering from invisibility by continuously erasing their human presence throughout the novel since they only function as devices for men to use. More-so, Ellison depicts how men—includingRead MoreAnalysis Of Invisible Man By Ralph Ellison And Finding Nemo1402 Words   |  6 Pagesblind person constantly encountering new situations, which have been invisible and foreign to them thus far in their life. These everyday struggles are what eventually help people in the long run while developing into the best person that they can possibly be. A bildungsroman by definition is a story that shows the progression of characters as they come to age throughout works of literature or film. Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison and Finding Nemo, which is Disney Pixar children’s movie, both shareRead More Analysis of Ralph Ellisons The Invisible Man Essay934 Words   |  4 PagesAnalysis of Ralph Ellisons The Invisible Man The prologue from The Invisible Man deals with many issues that were palpable in the 1950s, and that unfortunately are still being dealt with today. An African-American man who refers to himself as the invisible man goes through life without being truly noticed as a person. He states that because of his skin color he is only looked down upon, if he is ever noticed at all. The invisible man goes through life living in a closed down part of aRead MoreRalph Ellison s Invisible Man1210 Words   |  5 Pagesthis human tendency, Ralph Ellison, through the experiences of his narrator and through the use of rhetorical devices, weaves his argument against conformity and for diversity in his critically acclaimed work, Invisible Man. He asserts that man must retain his own sense of individuality and embrace the differences of others, as conforming to a certain self-made ideology only exacerbates his desire for self-preservation, a detriment to the progress of humanity. Conformity forces man to gain power forRead MoreComparative Analysis Of The School Days Of An Indian Girl1235 Words   |  5 PagesComparative Analysis When reading The School Days of an Indian Girl by Zitkala-sa, it shows us a view of ethnic identity. By telling us how a little girl is in a home, away from her mother, while learning how to adapt to the new culture she’s in. In Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, it shows us a different view of a man in another form of an ethnic identity. It shows us that the man is seen as a different person then who he really is, instead of a black man who isn’t seen as what he actually is. InRead MoreThe Point of View of Battle Royal by Ralph Ellison Essay867 Words   |  4 Pages The point of view in Ralph Ellison’s â€Å"Battle Royal† comes strictly from his trials and tribulations that he has overcome as a young black writer that began before the nineteen Fifties. Ralph Ellison was a black writer who was born on March 1, 1914 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma only seven years after it had actually became a state. After completing the lengthy research of this man and his works I found that Ellison once had considered becoming a classical music composer after getting the idea from aRead MoreRalph Ellison’S Novel, Invisible Man Serves As A Cultural1408 Words   |  6 PagesRalph Ellison’s novel, Invisible Man serves as a cultural ethnography of the African American condition in the 1950s. Flooded with issues of signifyin(g), African American folklore, and trickster figures, Ellison’s main theme for the novel is for the narrator to find his own identity in a world defined by whiteness. Specifically, Ellison’s employment of the trickster, a figure that generally bends normal rules and conventional behavior, acts as a cultural â€Å"gift-bearer† that is essential to the reading

Class As A Social Group - 1642 Words

In present day society, class alludes to a social group, characterized by its economic position in a progressive system of imbalance and with material interests that separate it from different classes (Wright, 2005, p.2). Sociologists attempting to study the concept of class often draw upon a variety of research methods in order to ensure that the most accurate results and conclusions are reached, two of which are analyzed below with the aim of understanding just how effective they may be – the subjective method, and the objective method. However, in order to develop an even deeper understanding of the concept of class, it is important to understand the various theoretical perspectives that sociologists often draw upon when studying this concept, including the perspectives’ strengths and weaknesses. Such perspectives include that of Karl Marx and his view of exploitation between classes, and Max Weber and his idea of class merely being a dimension of an even more powerf ul system of stratification – the other two dimensions being status and party (Krieken, Habibis, Smith, Hutchins, Maton, 2014, p.211, and Wright, 2002, p.838). To begin, the subjective approach, which is a qualitative method of research, is a highly popular method often used by sociologists when studying the concept of class. This method is the preferred method used by Mallman in his article regarding social mobility between classes, titled ‘Not entirely at home: Upward social mobility and early family life’Show MoreRelatedSocial Class And Status Groups1318 Words   |  6 PagesSocial class is a concept that has been interpreted countless times throughout history. The existence of social class and status groups has even been questioned and whether it is a positive or negative thing. This ethnography explores groups of class and how distinctions between individuals on a macro level can affect their micro level interactions in everyday life. The differences between individuals macro distribution would not have any effect if they were not illustrated in everyday micro levelRead MoreConcept Applications Paper : Social Structure, G roups, And Class956 Words   |  4 PagesApplications Paper: Social Structure, Groups, and Class in my High School English Class After reviewing my options of groups to observe on this paper, I decided on my English Class in high school. I chose this because the teacher treats it like a college class, providing plenty of discussion and interaction to observe. The class has a very diverse body of about twenty students, which also presented many examples of aspects abroad sociology. Social structure, group, and class are sociological aspectsRead MoreSocial Class and Family Groups in To Kill a Mockingbird Essay1195 Words   |  5 Pageshas effectively shown social class and family groups to be important at that time? The rigid class structure and social stratification of Maycomb County had a profound effect on the events in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. The impact of this class structure was especially evident in the trial of Tom Robins on, a Maycomb Negro. The extreme prejudice of the town eventually led to the unjust conviction of Robinson for a crime he did not commit. Family groups were also seen toRead MoreIntroduction Of Psychographic Segmentation And The Market Into Groups Based On Social Class, Lifestyle, And Personality1522 Words   |  7 Pagesdivides the market into groups based on social class, lifestyle, and personality characteristics. Psychographic segmentation is based on the theory that the types of products and brands an individual purchases will reflect a person’s characteristics and their patterns of living. Social class is one of the three key variable for these type of company research purposes, which divides the population into groups based on their individual or household income. Marketers segment social class for the promotionRead MoreSociety has developed the concept of social class to categorize people into different groups based900 Words   |  4 PagesSociety has developed the concept of social class to categorize people into different groups based on economic, political, and educational status. The three primary social classes in the United States include; the upper class, middle class, and lower class. There are several subgroups within these extensive sections. This system of social ranking contributes to the difficulties that the middle and lower classes have to experience in order to succeed in the United States; always trying to obtain theRead MoreSocial Class And The Future Career1686 Words   |  7 Pageswas examined whether there is a relationship between the social c lass and the future career, political, religious views, gender roles attitudes to identity development. Does it play a significant role in depending in people with the difference social class upbringing? The second research question was examined under what circumstances is the social class of identity exploration and does the exploration differ by people of difference social class upbringing? The third research question was examined whetherRead MoreEssay about Sociological Theory1497 Words   |  6 Pagestogether within a social structure. Examples of these institutions are the family, work, education and religion. The Functionalist perspective is best understood using an organismic analogy: Societies are comparable to living organisms (for example, a human being). Each part of the human body is linked, in some way, to all other parts. Individual organs combine to create something that is greater than the sum total of their individual parts. In social terms, these organsRead MoreSocial Stratification Can Be Defined As A System In Which1024 Words   |  5 PagesSocial stratification can be defined as a system in which groups of people are divided into layers according to their relative property, power, and prestige. Social stratification can affect the way people interpret life. There’s four major systems that makes up social stratification slavery, caste, estate, and class. Slavery refers to the aspect that people can own other people. This has been around since ancient times of history, and still do this day occurring. Slavery is based upon three factorsRead MoreInstructional Objective ( Lesson Objective ) Essay1029 Words   |  5 PagesInstructional Objective (Lesson Objective) After analyzing and annotating documents based on social class in Ancient Egypt, students in groups, will determine the central ideas or information of a secondary source by creating a fact sheet. The students will then make an exit slip of a quote (the students can create a hashtag to tweet with) based upon on their assigned social class, the students must have no less than three historical facts. CCLS/ +NYS Standards and Indicators CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RHRead MoreThe Conflict And Functionalist Theories Behind Social Class1496 Words   |  6 Pagesmaterializes the upper class, vulgarizes our middle class, brutalizes our lower class. In Australia, social class is a widely recognised concept, however some individuals, particularly the wealthy people, will argue that social class in non existent, that with hard work anyone can achieve, what they set their mind onto. The social stratification system, is based on objective criteria, including wealth, power, and prestige. The Australian notion of equal opportunity, insinuates that social class does not affect

The TQM HR How Business Functions and Works Free Essays

string(40) " zero defects in products and services\." Over the past few decades, Total Quality Management (TQM) has become a business wide concept. One important aspect often overlooked is the relationship between TQM and Human Resources (HR). Both of these aspects play a significant role in how ones business functions and works. We will write a custom essay sample on The TQM HR: How Business Functions and Works or any similar topic only for you Order Now Even though they are both equally recognized as key components of any prospering productive business, there is limited current research that discusses the link between the two. The purpose of this study is to present the current data on the subject as well as offer new information that may help business use these aspects of their businesses more effectively. As is inevitable for any idea that enjoys wide popularity in managerial and scholarly circles, total quality management has come to mean different things to different people. There is now such a diversity of things done under the name â€Å"total quality† that it has become unclear whether TQM still has an identifiable conceptual core, if it ever did. We begin with a close examination of what the movement’s founders had to say about what TQM was supposed to be, and then we assess how TQM as currently practiced stacks up against the founders) values and prescriptions. (Hackman Wageman, 1995) Virtually everything that has been written about TQM explicitly draws on the works of W. Edwards Deming, Joseph Juran, and Kaoru Ishikawa, the primary authorities of the TQM movement. Rather than studying the precise writing, this research simply draws on the main concepts presented by them. TQM has become something of a social movement in the United States. Hackman Wageman (1995) identify a number of gaps in what is known about TQM processes and outcomes and explore the congruence between TQM practices and behavioral science knowledge about motivation, learning, and change in social systems. It has now been a decade since the core ideas of TQM set forth by W. Edwards Deming, Joseph Juran, and Kaoru Ishikawa gained significant acceptance in the U. S. management community. In that decade, TQM has become something of a social movement. It has spread from its industrial origins to health care organizations, public bureaucracies, nonprofit organizations, and educational institutions. There are particular assumptions set in place regarding TQM. The first assumption is about quality, which is assumed to be less costly to an organization than is poor workmanship. A fundamental premise of TQM is that the costs of poor quality (such as inspection, rework, lost customers, and so on) are far greater than the costs of developing processes that produce high-quality products and services. Although the organizational purposes espoused by the TQM authorities do not explicitly address traditional economic and accounting criteria of organizational effectiveness, their view is that organizations that produce quality goods will eventually do better even on traditional measures such as profitability than will organizations that attempt to keep costs low by compromising quality. The strong version of this assumption, implicit in Juran and Ishikawa but explicit and prominent in Deming’s writing, is that producing quality products and services is not merely less costly but, in fact, is absolutely essential to long-term organizational survival. (Hackman Wageman, 1995) The second assumption is about people. Employees naturally care about the quality of work they do and will take initiatives to improve it–so long as they are provided with the tools and training that are needed for quality improvement, and management pays attention to their ideas. As stated by Juran (1974: 4. 54), â€Å"The human being exhibits an instinctive drive for precision, beauty, and perfection. When unrestrained by economics, this drive has created the art treasures of the ages. † Deming and Ishikawa add that an organization must remove ail organizational systems that create fear–such as punishment for poor performance, appraisal systems that involve the comparative evaluation of employees, and merit pay. The third assumption is that organizations are systems of interdependent parts, and the central problems they face invariably cross-traditional functional lines. To produce high-quality products efficiently, for example, product designers must address manufacturing challenges and trade-offs as part of the design process. Deming and Juran are insistent that cross-functional problems must be addressed collectively by representatives of all relevant functions (Juran, 1969: 80-85; Deming, 1993: 50-93). Ishikawa, by contrast, is much less system-oriented: He states that cross-functional teams should not set overall directions; rather, each line division should set its own goals using local objective-setting procedures. (Hackman Wageman, 1995) The final assumption concerns senior management. Quality is viewed as ultimately and inescapably the responsibility of top management. Because senior managers create the organizational systems that determine how products and services are designed and produced, the quality-improvement process must begin with management’s own commitment to total quality. Employees’ work effectiveness is viewed as a direct function of the quality of the systems that managers create. Some writers have asserted that TQM provides a historically unique approach to improving organizational effectiveness, one that has a solid conceptual foundation and, at the same time, offers a strategy for improving performance that takes account of how people and organizations actually operate. In the early 1980s, a new concept entered managerial discourse: Total Quality Management (TQM). Later called â€Å"Total Quality† (TQ), TQM was heralded by governments, major corporations and the business media as the most effective and elegant way out of the economic crisis and into the global market. It should be noted, however, that the preoccupation with quality is by no means new. In the 1980s, TQM became a product in itself, nearly a billion-dollar industry (Giroux Landry, 1998). Human Resources has been seen as an ineffective business component by some researchers, one in which only gave reason the everyday paperwork and employee relations (Jones, 1996). Globalization in the business theater is driving companies toward a new view of quality as a necessary tool to compete successfully in worldwide markets. A direct outcome of this new emphasis is the philosophy of TQM. In essence, TQM is a company-wide perspective that strives for customer satisfaction by seeking zero defects in products and services. You read "The TQM HR: How Business Functions and Works" in category "Essay examples" (Clinton, Williamson Bethke, 1994) TQM is an encompassing management approach whose principal tenets are to satisfy (internal and external) customer needs through strategies of employee empowerment and performance measurement. Customer needs are addressed through the multi-faceted concept of quality,’ which includes such elements as performance, conformance, accuracy, reliability, and timeliness. In many instances, these elements are quantifiable and, hence, subject to evaluation, assessment, and continuous improvement. Employee empowerment is used because it allows employees to address customer problems in a timely and often tailored way (Berman West, 1995) A common problem with the implementation of productivity improvement innovations such as TQM is that many organizations implement them at a token level rather than fully committing themselves to success (Downs and Mohr, 1980; Miller, 1993). Token implementation, or paying lip service, occurs because organizations and individuals receive recognition and other benefits from being or appearing to be in line with current thinking, while avoiding the risks of actual innovation. Such behavior is reinforced by perceptions of meager rewards for success or often severe, punitive consequences of failure. Token implementation also occurs as the result of a flawed implementation plan, inadequate commitment, and follow-through by those mandating the implementation of innovation, a lack of training in applying the innovation, incongruent organizational policies, and other factors (Radin and Coffee, 1993). TQM provides a paradigm shift in management philosophy for improving organizational effectiveness. TQM focuses the efforts of all members of the organization to continuously improve all organizational processes and increase value to customers, while relying upon a clear vision of the organization’s purpose. This depends on the removal of barriers both within the organization and between the organization and its various stakeholders. TQM has been embraced by thousands of organizations as an important, approach to management. The key reason human resources was not effective in the past was the structure, which was hierarchical and functional. Another deterrent to human resource effectiveness is the lack of collaborative relationships with the business units. Human resources had historically managed from a position of control, so there was hot a real sense of partnership with the units. Human resource strategy and planning has changed and grown significantly during the last 25 years. We can track these developments from functional strategies in the 1980s to capabilities strategies in the 1990s to results strategies today. Strategic shifts in HR mirror the business and labor market conditions of the times and follow influential breakthroughs in business thinking, from the 7-S model to competing on core competencies to the current rise of operating models and execution. Longer-term changes in the employment relationship, from relational to transactional employment, and the current emerging three-part workforce of elites, profit makers, and costs, provide another important context for HR strategy and a way to view the future. Looking ahead, we can see differentiated, results-based strategies and plans for different workforce segments. We can also envision the need for more vital contributions from HR in HR and business strategy and ethical and cultural leadership. (Gunman, 2004) As Conner (1997) reported in the research, Working, people care desperately about the meaning of their work and its significance. This conclusion is a fundamental principle of organization theory and behavior, human resources management, and public personnel management. It rests on a nearly unshakable empirical foundation. Employees who â€Å"experience meaningfulness† from their work are more likely to enjoy high internal work motivation and high job satisfaction, to exhibit less absenteeism and turnover, and to do high-quality work. In addition to reminding us that people want to experience meaning in and from their work, the quality movement emphasizes the notion of â€Å"empowerment. † Unfortunately, what this term means is not exactly clear, perhaps because it means different things to different people. The idea seems to be that people are empowered† to the degree that they understand what is expected of them; they are given the ability to meet those expectations; and they are given an incentive, either intrinsic or extrinsic, to do so. It follows, then, that they are empowered to translate their understanding into goal-accomplishing behavior. Some organization theorists describe empowerment as a â€Å"psychological mindset,† which comprises several dimensions: the fit between one’s job and personal values; the belief that one has the necessary knowledge, skills, and so forth, to perform a job or task well; and the belief that one can make a difference with respect to organizational outcomes. Making quality improvements was once thought to be the sole responsibility of specialists (quality engineers, product designers, and process engineers). Today, developing quality across the entire firm can be an important function of the HRM department. A failure on HRM’s part to recognize this opportunity and act on it may result in the loss of TQM implementation responsibilities to other departments with less expertise in training and development. The ultimate consequence of this loss is an ineffective piece-mealing of the TQM strategy. Thus, HRM should act as the pivotal change agent necessary for the successful implementation of TQM. (Clinton, Williamson Bethke, 1994) HRM can act as senior management’s tool in implementing TQM in two fundamental ways. First, by modeling the TQM philosophy and principles within its departmental operations, the HR department can serve as a beachhead for the TQM process throughout the company. Second, the HR department, with senior management’s support, can take the TQM process company-wide by developing and delivering the long-term training and development necessary for the major organizational culture shift required by TQM. The HR department also has major strengths in terms of recruitment, selection, appraisal, and reward system development to institutionalize a quality-first orientation. An appreciation of the capabilities of HRM to model and institutionalize TQM begins with an understanding of the TQM philosophy. HRM can jumpstart the TQM process by becoming a role model. (Clinton, Williamson Bethke, 1994) This means that HRM has two specific tasks: â€Å"Serving our customers, and making a significant contribution to running the business. † This emphasis on customer-oriented service means that the HR department must see other departments in the firm as their customer groups for whom making-continuing improvements in service becomes a way of life. In their efforts to achieve total quality management, HRM can demonstrate commitment to TQM principles by soliciting feedback from its internal customer groups on current HR services. HRM should include suggestions from its customers in setting objective performance standards and measures. In other words, there are a number of specific TQM principles that the HR department can model. The current emphasis on quality as a competitive strategy has produced many views regarding the actions necessary to achieve it. A number of approaches have been created that have been considered as effective. There are five basic principles, which flow throughout the different themes. Focus on customers’ needs; Focus on problem prevention, not correction; make continuous improvements: seek to meet customers’ requirements on time, the first time, every time; Train employees in ways to improve quality; and, apply the team approach to problem solving. To institute total quality management as a philosophy within an organization, all employees must come to realize that satisfying customers is essential to the long-run well-being of the firm and their jobs. No longer is the customer-driven focus exclusive to the marketing department. However, customer satisfaction can only be achieved after first defining the customer groups. The new perspective here is that all employees exist to serve their customer groups, some internal and some external to the firm. The human resources department has internal customers to satisfy, which indirectly provides ultimate satisfaction to external customers. In addition to identifying customer groups, there are other essential TQM customer issues. Clarifying what products and services will provide maximum customer satisfaction, measuring satisfaction, and continually monitoring and improving the level of customer satisfaction are all fundamental to the TQM philosophy. For the HR department, applying these TQM issues would translate into identifying the expectations of senior management, their principal internal customer, regarding TQM, and spearheading the TQM program’s implementation based on those expectations. TQM in practice for HRM might also mean periodic surveys, both formal and face-to-face, to monitor senior management’s levels of satisfaction as the TQM process unfolds. Giroux Landry, 1998). The TQM approach entails identifying the wants and needs of customer groups and then propelling the entire organization toward fulfilling these needs. A customer’s concerns must be taken seriously, and organizations should make certain that its employees are empowered to make decisions that will ensure a high level of customer satisfaction. This can be achieved by promoting an environment of self-initiative and by not creating a quagmire of standard operating procedures and company policies. Flexibility is the key, especially in a business environment that is diverse and constantly changing, as most are today. In modeling these aspects of the TQM process, the HR department would need to identify human resource concerns of other departments and undertake to continually improve its performance, especially in any trouble areas that become known. Based on this â€Å"customer first† orientation, organizational members are constantly seeking to improve products or services. Employees are encouraged to work together across organizational boundaries. Underlying these cooperative efforts are two crucial ideas. One is that the initial contact with the customer is critical and influences all future association with that customer. The other idea is that it is more costly to acquire new customers than to keep the customers you already have. Exemplifying TQM here would mean that the HR department would need to train itself, focusing on being customer-driven toward other departments. Quality improvement programs typically involve the directed efforts of quality improvement (QI) teams. Using teams and empowering employees to solve quality-related issues using such tools as statistical process control. (SPC) represent fundamental changes in how many businesses operate. The Focus of SPC, also known as statistical quality control (SQC), is defect prevention as opposed to defect correction. Defect prevention results from continuously monitoring and improving the process. In this context, â€Å"process† refers to service delivery as well as manufacturing. To ensure that output meets quality specifications, monitoring is performed by periodically inspecting small samples of the product. SPC alone will not ensure quality improvement; rather, it is a tool for monitoring and identifying quality problems. (Giroux Landry, 1998). The effective use of quality improvement teams, and the TQM system as a whole, can be reinforced by applying basic principles of motivation. In particular, the recognition of team accomplishments as opposed to those of individuals, and the effective use of goal setting for group efforts, are important in driving the TQM system. The HR department is in a position to help institutionalize team approaches to TQM by designing appraisal and reward systems that focus on team performance. After 25 years of progress, we can look at HR strategy and planning to see where it has been, where it is, and where it may go. Keep in mind three intertwining elements: change, continuity, and context. In HR strategy and planning, the overriding changes are big ones: From little strategic thinking before 1980 to functional strategies throughout the 1980s and early 1990s to capability strategies in the 1990s to results strategies, which are emerging today. (Gubman, 2004) Functional strategies describe HR processes that usually are synonymous with parts of the HR department. Therefore, we have training strategies or compensation and benefit strategies, depending on which HR programs most need attention or answer some particular organizational issue. Capability strategies address the culture, competencies, and commitments the business needs to succeed and how HR can secure them. If the business strategy is to become a leader in a new technology, this means organizing and recruiting a new generation of engineers and scientists to launch a research and development group. Alternatively, if the company needs to improve customer service in its call center, it means becoming a leader in work/life programs to attract and retain highly skilled customer service representatives who get more flexible work arrangements. Gubman, (2004) reported that results strategies are comprised of the HR-related business outcomes that are part of companies’ overall business strategies. For a mega discount retailer, an HR results strategy is a specific level of speed and cost in recruiting and hiring, designed to provide people at the right time, volumes, and prices. For an insurance company, it’s the timely development of a particular number of agents to grow the business. Often these strategies are part of a balanced portfolio of performance measures. Continuity refers to the three challenges always in front of HR: Attract, develop, and retain talent; Align, engage, and measure and reward performance; and continually control or reduce HR program and people spending. These challenges are timeless, and every HR function can be arranged under one of them. You might even say these are why HR exists: It fulfills these tasks for the organization. Because of this, HR leaders have to handle all three challenges well; HR strategists need to pay attention to all of them, not something they always do. Truly, how much strategy is directed at cost control? Usually it is not even seen as a strategic issue. Yet it is easy to argue now that the biggest HR trend of the last 10 years, at least as measured in program dollars, has been outsourcing key HR processes. In addition, this trend is likely to continue until the last dollar of excess costs has been saved. Particularly intriguing is how these challenges wax and wane depending on the economy. All three are always present, but which one dominates depends largely on the robustness of the economy and the job market. When jobs are plentiful and talent is in shorter supply, attracting, developing, and retaining moves to the forefront and somewhat less attention is paid to the other two. When there are more people than jobs, and there are pressures on profits, increasing productivity through measurement and reward and cost controls/reductions take the main stage. This argues for a high level of economic knowledge and awareness among HR leaders and strategists. They should be able to make a nimble reading of the economic situation–macro, industry, company, and division–to know what to emphasize. We could argue about how many are knowledgeable and can react to changing economic conditions, but it is easy to agree few writings on HR strategy even broach the topic. The economy and the job market are part of the context in which HR operates. The last 20 years have seen dramatic shifts in technology, globalization, and workforce demographics and values. Each of these affects HR strategy and planning significantly. Some impacts can only be seen over a long period of time and appear quite gradual. Others appear in the blink of an eye. How many among us were talking about the permanent loss of high-knowledge jobs to developing countries as little as 12 months ago? If we are truly strategic thinkers, keep in mind how all of these elements–the changes from functional to capability to results strategies, the three constant challenges or tasks of HR, and the power of contextual influences (the economy, technology, globalization, and the changing workforce)–interact as we survey past, present, and future in HR strategy and planning. We probably will fall short in drawing all the connections and implications of these powerful variables. After all, as Jim Walker pointed out in 1980, strategic thinking is hard work. (Gubman, 2004) For many companies, the philosophy of TQM represents a major culture shift away from a traditional production-driven atmosphere. In the face of such radical operational makeovers, a determined implementation effort is vital to prevent TQM from becoming simply latitudinal and the team approaches just another management fad. Senior management must take the lead in overt support of TQM. Human resource management can plan a vital role in implementing and maintaining a total quality management process. HR managers are responsible for recruiting high-quality employees, the continual training and development of those employees, and the creation and maintenance of reward systems. Thus, TQM controls processes that are central to achieving the dramatic cultural changes often required for TQM to succeed. Tailoring the TQM cultural development program to the firm’s circumstances is essential in overcoming resistance to change and moving beyond simple compliance toward a total commitment to TQM. Holding a major liaison role between top management and employees, HRM has many opportunities to establish communication channels between top management and other members of the organization. Using these channels, HR personnel can ensure that employees know they are the organization’s number one priority in implementing TQM. Building trust through an open exchange of ideas can help allay fears regarding the work-role changes that TQM requires. This can provide the foundation for all employees to be trained to consider their peers in other departments as internal customers. Here again, HRM has the opportunity to emphasize this new outlook by example. By exemplifying a customer-first orientation, HRM can help establish a departmental view of service throughout the entire organization. Part of HRM’s functional expertise is its ability to monitor and survey employee attitudes. This expertise can be particularly important for a TQM program, since getting off to a good start means having information about current performance. Thus, a preparatory step is to administer an employee survey targeting two primary concerns. One involves identifying troublesome areas in current operations, where improvements in quality can have the most impact on company performance. The other focuses on determining existing employee perceptions and attitudes toward quality as a necessary goal, so that the implementation program itself can be fine-tuned for effectiveness. In general, HRM is responsible for providing training and development. With their background, HR departments are well positioned to take the leading role in providing such programs consistent with the TQM philosophy. HR managers have an important opportunity to communicate a history of their organization’s TQM program and its champions. Equally important, HRM can tell stories of employees who are currently inspiring the TQM philosophy. As corporate historian, the HR department should be primarily responsible for relaying the TQM culture to members of the organization in employee orientation training. Beyond communicating the TQM philosophy, the specific training and development needs for making TQM a practical reality must be assessed. Basically, HR professionals must decide the following: What knowledge and skills must be taught? How? What performance (behaviors) will be recognized, and how will we reward them? HRM has faced these questions before and can best confront them in the TQM process. Training and development that does not fit within the realm of these questions will more than likely encounter heavy resistance. However, training and development does fall within the realm of these questions probably will be accepted more readily. Quality can no longer be viewed as the responsibility for one department. It is a company-wide activity that permeates all departments, at all levels. The key element of any quality and productivity improvement program is the employee. Consequently, employee commitment to a TQM program is essential. Because of its fundamental employee orientation, HRM should seek the responsibility for implementing TQM programs rather than risk losing their influence over the key element of TQM — the employee. Organizations with a solid reputation for providing high customer satisfaction have a common viewpoint: consistently taking care of the smaller duties is just as important as the larger concerns. Just as they attempt to instill an overall quality philosophy across the company, HRM can emphasize consistent quality in its own operations. The day-to-day delivery of basic HR services can be just as important as developing strategic programs that may have higher visibility and supposedly greater long-term consequences. As a guardian of such functions as recruitment and selection, training and development, performance evaluation and reward systems, the HRM professional is best able to take charge of these important functions as they relate to a TQM strategy. The full potential of the entire work force must be realized by encouraging commitment, participation, teamwork, and learning. HRM is best suited to accomplishing this by modeling these qualities. Leading by example, the HR department could then sustain the long-term TQM process company-wide. A by-product of setting a TQM example can be the improved standing of the HR department in the eyes of other, traditionally more influential departments. (10) But, the primary end result can be total quality management as a successful competitive strategy for organizational survival. (Clinton, Williamson Bethke, 1994) Not only has the presented data shown the significance of TQM and HRM, it has also supported the idea that there is a strong correlation between the two, and it is necessary to have a balance and understanding of the importance of each aspect of business. Therefore, when discussing the relation between the two it is easy to state that they go hand in hand. It is also evident that they enhance one another. As stated earlier, both concepts separately were see as positive aspects with faults and difficulties, however, those problems and difficulties seem to diminish substantially when the two concepts are intermingled and utilized to their fullest extent. How to cite The TQM HR: How Business Functions and Works, Essay examples

Jc Studyguide free essay sample

Explain why Brutus’ decision to allow Antony to speak at Caesar’s funeral brings disaster to the conspirators. 22. Who is the protagonist in the play? Are they a dynamic or a static character? Give reasons for your answer. 23. Summarize Brutus’ motives for becoming involved in Caesar’s assassination. 24. Contrast Cassius and Brutus. 25. Who is a runner in the races held on the Feast of Lupercal? 26. What is Brutus’ motive for killing Caesar? 27. How many times does Caesar refuse the crown? Multiple Choice Directions: Choose the best answer to complete each statement. 28. _____ The appearance of Caesar’s ghost is an example of a. Hyperbole b. Understatement c. Characterization d. Foreshadowing 29. ______When Cassius speaks in an aside to Brutus about whether Antony should speak at Caesar’s funeral, a. All of the characters listen and respond b. His words are heard only by Cassius and the audience c. He stands alone on stage, probably in front of the curtain d. We will write a custom essay sample on Jc Studyguide or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page His words are heard by the audience, but he is seen by no one 30. ______ Judging from the events in Act I, the political mood and behavior of the Romans are BEST described as a. Cowardly and timid b. Discontented and angry c. Unswervingly patriotic and firm d. Fickle and changeable 31. ______ Caesar disregards the omens for all the following reasons EXCEPT a. He feels fate is inescapable b. He feels invincible c. He does not want to appear cowardly d. He always listens to his wife 32. ______ Caesar’s dying words express a. Love for the Roman people he hoped to serve as king b. Regret for not having followed Calphurnia’s advice c. Surprise that Brutus is one of the assassins d. Sorrow over murdering Pompey before returning to Rome 3. ______ The central conflict introduced in ACT I is between a. Brutus and Cassius b. Caesar and his opponents c. Caesar and the soothsayer d. Brutus and himself 34. ______What is ironic, or surprising about Brutus’ suicide? a. He didn’t know that he had been pardoned for Caesar’s assassination. b. Unaware that Antony was about to surrender, Brutus misread the battlefield. c. At the beginning of A ct IV, he claimed that suicide was cowardly and vile. d. He didn’t know that Cassius had already committed suicide nearby. 26. ______ At Caesar’s funeral, Antony says Good friends, sweet friends, let me not stir you up To such a sudden flood of mutiny. † By saying this, Antony, a. expresses his hope that Rome will be destroyed by a terrible storm b. calms down the Romans and creates a peaceful atmosphere for the city c. supports the conspirators by justifying their action against Caesar d. actually moves the mob toward thought of mutiny against the conspirators 35. ______ All of the following are issues that stand between Cassius and Brutus except a. Cassius’s taking bribes b. Brutus’ guilt about Caesar’s death . Cassius’ not wanting to fight at Philippi d. Whether Cinnamon Toast Crunch is better than Toasty O’s or not 36. ______ What happens to Portia? a. An emissary of Antony poisons her b. She takes her life by swallowing hot coals c. She is silenced when she tries to warn Brutus about Cassius d. She tells Brutus that she will see him at Philippi 37. ___ ___ In the resolution of the play, a. Caesar is warned about the ides of March b. Antony accepts the crown for Rome c. Antony declares that Brutus will have a respectful burial d. Octavius and Antony argue over Brutus 38. ____ The climax of the play occurs when a. Cassius dies b. Octavius, Antony, Cassius, and Brutus speak before battle c. Brutus dies d. Pindarus misreads the battlefield 39. ______ The last Act of the play includes all of the following elements EXCEPT a. An event that serves as the climax b. A resolution c. Background information d. Moments of tension and suspense 40. ______ Brutus is motivated MAINLY by the thoughts of a. Rome b. Power c. Deceit d. Friendship 41. ______ The protagonist is the character who a. Experiences a conflict b. Drives the action c. Says the most lines d. Predicts events 42. ______ Which line from Act I foreshadows what will happen to Caesar? a. â€Å"Beware the ides of March† b. â€Å"Yet, if you be out, sir, I can mend you† c. â€Å"For the eyes sees not itself/ But by reflection, by some other things† d. â€Å"You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless things! † 43. ______ Caesar’s conflict about whether or not to go to the Senate is resolved by a. Calphurnia’s changing her mind and telling Caesar to go with Antony b. Antony’s arriving to take Caesar to the Senate c. Decius’ giving him a positive interpretation of Calphurnia’s dream d. The augurer’s telling him that it is safe to go to the Senate 44. ______ In a tragedy, a tragic flaw refers to the main character’s a. Personal weakness b. Motive c. Downfall d. Background 45. _______After the conspirators kill Caesar, they bathe their hands and swords in Caesar’s blood. These actions foreshadow the end of the play, when a. Antony will die b. Hunters will kill brave harts c. The blood of the conspirators will be spilled d. The conspirators will recite the poems of Cinn 46. ______ What tone would be MOST appropriate for a REVIEW of the play? a. Cricitcal b. Uncertain c. Mocking d. Scolding 47. _______ Shakespeare builds suspense by having Calphurnia do all of the following things EXCEPT a. Urge Caesar not to go to the Senate b. Suggest that Caesar pretend to be ill c. Recount the disturbing omens d. Swallow hot coals 48. ______ The scene between Cinna the Poet and the mob shows the extent of a. Cinna’s ability to think quickly b. The mob’s fury at the conspirators c. Brutus’ physical courage 49. _____ The play opens at a a. Public holiday b. Private religious service c. Funeral 50. ______Caesar says he does not trust _____ because he looks too hungry. . Calphurnia b. Cassius c. Lepidus 51. ______ Brutus views the assassination as a sacrifice to a. His own ambition b. The good of Rome c. His friendship with Cassius 52. ______ Caesar’s wife warns him a. Of her ominous dreams b. To beware of Cassius c. To be careful around Antony 53. ______ Caesar does not fear death because a. He thinks himself immortal b. It must come to a ll men c. The soothsayer tells him that the afterlife is like living in cotton candy 54. ______ The Roman mob reacts to Antony’s sarcastic use of the word a. â€Å"Roman† b. â€Å"Honorable† c. â€Å"Friendship† 55. _____ Caesar never shows himself as a. Arrogant b. Sick c. Greedy 56. ______ The day of the final battle is a. Cassius’ birthday b. Brutus’ wedding anniversary c. The Ides of March 57. ______ Brutus dies a. At the hands of Antony b. On his own sword c. During an argument with Cassius Essay Question Choices (7 sentence paragraph answer) A. Do you think Brutus is â€Å"an honorable man? † Why or why not? Make sure you note different examples of his behavior from the play. B. Why do you think Caesar rejects the crown when Antony hands it to him? How does this behavior fit with the image you have of him? C. If Brutus were to go back in time and decide all over again whether to participate in the conspiracy, what do you think he would do? Why? D. How are the common people portrayed in Julius Caesar? What does the play seem to say about democracy? E. Judging from this play, do you think William Shakespeare had a pessimistic or optimistic view of life. Give reasons for your opinion. Speeches Familiarize yourself with Brutus’ and Antony’s funeral speeches. Be able to find one example of each of the following: ethos, pathos, logos. Also, be able to explain your answer.

Short Block vs. Long Block vs. Crate Engines

Short Block vs. Long Block vs. Crate Engines The engine in a typical car should last a few hundred thousand miles, and some have hit even a million miles, depending on maintenance. However, manufacturing inconsistencies, lack of maintenance, or other circumstances can dramatically shorten the life of an engine, sometimes in spectacular ways. If you need to replace a damaged engine or upgrade your engine, you have a few choices to make. Short block vs. long block vs. crate engines- which should you choose? Not everyone has the time and tools required to fully rebuild or assemble an engine. Malkovstock / Getty Images The basic difference between a short block vs. long block vs. crate engines is their level of assembly. Of course, you could build your own engine, piece by piece, if you have the tools and knowledge or have a friend with a machine shop. If you’re building a race car, that’s a good way to go, but you wouldn’t likely build an engine from scratch for your daily driver. To shorten your vehicle’s downtime and reduce the level of complexity, you might choose a crate engine, long block, or short block. Basic Differences At its most basic, the difference between short block, long block, and crate engines is that each is progressively more expensive but requires less time and expertise to install. We’ll cover some of these differences and similarities, as well as instances when you might choose one over the other. Depending on tools, expertise, and budget, you may spend more or less time rebuilding your engine. MS Phil Speck / USANG Short Block Engine A short block engine is essentially just the engine block with a few major components. A short block engine usually includes, preinstalled, a new crankshaft with bearings and caps, new connecting rods, and new pistons. When installing a short block, you’ll need a master gasket kit so you can transfer parts from your old engine to the new short block, such as cylinder heads, oil pump, oil pan, timing sprockets and pulleys, timing belt or chain, camshafts, and intake and exhaust manifolds, as well as sensors and actuators. Choose a short block if the bottom end is damaged but the top end (cylinder heads) is in good condition and you have the time to swap over all the parts. Long Block Engine Depending on who makes it, the long block usually includes the short block with the cylinder heads preinstalled, most likely including timing components and anything behind them, such as the oil pump and camshafts. When installing a long block, you’ll need to transfer some parts from your old engine, such as the intake and exhaust manifolds, and some of the sensors and actuators. Choose a long block engine if there’s damage in the bottom and top end. Crate Engine Depending on who makes it, crate engines can range from long block to complete, including the oil pan, cylinder heads, intake and exhaust manifolds, sensors and actuators, maybe even the engine main harness. We’re referring to a complete engine, which is a good idea for those looking for a drop-in solution to their engine problems. No parts are transferred to the new engine, aside from the alternator, air-conditioning compressor, and engine mounts, which significantly reduces the time to install. Choose a crate engine or complete engine when time is of the essence or the engine has suffered extensive failures. Crate engines can also be custom-ordered, the weapon of choice for many enthusiasts who want more power from their custom cars. These are the three main categories of new engines you can buy for the typical project, but not the only ones. You might also consider used junkyard engines or remanufactured engines. Junkyard Engine A junkyard engine might be a good choice for your vehicle project. Julien Grosjean / Getty Images A junkyard engine might be a good choice if you are looking to save money. These usually come complete, hopefully with intact wiring, though each facility does things differently. If you have an engine-savvy friend, they can help you inspect the engine before you buy it. You-pick junkyards will require that you remove the engine yourself, so you can take as much care as you want to save the parts you need the most. Choose a junkyard engine if budget is of primary concern, but be aware that it might not come with any warranty and might have already been abused or neglected. Remanufactured Engine These used engines may be available in differing levels of assembly, from short block to long block or complete. The difference between a remanufactured or rebuilt engine is that they’ve been overhauled or at least certified by engine experts. They’re used and may have varying levels of new parts, are usually more expensive than junkyard engines but less expensive than crate engines, and usually come with a warranty. Choose a remanufactured engine if you’re not planning on rebuilding it yourself. Here, an engine is either ready for disassembly or reinstallation. PIXNIO Choosing between these different engines if you must replace or rebuild an engine needn’t be overwhelming. Considering your expertise, available tools, and budget, not to mention existing damage, choose the engine that best meets your needs. Still wondering which is best? Ask an engine-savvy friend or a trusted mechanic.

SAT Score Ranges Understand Your Score vs Class Grades

SAT Score Ranges Understand Your Score vs Class Grades SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips What’s the best possible SAT score and worst possible SAT score you could get? How do you understand SAT scores if you’re used to letter grades like A- or B+, or test scores like 93%? In this guide, we convert SAT scores into much more understandable class grades to help you interpret your SAT score. What's the SAT Score SAT Range? The pure SAT score range is 200 minimum, 800 maximum per section. The current SAT has two sections, so its total range is 400 to 1600. It's as simple as that! The score range might not tell you much on its own, since it's rare that someone will get a perfect 1600 or as low as a 400. However, if you’re more used to thinking about class grades like A+, B-, etc. then we can map SAT scores into grades to give you a rough idea of the letter grade your SAT score corresponds to. Likewise, we can do the same if you’re more used to numerical class grades like 95% for a good test or 55% for a failing test. How Can You Understand Your SAT Score If You're Used to Class Grades? We’ll first present the results of our conversion of SAT scores to class grades, and then we’ll interpret the results. For those interested in technical details, we’ll then tell you how we got there. In the final section, we’ll then discuss some other interpretations of what a good SAT score is. Conversion of New SAT Scores to Class Grade Equivalents New SAT Score Numerical Class Grade Letter Class Grade 1560-1600 100.0 A+ 1520-1550 99.9 A+ 1490-1510 99.8 A+ 1465-1480 99.7 A+ 1450-1460 99.6 A+ 1430-1440 99.5 A+ 1420 99.4 A+ 1410 99.3 A+ 1390-1400 99.2 A+ 1387 99.1 A+ 1370-1380 99.0 A+ 1367 98.9 A+ 1350-1360 98.8 A+ 1347 98.7 A+ 1340 98.6 A+ 1333 98.5 A+ 1327 98.4 A+ 1320 98.3 A+ 1310 98.2 A+ 1300 98.1 A+ 1293 97.9 A+ 1287 97.8 A+ 1280 97.7 A+ 1273 97.6 A+ 1267 97.5 A+ 1260 97.4 A+ 1253 97.2 A+ 1247 97.1 A+ 1240 97.0 A 1233 96.8 A 1227 96.7 A 1220 96.5 A 1213 96.4 A 1207 96.2 A 1200 96.0 A 1193 95.9 A 1187 95.7 A 1180 95.5 A 1173 95.3 A 1167 95.1 A 1160 94.9 A 1153 94.7 A 1147 94.5 A 1140 94.3 A 1133 94.1 A 1127 93.9 A 1120 93.7 A 1110 93.3 A 1100 93.0 A- 1093 92.7 A- 1087 92.5 A- 1080 92.2 A- 1073 91.9 A- 1067 91.7 A- 1060 91.4 A- 1053 91.1 A- 1047 90.8 A- 1040 90.5 A- 1033 90.2 A- 1027 89.9 B+ 1020 89.6 B+ 1013 89.3 B+ 1007 89.0 B+ 1000 88.7 B+ 993 88.4 B+ 987 88.1 B+ 980 87.8 B+ 973 87.5 B+ 967 87.2 B+ 960 86.9 B 953 86.6 B 947 86.2 B 940 85.9 B 933 85.6 B 927 85.3 B 920 84.9 B 913 84.6 B 907 84.3 B 900 83.9 B 893 83.6 B 887 83.2 B 880 82.9 B- 873 82.5 B- 867 82.1 B- 860 81.7 B- 853 81.3 B- 847 80.9 B- 840 80.4 B- 833 80.0 C+ 827 79.5 C+ 820 79.0 C+ 813 78.5 C+ 807 78.0 C+ 800 77.5 C+ 793 77.0 C 787 76.5 C 780 76.0 C 773 75.5 C 767 75.0 C 760 74.5 C 753 74.0 C 747 73.5 C 740 73.0 C- 733 72.4 C- 727 71.9 C- 720 71.3 C- 713 70.6 C- 707 69.8 D+ 700 69.0 D+ 693 68.1 D+ 687 67.3 D+ 680 66.4 D 673 65.5 D 667 64.6 D 660 63.6 D 653 62.5 D 647 61.2 D 640 59.3 F 633 57.2 F 627 55.2 F 620 53.1 F 613 51.2 F 607 49.2 F 600 47.3 F 593 45.4 F 587 43.5 F 580 41.7 F 573 39.9 F 567 38.1 F 560 36.3 F 553 34.6 F 547 32.8 F 540 31.1 F 533 29.5 F 527 27.9 F 520 26.4 F 513 24.8 F 507 23.4 F 500 21.9 F 493 20.4 F 487 18.9 F 480 17.5 F 473 16.1 F 467 14.7 F 460 13.4 F 453 12.1 F 447 10.9 F 440 9.7 F 433 8.6 F 427 7.7 F 420 6.6 F 413 5.7 F 407 5.0 F 400 3.2 F How can you read this table? Suppose you received a 1000 on the current SAT. You'd want to find this row: New SAT Score Numerical Class Grade Letter Class Grade 1000 88.7 B+ Under Numerical Class Grade, 88.7 means that this SAT score is like getting a class score of 88.7% (or round to 89%) at the end of the year. Imagine getting a 88.7 in history, English, or math. Under Letter Class Grade, the B+ means this SAT score is similar to getting the class letter grade B+. What Does the Conversion Table From SAT Score to Class Grades Really Show You? To put it simply, the conversion table takes your SAT score and tells you how well you're doing in terms of class grades. You're used to class grades because you've seen them since you began school, but this might be the first time you've looked at SAT scores. In the table above, we've taken something you might be unfamiliar with and put it in terms of something you know and understand. To be more precise, the above table matches SAT scores to class grades based on percentiles. The SAT percentile is calculated from a recent group of SAT scores. The class grades percentile is based on a comprehensive academic survey of common grades given out in college (which closely match US high school grades culturally). In other words, to go from a new SAT score of 1000 to 88.7%, we looked at the SAT percentile of 1000 (it happens to be right about 50%), and then we used a comprehensive academic survey which showed that the 50th percentile class grade across many colleges was an 88.7%, or a B+. Imagine getting a B+ in one of your classes. Would you be happy with that grade? Would you consider yourself to know the material well? You can then apply those feelings to your SAT score and use them to plan your next steps, such as if you'd like to retake the exam. Want to learn more about the SAT but tired of reading blog articles? Then you'll love our free, SAT prep livestreams. Designed and led by PrepScholar SAT experts, these live video events are a great resource for students and parents looking to learn more about the SAT and SAT prep. Click on the button below to register for one of our livestreams today! Interesting Notes from the Conversion Table First, you should note that the distribution of SATscores and grades are quite different. There is a lot of resolution at the top end of the SAT scale- a 1250 and a 1600 are 350 points apart, yet they all map to A+. Read that again; it's not a mistake: a 1600 and a 1250 are both A+. Classes oftentimes do not do a good job of distinguishing great students from the truly spectacular. In a class of 20, you might have two people get an A+, which seems like a small number, until you realize that in that same class of 20, if it represented all students in the USA, you would only have two people as well who get 1250 or above. The SAT is useful to colleges, especially very selective ones, because itdistinguishes the 90th percent from the 99th percent. Also, class grades and SAT scoresare equally good at resolving the performance of middle-of-the-pack students. When you go from an SATscore of 680 to a 1110- just a range of 430- you're going from a straight D to an A. For students who are near the median of their class or a bit below, SAT scores and class grades both have decent resolution. Finally, you may noticethat both SAT scores and class grades have non-zero starting points, which makes sense when you apply it to what you know about the kinds of grades that are given out. When was the last time you heard of someone getting a 30 out of 100 as their final grade for a class? Less than 4% of class grades are failing grades. Likewise, when was the last time you heard someone get less than a 680 on the SAT? Even though the SATgoes all the way down to 400, fewer than 2% of people get less than a 680. Just like it's a good idea to think of class grades as starting from a D and not a 0, it's better to think of SATs as starting from 680 and not 400. Can SAT Scores Really Be Mapped to Class Grades? They certainly can! However,I should warn you, such mappings are an inexact science. Some issues you should be aware of include: SATs and classes test very different things. The SAT is a mostly-multiple-choice test given over the course of a few hours on a Saturday morning (usually). Classes consist of hundreds of hours of schoolwork. The SAT is a solitary activity. Classes include working with teachers and classmates. The two measure different things. Getting a B+ in class does NOT mean you'll get a 1000 for sure on the SAT, and vice versa. Class grades are not rigorous. Is an A- a good grade? If your teacher gives half the class a straight A, then an A- is a bad grade. Conversely, if your teacher gives out only one Aa year, you might have the top score. An A in art studies means something very different thangetting an A in computer science. Thus, you can't look atthe conversion too rigidly. With thatcaveat out of the way, you're on the right track if you think of the table above as "lining up" different types of races.For example, you can't compare a 100-meter dash with the marathon, but you can say 10 seconds is an "Olympiclevel" 100-meter dash time, and 2h10min is an "Olympiclevel" marathon time. What’s Next? Wondering what SAT score you should be aiming for? Learn how to developyour target scorebased on the colleges you're interested in. Not happy with where your SAT score places you?We're here to help! We have tons of guides specifically designed to raise your SAT score. To get you started, check out these 21 tips to improving your SAT score. Want to prepare for the SAT? Taking practice tests is one of the best ways to see how you're doing and raise your score.Check out our collection of free and official practice SATs for you to use. Disappointed with your scores? Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points?We've written a guide about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Utilization Management and Models of Care Research Paper

Utilization Management and Models of Care - Research Paper Example It is also a whole person centered approach that offers a comprehensive care strategies for chronic, acute and end of life care. Finally, the PCHM facilitates the integration and coordination of care thus ensuring that the patients receive the best care and services from their medical neighborhood thus improving quality and safety of the services. Health care facilities that have employed the Chronic Care Model have also been able to achieve their quality and safety goals due to the various beneficial elements inherent in the model. Glasgow, Orleans & Wagner (2001) informs that one of the key ways through which the Chronic Care Model facilitates the achievement of quality and safety goals by coordinating the care delivery process and offering clinical decision support. The model coordinated coordinates decisions and actions of different care givers leading to glycemic control, health care utilization and patient satisfaction. Evidence based decision making is vital in the achievement of safety and quality goals (Coleman, Austin, Brach & Wagner, 2009). The model facilitates the incorporation of evidence based practices into various registries and patient assessment tools thus improving the quality of care offered by the care givers. Shojania, K., Kathryn, M., Grimshaw, J., Sundaram, V., Rushakoff, R. (2006). Effects of quality improvement strategies for type 2 diabetes on glycemic control: a meta-regression analysis.  Journal of the American Medical Association  296(4), 427–440.

Open the link and answer questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Open the link and answer questions - Assignment Example On the other hand, the disadvantage of this law is the difficulty in enforcement as not all motor vehicles could be ensured of being cell phone free. Further, a driver who could have responded to emergency situations through wireless phones could not be contacted, when immediately needed and thereby could delay any required and immediate response. Question 2. Are you for or against the state law? Why or why not? Personally, I am in favor of the enactment of the state law because there have been several accidents that have been attributed to cell phone use during driving. According to Lance, â€Å"a recent study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety gives the first concrete evidence of the effects of cell phone use on injury crashes. IIHS revealed recently that drivers using phones are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves† (Lance par. 3). The proof that more states that considered banning cell phone use while driving (Bloomberg Bu sinessweek) attests the need to pass the law to ensure the safety, not only of the drivers but also of the general public. Works Cited Bloomberg Businessweek. Cell Phone Laws. July 2005. Web.

PLO - Palestine Liberation Organization :: essays research papers fc

History Palestinian Liberation Organization 1. Can the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) justifiably claim to be 'the sole, legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.'? The PLO was set up in 1964 by an Arab League decision in response to growing signs of Palestinian unrest. The Palestinians desired to reclaim the lands occupied by Israel, which they felt belonged to them, as said in the Bible. In 1964 the Arab states created the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). While it was supposed to represent the Palestinians, in reality it represented the views of President Nasser of Egypt, who guided the formation of the PLO. Its first leader made wild and irresponsible threats to drive Israelis into the sea, and had little support among Palestinians for he was seen as a puppet of the Egyptians. In the 1960s Palestinian students began to form their own organizations independent of control by Arab governments (although the Syrians, Libyans, and Iraqis continued to fund and control particular groups). Yasser Arafat founded an independent Palestinian-run party called Fatah. He is said to have the backing, for most of the recent past, of about 80% of the Palestinian people. The position of the Arab governments was that a PLO under Arab League supervision would be the best way of satisfying the demands made by an emerging Palestinian national consciousness. Also, it was felt that through such an organization Arab governments could control Palestinian political activities. Ten years after its founding, the PLO was raised to the status of government. And in 1988, the PLO's status was to be raised again, this time to a state in exile. After several negotiations, Arafat became a Terrorist leader and administrator of self-rule in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. In the 1967 Six Day War, the Arab armies did very badly against Israel, losing 67,000 square kilometres of land. Palestinians came to believe that if they were ever to have their land, they would have to do it themselves. After the 1967 war, the situation changed drastically. The resistance activities of various guerrilla organizations, in particular the Al-Fatah and the PFLP, gained the increasing support of the Palestinians. With Arafat at the helm from 1969 and a resistance-oriented leadership, the PLO was more effective and played a central role in mobilizing the Palestinians and in expanding its basis of support both at the local and international level. The PLO became an umbrella organization for the various guerrilla groups. This increase in support was made possible because of the Al-Fatah's ability to access to the growing numbers of volunteers from refugee camps which were freshly swollen due to the 1967 war.

China online banking development Essay

China is expected to become the largest information technology (IT) market in the world in the next five years, acknowledging that computers will be popular in Chinese families by that time. China now ranks No. 2 in Internet subscribers in the world. Owing to China’s large population, the country’s Internet market still has great potential. Information technology has been utilized in almost all sectors of China’s economy today. E-government, e-business, e-finance, and upgrading of state-owned enterprises will all provide more opportunities for the development of the industry in  China is expected to become the largest information technology (IT) market in the world in the next five years, acknowledging that computers will be popular in Chinese families by that time. China now ranks No. 2 in Internet subscribers in the world. Owing to China’s large population, the country’s Internet market still has great potential. Information technology has been utilized in almost all sectors of China’s economy today. E-government, e-business, e-finance, and upgrading of state-owned enterprises will all provide more opportunities for the development of the industry in China. Read the Memo sent out by Jaime about 2004 Mid-Year Offsite Business-planning meeting conducted by S1 management team, the key topic of â€Å"Perfecting our International and Distribution Business† caught my attention. Learned the news that Macau Tai Fung bank implemented S1 Banking Solution to launched its online banking services, and found out that S1 opened an office in Beijing – China’s capital city, I got a feeling that S1 already turned its eyes to Chinese Market and wonder whether S1’s management would like to make further moves and seize the opportunity. Before left China to immigrant to Canada, I had 6 years working experiences in Beijing-my home city, dealing with Chinese financial agencies and institutions, Chinese and foreign banks as well as other financial institutions and service providers in China, I’m quite familiar with Chinese financial industry structure. I’d like to reuse my knowledge and made this online research report. If S1 is interested in expanding business in China, but not clear what is the situation there and where to start, my research report will, I hope to a certain extent, answer some of your questions. The main purpose of this report is to provide some information and personal suggestions that, I hope, could be helpful for S1’s management or marketing team to better understand Chinese market. This report includes information covering Chinese banking system structure, the emergence and development of Internet banking and online insurance services in China, Chinese governments’ policies and regulations toward online banking and insurance business as well as some prepositional thoughts about how to present S1 and its products to China. Naissance of Online Banking in China In the late 1990s, China began allowing banks to open online businesses. In 1996, China Merchants Bank launched the 1st online financing service in China through â€Å"All in One Net†, an online payment method, which set up the basic operating pattern of China online banking. On October 1997, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) established its own homepage on Internet to promote its financing services and to provide business guide for Internet users. March 1998, Bank of China successfully handled its first e-transaction. To 1999, all major banks in China had sped up their online banking construction. To date, online banking has made good progress in China. According to statistics from the recently seminar called â€Å"International Symposium on the Development of Online Banking and Supervision† sponsored by China Banking Regulatory Commission, China’s online bank transactions are expected to reach 20 trillion yuan (about 2. 4 trillion US dollars) by the end of this year. Currently, China has over 40 million individuals and 60,000 companies and institutions involved in online banking businesses. In 2003, Internet-based banking businesses have witnessed a big step forward, owing to the outbreak of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome). Traditionally, Chinese have placed a premium on face-to-face meeting for important business-related matters, but the SARS crisis has forced people to change their attitude. Online Banking Development in China China is in the early stages of a vast transformation – from a traditional â€Å"cash and carry† banking system where customers use the branches for almost every banking activity to a modern Internet banking system. Currently, more than 50 commercial banks (domestic and foreign) and over 200 of their branches in China have opened websites, among which, a total of over 50 banks have launched online businesses. The Growth of Online Banking Customers in China China’s online bank transactions were 14. 3 billion yuan in 2001, increased to 21. 8 billion yuan in 2003, and are expected to reach 20 trillion yuan (about 2. 4 trillion US dollars) by the end of this year. Figure 3. 1: The Growth of Online Banking Customers in China Online Shopping Payment Methods in China. According to a survey made by China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), payment online by credit card and deposit card is becoming the 1st choice for online purchasing. The traditional payment method of payment on delivery by cash and postal remittance decreased 3. 7% this year. Figure 3. 2: Online Purchasing Payment Methods in China An analysis shows that security and service abilities are the main concerns for Chinese to use online banking services, 72. 2% of the people inquired care a lot about whether the banks can guarantee the safety of all transactions in their online services, 60. 6% hope to see more functions and flexibilities. Figure 3. 3: Factors that that will attract Chinese to use online banking services Both Chinese and foreign banks in China realized that the internet solutions provide clients with more channels to communicate with them and allow them to benefit from greater control and cost efficiency, which are top of mind for treasurers today. Domestic Banks and Their Online Banking Services For many Chinese, banking in general is a new experience and in an economy where cash remains important, so bank branches also provide security to customers. However, with accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), China’s major banks having to face competition, the local players are increasingly seeing their extensive and heavily manned branch networks as a liability. More and more Chinese banks seem to have discovered the Internet as new source of revenue and the powerful attraction of Internet banking is reflected an attractive proposition. The Chinese bank that has bee quickest off the mark in building Internet banking is China Merchant Bank, which launched the first online financing service in China in 1996. The four state-owned commercial banks quickly followed and successively began to offer some online services since then. May 2000, the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) implemented a trial Internet banking service in its Guangzhou Branch, which allowed their customers in Guangdong province to access their account through Internet. December 2000, ABC launched online banking service in Shanghai called 95599 Online Bank. The new service of 95599 Online bank has reportedly attracted a number of large corporate clients, such as China Worldbest Group and Shanghai Volkswagen. The services offered include currency exchange, personal cheque issuance and access to consumer loans. Users can also report the loss of certificates of deposit, bankbooks and bankcards as well as prearrange withdrawals of cash sums. At the same time, China Construction Bank (CCB) announced its plans to extend its online banking services to 15 cities in the mainland as well as simplify the process of related authentication in a bid to boost the number of clients using online services. The bank began offering online services in April 2000 in cities of Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Qingdao. Last year, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) unveiled a new platform for its personal online banking business – BANKING@HOME. ICBC officials said the upgraded e-banking platform could facilitate a key shift of the bank’s outlets from all-round functions to sales-orientated services, and gives it a firmer foothold in a market with intensifying foreign competition. ICBC officials said the 58-function brand-name allows â€Å"almost all services a traditional banking outlet offers† to be processed by the client on the computer, including 24-hour any-amount transfers of funds or remittances, securities and foreign currency trading as well as collateralized loans. Figure 3. 4: Internet Services provided by the 4 state-owned commercial banks Name Website URL Language Internet Services The Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) www. abocn. com – Chinese – Simplified Banking industry news and website news, Regulation for foreign currency deposits Link to online banking Bank of China (BOC) www. bank-of-china. com – Chinese Simplified – English Link to branch offices in other cities and provinces Link to E-banking services Cash management Information on the bank and its activities Information on credit card deposits online and phone banking, loans and remittances. China Construction Bank www. ccb-on-line. com – Chinese Simplified – English Links to exchange rates, stock quotes, deposit rates, loan rates, bank fees. Link to branch offices in other cities and provinces Credit card information. International Operations such as financing, merchant banking, international settlements, currency exchange, treasury services, credit investigations Information on oversea branches and domestic branches that conduct international transactions Foreign currency deposit, multi-currency remittances, account settlement and term deposit. Link to online banking and payment The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) www. icbc. com. cn – Chinese Simplified – Chinese Traditional – English Link to branch offices in other cities and provinces Link to online bank services: personal banking, corporate Banking. Information on E-banking Online financing Links to exchange rates, stock quotes, deposit rates, loan rates, bank fees. Foreign Banks and Their Online Banking Services Citibank claims that they are the 1st foreign bank in China that obtained approval from the People’s Bank of China (PCBC) to offer Internet banking services in China to both domestic and international corporations, as well as consumers. Its Internet banking services provide clients with convenient, easy-to-use, and secure access to banking transactions, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, over the Web. Offering its CitiDirect corporate banking service for cash management, the bank has developed an internet-based payments system specifically for the country. The system enables corporate clients in China to make local currency (renminbi) payment transactions to beneficiaries in over 7000 locations. The system, called Citibank Easy Payments, also delivers various payment and collections reports for clients to view or download into their computers. Its Internet-based banking services available in China for corporate and consumer clients include: CitiDirect(r) Online Banking is Citibank’s Web-based delivery channel for corporate clients, designed to securely deliver online an ever-expanding array of Citibank transaction products. CitiDirect(r) Online Banking provides access to account information, payment initiation capabilities, collections data, trade finance transactions, and import/export file integration capabilities. CitiDirect(r) replaces traditional electronic banking applications with a single Web-based delivery channel, thereby improving efficiency and reducing costs to clients. Available in 90 countries and 20 languages including traditional and simplified Chinese, CitiDirecti Online Banking gives clients the benefits of real-time processing, robust security and integration with their in-house treasury systems. * Citibank Easy Payments, an Internet-based payment system that allows corporate clients in China to make local currency (Renminbi) payment transactions to beneficiaries in over 7000 locations in China. This system was specifically developed for the China market. Citibank Easy Payments also delivers various payment and collections reports for clients to view or download into their computers. Citibank Easy Payments supports interface with all major Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) packages such as SAP, Oracle, BPCS as well as locally developed Chinese accounting packages. Citibank. com. cn, an Internet banking portal that allows corporations and consumers to manage their accounts online, make online enquiries or transactions, view customize and personalize pages as well as get online tools and real-time global market information. Global banking group HSBC, Hang Seng Bank and Bank of East Asia received online-banking license and launched online banking service in China on January 2003. This new service allows their customers to check their balances, transfer funds, make time deposits and account enquiries, check interest and foreign exchange rates, and send remittance instructions through Internet. It is said that more foreign banks, like London-based Standard Chartered Bank, have also received approval to launch online banking services in China, but it is not clear when the emerging market specialist would offer such service. China is expected to become the largest information technology (IT) market in the world in the next five years, acknowledging that computers will be popular in Chinese families by that time. China now ranks No. 2 in Internet subscribers in the world. Owing to China’s large population, the country’s Internet market still has great potential. Information technology has been utilized in almost all sectors of China’s economy today. E-government, e-business, e-finance, and upgrading of state-owned enterprises will all provide more opportunities for the development of the industry in China. Read the Memo sent out by Jaime about 2004 Mid-Year Offsite Business-planning meeting conducted by S1 management team, the key topic of â€Å"Perfecting our International and Distribution Business† caught my attention. Learned the news that Macau Tai Fung bank implemented S1 Banking Solution to launched its online banking services, and found out that S1 opened an office in Beijing – China’s capital city, I got a feeling that S1 already turned its eyes to Chinese Market and wonder whether S1’s management would like to make further moves and seize the opportunity. Before left China to immigrant to Canada, I had 6 years working experiences in Beijing-my home city, dealing with Chinese financial agencies and institutions, Chinese and foreign banks as well as other financial institutions and service providers in China, I’m quite familiar with Chinese financial industry structure. I’d like to reuse my knowledge and made this online research report. If S1 is interested in expanding business in China, but not clear what is the situation there and where to start, my research report will, I hope to a certain extent, answer some of your questions. The main purpose of this report is to provide some information and personal suggestions that, I hope, could be helpful for S1’s management or marketing team to better understand Chinese market. This report includes information covering Chinese banking system structure, the emergence and development of Internet banking and online insurance services in China, Chinese governments’ policies and regulations toward online banking and insurance business as well as some prepositional thoughts about how to present S1 and its products to China. Naissance of Online Banking in China In the late 1990s, China began allowing banks to open online businesses. In 1996, China Merchants Bank launched the 1st online financing service in China through â€Å"All in One Net†, an online payment method, which set up the basic operating pattern of China online banking. On October 1997, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) established its own homepage on Internet to promote its financing services and to provide business guide for Internet users. March 1998, Bank of China successfully handled its first e-transaction. To 1999, all major banks in China had sped up their online banking construction. To date, online banking has made good progress in China. According to statistics from the recently seminar called â€Å"International Symposium on the Development of Online Banking and Supervision† sponsored by China Banking Regulatory Commission, China’s online bank transactions are expected to reach 20 trillion yuan (about 2. 4 trillion US dollars) by the end of this year. Currently, China has over 40 million individuals and 60,000 companies and institutions involved in online banking businesses In 2003, Internet-based banking businesses have witnessed a big step forward, owing to the outbreak of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome). Traditionally, Chinese have placed a premium on face-to-face meeting for important business-related matters, but the SARS crisis has forced people to change their attitude. Online Banking Development in China China is in the early stages of a vast transformation – from a traditional â€Å"cash and carry† banking system where customers use the branches for almost every banking activity to a modern Internet banking system. Currently, more than 50 commercial banks (domestic and foreign) and over 200 of their branches in China have opened websites, among which, a total of over 50 banks have launched online businesses. The Growth of Online Banking Customers in China China’s online bank transactions were 14. 3 billion yuan in 2001, increased to 21. 8 billion yuan in 2003, and are expected to reach 20 trillion yuan (about 2. 4 trillion US dollars) by the end of this year. Figure 3. 1: The Growth of Online Banking Customers in China Online Shopping Payment Methods in China According to a survey made by China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), payment online by credit card and deposit card is becoming the 1st choice for online purchasing. The traditional payment method of payment on delivery by cash and postal remittance decreased 3. 7% this year. Figure 3. 2: Online Purchasing Payment Methods in China An analysis shows that security and service abilities are the main concerns for Chinese to use online banking services, 72. 2% of the people inquired care a lot about whether the banks can guarantee the safety of all transactions in their online services, 60. 6% hope to see more functions and flexibilities. Figure 3. 3: Factors that that will attract Chinese to use online banking services Both Chinese and foreign banks in China realized that the internet solutions provide clients with more channels to communicate with them and allow them to benefit from greater control and cost efficiency, which are top of mind for treasurers today. Domestic Banks and Their Online Banking Services For many Chinese, banking in general is a new experience and in an economy where cash remains important, so bank branches also provide security to customers. However, with accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), China’s major banks having to face competition, the local players are increasingly seeing their extensive and heavily manned branch networks as a liability. More and more Chinese banks seem to have discovered the Internet as new source of revenue and the powerful attraction of Internet banking is reflected an attractive proposition. The Chinese bank that has bee quickest off the mark in building Internet banking is China Merchant Bank, which launched the first online financing service in China in 1996. The four state-owned commercial banks quickly followed and successively began to offer some online services since then. May 2000, the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) implemented a trial Internet banking service in its Guangzhou Branch, which allowed their customers in Guangdong province to access their account through Internet. December 2000, ABC launched online banking service in Shanghai called 95599 Online Bank. The new service of 95599 Online bank has reportedly attracted a number of large corporate clients, such as China Worldbest Group and Shanghai Volkswagen. The services offered include currency exchange, personal cheque issuance and access to consumer loans. Users can also report the loss of certificates of deposit, bankbooks and bankcards as well as prearrange withdrawals of cash sums. At the same time, China Construction Bank (CCB) announced its plans to extend its online banking services to 15 cities in the mainland as well as simplify the process of related authentication in a bid to boost the number of clients using online services. The bank began offering online services in April 2000 in cities of Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Qingdao. Last year, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) unveiled a new platform for its personal online banking business – BANKING@HOME. ICBC officials said the upgraded e-banking platform could facilitate a key shift of the bank’s outlets from all-round functions to sales-orientated services, and gives it a firmer foothold in a market with intensifying foreign competition. ICBC officials said the 58-function brand-name allows â€Å"almost all services a traditional banking outlet offers† to be processed by the client on the computer, including 24-hour any-amount transfers of funds or remittances, securities and foreign currency trading as well as collateralized loans. Figure 3. 4: Internet Services provided by the 4 state-owned commercial banks Name Website URL Language Internet Services The Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) www. abocn. com – Chinese – Simplified Banking industry news and website news, Regulation for foreign currency deposits Link to online banking Bank of China (BOC) www. bank-of-china. com – Chinese Simplified – English Link to branch offices in other cities and provinces Link to E-banking services Cash management Information on the bank and its activities Information on credit card deposits online and phone banking, loans and remittances. China Construction Bank www. ccb-on-line. com – Chinese Simplified – English Links to exchange rates, stock quotes, deposit rates, loan rates, bank fees. Link to branch offices in other cities and provinces Credit card information. International Operations such as financing, merchant banking, international settlements, currency exchange, treasury services, credit investigations Information on oversea branches and domestic branches that conduct international transactions Foreign currency deposit, multi-currency remittances, account settlement and term deposit. Link to online banking and payment The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) www. icbc. com. cn – Chinese Simplified – Chinese Traditional – English Link to branch offices in other cities and provinces Link to online bank services: personal banking, corporate Banking. Information on E-banking Online financing Links to exchange rates, stock quotes, deposit rates, loan rates, bank fees. Foreign Banks and Their Online Banking Services Citibank claims that they are the 1st foreign bank in China that obtained approval from the People’s Bank of China (PCBC) to offer Internet banking services in China to both domestic and international corporations, as well as consumers. Its Internet banking services provide clients with convenient, easy-to-use, and secure access to banking transactions, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, over the Web. Offering its CitiDirect corporate banking service for cash management, the bank has developed an internet-based payments system specifically for the country. The system enables corporate clients in China to make local currency (renminbi) payment transactions to beneficiaries in over 7000 locations. The system, called Citibank Easy Payments, also delivers various payment and collections reports for clients to view or download into their computers. Its Internet-based banking services available in China for corporate and consumer clients include: CitiDirect(r) Online Banking is Citibank’s Web-based delivery channel for corporate clients, designed to securely deliver online an ever-expanding array of Citibank transaction products. CitiDirect(r) Online Banking provides access to account information, payment initiation capabilities, collections data, trade finance transactions, and import/export file integration capabilities. CitiDirect(r) replaces traditional electronic banking applications with a single Web-based delivery channel, thereby improving efficiency and reducing costs to clients. Available in 90 countries and 20 languages including traditional and simplified Chinese, CitiDirecti Online Banking gives clients the benefits of real-time processing, robust security and integration with their in-house treasury systems. * Citibank Easy Payments, an Internet-based payment system that allows corporate clients in China to make local currency (Renminbi) payment transactions to beneficiaries in over 7000 locations in China. This system was specifically developed for the China market. Citibank Easy Payments also delivers various payment and collections reports for clients to view or download into their computers. Citibank Easy Payments supports interface with all major Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) packages such as SAP, Oracle, BPCS as well as locally developed Chinese accounting packages.   Citibank. com. cn, an Internet banking portal that allows corporations and consumers to manage their accounts online, make online enquiries or transactions, view customize and personalize pages as well as get online tools and real-time global market information. Global banking group HSBC, Hang Seng Bank and Bank of East Asia received online-banking license and launched online banking service in China on January 2003. This new service allows their customers to check their balances, transfer funds, make time deposits and account enquiries, check interest and foreign exchange rates, and send remittance instructions through Internet. It is said that more foreign banks, like London-based Standard Chartered Bank, have also received approval to launch online banking services in China, but it is not clear when the emerging market specialist would offer such service. Read the Memo sent out by Jaime about 2004 Mid-Year Offsite Business-planning meeting conducted by S1 management team, the key topic of â€Å"Perfecting our International and Distribution Business† caught my attention. Learned the news that Macau Tai Fung bank implemented S1 Banking Solution to launched its online banking services, and found out that S1 opened an office in Beijing – China’s capital city, I got a feeling that S1 already turned its eyes to Chinese Market and wonder whether S1’s management would like to make further moves and seize the opportunity. Before left China to immigrant to Canada, I had 6 years working experiences in Beijing-my home city, dealing with Chinese financial agencies and institutions, Chinese and foreign banks as well as other financial institutions and service providers in China, I’m quite familiar with Chinese financial industry structure. I’d like to reuse my knowledge and made this online research report. If S1 is interested in expanding business in China, but not clear what is the situation there and where to start, my research report will, I hope to a certain extent, answer some of your questions. The main purpose of this report is to provide some information and personal suggestions that, I hope, could be helpful for S1’s management or marketing team to better understand Chinese market. This report includes information covering Chinese banking system structure, the emergence and development of Internet banking and online insurance services in China, Chinese governments’ policies and regulations toward online banking and insurance business as well as some prepositional thoughts about how to present S1 and its products to China. Naissance of Online Banking in China In the late 1990s, China began allowing banks to open online businesses. In 1996, China Merchants Bank launched the 1st online financing service in China through â€Å"All in One Net†, an online payment method, which set up the basic operating pattern of China online banking. On October 1997, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) established its own homepage on Internet to promote its financing services and to provide business guide for Internet users. March 1998, Bank of China successfully handled its first e-transaction. To 1999, all major banks in China had sped up their online banking construction. To date, online banking has made good progress in China. According to statistics from the recently seminar called â€Å"International Symposium on the Development of Online Banking and Supervision† sponsored by China Banking Regulatory Commission, China’s online bank transactions are expected to reach 20 trillion yuan (about 2. 4 trillion US dollars) by the end of this year. Currently, China has over 40 million individuals and 60,000 companies and institutions involved in online banking businesses. In 2003, Internet-based banking businesses have witnessed a big step forward, owing to the outbreak of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome). Traditionally, Chinese have placed a premium on face-to-face meeting for important business-related matters, but the SARS crisis has forced people to change their attitude. Online Banking Development in China China is in the early stages of a vast transformation – from a traditional â€Å"cash and carry† banking system where customers use the branches for almost every banking activity to a modern Internet banking system. Currently, more than 50 commercial banks (domestic and foreign) and over 200 of their branches in China have opened websites, among which, a total of over 50 banks have launched online businesses. The Growth of Online Banking Customers in China China’s online bank transactions were 14. 3 billion yuan in 2001, increased to 21. 8 billion yuan in 2003, and are expected to reach 20 trillion yuan (about 2. 4 trillion US dollars) by the end of this year. Figure 3. 1: The Growth of Online Banking Customers in China Online Shopping Payment Methods in China According to a survey made by China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), payment online by credit card and deposit card is becoming the 1st choice for online purchasing. The traditional payment method of payment on delivery by cash and postal remittance decreased 3. 7% this year. Figure 3. 2: Online Purchasing Payment Methods in China An analysis shows that security and service abilities are the main concerns for Chinese to use online banking services, 72. 2% of the people inquired care a lot about whether the banks can guarantee the safety of all transactions in their online services, 60. 6% hope to see more functions and flexibilities. Figure 3. 3: Factors that that will attract Chinese to use online banking services Both Chinese and foreign banks in China realized that the internet solutions provide clients with more channels to communicate with them and allow them to benefit from greater control and cost efficiency, which are top of mind for treasurers today. Domestic Banks and Their Online Banking Services For many Chinese, banking in general is a new experience and in an economy where cash remains important, so bank branches also provide security to customers. However, with accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), China’s major banks having to face competition, the local players are increasingly seeing their extensive and heavily manned branch networks as a liability. More and more Chinese banks seem to have discovered the Internet as new source of revenue and the powerful attraction of Internet banking is reflected an attractive proposition. The Chinese bank that has bee quickest off the mark in building Internet banking is China Merchant Bank, which launched the first online financing service in China in 1996. The four state-owned commercial banks quickly followed and successively began to offer some online services since then. May 2000, the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) implemented a trial Internet banking service in its Guangzhou Branch, which allowed their customers in Guangdong province to access their account through Internet. December 2000, ABC launched online banking service in Shanghai called 95599 Online Bank. The new service of 95599 Online bank has reportedly attracted a number of large corporate clients, such as China Worldbest Group and Shanghai Volkswagen. The services offered include currency exchange, personal cheque issuance and access to consumer loans. Users can also report the loss of certificates of deposit, bankbooks and bankcards as well as prearrange withdrawals of cash sums. At the same time, China Construction Bank (CCB) announced its plans to extend its online banking services to 15 cities in the mainland as well as simplify the process of related authentication in a bid to boost the number of clients using online services. The bank began offering online services in April 2000 in cities of Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Qingdao. Last year, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) unveiled a new platform for its personal online banking business – BANKING@HOME. ICBC officials said the upgraded e-banking platform could facilitate a key shift of the bank’s outlets from all-round functions to sales-orientated services, and gives it a firmer foothold in a market with intensifying foreign competition. ICBC officials said the 58-function brand-name allows â€Å"almost all services a traditional banking outlet offers† to be processed by the client on the computer, including 24-hour any-amount transfers of funds or remittances, securities and foreign currency trading as well as collateralized loans. Figure 3. 4: Internet Services provided by the 4 state-owned commercial banks Name Website URL Language Internet Services The Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) www. abocn. com – Chinese – Simplified Banking industry news and website news, Regulation for foreign currency deposits Link to online banking Bank of China (BOC) www. bank-of-china. com – Chinese Simplified – English Link to branch offices in other cities and provinces Link to E-banking services Cash management Information on the bank and its activities Information on credit card deposits online and phone banking, loans and remittances. China Construction Bank www. ccb-on-line. com – Chinese Simplified – English Links to exchange rates, stock quotes, deposit rates, loan rates, bank fees. Link to branch offices in other cities and provinces Credit card information International Operations such as financing, merchant banking, international settlements, currency exchange, treasury services, credit investigations Information on oversea branches and domestic branches that conduct international transactions Foreign currency deposit, multi-currency remittances, account settlement and term deposit. Link to online banking and payment The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) www. icbc. com. cn – Chinese Simplified – Chinese Traditional – English Link to branch offices in other cities and provinces Link to online bank services: personal banking, corporate Banking Information on E-banking Online financing Links to exchange rates, stock quotes, deposit rates, loan rates, bank fees. Foreign Banks and Their Online Banking Services Citibank claims that they are the 1st foreign bank in China that obtained approval from the People’s Bank of China (PCBC) to offer Internet banking services in China to both domestic and international corporations, as well as consumers. Its Internet banking services provide clients with convenient, easy-to-use, and secure access to banking transactions, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, over the Web. Offering its CitiDirect corporate banking service for cash management, the bank has developed an internet-based payments system specifically for the country. The system enables corporate clients in China to make local currency (renminbi) payment transactions to beneficiaries in over 7000 locations. The system, called Citibank Easy Payments, also delivers various payment and collections reports for clients to view or download into their computers. Its Internet-based banking services available in China for corporate and consumer clients include: CitiDirect(r) Online Banking is Citibank’s Web-based delivery channel for corporate clients, designed to securely deliver online an ever-expanding array of Citibank transaction products. CitiDirect(r) Online Banking provides access to account information, payment initiation capabilities, collections data, trade finance transactions, and import/export file integration capabilities. CitiDirect(r) replaces traditional electronic banking applications with a single Web-based delivery channel, thereby improving efficiency and reducing costs to clients. Available in 90 countries and 20 languages including traditional and simplified Chinese, CitiDirecti Online Banking gives clients the benefits of real-time processing, robust security and integration with their in-house treasury systems. * Citibank Easy Payments, an Internet-based payment system that allows corporate clients in China to make local currency (Renminbi) payment transactions to beneficiaries in over 7000 locations in China. This system was specifically developed for the China market. Citibank Easy Payments also delivers various payment and collections reports for clients to view or download into their computers. Citibank Easy Payments supports interface with all major Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) packages such as SAP, Oracle, BPCS as well as locally developed Chinese accounting packages.   Citibank. com. cn, an Internet banking portal that allows corporations and consumers to manage their accounts online, make online enquiries or transactions, view customize and personalize pages as well as get online tools and real-time global market information. Global banking group HSBC, Hang Seng Bank and Bank of East Asia received online-banking license and launched online banking service in China on January 2003. This new service allows their customers to check their balances, transfer funds, make time deposits and account enquiries, check interest and foreign exchange rates, and send remittance instructions through Internet. It is said that more foreign banks, like London-based Standard Chartered Bank, have also received approval to launch online banking services in China, but it is not clear when the emerging market specialist would offer such service.