Media Representatin of Women in Sport - 2262 Words

Major Essay Current society is built upon stereotypes and constructions that are predetermined by previous generations’ views. One of the most recognised historical constructions is the patriarchal theory, that the female is subservient to the male. However, this construction of gender power is slowly equalising, with the rise of feminist groups in the latter part of the 20th century giving reason for this occurring. Nevertheless, gender battles are still occurring, particularly in the sporting industry, which remains male dominated. Female sport has been given much notoriety over their uproar in the past decade, but is finding in a male controlled industry it is difficult for women to receive help from governing bodies. Female sport is†¦show more content†¦So from our perspective it is clear that the media has constructed a view that the amateur female athlete must be ‘sexy’ in order to be able to succeed, we don’t read in magazines or see photographs of less attractive female athletes, they have excluded them for what in their mind is good reason, sex sells. However it is creating an unrealistic image of the perfect female athlete, they are not judged by how good they are at hitting, catching, shooting, running or jumping, but by how much they can get paid for taking their clothes off. (Caple, Greenwood Lumby 2010) Another cause for concern over female sport is that professionally they are not getting anywhere near enough media coverage and money as their male counterparts. The media cover male sport in far more depth; in fact a study in 2006 by South Australian Premier’s Council for Women found just 4.1 per cent of coverage was about female sport () and on Foxtel approximately 10 per cent was about female sport (Senate Standing Committees on Environment, Communications and the Arts 2006). The chart below shows the volume of news coverage that all the different sports receive, which not surprisingly shows Tennis as being pretty much the main female sport that is being covered, with very little else in comparison to male sport, even horses gain more exposure than females. So while females are being

Essay on Geoffrey Chaucer - 778 Words

Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer was a poet, a writer, and of course a diplomat. Geoffrey Chaucer was born in the early hours of 1340s to John Chaucer, a vintner and assistant to the kings butler. As a boy, he was a leaf to the Countess of Ulster. (Lombardi) Chaucer was the most famous for writing his unfinished Canterbury tales. (Geoffrey Chaucer) He was born in London, only problem is, the exact date and place are unknown. From his writings Chaucer emerges as poet of love, both worldly and heavenly. No information exists about his early education, although without a doubt he would have been as good in French as in the Middle English of his time. (Bio.True Story) Chaucer pops up in the record books in 1357 he was working for the queen.†¦show more content†¦Some people collected the sixteenth-century editions of Chaucers Works. He set the goal line for all other English authors, including, presentation, quality and success of actually printing. (Geoffrey Chaucer) When these versions of his poems were printed, that was the time where Geoffrey Chaucer truly became famous.(Geoffrey Chaucer) It was in Chaucers final phase, which he gained his popularity, The Canterbury Tales (written mostly after 1387). The Canterbury Tales was an unfinished poem. Being his most successful, it consists of 17000 lines. It was one of the most unsullied works in all literature. (Info Please) The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written in Middle-English. As a group of pilgrims travels to the shrine of Saint Thomas they decide to tell stories to each other on the way. In a huge list of poems and stories, the Canterbury Tales is Chaucers most important and visual, and a stacking achievement of western culture and Old English times. While writing the Canterbury tales he use the characters and their lifestyles to create irony and every day events. Describing what the old English church was really like. (Geoffrey Chaucer) The Canterbury Tales were written in Middle English, in the old days, the tone was equivalent to London type style. Although there was never an official copy of the Canterbury tales, Adam Pankhurst made sure that wasn’t true. Chaucers second period (up to c.1387) is called his Italian period because during this timeShow MoreRelatedThe Wife Of Bath, By Geoffrey Chaucer1091 Words   |  5 Pagesdominated society. â€Å"Millions are condemned to a stiller doom than mine, and millions are in silent revolt against their lot.† As Charlotte Brontà « and many other authors have found, it is seemingly unfair that these roles are the way they are. Geoffrey Chaucer also explores this reality with his creation of the Wife of Bath’s Tale. Although her thoughts may have been a bit different from Brontà «Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s, the character portrayed in this tale explores the duality of both challenging and upholding the patriarchyRead MoreThe Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer1582 Words   |  7 Pages Geoffrey Chaucer wrote the Canterbury tales a collection of short tales in the 14th century. The compilation of stories are told by different characters within the narrative as part of a game proposed by the host. Each individual must tell two stories on their journey and two stories on their way back. Each story tells some aspects of English life during the time and often added satire like qualities to the English life. In particular Chaucer often tells stories with elements of the relationshipRead MoreThe Wife Of Bath, By Geoffrey Chaucer880 Words   |  4 Pagessocial philosophies. These women are guided by desires, independence, and progress notions. These conflicting depictions of social and individual concepts, within female characters, illustrates feministic divergences within specific writings of Geoffrey Chaucer, the Pearl Poet, and Margery Kempe. In Chaucer’s frame story The Canterbury Tales, the account of â€Å"The Wife of Bath† demonstrates a mixture of feminine ideas. The prologue of to the tale shows a complexity of medieval female characteristicsRead MoreThe Canterbury Tales By Geoffrey Chaucer2127 Words   |  9 PagesIt is unknown when Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales, but it is assumed that he wrote it in 1387. There are many different aspects and themes throughout this paper that are very prominent. One theme that is very important is the importance of company. This entire tale is about twenty-nine pilgrims who all tell tales while on a pilgrimage to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket in Canterbury. The importance of company is that this is a pilgrimage that requires companions and friendship. ThoughRead MoreThe Canterbury Tales By Geoffrey Chaucer2664 Words   |  11 PagesThe Canterbury Tales The Canterbury Tales was written by Geoffrey Chaucer in 1392, during the medieval period in Europe. Three important aspects, his family’s ties to the court, his schooling and working for royalty (XI), and his love for reading and learning (XII) all combined and enabled him to create his greatest work, The Canterbury Tales. Chaucer includes many different characters, pilgrims, all from very unique walks of life. Although there are not as many women included as men, their storiesRead MoreThe Canterbury Tales By Geoffrey Chaucer2648 Words   |  11 PagesThe Canterbury Tales was written by Geoffrey Chaucer in 1392, during the medieval period in Europe. Three important aspects, his family’s ties to the court, his schooling and working for royalty (XI), and his love for reading and learning (XII) all combined and enabled him to create his greatest work, The Canterbury Tales. Chaucer includes many different characters, pilgrims, all from very unique walks of life. Although there are not as many women included as men, their stories give some extraordinaryRead MoreThe Canterbury Tales By Geoffrey Chaucer1073 Words   |  5 PagesIn The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer introduced and described a variety of fictional characters that lived in the Middle Ages. It was the time period that European civilians were governed by a system called feudalism. Where kings were the head of the system and everyone was categorized in social classes. In the prologue of The Canterbury Tales the first character introduced was the knight. Geoffrey Chaucer depicts the knight correctly by characterizing him as a chivalrous and honorable man,Read MoreGeoffrey Chaucer s Impact On Literature1231 Words   |  5 PagesGeoffrey Chaucer’s Impact on Literature: English poet Geoffrey Chaucer is acclaimed to be one of the best and most influential poets in history. Geoffrey Chaucer wrote several famous literary works in what is called middle English. Geoffrey Chaucer was born in 1340 in London, England. Over the course of Chaucer’s life, he entered and exited several different social classes. He began to write his most known pieces when he became a public servant to Countess Elizabeth of Ulster in 1357. He diedRead MoreCanterbury Tales By Geoffrey Chaucer1380 Words   |  6 PagesCanterbury Tales Canterbury Tales written by Geoffrey Chaucer was a story of not the people themselves but a social statement of how the people of higher standing were viewed by the middle class. In the time that Canterbury Tales was written it was a time of corruption of the Church. There were many clergy members that were mentioned in this story. Each of the characters was unique in the way they went against the standards they should be held to. The most interesting this story was definitely TheRead MoreThe Wife Of Bath, By Geoffrey Chaucer1251 Words   |  6 PagesBath, emphasizing â€Å"The Prologue of the Wife of Bath’s Tale† and the â€Å"The Prologue† in Geoffrey Chaucer s Canterbury Tales, is an example of the Middle English concept that male authors reflect misogynistic ideals of society onto female characters.With the Wife of Bath, she is a fictional character, as told by Chaucer, going on a Pilgrimage, with constant ridicule for her sexuality and multiple marriages. C haucer portrays her as a previously battered wife who uses her sexual promiscuity as a way of

Analysing The Present Macro And Micro Environment Of The Hotel Karma

Question: Discuss about the Analysing The Present Macro And Micro Environment Of The Hotel Karma. Answer: Introduction Karma is a medium sized hotel that has around 250 air-conditioned rooms, all fitted with private bathrooms. The hotel even contains a lobby lounge, a full-service restaurant and a pub bar with snack service. There is a separate enclosed garden and some of the outbuildings get used as office or storage. The hotel has its location at Bondi Beach in Sydney, which is in itself a world-class tourist attraction, attracting huge visitors each year. This report is composed with the aim of analysing the present macro and micro environment of the hotel. Porter's Five Forces Model, PEST, and Value Chain models would be used for this process. Vision, mission and CSR related strategic approaches would be developed, with final recommendations provided for the initial year. Macro and Micro Environment Analysis PEST The strategy team chose PEST model for macro environmental analysis. It has the capability of analyzing the external factors that have an impact on the organization. PEST is short for Political, Economic, Social, and Technological factors (Gupta, 2013). Political Australia is a democratic nation that has a capitalist system (Walker, 2012). The political forces of this country do not hamper with legitimate business activities. Economic The economic development in this country is fast. The commercial quotient of the Bondi Beach area is high. Social Australia as a country boasts of multiculturalism and is highly migrant. The Bondi Beach area experiences visits from a lot of international visitors. Technological Australia has invested a lot in RD and the country has become technologically advanced in their industries in a fast and advanced manner. Porters Five Forces The strategy team chose Porter's Five Forces model as their main tool for external analysis of the five factors that help analyse the fundamental competitive situation of any industry - Bargaining Power of Suppliers, Bargaining Power of Buyers, Threat of New Entrants, Substitutes and Rivalry (Dobbs, 2014). Bargaining Power of Suppliers Low - Sydney being a metropolis, it boasts of many suppliers. Therefore, majority of the suppliers and their products are substitutable. Bargaining Power of Buyers Medium Many of the international tourists have high demand for Bondi Beach and they have huge purchasing power. At the same time, they are extremely concerned regarding the hotels quality. Threat of New Entrants Low the barriers to entry are high as huge amounts of funding is required to be able to enter the hotel industry at Bondi Beach. Threat of Substitutes High as the products and services of the hotel can be imitated and replaced easily. Competitive Rivalry High as there is high level competition due to most of the hotels not being dominated. Majority of the products of the hotel are costly and similar. Porter's Value Chain The strategy team made use of Porters Value Chain model for determining the possible values of the resources and the competitive advantage, which directs to the view that each step is valuable for resource utilization, as that influences the ultimate creation of value and competitive advantage for the business (Michelini Fiorentino, 2012). For Karma hotel at Bondi Beach, the main products are the rooms and the dining facilities. The production and sales elements of the service asks for investment from each link. Therefore, in the analysis of the value chain for Karma, each step of the hotels operation would be influencing the end value and competitive advantage. Overarching Business Strategy Vision The vision for Karma hotel is having a long-term impact on the people who visit them, their potential customers and the local community they operate in. Karma is on the path of becoming the first choice of hotel for their patrons, employees and the communities they expand in after Bondi Beach. Within a year it would be difficult for Karma, a medium sized hotel, to acquire market segment monopoly. Mission The mission of Karma would be representing their specific business scopes for their purposes and operations that would also relate to proper allocation of resources and action decisions. Karmas main mission are: Making the guests happy at all times of their stay (Smith Ong, 2015) Guests would be always choosing Karma whenever they are visiting Bondi Beach Ethical Business Investment of CSR At the heart of Karmas operations and business is ethics, which would make them pay more attention to corporate social responsibility (CSR). CSR for Karma would imply them focusing in their stakeholder, market, finance, environment and community. Benevolent changes and investments made in CSR would help Karma acquire sustainable development (Chernev Blair, 2015). Strategic Direction The developed vision and mission, with the help of macro and micro-environmental analysis, would affect Karmas administration categories, including their exact operational measures. Karma lacks the capability of participating in the price war with its competitors, only have option of choosing blue ocean strategy, produced differences and carry out the development of niche market. The first decision would be of cooperating with organising with travel agencies and targeting the markets that are emerging currently, like India, China, and other South East Asian countries (Brotherton, 2012). Karma has a sustainable operational strategy. Therefore, its operations are completely subject to the needs of ethical business. As the decision is to be taken for the next year, the hotels CSR would be more worried about the community aspect and make use of citizenship strategy. The CSR strategy would be of building a CSR fund from every booking - a good way of serving the local community and benefitting the hotel (Hilson, 2012). Conclusion In conclusion, the environmental and resource analysis of Karma hotel was properly done with the help of PEST, Porters Five Forces and Value Chain models. The management has been able to develop an appropriate vision, mission and a completely ethical business operation approach, including CSR and its investments. Limitations are existing in the model and environmental monitoring, which is required to consider account internalities and externalities. More strategic research of the environment is required on this front, so that it is made sure that the teams strategic mission gets fulfilled in the first year of operation itself. References Brotherton, B. (Ed.). (2012).International Hospitality Industry. Routledge. Chernev, A., Blair, S. (2015). Doing well by doing good: The benevolent halo of corporate social responsibility.Journal of Consumer Research,41(6), 1412-1425. Dobbs, M. (2014). Guidelines for applying Porter's five forces framework: a set of industry analysis templates.Competitiveness Review,24(1), 32-45. Gupta, A. (2013). Environmental and pest analysis: An approach to external business environment.Merit Research Journal of Art, Social Science and Humanities,1(2), 13-17. Hilson, G. (2012). Corporate Social Responsibility in the extractive industries: Experiences from developing countries.Resources Policy,37(2), 131-137. Michelini, L., Fiorentino, D. (2012). New business models for creating shared value.Social Responsibility Journal,8(4), 561-577. Smith, R. A., Ong, J. L. T. (2015). Corporate social responsibility and the operationalization challenge for global tourism organizations.Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research,20(5), 487-499. Walker, D. (2012). Anxious nation: Australia and the rise of Asia 1850-1939.Anxious Nation: Australia and the rise of Asia 1850-1939, xv

Plastic Ocean Pollution on Ocean life in U.S

Introduction Plastics pollution is among the greatest threats to the oceans on earth. It has been found out that plastic make up about ninety percent of all litter that float on the surface of oceans, with about forty six thousand bits of plastic within every square mile (â€Å"Plastic Pollution† 1).Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Plastic Ocean Pollution on Ocean life in U.S specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The reason for having the large amount of plastic in our oceans is that, plastic does not undergo biodegradation, like other forms of trash; but it instead photo-degrades with light from the sun, disintegrating into more and more little pieces, â€Å"but they never really disappear† (â€Å"Plastic Pollution† 1). The pieces of plastic are consumed by the living organisms that are found in the ocean. They may also disintegrate in to plastic dust, which is microscopic. The plastics are as well swept by the ocean currents, and they land in spinning vortexes referred to as ocean gyres (â€Å"Plastic Pollution† 1). It is reported that the North Pacific Gyre located off the Californian Coast is â€Å"home to the Great Pacific Garbage patch† (â€Å"Plastic Pollution† 1). This is the biggest marine garbage site in the whole world. The floating plastic mass is two times as big as Texas and has pieces of plastic that outnumber ocean life by a ratio of 6:1 and it is not possible to completely clean up these sites (â€Å"Plastic Pollution† 1). Plastics pose a great danger to the life of all ocean living organisms; be they small or big ones. More than one hundred thousand sea mammals as well as one million birds in the sea die annually and their deaths result from eating plastic materials or getting entangled in these materials (â€Å"Plastic Pollution† 1). It is also important to point out that it takes about seven hundred years for th e plastics to completely degrade. This implies that even if an initiative was taken to put a halt to the use of plastics, these materials will still be there for a large number of generations, continuing to pose a threat to the human as well as marine life. However, in spite of these, there is possibility of taking particular actions to effectively deal with this problem. This paper is going to present a discussion on effects of plastic ocean pollution on marine life in the U.S. The paper is specifically going to look at how plastic ocean pollution comes about and how it affects the ocean life. The measures that are aimed at dealing with this problem are also going to be looked at. The paper will be considering some of the examples related to this problem from even other parts of the world. The conclusion section is going to present a summary of the main points in the discussion. Ocean Plastic Pollution and its Effects on Ocean Life The amount of the ocean debris is now constantly e scalating in all the oceans on earth. The research conducted by the Algalita Marine Research Foundation presented findings which indicated that from the year 1997 up to 2007, there was an increase in the amount of the plastic debris in the â€Å"Central Pacific Gyre† by five times, â€Å"where the baseline in 1997 showed plastic pieces outnumbered plankton on the ocean surface 6:1† (â€Å"The Problem of marine plastic pollution†1).Advertising Looking for research paper on environmental studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Elsewhere, off the coast of Japan, the amount of the floating plastic particles increased by ten times in a period of one decade, beginning from the 70s up to the 80s. This amount then started increasing ten times in every after about three years in the course of the 1990s (â€Å"The Problem of marine plastic pollution†1). It is also reported that the amount of debris increased 100 fold in the Southern Ocean at the beginning of the 1990s (Copello and Quintara 1514). This rise in the amount of the debris took place at a similar period during which the global plastic fiber production had increased by four times (â€Å"The Problem of marine plastic pollution†1). When the plastics enter into the ocean they injure and kill the sea animals including the fish, sea mammals and seabirds. Ocean plastic pollution has had a great impact on a minimum of two hundred and sixty seven species across the world and these include forty three percent of all of the sea mammal species, eighty six percent of the total number of species of the sea turtles and forty four percent of the total number of the species of seabirds (Laist 99). The common impact has been death which has been resulting from entanglement, ingestion and infection among others (Laist 99). It is also reported that, in the year 2010, â€Å"a California grey whale washed up dead on the shores of the Puge t Sound† (â€Å"The Problem of marine plastic pollution† p.1). Indications were given by autopsies that this animal’s stomach had several things which included, over twenty plastic bags, surgical gloves, golf ball and a pair of pants among other things (â€Å"The Problem of marine plastic pollution† 1). The seabirds that usually obtain their food from the surface of the ocean are particularly vulnerable to swallowing the floating plastic debris. The mature seabirds engage in feeding these plastic particles to their young ones and this adversely affects the survival and growth of these chicks (Hannah 1). Some research gave out findings which indicated that about ninety eight percent of the chicks that had been sampled during the research, had plastic in their body and the amount of the plastic that was being swallowed was ever increasing in the course of time (Auman 240). Since insistent organic pollutants within the ocean environment get attached on the pl astic debris’ surface, it has been established that the ocean floating plastics build up these pollutants and carry them through the sea currents (â€Å"The Problem of marine plastic pollution†1).Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Plastic Ocean Pollution on Ocean life in U.S specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The moving and floating debris do facilitate transportation of the invasive ocean species as well (David 808). On an increasing level, studies give an indication that the ocean organisms that take in plastics that are coated with poisonous materials can have these substances get absorbed into their body systems (David 808). The plastic debris is contributing towards having the human food chain getting polluted. For instance, in research conducted in the ‘Pacific Gyre† by researchers on a voyage in the year 2008, it was found that fish are taking in plastic particles. Out of th e six hundred and seventy two fish that were caught in the course of the voyage, about thirty five percent of them had swallowed plastic particles (The Problem of marine plastic pollution† 1). Following a study that was conducted in North Carolina coast in which one thousand and thirty three seabirds were collected, the findings indicated that â€Å"individuals from 55% of the species recorded had plastic particles in their guts† (Derraik 846). These researchers got evidence which showed that some of the birds from the sea chose specific colors as well as shapes of the plastics, possibly mistaking these materials for some prey items (Derraik 845). It has also been found that the sea birds that have ingested large amounts of plastics experience a decrease in the amount of food consumed and this limits their capacity â€Å"to lay down fat deposits, thus reducing fitness† (Derraik 845). Other negative effects that are brought by the ingestion of the plastic material s include reduced feeding stimulus, reproductive failure, blocking of the secretion of the gastric enzyme and delayed ovulation among other effects (Derraik 845). Moreover, among the small birds and fish, ingesting plastic debris can cause a reduction in the food uptake, and may bring about internal injuries and eventually death as result of damages made on the intestinal tract (Derraik 848). However, the level of harm will vary from one species to the other. Dealing With Plastic Ocean Pollution Efforts have been made to put in place international legislation aimed at promoting conservation of oceans. For instance, there was setting up of the â€Å"1972 Convention of the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping Wastes and other Matter†(Derraik 847). Perhaps the most significant legislation put in place to deal with the escalating problem regarding ocean pollution is the â€Å"1978 Protocol to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships† (De rraik 847). This legislation had recognition that the vessels present a major and manageable cause of pollution into the ocean environment (Derraik 847).Advertising Looking for research paper on environmental studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The â€Å"Annex V of MARPOL† is found to be the main worldwide authority that controls ocean debris ship sources. It became effective beginning from the year 1988. It â€Å"restricts at sea discharge of garbage and bans at sea disposal of plastics and synthetic materials such as ropes, fishing nets, and plastic garbage bags with limited exceptions† (Derraik 847). Of greater significance, Annex V is applicable to all of the watercraft, the small leisure vessels included. It is reported that over seventy nine nations across the world have engaged in ratifying the Annex V. The signatory nations are supposed to take appropriate initiatives to ensure that they undertake its complete implementation (Derraik 848). However, there is still widespread ignoring of legislation and estimates are made that, ships dispose of about six and a half million tones of the plastics each year (Derraik 848). For instance, taking the case in Australia, it was found out that about thirty percen t of the ships did not fulfil MARPOL regulations on discarding plastics. The legislation that is put in place at the national level can actually also be very helpful. The individual nations can turn out to be effectual through their own legislation (Derraik 848). This may involve laws that call for having degradability measures or which support recycling. In the United States of America, the 1987 â€Å"Plastics Pollution Research and Control Act† (Derraik 848) did not just take up Annex V, but broadened its use to the United States vessels as well. The ocean carriers are supposed to take up these regulations that forbid discarding the plastic materials at the ocean. However, the greatest hardship when considering legislation is to essentially undertake its enforcement in the world’s oceans, which is a very large area. Therefore, it is important that the nations that are neighbours work jointly so that they can make sure that there is compliance with Annex V by all the vessels (Derraik 848). The plastics sector in the United States of America, through the guidance provided by ACC (American Chemical Council), engages in spending large amounts of money every year in order to persuade the people who make policies as well as the people living in such places as California, that the solutions to the problem of plastic ocean pollution is found in the anti-litter crusades which attribute the liability â€Å"for marine debris on individual behavior† (The Problem of marine plastic pollution† 1). However, they have just committed small amounts of money to the public education but a large amount to supporting polices which promote higher levels of plastics utilization (The Problem of marine plastic pollution†1). As on one hand increasing public education with an aim of preventing littering is of great importance, on the other hand, suitable litter management fails to deal with the unsustainable utilization of the resources which are involve d in the production of â€Å"packaging and single use disposable goods† (â€Å"The Problem of marine plastic pollution† 1). Moreover, while the quantity of the disposable products as well as packaging goes on increasing, managing litter by offering public education and cleaning up of the streets as well as waterway calls for having substantial and constant financing. Ensuring there is prevention of the creation of disposable products, to the highest level possible, cuts down the expenditure on litter management. Prevention is found to be good for the environment as well as being cost-effective (The Problem of marine plastic pollution†, 1). It is also important to point out that education is a very strong tool that can be used in dealing with the problem of ocean pollution, especially when discussions about this problem is carried out in schools. The young people may not just engage in changing habits without any difficulties, but they would as well be in a positi on to transfer the awareness they have acquired to their family members as well as to the community at large. In this case, they will be serving as being agents of change. Because the sources of pollution that are land-based offer greater inputs of plastics into the seas, in case a community turns out to have awareness about the problem, this can indeed bring in a great difference. Education holds great power that can not be undermined in any way and it can play a more important role towards realizing positive results than applying stringent laws, like the one applied in New York, referred to as â€Å"Suffolk County Plastic Law† (Derraik 848). This law prohibited some â€Å"retail food packaging† but the law did not succeed in bringing down the level of the roadside as well as beach litter (Derraik 848). Financial incentives may also be required and it is pointed out that â€Å"no effort to conserve biological diversity is realistic outside the economics and public po licies that drive the modern world† (Derraik 848). There also exist some aspects that are more complex regarding plastic ocean pollution. Since it could be viewed as being â€Å"side-effects† of advancement, the nations that are going through economic development and growth will look for their growth share, exerting more â€Å"pressure on the environment† (Derraik 848). There is no likelihood that nations like those ones would engage in taking any measure to bring down the level of utilizing plastics as well as their disposal in the sea water, if such a move would negatively affect any short-term economic benefit they my acquire. This is true especially when it is considered that even the developed countries themselves do not care and are even still not able to show compliance with Annex V requirements (Derraik 848). One way of dealing with this problem effectively is by setting up and using the photodegradable as well as biodegradable plastics. For instance, the Navy of the United States of America engaged in working on a biopolymer that was very promising for â€Å"the fabrication of marine-disposable trash bags† (Derraik 848). However, it is unlucky that the impact of the ultimate degradation products of these materials is yet to be known; there is a risk of replacing one problem with another (Derraik 848). Therefore researches were being conducted, for instance, with an intention of monitoring polymer degradation in â€Å"natural waters under real-life conditions†¦and assess the impact of degradation products on estuarine benthos† (Derraik 848). Conclusion Plastic ocean pollution currently poses a great danger to marine life. Plastics are widely used across the world and they now easily find their way into the ocean or they are sometimes dumped directly by ships. Plastic form just about ninety percent of all litter which float on the oceans’ surface. Large amounts of plastics exist because these materials do no t undergo biodegradation, like other forms of wastes. At the present, the amount of the ocean debris is ever increasing in all the available oceans. When plastics find their way into the ocean, they bring in adverse effects to the marine life including fish, sea mammals and seabirds; through either injuring them or even killing them. In the case of the occurrence of death to these animals, this commonly results from entanglement, ingestion and infection. Since ocean pollution in general, and plastic ocean pollution specifically, is turning out to be a big problem on an increasing level, there is need to take appropriate measures to deal with it effectively. One of the measures that need to be taken is that, ocean carriers need to obey all the international as well as national laws which prohibit discarding the plastic materials at the ocean. The problem here is that, oceans touch a number of countries and one country can not be able to achieve its goal of avoiding plastic ocean poll ution alone. The neighboring nations need to come together and operate as a team, and especially in regard with complying with Annex V. Moreover, there is need to educate people about how important it is to avoid plastic ocean pollution in order to save the marine life. Educating the young people in school can actually be helpful. These young people can be used as agents of change when they are encouraged to go out and pass the message to the wider community. The power that education holds is far much greater than the strict laws that may be put in place and can help in dealing with this problem more effectively. Works Cited Auman, Heidi, et al. â€Å"Plastic ingestion by Laysan Albatross Chicks on Sand Island, Midway Atoll, in 1994 and 1995.† Albatross Biology and Conservation, 1.1 (1997): 239-244. Print. Copello, Sofia and Quintara Flavio. â€Å"Marine Debris Ingestion by Southern Giant Petrels and its Potential Relationships with Fisheries in the Southern Ocean.† Ma rine Debris Bulletin, 46 (2003): 1513-1515. Print. David Barnes, â€Å"Biodiversity: Invasions by Marine Life on Plastic Debris.† Nature, 6883.1 (2002): 808-809. Print. Derraik, Jose G. â€Å"The pollution of the marine environment by plastic debris: a review.† Marine Pollution Bulletin, 44.1 (2002): 842 – 852. Print. Hannah Nevins et al, â€Å"Seabirds as indicators of plastic pollution in the North Pacific,† presented at the Plastic Debris, Rivers to Sea Conference, Sept. 8, 2005, Redondo Beach, California. Plastic Debris Project Laist, David. â€Å"Impacts of marine debris: entanglement of marine life in marine debris including a comprehensive list of species with entanglement and ingestion records,† in Coe, J.M. Rogers, D.B. (eds), Marine Debris: Sources, Impacts, and Solutions: New York: Springer-Verlag, 1997. Pp. 99-139. Print. Plastic Pollution, 2013. Web. http://www.takepart.com/oceans/index.html. The Problem of marine plastic pollution, 20 13. Web. https://www.cleanwater.org/problem-marine-plastic-pollution. This research paper on Plastic Ocean Pollution on Ocean life in U.S was written and submitted by user Sharon Church to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. 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The 2nd Intermediate Period of Ancient Egypt

The 2nd Intermediate Period of Ancient Egypt The 2nd Intermediate Period of ancient Egypt- another period of de-centralization, like the first- began when the 13th Dynasty pharaohs lost power (after Sobekhotep IV) and Asiatics or Aamu, known as Hyksos, took over. Alternatively, it was when the government center moved to Thebes following Merneferra Ay (c. 1695-1685). The 2nd Intermediate Period ended when an Egyptian monarch from Thebes, Ahmose, having driven the Hyksos from Avaris into Palestine, reunified Egypt, and established the 18th Dynasty, the start of the period known as the New Kingdom of Ancient Egypt.  The 2nd Intermediate Period of Ancient Egypt occurred in c. 1786-1550 or 1650-1550. There were three centers in Egypt during the second intermediate period: Itjtawy, south of Memphis (abandoned after 1685)Avaris (Tell el-Daba), in the eastern Nile DeltaThebes, Upper Egypt. Avaris, the Capital of the Hyksos There is evidence of a community of Asiatics in Avaris from the 13th Dynasty. The oldest settlement there may have been built to defend the eastern border. Contrary to Egyptian custom, area tombs were not in cemeteries beyond the residential area and the houses followed Syrian patterns. Pottery and weapons were also different from the traditional Egyptian forms. The culture was mixed Egyptian and Syrio-Palestinian. At its largest, Avaris was about 4 square kilometers. Kings claimed to rule Upper and Lower Egypt but its southern border was at Cusae. Seth was the local god, while Amun was the local god at Thebes. Rulers Based at Avaris The names of the rulers of Dynasties 14 and 15 were based in Avaris. Nehesy was an important 14th-century Nubian or Egyptian who ruled from Avaris. Aauserra Apepi ruled c.1555 B.C. Scribal tradition flourished under him and the Rhind Mathematical Papyrus was copied. Two Theban kings led campaigns against him. Cusae and Kerma Cusae is about 40 km south of the Middle Kingdoms administrative center at Hermopolis. During the 2nd Intermediate Period, travelers from the south had to pay a tax to Avaris to travel the Nile north of Cusae. However, the king of Avaris was allied with the king of Kush and so Lower Egypt and Nubia maintained trade and contact via an alternate, oasis route. Kerma was the capital of Kush, which was at its most powerful in this period. They also traded with Thebes and some Kerma Nubians fought in Kamoses army. Thebes At least one of the 16th Dynastic  kings, Iykhernefert Neferhotep, and probably more, ruled from Thebes. Neferhotep commanded the army, but it is unknown whom he fought. Nine kings of the 17th Dynasty also ruled from Thebes. The War ofAvaris and Thebes Theban king Seqenenra (​also spelled Senakhtenra) Taa quarreled with Apepi and fighting ensued. War lasted more than 30 years beginning under Seqenenra and continuing with Kamose after Seqenenra was slain with a non-Egyptian weapon. Kamose- who was likely Ahmoses elder brother- took over the fight against Aauserra Pepi. He sacked Nefrusi, north of Cusae. His gains didnt last and Ahmose had to fight against Aauserra Pepis successor, Khamudi. Ahmose sacked Avaris, but we dont know whether he slaughtered the Hyksos or evicted them. He then led campaigns to Palestine and Nubia, restoring Egyptian control of Buhen. Sources The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. by Ian Shaw. OUP 2000. Stephen G. J. Quirke Second Intermediate Period The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt. Ed. Donald B. Redford. OUP 2001.

A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner

A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner Free Online Research Papers William Faulkner’s short story â€Å"A Rose for Emily† provides clues that the reader can choose to acknowledge or ignore, but nowhere in the story does Faulkner clearly explain why Emily Grierson murdered Homer Barron. Faulkner has discussed the story, and did reveal that it was about how inhumanity toward people can lead to murder. This suggests that the inhumanity that Emily suffered, both at the hands of her father and at those of society, which is rarely kind to women that never marry, may have led to psychological scars that eventually prompted her to murder Homer. Faulkner’s insight into the story is a generalized one, that does not explicitly provide a motive for the murder, only a sense of the pain that might have affected Emily profoundly enough to make her agreeable to the idea of murder. This paper will explore the reasons and motives that led Emily to murder Homer, illustrating the factors that played a part in her actions. One of the most compelling reasons that Emily murdered Homer is that she was from a time when men took care of women. This â€Å"care† included control, and sometimes even dictatorship, as in the case of her father, who sent all of Emily’s suitors packing. Women were taught to be dependent upon men, and Emily was dependent upon her father, but dependence breeds hostility because it becomes a type of bondage. Her father was particularly controlling, and none of his control belied any cognizance of Emily’s needs or what might make her happy. Thus, Emily was in a Catch-22 situation where she needed man but could not have them. Even the man she dated when she lived on her own left her. By murdering Homer, she turned the tables on that particular form of bondage and found a way to â€Å"keep† a man. Homer stayed with her- albeit dead; until she died. Another reason for the murder is that Emily was insane. When her father died, she refused to admit that he was dead for several days. Upon Homer’s death, she kept his body in the bed with his clothes nearby just as he had taken them off and probably slept next to him every night until her death. Menakhem Perry (64) states, â€Å"†¦here is, primarily, a woman who committed a pathological murder†¦perhaps even†¦necrophilia.† He also points out that Emily refused to recognize the death of Colonel Sartoris, contending that Emily’s â€Å"contact with reality [was] deficient† and that for her, â€Å"the borderline between reality and fantasy [was] blurred† (Perry 64). It is even possible that Emily was not consciously aware that Homer was dead, as she may have continued to see him as living; this could explain why she slept with him every night even though the flesh has long been gone from his bones, and he could not have looked like a l iving man. Another explanation for the murder is revenge, either against her father or against Homer. Out of the two men in her life, Emily’s father was the one that mistreated her the most. She felt that she needed her father, though, so she could not murder him. Murdering Homer was a way of stopping Homer from becoming to her what her father was and of taking revenge indirectly on her father. On the other hand, it is clear that Homer would have left her had he not been murdered, so Emily may have murdered him in anger that he too was deserting her. Robert Crosman (208) points out that Emily is actually in control in the story. When she goes to the pharmacist to get the arsenic, for example, the druggist tries to find out what she wants it for, but she does not answer yet, he gives it to her anyway (Crosman 208). Likewise, when the aldermen write and call to collect her taxes, she refuses to acknowledge that she owes them and at the end they are never paid. From this perspective, Emily’s reason for killing Homer might have been merely to control a situation that had he lived would have been under his control. Helen Nebeker (8) compares Emily to the â€Å"indomitable but dying Old South in all its decadence, pride, [and] refusal to admit the changing order.† She symbolizes the South’s ability to stand firm while the winds of change circulate all around her, and although she evokes pity, she remains standing in triumph until the very end, when her own death hands a victory to the New South waiting in the wings (Nebeker 9). Nebeker (11) states that â€Å"Emily’s South, though dead and buried and forgiven, has left its horror imprinted forever on the structure and in the persons of the present.† As a symbol of the Old South, Emily’s murder of Homer represents the South’s resistance to change, even though that resistance means clinging to something that is already old, dead, and stinking. From this perspective, Emily’s motivation for murdering Homer is to keep the status quo alive. Cleanth Brooks (13) argues that â€Å"there is an element of the heroic† about Emily’s murder of Homer, as well, even though the crime is also â€Å"monstrous.† Brooks notes that Emily never â€Å"strive[s] to keep up with the Joneses† but remains the one that everyone else keeps up with (Brooks 13). Certainly, as she maintains control, it is also clear that Emily does not grovel to anyone. She does what she pleases and refuses to do what she does not want to do, in a splendid reversal of the bondage she grew up in under her father. Finally, Emily believes that love can and will end if not frozen in time by death, a gruesome but understandable idea considering that she had never yet experienced a love that did not end. However, a love that is frozen in death is not the love that most women want; they want companionship, tenderness, and a listening ear- not the mere presence of a body that can afford none of these things. Why precisely did Emily kill Homer? Faulkner leaves it to the reader to decide, but elements of all of these reasons and motivations would likely have played a part in her actions had Emily been a real woman instead of a character. Real people are complex, and there is often not a sole clear-cut reason for their actions but rather a dynamic push and pull among many reasons that causes each of them to have an influence on the final decision. In the last analysis, whatever reasons Emily had for killing Homer, no one can argue that she did it quite deliberately and with planning, so she made a choice that could never be reversed and then lived with that choice for the rest of her life. Brooks, Cleanth. William Faulkner: First Encounters. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1985. Web. 20 Feb, 2010 Crosman, Robert. â€Å"How Readers Make Meaning.† College Literature, 9.3, The Newest Criticisms (Fall 1982), 207-215. JSTOR. Web. 26 Feb, 2010 Nebeker, Helen. â€Å"Emily’s Rose of Love: Thematic Implications of Point of View in Faulkner’s ‘A Rose for Emily.’† The Bulletin of the Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association, 24.1, (Mar 1970), 3-13. JSTOR. Web. 26 Feb, 2010. Perry, Menakhem. â€Å"Literary Dynamics: How the Order of a Text Creates its Meanings [With an Analysis of Faulkner’s â€Å"A Rose for Emily†]. Poetics Today, 1.1/2, Special Issue: Literature, Interpretation, Communication, (Autumn 1979), 35-361. JSTOR. 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Delegation in Nursing Care Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Delegation in Nursing Care - Assignment Example As the discussion outlines, based on the scenario presented in the case, it would be prudent for Rose to begin by attending to the most pressing issues. The most pressing issue, according to the case, that Rose should attend to first is Mr. R. in Room 228 whose pain medication is already late. This is because Mr. R. is feeling a lot of pain and his health might deteriorate if not attended to immediately. Therefore, it would be very critical for Rose to leave everything she intended to do to ensure that Mr. R. receives the necessary attention to save him from his immense pain.  If the reporter were the charge nurse, the following is how I would have done the patient assignment at the beginning of the shift: Firstly, the reporter would have ensured that all the patients in need of urgent care are attended to first. For instance, it emerged that Mr. R is complaining that his pain medication is late. Therefore, to avoid such situations, I would have ensured that all patients in dire ne ed of care are attended to first. This will be followed by ensuring that all the delegable tasks are assigned to different nurse assistants to ensure that all patients are attended to on time. Delegation would ensure that I only handle tasks, which are not delegable, such as those involving patient assessment, evaluation and judgment. From the list provided, there are a number of tasks which Rose cannot delegate. Firstly, Rose cannot delegate activity. This is because activity involves an assessment of the patient. Assessment activities must be done by a registered professional nurse, thus cannot be delegated. Secondly, Rose cannot delegate activity two since the activity involves the admission of medications, which must be administered by a registered professional nurse.  

Environmental Concerns Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Environmental Concerns - Research Paper Example The main consequences of global warming will be natural disasters like floods, famines, reduction in agricultural output, glacier melting, emergence of new diseases, extinction of species etc (Sinn, 2007). The consequences of the global warming are universally recognized and hence serious efforts are made by all nations to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases especially CO2.The main participants in these efforts are governments and people. In this essay, the public policy actions regarding global warming, the participants in the policy actions, the evaluation of policy, political concerns etc are critically analyzed. The excessive emission of greenhouse gases due to manmade activities can result in accumulation of heat in the earth’s atmosphere leading to a rise in global temperature. This phenomenon is called global warming (Cline, 1992). Among the greenhouse gases, all except methane are originated from manmade activities like fossil burning or electricity generation. Thus power plants are one of the main contributors of this phenomenon. The other main contributors of greenhouse gas emissions include deforestation, burning of gasoline in the engine of vehicles, use of fertilizers in agriculture, burning of organic matter, buildings that require lot of fuels etc. Due to the serious repercussions of the global warming problem concerning both developed and developing nations, it is widely recognized that an internationally integrated approach is needed to tackle this issue. The Kyoto Protocol based on the treaty on climate change in the United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro,1992, c alled on both the developed and developing nations to formulate local initiatives to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases in all nations irrespective of the costs involved in these efforts(Hass et al, 1992). Both the governments and people can be the participants in the national and regional programmes in this regard. The historic treaty produced by the United

Ethical Considerations Essay Example for Free

Ethical Considerations Essay The conduct of the members of any profession must be of very high standards in professional terms. The Australian Computer Society (ACS) requires very high standards in its Code of Conduct for members so as to be able to earn the credibility as well as the prestige IT professionals deserve. The ACS Code of Conduct does not include many detailed rules as it only focuses on the most essential matters and as such it requires a much broader interpretation. It is mandatory for all members of ACS to comply with the Code of Conduct. The code bears relevance in law in terms of legislation. Awareness of the Code’s requirements by IT professionals is crucial as non-adherence by a member in their field may lead to claims of professional negligence by clients. The regulatory regime of the Internet Censorship Body of Australia gives powers to its subsidiary, the Australian Communications and Media Authority to enforce restriction of Internet Content that is hosted within the country as well as maintaining a black-list of foreign websites by using filtering software. Foreign websites which have or are likely to be refused classification in Australia are target for mandatory filtering in Internet Censorship proposal by the Australian Labor Party-led government since 2008. The import of this proposal is that providers of internet services would be forced to ensure that they block black-listed websites from reaching its customers. Two years later, the policy still awaits enactment as a result of the inexistence of legislation to this effect (Moses 2010). As expected, the proposal for the introduction of mandatory filtering has been met with considerable opposition. Some amount of tension has been generated in Australia. Its opponents have raised various concerns but a few people who are in strong support of the policy welcomed it. In Australia, Internet content is bound by federal as well as state laws on the censorship of internet content. The ACS has an internet filtering body coupled with a taskforce for E-security. The task force provides advice on technical issues and policies concerning internet content and the material that is unsuitable for the viewing by the general society. This provides the basis for the legislation on internet content in Australia. The decision by the Australian government through information minister Senator Stephen Conroy to filter the pages viewed by internet users is consistent with the requirements of the Australian Computer Society (ACS) Code of Conduct and Ethics. The ethical code, in section 4. 1, starts by clearly stating its efforts aimed at advancing the dignity, honor a swell as the effectiveness Information Technology as a profession. It states that in observance of its ethical conduct and high competence standards, every member is supposed to be honest in addition to being forthright and impartial. Members are supposed to be loyal in their service to the community (ACS Code of Ethics 1998). It further states that every member has to put all efforts aimed at increasing the profession’s competence as well its prestige. Every member is required to use the special skill and knowledge they possess towards advancing human welfare. The code of conduct is binding in its requirements. Section NR 4. 3 and section N4. 4 categorically states that the code binds all members with regard to their professional conduct. The implication of this requirement is that once the legislation for the filtering scheme is enacted, all members will have no option other than to oblige. It will automatically take effect because it is backed by both the federal and the state government. This is good news to many parents and school teachers who have always battled delinquent behavior in learners without success. Foreign and unacceptable behaviors on some web pages have been accessed and acquired by minors who are otherwise not supposed to view them and as a result the parents and teachers have been unable to control them (Computerworld Australia 2008). Learning is seriously compromised by the content of these offending websites and filtering them is the only effective solution to ensure that it does not reach the school children. The are some specific internet contents which the government has already outlawed and indeed does filtering. These are the contents that have to do with political parties, euthanasia, video games and racism. On the ethical side of consideration on the government’s decision to filter the content that the public should be allowed to view, this is actually a move in the right direction because left uncontrolled, the public can view anything, just about everything. This automatically leads to moral rot. The advent of the internet has led to a sudden decline in morals in many societies globally and the Australian government is justified in suggesting an ambitious plan to ensure that internet content that is hosted within the country is restricted. It is upon the realization of the dangers posed by overseas websites, more than anything else, that the proposals read out by the information minister were made. It will be of no benefit for the Australian Communications and Media Authority to enforce a restriction on internet content that is hosted from within the country and leave content from outside unchecked as people can always view the pages that thrill them from the foreign websites (The Sydney Morning Herald 2009. It is not surprising that the proposal for mandatory filtering of all internet content whether local or from overseas has been met with mixed reactions (ABC News 2007). The proponents of the filtering of internet content are genuinely concerned that the benefits that these internet pages have are by far outweighed by the harm they bring upon the community, not only in Australia, but in all other countries in the world. The minister was justified in bringing the filtering proposals in his genuine concern to rid the society of the moral rot that, courtesy of unrestricted internet access, has been spreading like the country’s infamous bush fires. The opponents of the proposed legislation on mandatory filtering of both locally hosted and overseas internet pages are on their part justified to object to these requirements in such loud voices as they have. Their objection to this legislation is by a very big percentage motivated by their selfish interest to continue being in the market for all the wrong reasons. Any person or a group of people in business are motivated by the sole interest of making as much profit as they can and as such what they give to their viewers does not matter as much as the profit they stand to get out of it. It gets even worse because they are prepared to go out of their way to give their viewers anything that they view most, bad as it may be (The Digital Liberty Coalition 2008). The ACS code of conduct and ethics in 4. 3 stipulates the values and ideals expected of the members. Members are expected to be professionally responsible and display integrity in their actions. They are supposed to deal with clients and the community, students and employees in a responsible way and with integrity. This requirement is good in terms of ethics and it can minimize the number of obscene and violent web content if adhered to by all internet providers. The general society needs to be protected from some pages whose influence is negative to the society. Section 4. 3. 4 further binds the members of ACS by ensuring social responsibility in their work to the society. It states that all members should make it their duty to ensure that they uplift and improve their clients’ quality of life. This is a big calling but it must be adherered to in order to preserve and improve the lives of all the people they work for. It is unethical for any IT specialist to upload a morally corrupting page on the internet to be viewed by others who would otherwise do a lot better without it. The proposal by the information minister borrows mainly from the ACS code of conduct as it spells out clearly all the rules that IT professionals should follow so that they can preserve the prestige and dignity the profession is supposed to have. This is in section 4. 3. 5 under Information Technology Profession in which every member is expected to promote the integrity of their profession. The members must do their work in respect of the profession and for one another. Section 4. 5. 1 of the ethics code makes it mandatory for all members to preserve continuity in the services of information technology as well as to put information flow in their care. This clearly means that all members are bound by the requirement to strive to ensure that the consumers of their services get only what they are supposed to get. They must give only the useful information to the general public which constitutes their client base. Material that has been refused classification by the regulatory authority should not be uploaded because of the dangers it portents (Electronic Frontiers Australia 2008). The IT profession is a beneficiary of such a move as proposed by the information minister as it would regain its name as a respectable profession and people would have more respect for IT professionals which has of late been declining due to the actions of some unscrupulous IT specialists who have made it their habit to posting pages whose content can not do any good to the society (ABC News 2007). The general society as a whole will be the overall winners from this legislation to the detriment of those who have made it their business by sending to the innocent viewers corruptible web content. The hands of the IT professionals who may harbor ill motives are tied by clause number 4. 6. 5 which clearly states that all members of ACS must bear the responsibility of their work. If any of them posts a page that is in the opinion of the ACS disciplinary board; immoral or unsuitable for viewing by the general public, then their conduct shall be found to be unethical and the appropriate disciplinary action will be carried out on them.

Reasons for Returning to College Essay -- Personal Narrative, Admissi

Returning back to school was a very natural decision for me. It seemed to be the next logical step in my personal and career goals. My ultimate goal is to be happy and healthy and be a good provider and role model. With that set aside for now, my next goal is to be financially stable and able to provide for my family in ways that my family was not able to provide for me. I definitely expect to work for what I want and earn every bit of it. The most recent motivator was that my company was willing to contribute a huge chunk of the yearly tuition, therefore removing some financial burden. This makes me feel like they truly care about my future and they really want to see me succeed. I have several personal reasons for returning to school. I take my personal goals very seriously. Some might say that I am my own worst critic and I am very hard on myself. I simply feel that I can and will do better and I do not settle for anything but the best out of myself. Ultimately, I have to live with myself and the decisions I make on a daily basis for the rest of my life. I must fulfill my own personal goals otherwise I am not giving myself to others completely. I have very clear and specific personal goals. To begin, I want to be financially stable. By having my degree, I want to be able to get a better job through a promotion thus making more money. I want to be able to help my child pay for college so he doesn?t have to struggle as hard as I did to put myself through school. Plus, m...

Ikea Case Analysis

Case Study Analysis – IKEA IKEA possesses numerous strengths that will help the company gain high value proposition around the globe in general and in the United States in particular. IKEA has been well known for its distinctive self-service store, unassembled furniture with flat packages, and featured amenities as playrooms for children and Swedish cafes. Its success in the United States has visibly shown through the double revenues from 1997 to 2001 ($600 million to $1. 7 billion) (IKEA Invades America case study). By 2002, the United States was IKEA’s third-largest market, after Germany and United Kingdom, (exhibit 3 – IKEA Invades America case study) with 14 stores established, second largest number of stores worldwide (exhibit 4 – IKEA Invades America case study). IKEA displays itself as a unique IKEA â€Å"culture†, in which the minute the customers set their feet in the store, they emerge in the whole new world of furniture shopping with the latest, trendiest interior designs.Everybody could be a interior designer of their own homes for the time they are there, being able to choose from a wide selection of items available for each decorative setting, mix & match themes and color, etc. The store layout is designed in a predetermined path that leads shoppers toward different layouts of the model rooms. IKEA uses price tags with detailed information concerning the product, how to pick them up later at the storage (aisle #, bin #), and color-coordinated cards for design tips throughout the store for customers’ convenience.If customers need to carry on the shopping without their children, they could drop their kids at the childcare facility on the way into the store featuring large climbing structures. If they are hungry, they could stop by the IKEA restaurant with delicious items like smoke salmon or Swedish meatballs. In short, IKEA designs their store to meet every customer’s personal needs. IKEA’s Vi sion Statement about building a â€Å"partnership† with its customers reaches many different needs and dreams within satiable budgets.On a two-way partnership, IKEA gains its uniqueness by having designers create furniture that satisfies the aesthetic, cost, and quality criteria on one hand, and searching globally for suppliers with the most suitable raw materials to maintain the lowest price possible for their customers on the other hand. IKEA’s customers, therefore, are given more choices in their selection of furniture that best suits their interest and vision of how they want to furnish their homes/offices.The innovative flat packaging is one of the key determinant factors of how IKEA attains their low- cost goals for customers, for storage space and cost of inventory are significantly reduced. IKEA also creates a unique experience for their customers in such that instead of having a piece of furniture readily available for use, customers can now gain a more person al touch by putting in some labor to build up their piece of furniture into a complete product.IKEA’s slogan â€Å"Low price with meaning† in the Vision Statement emphasizes the company’s commitment to offer cleverly designed products in low cost and decent quality in order to help â€Å"people improve their homes and create better everyday lives†. Although flat packaging and the experience of self-built furniture are perceived as the distinctive components of IKEA, it will be helpful to expand the services to a wider range of customers who love the products yet refuse to go through the hassle of setting them up.One suggestion is to have an active delivery and assembling team that can deliver the finished product to customers who are willing to pay the extra costs. At IKEA, a product-strategy council consisted of senior managers go through the process of establishing priorities based on consumer trends and creating the matrix to set the product’s t arget retail prices. The matrix includes three basic price ranges and four basic styles, according to Figure B in the case study.Although the matrix is very successful at helping the product managers identify market opportunities and gaps in the company’s product lineup, the matrix is limited in terms of few product styles and price ranges. Hence, the choices in the store would only appeal to a limited group of customers who share the same tastes for interior designs as IKEA’s designers. Yet, I do not think the company should change its product lineup because by doing so, the company would increase its inventory and engineering cost tremendously that would consequently lead to higher products’ prices.The President of the IKEA Group recognizes that the â€Å"Scandinavian design and style is a niche and it is not to everyone’s taste†. Therefore, although the company may seek to appeal to a broader market, it does not want to be just another supplier of traditional furniture. I support this point of view and do believe that IKEA should continue to keep applying its matrix approach in its product lineup. One of the other challenges IKEA is facing in the American market is the guarantee of supplying lifetime quality products.The American consumers who specifically emphasize their demand on the longevity of the furniture would lean toward the specialty retailers that guarantee the lifetime of their purchases instead of IKEA’s â€Å"commitment-free approach to furniture†. As a result, in order to gain more market share within the American population, the company ought to modify the matrix. IKEA can do so by modifying its pricing bracket to include more high quality products, which allow a specific targeted group of customers more freedom in the process of choosing the most satisfying piece of furniture that meets all of their needs.With the high volume of purchasing products from Europe and Asia, specifically China and Poland (exhibit 5 and 6 – IKEA Invades America case study), the company can certainly increase the quality of their high-end products without much increases in the already low global purchasing prices. Giving the high marketability of furniture retailing ($67 billion in sales in 2002 – Case study IKEA Invades America) and the wide spread in low-end and high-end retailers in the United States, IKEA has very good market opportunities in increasing its growth rate.IKEA provides customers a one-of-a-kind furniture shopping experience that neither the low-end or high-end retailers can provide. Plus, IKEA supplies customers with more attractive products compared to low-end retailers and more options for price-sensitive customers compared to high-end retailers. In addition, with the current economic situation, people will steer away from expensive specialty stores and turn to the economical market.With the company’s low cost product strategy, based largely on the glob al suppliers and internal competitive engineering designs, IKEA could certainly target its marketing toward price-sensitive consumers in the recession to make the company more attractive. One suggestion would be have more IKEA location in college town and statistically ranked pool cities in the nation because low-income population would definitely find IKEA products more appealing than other unattractive low-end retailers. SWOT AnalysisStrengthsOnly organization of their kindScandinavian heritageLow cost with clever designStore layout and catalogues Shopping cultureConvenient for transportationClear instruction and easy-to-assemble| WeaknessesShort lifespanLimited product stylesLimited location for a no-delivery service| OpportunitiesMarketability of furniture retailingPrice-sensitive consumers in recessionWide dichotomy of current retailers| ThreatsDependant on global suppliersEmergence of low end retailersHigh quality specialty retailers| IKEA Case Analysis IKEA has a distinct market segment in the home furnishing arena. It has created a niche market with innovative designs, quality, and low price structure. IKEA has employed the cost leadership and product differentiation strategies through low price structure and innovative designs, respectively. Additionally, the uniqueness of the disposable furniture concept allowed IKEA to capitalize on the first mover advantage (Harrison & Enz, 2005). Behavioral Customer Segmentation for IKEA The behavioral consumer segmentation data provided by Bartlett and Nanda (1996) indicates the demographic profile of IKEA customers and buyer behavior.IKEA’s strategy post World War II, was to target young couples and new families in the low to middle income range by providing inexpensive furniture with durable construction and contemporary lines. The demographic profile presented by Bartlett and Nanda (1996) suggests that the archetypal IKEA buyer is young; middle-class; married; either has no childre n or one child; and lives in a rental. This new target market’s primary determinants to purchase were based predominantly on price (44%); followed by large assortment (16%); and design (14%). Quality; design; and price were the three most important criteria for store choice.Similarly, price; distance; and design were the significant factors leading to consumer attitude toward IKEA. This target market based their decision purchases on information gathered from the IKEA catalog; visits to other stores; and prior visits to IKEA. Contrary to the traditional IKEA consumers’ determinants to purchase and buyer behavior, sustainability is now playing a larger role in consumer spending habits (Datamonitor, 2010). In a recent Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) analysis IKEA was ranked ninth overall for customer satisfaction, which is largely due to IKEA’s commitment to sustainable initiatives.Of IKEA’s products, 71% are recyclable, made from recycled products, or bo th. IKEA also recycles 84% of the waste the stores generate (Datamonitor, 2010). Comparison of Traditional and U. S. Customers Before entering the U. S. market in 1985, IKEA did not conduct thorough market research on U. S. consumers or U. S. buyer behavior. IKEA assumed that U. S. customers would embrace its way of doing business and the products offered. That was not the case, as IKEA’s furniture; metric measurements; and kitchenwares did not meet U. S. customer’s expectations.The furniture was uncomfortable, as it was designed for the European preference of being hard and rigid. The unit of measure was in centimeters, whereas the U. S. has never adopted the metric system. The U. S. serving sizes are generally larger than the European portions, making the kitchenwares too small for U. S. servings. Likewise, the cabinetry was too small for U. S. appliances. The traditional IKEA customer subscribed to the value proposition that furniture was a soft good versus a hard g ood. This value proposition was in contradiction with the mindset of the U. S. onsumer, making it necessary for IKEA to rethink its marketing strategy. IKEA launched an advertising campaign targeting U. S. customers at the same time it entered the U. S. market. Its tagline for U. S. consumers was, â€Å"†¦to take a more commitment-free approach to furniture† (Moon, 1996, p. 8). IKEA’s intention was to convey to the U. S. population that it was not necessary to hang on to furniture for decades. The simplicity and low price point IKEA offers affords consumers the opportunity to replace furniture and opt for a new look at a significantly lower price point than at conventional furniture, appliance, or kitchenware stores.IKEA was essentially making fun of U. S. consumers and the desire to keep furniture for decades. Traditional consumers understood that the value proposition offered by IKEA meant no in-store sales assistance; limited variety; unassembled furniture; and no delivery. This did not meet any of the expectations of the U. S. consumer. Hence, the revenues at IKEA in the U. S. were flat, taking almost ten years before increasing. IKEA has since focused on organic slow growth and low risk in the U. S. as it was a new market (Module 2, Lecture 1, n. d. ). This allowed IKEA time to do more market research on U. S. ustomers and expand manufacturing facilities. IKEA has done a great job in leading customers to pull its products into U. S. homes (Module 2, Lecture 2, n. d. ). IKEA has learned to meet U. S. customer needs by studying consumer preferences and behaviors based on interactions (Module 2, Lecture 1, n. d. ). This information provided demographic and consumer behavior data by store location and region of the United States, allowing IKEA to meet or exceed the loyal customer expectations. Given that, IKEA has built a U. S. cult following and state of mind that is centered on low prices, zany promotions, and contemporary designs (Capell , 2005).U. S. Strategic Growth Opportunities for IKEA IKEA was making a huge push into four major geographic markets in the late 1980’s. They were Eastern Europe, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Any one of these large geographic locations would need exponential resources and one would have to wonder if IKEA was opening itself up to incredible risk. This hard line expansion poses a major strategic challenge. The major strategic concern was the changing target market segment. IKEA rode the post war baby boom wave to become successful.The target market segment of low-income married couples had shrunk and the original IKEA customers, the baby boomers, have become older and more comfortable. IKEA is continuously striving to differentiate its price, products, and services to keep them in line with a first mover competitive advantage and ahead of the market trends to the point that they may be setting the standards for furniture and related product expectations (Ha rrison & Enz, 2005). However, the United States’ target market segment proved to be more difficult; as the U. S. consumers were used to having furniture delivered, and preassembled.Additionally, the U. S. consumers and IKEA’s other target markets all preferred traditional rather than modern furniture, with the exception of consumers in Denmark and Holland who buy modern design furniture. At IKEA, the furniture product mix is comprised of 70% modern with the remainder being traditional (Lee, 2005). For IKEA to be successful in the U. S. market it would need to tweak its product lines and strategic plans in an effort to achieve growth. In order for IKEA to achieve strategic growth in the U. S. it will need to get the buy-in of senior management to change its product line-up.The lack of senior management buy-in has been proven in many studies to be a leading factor in not attaining growth (McGrath & MacMillan, 2009). IKEA will need to hire a consultant to perform a SWOT a nalysis to determine the internal strengths and weaknesses as well as the external opportunities and threats. In addition, utilizing a TOWS matrix derived from the SWOT analysis would prove beneficial (David, 2009). The TOWS Matrix is designed to assist managers with matching the attributes of IKEA with the various opportunities and threats that exist in the environment.It also allows for the development of corporate strategies than can be implemented, thus maximizing marketplace positioning. The four types of strategies that can be formed based on the TOWS Matrix are: SO, which use the firms internal strengths to maximize opportunities; WO, which looks at improving weaknesses by taking advantage of external opportunities; ST, utilizes the company’s strengths to avoid threats; and WT, which are strategies designed to assist in the development of defense tactics to help reduce internal weaknesses and avoid external threats (David, 2009).The crucial information obtained from th e SWOT and TOWS Matrix will prove to be invaluable to IKEA if it wishes to grow in the United States as well as globally. The snap shot of information will help tell IKEA what it must become to U. S. and global consumers in order to grow strategically. Failure to capture and understand this information could keep IKEA from growing in a large geographic market.

Virtual Work

1. Introduction Recent years have witnessed an incredible development of information technology and the structure of traditional work environment is changing. The emergency of virtual work has been reflected in some companies’ new work policy. For example, Jetblue Airlines has changed its working conditions and established a virtual call centre where employees can work from home without a central office. Despite the technology advancement that enables virtual working, the amount of people adopting this new working pattern is still very low.This report will explore the nature of virtual work and analyse the barriers of adopting this work policy, as well as give suggestions on how to overcome these barriers. 2. Nature of virtual work Virtual organisation, by definition, is a principle of management that has been used in a variety of applications, including virtual memory, virtual reality, virtual classrooms, virtual teams, and virtual offices (Mowshowitz, 2002). Unlike tradition al organizations, the virtual organization itself has no need for physical representation.Its output, however, might influence the physical world directly, such as the direct buying or selling of stocks, or indirectly, such as providing decision support for a human agent in a traditional organization. Virtual offices, also known as virtual working, allow employees to operate in dynamically changing work environment. Virtual working as part of the virtual organization can be defined as the use of communications networks rather than buildings and physical assets, meaning that the physical location of work is now less important (Pang, 2001). As the result, departments and teams no longer have to work in close contact with each other.The common denominator for all virtual workers is that they communicate and perform work duties almost entirely through electronic technology, such as instant messaging, blogs and social networking. Employees in this situation, need a certain level of self- control ability, andvery often need to structure the environment and systems they use to perform a variety of tasks, for example, getting familiar with different types of communication software. 3. Advantages of virtual work 3. 1 For companies 3. 1. 1 Less cost Virtual work enables a company to reduce costs in renting, travelling and labor salary.Telecommuting allows people to work from home or anywhere they want instead of staying in an office and thus helps an organisation to reduce expenditure in renting the building (Tomic, nd). Also, no office means that the company does not have to hire cleaners or other labors and pay their salary. Additionally, companies can reduce the travel expenses as geographical distance in virtual organization is no longer an obstacle to hold meetings and conferences. Virtual workers can communicate through the internet instead of going to other places to observe and study. 3. . 2 Increased effectiveness Companies that implement virtual work policy can increase effectiveness because employees can save the time of commuting to work. Better communication, fewer distractions, better concentration and less traveling time contribute to the increased 15-50% productivity in a virtual organization (Tomic, nd). Employees can also improve work quality due to more strategic use of work time and less disruption. 3. 2 For employees 3. 2. 1 Less stress Virtual working not only eases their traffic problems, but also relieves employees office pressure.Most employees worry about their privacy and do not feel comfortable in office. By working from home or other places employees no longer have to deal with office politics and office gossip (Anderson, 2012). Also, virtual workers do not have to rush bus and metro during the peak hours. By working from home, employees can have more time dealing with work in a relaxing environment, which is beneficial for their mental health. 3. 2. 2 Improved work-life balance Working from home gives employees the opp ortunity to balance their work and life. Telecommuters have more flexible work hours and are able to manage their own time.They do not have work in an office from 9am to 5pm every day and they can do anything they want as long as the work can be finished as planned. For example, they can go shopping and are able to respond to phone calls from their family (Anderson, 2012). Also, when the work is done, remote workers can clean the house, communicate with family members, and take care of their children which are beneficial for improving family life. Furthermore, if employees want to better equip their knowledge, they have the ability to go to school without affecting normal work. 3. For society Adopting telecommuting brings benefits to the society. Working from home eases the traffic pressure. Remote workers do not need to commute to work, therefore, there is less air pollution and fewer traffic problems. Also, virtual working creates more business opportunities for people in suburbs and rural areas because it is not restricted by region. 4. Why virtual working is still not universal Innovative workplace strategies that efficiently leverage human capital are becoming increasingly valuable in today’s economic environment (Thompson and Caputo, 2009).Some organizations have long employed virtual work arrangements as a tool to recruit and retain key employees. Despite the technological capabilities that enable lower operating expense and offer employees greater work flexibility, organizations that adopt the virtual work policy and the amount of workers working virtually is still very low. The problem can be analysed from two aspects: companies and employees. 4. 1 For companies As company’s major goal is to maximize profit in each activity, virtual working enables lower operating expense.Adopting the virtual working approach for organization seems the most tendency option. However, basic on company’s strategy and structure, in some case, virtual working would more like to be the obstacle for it’s development. The communication issues are not always technical in nature, but related to human factors. Members in a virtual team would face the misunderstood messages, thereby resulting in inefficiencies (Pang, 2001). More importantly, as there might be different security data protection in employees network, the risk of leakage of information will be increased.Organizational restructuring resulting in an increase in virtual workers and decrease in on-site employees can yield cost savings (Pang, 2001). However, having a human capital management strategy for newly transitioned virtual workers would cost an amount of money for training. Controlling and monitoring off-site employees become essential. For organization restructure, large amount of money would be invested for supporting the restructuring. That would be the difficult for company to adopt the virtual working. 4. 2 For employeesDespite the conveniences of telecommut ing, the potential downsides of the virtual workplace often go overlooked (Heidrick, 2011). Employees who work outside the office, feels isolated from coworker. In some cases, these employees start to feel disconnected from company culture and come to believe they are less respected in their organizations than their colleagues who work together in person. An organization’s ability to flexible depends on employees’ commitment to the organization, their motivation to stick with it. Respect ensured that employees are up to the challenge.Most employees generally feel respected when managers and coworkers hold them up to the same standards as everyone else at the organization. As employee feels isolated and disrespected while working by telecommuting, an organization that adopted the virtual working approach will most likely turn into less efficiency. 5. Barriers to virtual working 5. 1 For companies 5. 1. 1 Technical issues Increased data security concerns One of the bigge st barriers for companies implementing virtual work policy is the concern for data security. Virtual work needs technical support, which creates safety hazard potential nowadays.Due to the fact that multiple clients are in a web-based architecture, there are many points of possible intrusion into the centralized applications and data sources of an organization (Pang,nd). When a company holding e-conference to make important decisions or transfer confidential documents, hackers who have ulterior motives may filch the core strategy or information of the company by attacking system vulnerability. 5. 1. 2 Managerial issues Controlling and monitoring difficulties Controlling and monitoring telecommuters’ work is the most difficult section in managing a virtual organisation.Lipnack and Stamps (1997) stated that managing a successful virtual company requires 90% people and 10% technology. Productivity can be reduced without controlling and monitoring system because some employees ar e not self-disciplined and can be interrupted by an overabundance of distractions around the home (Hortensia, 2008). There are also some critical situations where managers are not able to contact subordinates and make remedial measures timely. Employee incentive difficulties High productivity of a company will largely depend on good employee incentive.However, in a virtual organization which has inefficient measuring methods to evaluate employee’s contribution, the manager may not detect potentials of different employees. Employee incentive is often overlooked in virtual organizations (Liu, 2004). Therefore, companies need to adjust their internal performance assessment and salary system, and spend a lot of time establishing a complete system for training and motivating employees. 5. 1. 3 Communication issues As virtual team members are usually in different area or even different time zones, communication can be a big issue. Lack of trustThe lack of face-to-face interaction o f remote workers can lead to difficulties in building trust. Virtual work is based on Computer-Mediated Communication, which is different from the communication pattern that traditional work has. When communicating face-to-face, the speaker can use visual cues from the audience to gain immediate feedback quickly and make necessary rapid adjustments (Storper et al, 2004). Visual cues and social existence in face-to-face dialogue also help team members to know background, skills, experiences, and areas of expertise of each other (Rosen et al, 2007).The traditional communication pattern can help people build trust within groups, but remote workers can find it difficult to achieve this. Additionally, virtual organizations are usually short termed. Employees may feel that the team will break up when the task is finished, and they do not feel their membership in the organization. Mayo George Elton pointed that employees need good inter-personal relationship, and also need feel being cared by the organization, the satisfactory feeling of being cared by the employer is very helpful to improve work productivity.Lack of trust in virtual organizations may cause low motivation and low productivity. Cultural barriers and limited knowledge/ experience sharing Virtual workers are usually separated by geography, which restricts knowledge or experience sharing opportunities by working together. Also, cultural barrier exists and is adverse to good teamwork in a virtual organisation. Members of a virtual team sometimes come from different countries. Virtual works go against the transfer of tacit knowledge, or knowledge that is not written or definable, but are gained through experience (Griffith et al, 2003).It is clear that many of the behaviors of a good teamwork are culturally rooted. For example, in some cultures, sharing information is both a manifestation of power and a way of building relationships. In other cultures a number of information sharing take place in off-line settings, which are limited in the virtual work environment. Furthermore, direct communicators who are low-context focus on sharing just the facts, which will leave high-context communicators feeling under informed. 5. 2For employees 5. 2. 1 Reduction in chances of promotionAt an organizational level, virtual employees’ efforts may not be recognized and valued and therefore chances of promotion in career are far less than traditional office counterparts. Adams(2012) noted researchers’ finding that managers are 25% more likely to attribute the traits ‘committed’ and ‘dedicated’ to people who logged extra hours in the office instead of those who work remotely. As a result, employees are not willing to work from home, holding the belief that managers consider them less committed to their task, and give them less career support.Employees’ desire for organizational identification is not necessarily satisfied due to negligible mentoring from supervisors and the lack of opportunities for developing relationship with crucial person in the workplace. To conclude, working from home distance employees from their manager, and leave them with less support and direction than on-site workers may get, thus reduce the chances of career advancement. 5. 2. 2 Social and professional isolation Perception of isolation from the group is one of the major concerns for employees who work from home.When employees are isolated in remote workplaces, the physical distance can diminish their opportunities for interacting and communicating with colleagues, further raising their perception of being separated. Marshall et al (2007), cited in Buss (1996) found that humans have long perceived physical and social separation from the group as negative, for the reason that isolation means deprivation of support and protection, which are critical for survival. The unavailability of networking, gaining support and recognition from co-workers creates peop le’s consciousness of not being part of the group and sense of loneliness. . Overcome barriers of adopting virtual work The barriers of adopting virtual work can be overcome by utilizing online communication techniques, conducting prior training and holding regular meetings etc. Virtual teams have to develop the better way for communicating, trust between each other and knowledge sharing in the electronic space. Developing a team culture and common procedures are essential for the development of credibility and trust among virtual team members in a virtual environment. (Raghuram, et al, 2001). Utilize online communication techniquesVirtual employees often need to share work-in-progress with others, which may require advance technologies to support. As a result, virtual team can work more effectively by using online communication techniques. Microsoft is the world’s largest software maker has developed some software that can be very useful collaboration tools for managi ng the virtual team, such as instant messaging, live meeting and Outlook (Courtois, 2012). By using collaboration software, virtual employee can check coworkers’ status to see whether they are available to chat online.Manager can held web-based staff meeting, make a shared calendar, and cloud computing that everyone can edit and see any changes instantly (The Observer, nd). Prior training Prior training or experience is positively associated with virtual work efficacy. Organisations should implement adequate training programs in order to provide better understanding of telecommuting for both virtual employees and their managers. Caudron(1992) suggested that training activities can include dealing with interruptions by family members and friends, communications with virtual co-workers etc.Hiring the right people can be helpful for the virtual organisation, like someone can be productive in an isolated environment but is wise enough to maintain connections with other outside co mmunities. Managers should always be open to the comments of employees and give supportive mentoring. Hold regular meetings In order to better manage remote employees, ensure efficient communication and information sharing, holding regular meetings is important. All employees should be included in all team meetings. During these meetings, manager should provide the perception of how things are progressing.This type of meeting is especially valuable in a virtual work environment, as there are fewer opportunities for interpersonal communication. Also, managers can organize employee retreats once a year so that virtual and traditional employees can interact with one another, to share information and to create a sense of unity and teamwork. These can reduces employee’s loneliness and make them feel a part of the team. Reward virtual employees’ desirable behavior in ways that are meaningful to them (Deannamaio, nd). Manager can simply reward extra holiday time off for emplo yees who work hard.Benefit from the reward policy, employee would feel more motivating in their job. 7. Future of virtual work Today only a small proportion of virtual teams have reached a level of performance that goes beyond what the individuals concerned could achieve independently (Benson et al, 1997). Despite difficulties in implementing virtual work, the overall trend for future is the increase of telecommuting. Development of technology is helping organisations to adopt a virtual work policy, and employee expectations will change towards a more flexible working environment. IBM has announced Virtual Desktop for Smart Business.The new workforce mobility provided anytime, anywhere access to personal desktops from mobile devices — including tablets, netbooks and laptops (Khalil, 2011). With the significant development of technology nowadays, more and more firms will adopt the virtual working in order to gain competitive advantage worldwide. 8. Conclusion Virtual work as a new pattern of work is exposing invaluable potential advantages to organisations, employees and the society as a whole. As information technology is developing at an incredible speed, some organisations have already evolutionisedtheir traditional office work pattern to virtual working.However, teleworking is still not universal despite the technology capabilities that enable people to work from home or remote offices. The barriers of adopting virtual work can arise from both companies’ and employees’ considerations. Companies will face a lot of difficulties such as technical, managerial and communication issues. Employees are also not willing to work from home due to their fear of being isolated and reduced promotion opportunities. In order to overcome these barriers, there are some practical solutions such as utilizing online communication techniques, prior training and holding regular meetings.Therefore, the future of virtual work is promising, and there will be an increasing number of people who change their professional roles from traditional office workers to telecommuters. 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