Meaning of Life and Dream Boy Essay

â€Å"Dream Boy† is a song written by Natalia Genie, a high school student at A. S. T. Rafael Villeda, also known as â€Å"Faike†, was her inspiration. Faike was a 17-year old teenage boy who suffered from bone cancer. Faike was a very important person in Natalia’s life as well as in mine, and for many, many other people. During his struggles battling cancer, Natalia got inspired to write this song about him and his hard-hitting life fight. It’s a very emotive song, that has touched a lot of people’s hearts. It’s a song people listen to when missing or thinking about Faike. First, the title â€Å"Dream Boy† is an inspiration to believe in that no matter how hard life gets or how complicated it seems to be, you just can’t give up on your dreams. You have to dream big, try not to be so realistic in life. â€Å"I used to ask myself Why is this happening? Why were you the chosen one? And I used to believe that this was never goanna happen. But now I see it did† is the song’s lead. It tells you about how you never imagine someone you love and care about having a really severe and fatal illness. This verse represents the beginning of the journey when no one could understand that something so terrible could happen to someone so close to us and no one knew why it had to happen to him. The song continues with â€Å"And I bet it must be hard. And I know that you are strong. And you will stand up when you fall. † It’s a representation of the author having a conversation with Faike on how he inspires us and how proud we are of him because we all know his strength. Also, makes us realize that he is not a quitter and how he can fight to be in the top. The chorus goes like this â€Å"So Dream Boy, have faith in Him boy. He is taking care of you. So why don’t you dream, dream, Dream Boy. Why don’t you dream, boy dream. † It is one of the most important lines of the song that represents many things. When Natalia sings the word â€Å"Him† she is talking about God. Showing him God is by his side as well as all the people who care about him are. That God can make everything happen and we all should have faith in Him. She is also telling him to dream. Dream is a very broad word, but in this case it means to have faith that a miracle can come to light, to keep on living his life to the fullest. Also, that he should have big hopes and dreams and cancer can’t get in his way into becoming the best person he could be, and to achieve anything he wants in his life. â€Å"If you keep smiling your heart will brighten. And the joy will burn the pain. He gave you the heart of a lion to keep you strong and brave. † These verses imply if he gets all depressed about the fact he has bone cancer, he will even feel worse than the pain he has. So, if he believes that it’s over and that he lost his battle, he will worsen and feel that there is no point in even trying. Then again, if he lives like if the cancer was not there, he will feel better about himself and what is going on in his life. When the author wrote â€Å"Heart of a lion,† she gave double meaning to it. The first connotation is that the lion is the strongest in the animal kingdom, meaning he is brave, strong and a fighter. The second one is for his favorite team in the world â€Å"Olimpia,† being the lion the team’s mascot. â€Å"It’s a struggle what your going through. And you must fight with all your might. And I know that it’s scary and I know that it’s hard. But it’s fine. You’ll be alright. Cause he is by your side. He’s by your side. † These verse means that we really don’t know what he is going through but we know it’s harsh. It’s not something that is going to be cured from one day to another. It’s something really hard to get through and to battle with everyday of his life. So the only thing left to do is to fight with everything you’ve got. Besides all of that, he is going to be fine. If he dies, it’s going to be fine. It’s really sad, but he is going to be in a better place where pain is not felt anymore. If he survives, he will be with us and God will never leave his side. So he will always be fine, with or without us. â€Å"She is reaching out. They’re reaching out. We’re reaching out. You’re reaching out. He is reaching out. † Natalia uses the different pronouns to describe every different people reaching out for him. She is reaching out referring to Mother Mary. They’re reaching out means all the kids that are battling cancer all over the world. We’re reaching out is all the people that love him including family, friends, girlfriend and everyone praying for him. You’re reaching out refers to himself, Faike. He is reaching out means God. All for Faike to reach out for him to keep him going, to keep him trying; not to give up to win this horrible, painful, and ugly battle. In conclusion, â€Å"Dream Boy† is the song. It is Rafael Villeda’s song. Only for him, telling his life story and his tough battle. It symbolizes how strong he is, how a great fighter he is. When people listen to â€Å"Dream Boy† the only thing that pops in everyone’s head is Faike. Sadly Rafael Villeda passed away in November 20, 2012; it was the saddest day in a lot of people’s lives and we have this song to remember how strong of a person he was. He is an inspiration of perseverance and now he is our angel in heaven that showed us how to be a dreamer and a believer.

Stefan’s Diaries: Origins Chapter 7

The next week passed in a blur. I ran from fittings at Mrs. Fells's dress shop to visits with Rosalyn in the Cartwrights' stuffy parlor to the tavern with Damon. I tried to forget Katherine, leaving my shutters closed so I wouldn't be tempted to look across the lawn at the carriage house, and forcing myself to smile and wave at Damon and Katherine when they explored the gardens. Once I went up to the attic to look at the portrait of Mother. I wondered what advice she'd have for me. Love is patient, I remembered her saying in her lilting French accent during Bible study. The notion comforted me. Maybe love could come to me and Rosalyn. After that, I tried to love Rosalyn, or at least garner some kind of affection for her. I knew, behind her quietness and her dishwater blond hair, she was simply a sweet girl who'd make a doting wife and mother. Our most recent visits hadn't been awful. In fact, Rosalyn had been in remarkably good spirits. She'd gotten a new dog, a sleek black beast named Sadie, which she'd taken to carrying everywhere lest the new puppy suffer the same fate as Penny had. At one point, when Rosalyn looked up at me with adoring eyes, asking if I'd prefer lilacs or gardenias at the wedding, I almost felt fond of her. Maybe that would be enough. Father had wasted no time in planning another party to celebrate. This time, it was a barbecue at the estate, and Father had invited everyone within a twenty-mile radius. I recognized only a handful of the young men, pretty girls, and Confederate soldiers who milled around the labyrinth, acting as if they owned the estate. When I was younger, I used to love the parties at Veritas–they were always a chance to run down to the ice pond with our friends, to play hide-and-seek in the swamp, to ride horses to the Wickery Bridge, then dare each other to dive into the icy depths of Willow Creek. Now I just wished it were over, so I could be alone in my room. â€Å"Stefan, care to share a whiskey with me?† Robert called out to me from the makeshift bar set up on the portico. To judge from his lopsided grin, he was already drunk. He passed me a sweating tumbler and tipped his own to mine. â€Å"Pretty soon, there will be young Salvatores all over the place. Can you picture it?† He swept his hands expansively over the grounds as if to show me just how much room my imaginary family would have in which to grow. I swirled my whiskey miserably, unable to picture it for myself. â€Å"Well, you've made your daddy one lucky man. And Rosalyn one lucky girl,† Robert said. He lifted his glass to me one last time, then went to chat with the Lockwoods' overseer. I sighed and sat down on the porch swing, observing the merriment occurring all around me. I knew I should feel happy. I knew Father only wanted what was best for me. I knew that there was nothing wrong with Rosalyn. So why did this engagement feel like a death sentence? On the lawn, people were eating and laughing and dancing, and a makeshift band made up of my childhood friends Ethan Giffin, Brian Walsh, and Matthew Hartnett was playing a version of â€Å"The Bonnie Blue Flag.† The sky was cloudless and the weather balmy, with just a slight nip in the air to remind us that it was, indeed, fall. In the distance, schoolchildren were swinging and shrieking on the gate. To be around so much merriment–all meant for me–and not feel happy made my heart thud heavily in my chest. Standing up, I walked inside toward Father's study. I shut the door to the study and breathed a sigh of relief. Only the faintest stream of sunlight peeked through the heavy damask curtains. The room was cool and smelled of well-oiled leather and musty books. I took out a slim volume of Shakespeare's sonnets and turned to my favorite poem. Shakespeare calmed me, the words soothing my brain and reminding me that there soothing my brain and reminding me that there was love and beauty in the world. Perhaps experiencing it through art would be enough to sustain me. I settled into Father's leather club chair in the corner and absentmindedly skimmed the onionskin pages. I'm not sure how long I sat there, letting the language wash over me, but the more I read, the calmer I felt. â€Å"What are you reading?† The voice startled me, and the book slid off my lap with a clatter. Katherine stood at the study entrance, wearing a simple, white silk dress that hugged every curve of her body. All the other women at the party were wearing layers of crinoline and muslin, their skin guarded under thick fabric. But Katherine didn't seem the least bit embarrassed by her exposed white shoulders. Out of propriety, I glanced away. â€Å"Why aren't you at the party?† I asked, bending to pick up my book. Katherine stepped toward me. â€Å"Why aren't you at the party? Aren't you the guest of honor?† She perched on the arm of my chair. â€Å"Have you read Shakespeare?† I asked, gesturing to the open book on my lap. It was a lame attempt to change the conversation; I had yet to meet a girl versed in his works. Just yesterday, Rosalyn had admitted she hadn't even read a book in the past three years, ever since she had graduated from the Girls Academy. Even at that, the last volume she'd perused was merely a primer on how to be a dutiful Confederate wife. â€Å"Shakespeare,† she repeated, her accent expanding the word to three syllables. It was an odd accent, not one that I'd heard from other people from Atlanta. She swung her legs back and forth, and I could see that she wasn't wearing stockings. I tore my eyes away. â€Å"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?† she quoted. I looked up, astonished. â€Å"Thou art more lovely and more temperate,† I said, continuing the quote. My heart galloped in my chest, and my brain felt as slow as molasses, creating an unusual sensation that made me feel I was dreaming. Katherine yanked the book off my lap, closing it with a resounding clap. â€Å"No,† she said firmly. â€Å"But that's how the next line goes,† I said, annoyed that she was changing the rules of a game I thought I understood. â€Å"That's how the next line goes for Mr. Shakespeare. But I was simply asking you a question. Shall I compare you to a summer's day? Are you worthy of that comparison, Mr. Salvatore? Or do you need a book to decide?† Katherine asked, grinning as she held the volume just out of my reach. I cleared my throat, my mind racing. Damon would have said something witty in response, without even thinking about it. But when I was with Katherine, I was like a schoolboy who tries to impress a girl with a frog caught from the pond. â€Å"Well, you could compare my brother to a summer's day. Y ou've been spending a lot of time with him.† My face reddened, and instantly I wished I could take it back. I sounded so jealous and petty. â€Å"Maybe a summer's day with a few thunderstorms in the distance,† Katherine said, arching her eyebrow. â€Å"But you, Scholarly Stefan, you are different from Dark Damon. Or †¦Ã¢â‚¬  –Katherine looked away, a flicker of a grin crossing her face–â€Å"Dashing Damon.† â€Å"I can be dashing, too,† I said petulantly, before I even realized what I was saying. I shook my head, frustrated. It was as though Katherine somehow compelled me to speak without thinking. She was so lively and vivacious–talking to her, I felt as though I was in a dream, where nothing I said would have any consequence but everything I said was important. â€Å"Well, then, I must see that, Stefan,† Katherine said. She placed her icy hand on my forearm. â€Å"I've gotten to know Damon, but I barely know you. It's quite a shame, don't you think?† In the distance, the band struck up â€Å"I'm a Good Old Rebel.† I knew I needed to get back outside, to smoke a cigar with Mr. Cartwright, to twirl Rosalyn in a first waltz, to toast my place as a man of Mystic Falls. But instead I remained on the leather club seat, wishing I could stay in the library, breathing in Katherine's scent, forever. â€Å"May I make an observation?† Katherine asked, leaning toward me. An errant dark curl flopped down on her white forehead. I had to use all my strength to resist pushing it off her face. â€Å"I don't think you like what's happening right now. The barbecue, the engagement †¦Ã¢â‚¬  My heart pounded. I searched Katherine's brown eyes. For the past week, I'd been trying desperately to hide my feelings. But had she seen me pausing outside the carriage house? Had she seen me run Mezzanotte to the forest when she and Damon explored the garden, desperate to get away from their laughter? Had she somehow managed to read my thoughts? Katherine smiled ruefully. â€Å"Poor, sweet, steadfast Stefan. Haven't you learned yet that rules are made to be broken? Y can't make ou anyone happy–your father, Rosalyn, the Cartwrights–if you're not happy yourself.† I cleared my throat, aching with the realization that this woman who I'd known for a matter of weeks understood me better than my own father †¦ and my future wife †¦ ever would. Katherine slid off the chair and glanced at the volumes on Father's shelves. She took down a thick, leather-bound book, The Mysteries of Mystic Falls. It was a volume I'd never seen before. A smile lit her rose-colored lips, and she beckoned me to join her on my father's couch. I knew I shouldn't, but as if in a trance, I stood and crossed the room. I sank into the cool, cracked leather cushion next to her and just let go. After all, who knew? Perhaps a few moments in her presence would be the balm I needed to break my melancholia.

Public Myth vs Social Reality Essay

Pierre Bourdieu asserts that public opinion does not exist. This poses the question, how should we conceive public opinion? If it is true that the public does not exist, than the real question is, whose opinion is public opinion? Rational Choice Theory poses that idea that human beings form their opinions and decisions based on collective observations and calculations. It also assumes all individuals are well informed of all of their options and that it is an inherent human tendency to think everyone makes decisions this way. If this is true, it would explain the blind faith people have in public opinion. It is a faith so devout, it often sways and molds popular culture ideals. Pierre Bourdieu strongly negates this view. Pierre Bourdieu is a highly acclaimed French sociologist. Born on August 1, of 1930, he recently passed away on January 23, 2002. His views embody the disciplines of many tenets including: philosophy, literary theory, sociology, and anthropology. He is the protagonist of the world of sociological studies, and he opposed and debunked some of the most prevalent antagonisms in the genre. His most popular work is Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste. In the 1967 study, he interprets how members of the upper class define taste as an aesthetic. He finds that the public has no genuine representation in democratic societies. Rational Choice Theory is the theory that assume human beings naturally choose a given path dependant on whether it is the best means to achieve their goals. It is a belief in methodological individualism; this meaning it adopts the belief that social situations, and group behavior is solely the result of individual action. Within this theory, corporations and national governments are viewed as individual operators as well. The problem that arises with this theory are the certain assumptions. This theory assumes human beings are aware of certain information, of which they aren’t always aware, and it assumes that individuals consistently make mental calculations to determine their next decision. Bourdieu is historically known for his opposition to this theory, based on the fact that he feels human beings operate more based on how they feel toward a given situation or at a given time. In his book, Outline Theory of Practice, Bourdieu analyzes human nature. He points out the human tendency to conform. Doing one’s duty as a man means conforming to the social order, and this is a fundamentally a question of respecting rhythms, keeping pace, not falling out of line. ‘Don’t we all eat the same wheat cake? Don’t we all get up at the same time? These various ways of reasserting solidarity contain an implicit definition of the fundamental virtue of conformity. (Bourdieu, 1977) He later goes on to show that conformities only other opposition is eccentricity, which becomes natural for those intrigued by it irregularity. The opposite of which is the desire to stand apart from others. Working while the others are resting, staying in the house while the others are working in the fields, traveling on deserted roads, wandering round the streets of the village while the others are asleep or at the market – these are all suspicious forms of behavior. The eccentric who does everything differently†¦ (Bourdieu, 1977) Bourdieu believes that society cannot just be analyzed in terms of economic classes and ideologies, but that individual education and culture must be applied as well. Bourdieu does not separate people based on class and then analyze them, but groups everyone into what he calls a field/ social arena. This contradicts classic Marxism. In this field people compete and struggle to attain their desires. It is a system of social positions organized by terms of power relationships. This idea of terms of power is most easily defined as the differential between a judge and a lawyer. Within this field the social agents fight over monetary gain, or whatever holds symbolic significance. In all of Bourdieu’s beliefs, his most popular is his assertion that the public does not exist (1984). This concept is addressed in his book, Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste, in that he feels there is a different of class taste between the ruling class and popular culture. But, within this conflict, there is no public, only a media mediating between the two and a culture to which they often cater to do so. Jon Simons addresses this concept in his essay, Governing the Public: Technologies of Mediation and Popular Culture, when he says, technologies constitute the people as a mediated public. The public is only amenable to representation in the form of an electorate which is an effect of technical organization that can mediate between people at a distance from each other. The key point of this analysis is that the public does not exist prior to or outside of its constitution. (Simons, 2002) His essay evaluates the importance of media technologies within a democracy. Bourdieu feels that in this field of power struggle, the ruling class uses their cultural capital to assert their distinction (1984). This is seen in the way politicians might only use terms or syntax understandable to the elite of society. This separation between popular culture and the elite culture of a society makes it virtually impossible for government officials to ever get the unanimous appeal for which they often aspire. Most political elites view popular cultures’ apathy towards politics with great disdain. Even still, they relentlessly attempt to relate to popular culture voters, whom they know will support them. In John Fiske’s critique on television, Television Culture he analyzes the nature of what makes popular television. He concludes that the shows that succeed in gaining popularity tend to have many symbols and plot lines containing multiple meanings. He also states that remain within a duality of containment and resistance (1987). This idea basically revolves around the fact that television producers, who are viewed as the upper class and political elite, are expected to produce material that correspond with popular culture. This material that the elite minority culture produces for the popular culture contradicts elitist ideals but allows the status quo to remain intact. This means the political elite can only remain the elite so long as they humor the beliefs and ideals of their less powerful but more dominant counterparts. The rules Fiske establishes for television shows can very easily be applied to the media. They present the media as a tool being used to prey on the wants and needs of different cultures. Another media technology that isn’t always addressed is the literary outlets in societies. This is undoubtedly the reason that Pierre Bourdieu is an acclaimed literary theorist as well, addressing such theorist as reader response theory. Reader response theory augments the importance of the role of the reader in interpreting texts. It disagrees that there is a solitary, fixed meaning integral to every literary work. This theory embraces that an individual creates his or her own meaning through a â€Å"transaction† with the text based on personal associations. Because all readers bring their own emotions, concerns, life experiences, and knowledge to their reading, each interpretation is subjective and unique. It is common that many people trace the foundation of reader-response theory to scholar Louise Rosenblatt’s influential 1938 work Literature as Exploration. She believed, close readings of literature should practice impassiveness in the study of texts and should reject all forms of personal interpretation by the reader. The text is an independent entity that could be objectively analyzed using unambiguous methodological criteria (Rosenblatt’s, 1938). Her work has been the topic of study for many professors and theorists who specialize in this form of analysis. In Fish’s piece, Is there a text in this class? The authority of interpretive communities, he argues that the readings of a text are culturally constructed. He feels that reader-response theory recognizes the reader as an active agent who imparts real existence to the work and completes its meaning through interpretation. Reader-response is an experience that every user goes through during the act of reading, it transpires and it affects reader and sometimes this counteracts to force user to do some practical reaction (Fish, 1986). This aspect of Stanley Fish’s theory is one of the most radical and controversial and is part of the reason why many people object to the views backing this movement. He adds further rational to his stance with his view that most of the theories that are formulated on the grounds of practical experiences are likely to be accurate and are easily acceptable. The reader of reader-response theory is not just a hypothetical or theoretical reader, he is a practical reality (Fish, 1986). Since this theory has exact results it effects lives, personalities, cultures and societies. There are also some theories that fail but the reason of their failure is not the notion of being a textual work, it is their impractical approach that disappoints them (Fish, 1986). Fish’s attempt to place reader-response theory in a position of practical perspective more certifies its methodology. His political stance frees other theorists to do more in-depth analysis. Applied to the idea of public interpretation, we see that there is again another outlet for public opinion to be controlled through the targeting of specific popular culture emotions or ideals, and triggering whatever reader response might favor certain positions, or corporations. I’m sure news paper, and magazine advertisers are well studied in reader response-theory. Despite the insurmountable methods of control instilled on individuals, through popular culture, by the media, Simons argues that there are certain times when citizens group together in masses and act on their own apart from the propaganda projected by the media. A prime example of liberal citizens standing up and countering Bourdieu’s perception of public opinion is the Civil Rights movement in America. It was a much needed, and detrimental, shift in popular culture and eventually governmental law. A more contemporary version of this would be Hurricane Katrina, or 9/11. In her article Al Qaeda, Terrorism, and Military Commissions’, Ruth Wedgwood proves that though most American citizens consider terrorism to be a federal and national problem, it is very much a local one. Al Qaeda’s published doctrine maintains that there are no innocent civilians in Western society (Wedgwood, pg2)†¦ She later goes on to analyze the psychological foundation they use to form their tenet. She says,†¦this tenet leads it to [committing] the gravest of international crime[s] (Wedgwood, pg2). All of these qualities impose a large enough threat to individual human ideals and popular culture that a public arises from a nonentity. We also see this with protests. Here is where the weakness lies in Bourdieu’s theory. Despite this, we still see the prevention of certain liberal up risings maintained by systems of control, like racial, sexual and religious prejudice, or even class prejudice through the myth of the American Dream. The American dream that one can become something from nothing is the main reason why America is the fastest growing country. It is often seen as a melting pot encompassing many different religions and nationalities. People move to America with dreams of becoming wealthy, but many of the ideologies that have existed within the country for years inhibit these dreams from coming true. It is Harlon L. Dalton’s belief that Horatio Alger’s writings, during the mid to late 1800’s, promoted a destructive myth that overlooked the realities of society. Dalton specifically targets Alger’s story Ragged Dick, about a young man who devoutly works his way up the American corporate ladder slowly succeeding based on his merit. Dalton feels the myth implied by this is that the American dream is accessible to all those who are willing to work for it. Alger has been a highly acclaimed writer in American culture, and the popularity of his work partly suggests that most Americans have and inherent belief in this myth. If this mindset is a part of the mental tapestry of America, and it is as destructive as Dalton claims it to be, it would mean that American’s are inherently delusional. One might argue that this is only the problem of the minorities in this country, but Dalton protests that part of the want for most Americans to believe in this myth is fueled by a white discomfort with addressing the reality of a racial problem in America. He identifies this when he says, By interring the myth of Horatio Alger, or at least forcing it to coexist with social reality, we can accomplish two important goals. First, we can give the lie to the idea that Black people can simply lift themselves up by their own bootstraps. With that pesky idea out of the way it is easier to see why White folk need to take joint ownership of the nation’s race problem†¦ (Dalton) This idea of dual ownership for racial injustice is a concept Dalton feels most whites avoid and is a concept we see on many occasions being played out by the media in daily society. This is just a perfect example of the power of popular culture to create a sense of public opinion. In Horatio Alger’s day, the sociological circumstance of America was perfectly visible to every individual, but people chose to adopt the popular false reality projected from Alger’s novels. Alger was noted for not being a very skilled writer, and the majority of his novels were written solely for the purpose of maintaining his extremely large fan base, so he made sure his books adhered to certain ideals. Most of these ideals involved the overlooking of racial stratification. Racial stratification that existed in the U. K. at the beginning of the last century also deprived its colored citizens from the access to the most valuable resources the American society had, from the education, proper medical treatment etc. To make the Afro-Americans believe in the uniqueness of the whites they developed ridiculous theories of the mental or physical prevalence of their race. (Banton, 1998) Despite this, America wins the title for being the most racially conflicted, and thus corrupted. This corresponds with Bourdieu’s view that ethnicity and education will be one’s core sources of decision making, as apposed to ideology (1984). The first persuasion, which is that everyone can participate equally and can always start over, is troubling, as throughout most part of the American history, women of any race and men who were Native American, Asian, black, or just poor, were barred from all but a narrow range of elective positions. White men, especially European immigrants, able to ride the wave of the Industrial Revolution to comfort or prosperity, have always been the most valued members of the American society. Those who do not fit to that description, disappear from the collective self-portrait. The situation is that not only has the ideal of universal participation been denied to most Americans, but also the very fact of its denial is been denied in our national self-image. This state of things determines deep misunderstandings and correspondingly deep political tensions. This is especially true for the victims of racial attacks. Social stratification, according to some scientists has always accompanied the life of the human beings, after appearing on the down of the humankind history. The reason for its existence is a very simple one and it’s that the amount of resources this planet can provide is limited, thus it’s impossible to give everything needed or desired to everyone. As we all know people have always been unequal. It was determined by numerous factors even many centuries ago, and nowadays the amount of those factors has increased greatly. Despite of the principles about the equality of all of the society’s members that are declared in the contemporary society nowadays, the phenomenon of discrimination still exists in our country. This problem is enforced by Bourdieu’s public opinion created by the media, and heartfelt by many individuals. From one viewpoint it is only natural for people to treat those a certain way in accordance with their age, gender, religious beliefs, physical condition, but when these peculiarities are used for to determine the person’s rights or regulate his or her freedom of action and choice, it created huge problems in interpersonal and social communication, and other processes. One is only left to wonder what the state of racism would be in this country if it wasn’t constantly displayed as the symbol of western society. One might argue, like in the case with Horatio Alger, the disregard of racism only resulted in its unacknowledged enhancement. The very purpose of the Civil Rights movement in the states was to allow whites the opportunity to see how black were being treated by the police Lots of books and articles written recently, state that the degree of negative discrimination is still very high in the U. K. , which strings the social relations up, and leads to numerous conflicts within various racial groups. Martha Minow addresses this in many of her writings. In her essay on identity, titled Not Only for Myself Identity, Politics, and the Law, she says, There are two kinds of people in the world†¦those who think there are two kinds of people, and those who do not (Minow, 1997). Her essay reveals the ever segregating nature of Western Civilization, while she takes a clear stance in favor of the universal individual. Her essay takes an in depth look at the attitude that is truly necessary for one to make a lone effort towards furthering the genuine full racial integration of the United Kingdom. Her essay condemns all those who settle into social tribes of convenient sameness. To encourage those who oppose conforming to the common American culture of segregation, she describes in detail the trials of a young Nathan Marx. The story also suggests how an identity is founded on both the views of others and the individual; Marx is treated as a Jew both by his non-Jewish fellow officers and by the Jewish trainees. Both kinds of treatment influence his sense of himself as a Jew. Although he resists both, he defines himself in the course of that resistance (Minow, 1997). Here Minow points out a key factor of equality in that individuals all find equality in others in the fact that they refuse to be solely identified ethnically. Those who rather remain segregated are incapable of seeing others as equal to them and just harbor hate. This is a complexity that the U. K. often shares with the U. S. The ironic factor in this circumstance is that racial and religious separatism is just as much the result of the media as it is the people at adhering to it. If we look at the statistics found by the 2005 United States Census Bureau, the discrepancies in success among ethnicities is quite revealing.

The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murrieta Essay

The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murrieta - Essay Example This is the case with Joaquin Murieta who despite being a bandit is also depicted as being an honorable man as seen in the manner in which he shows acts of kindness especially for those people who are marginalized or poor in society. An incident where Murieta is shown being kind is where he demands that a ferryman ferries his gang across a river and give him all his money (Ridge 64 - 65). When Murrieta realizes that the ferryman only has a hundred dollars, he tells him to keep his money and pays him the full costs of ferrying the gang across the river. In this way, Murieta is shown to be a man sensitive to the plight of the poor, and it is likely that it is as a result of his having been raised in an environment of poverty which forced him to come north to California in order to make his fortune. The portrayal of Murieta, despite being a bandit, is one where he is depicted as being a very likeable individual as seen through the way that most individuals in the towns he ventures into do not consider him a threat. Instead, he is a man who is quite well liked with friend in almost all towns he visits who often warn him of anyone who is hunting him. It seems that it is as a result of the numerous friendships that he has developed all across California that Murieta is always a step ahead of those who hunt him. As a person who is considered to be a hero, he is constantly being protected by his friends in various towns who do not wish him to be captured. His likeable nature is part of the characteristics that make him a hero because despite living in banditry, he is an individual who seeks to always do the right thing at all times. Murieta is shown to be a man who has a very complicated personality in such a way that while he kills, he only does so in self-defense or in situations where he has suffered betrayal from people that he

National Security Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

National Security - Case Study Example But could the security services in the country have done better in preventing these shocking attacks. According to the Guardian (2006), the reports on the cross party intelligence and security committee into the London terrorist's attacks of 7 July 2005 did not find any "evidence of an intelligence failure that could have prevented the bombings." It further says that it only identified "Intelligence gaps." The committee further states that the "comparatively small" capacity of the secret service to conduct conclusive investigations, had also to blame for the attacks. There have been attempts to protect the security forces from any blame or taking of responsibility of a possible failure on their part to prevent the bombings. However, serious questions arise. The first question is could have the security services known about any planned attacks on the British soil. The MI5, which is Britain's domestic spy service, the agency responsible for gathering intelligence on any internal attacks, insists that it did not have any information about the intended bombings. This is supported by the Intelligence and Security Committee Report into the London Terrorist Attacks, which claim that the Secret service had no prior information on possible attacks in London. It however notes that, one of the attackers Siddequine Khan was known to the Security Service before the attacks. These claims have drawn world wide criticism from different individuals, groups and media houses claiming that to the contrary, the security services had prior information about the possibility of an attack from as early as in 2004 but did not only act appropriately. According to WSWS 2007, there was also credible warning by the Saudi Arabian Intelligence about a plot to bomb the Britain. This warning was however dismissed by the security forces as irrelevant. The security forces and the government denied this, even though, The Guardian-2006 reports that there was even credible sources form the White House which confirmed the claim. It further claims that the information from the Saudi intelligence was so specific, that it even noted that the plot involved four Islamic extremists and that the target was London. This has since been confirmed by the Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United Kingdom. (WSWS 2007). (WSWS 2007) further reports that the Israelis Secret Intelligence Service had also warned the British security services about possible terror attack in London just a few days before the attacks. The Morning star (2007) also reports that the Saudi and French governments had warned the MI5 about the attacks. It from all these claims, it is pro bable that the secret service, had information about the possibility of an attack in the United Kingdom (UK) and more specifically on the UK's rail network. It however did not treat these warnings with the proper attention they deserved. According to WSWS(2007) a statement from the then Prime minister, (Tony Blair), which was quoted in the parliamentary report, revealed that the services had been alerted on a possible attack by terrorists who were British Citizens. It also reports that in May 2005, in the same parliamentary report, it is noted that there was security information that attacks similar to the Madrid bombings would be carried out in the United Kingdom. The Secret service has been criticized for having under surveillance two of the bombers and taking no serious actions to prevent the

Islamic Accounting and Reporting Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Islamic Accounting and Reporting - Assignment Example The time period is also referred to as Ijarah period (Siddiqui, n.d.). The Ijarah contract is based on Islamic principles and has emerged as a popular asset financing concept. This contract is also used for transactions related to employment and hire of services. This contract of Ijarah is a mode of financing which provides customers with short to medium term financing to lease items such as buildings, real estates, computers, equipments, machineries and other items which are not forbidden of haraam. The contract is almost similar to conventional leasing contract but not identical to it (Ibrahim, 2001). The Ijarah rental amount is paid in installments over the time to cover the costs or the value of the investment for the bank in addition to the fair return on the investment (Ghuddah, 2007). In Ijarah the ownership of the asset is not transferred to the lessee. Risk associated with the ownership of the assets should remain with the banks and the asset is supposed to be reverted to th e bank at the end of Ijarah period. The cash flows of the asset are structured in such a way that they cover the price of the asset and provide a return on the same. Some of the important features of the Ijarah contract are as follows: ïÆ'Ëœ The asset which has been leased must have a valuable use that is compliant with the Shari’a laws. ïÆ'Ëœ ... Usufruct means the right of using another’s property for profit (Abdullah, 2010). The rental payment must occur after the delivery of the leased asset. For example by giving the keys of the building to the lessee musta’jir. If there is a loss to the usufruct then the Ijarah contract stands terminated (Shariff and Rahman, n.d.) Islamic accounting is less accepting towards the concept of time value of money and that is why in Ijarah accounting the lease and the transfer amount will be accounted as separate transaction even if these transactions are linked with each other (Malaysian Accounting Standards Board, 2010). In conventional leasing it is acceptable to have a lease and sale in one accounting transaction; however to have more than one accounting transaction with more than one result is prohibited in Islamic accounting. The results derived from the lease transaction differ from the sale transaction and that is why they cannot be combined into a single transaction und er Islamic accounting which is also known as Akad. In conventional leasing finance there are usually two types of leases known as operating lease and financial lease. In operating lease the lessor owns the asset and bears the risk and the maintenance costs. In financial lease the ownership of the asset remains with the lessor and the risk and operating costs are borne by the lessee. Conventional leasing provides options to the lessor and lessee to terminate the lease contract unanimously. Ijarah contract on the other hand gives option to the lessor and lessee to terminate the contract within a stipulated time frame. This option is valid for a particular time period under the framework of Al-Khiyar. In conventional leasing, in case of termination of the contract, the remaining rental payment

Profession Of Freelance Writer And Its Perspectives Essay

Profession Of Freelance Writer And Its Perspectives - Essay Example After a few email queries back and forth, I was able to conduct an interview with Ms. Strain via Skype. What she had to say about being a freelance writer completely changed my attitude about what writing is and its usefulness in the real world of business. "Being a freelance writer isn't at all like being the starving artist in the Garrett," Ms. Strain said when I mentioned my impressions to her. She was laughing, so I didn't worry that Id offended her. In fact, her easy-going attitude made it very easy to ask questions I might not have asked someone who was more uptight. After we got done laughing, Ms. Strain explained that freelance writers are master jugglers who must change costumes, objects and the numbers of objects flying at a moments notice. Instead of just sitting around dreaming up the next Great American novel, she explained that freelance writers like herself are usually kept very busy by the corporate world writing things like white papers, promotional video scripts, product descriptions, sales materials, technical manuals, case studies, web pages and internal business-related documents like business plans and project proposals. Ms. Strain also writes creatively, though, so she offers other writers services like ghostwriti ng, editing, reviews, and proofreading. The types of written materials she produces can be very different from one assignment to the next not just because the type of document shes writing is different, but also because the audience or the purpose might be different which means the tone of voice and types of proof she needs to use will change. When I asked Ms. Strain who she wrote for, her quickest answer was to say "anyone who will pay me!" But then she went on to explain that most of her clients were businesses or government and most of the work they send her way is related to the natural flow of business.

Alyssa Marie Stephenson Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Alyssa Marie Stephenson - Personal Statement Example The life story of Alyssa Stephenson is like a winding brook, and I am the water that flows wherever the course goes. As I flow, I learn knowledge, skills and attitudes that have made me a stronger person who has the qualities of a good educator and counselor. Ever since as a child, I was active in almost sort of any activity that my parents encouraged me to join. I attended private catholic school from elementary to high school, which instilled in me values such as generosity, compassion and humility. Most of the time, I attended dancing lessons in Manhattan Dance and Arizona Dance Academy. I have been exposed into different dancing styles such as folk dancing during my stay at St. Gregory and cheer dance during my high school days. I cheered all the way to at Tucson at the U of A stations. Such activities brought me self-confidence as I could express myself through dancing. As a dancer, I had the discipline to attend rehearsals and endure long hours of practice until all the steps a re perfect. These experiences taught me discipline, value for hard work, and determination which I can apply to my studies in a graduate program. I have learned how to manage my time and even volunteered at Salvation Army Food Drive as early as grade school. It is very fulfilling to share what you have to other people, and this belief becomes part of my dream to become a teacher. I also want to impart my knowledge and skills to students.

TEMPERAMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

TEMPERAMENT - Essay Example In this period, children develop a sense of freedom and exploration (Feldman p. 187, 2010). Children have been observed to have many different types of temperaments, which have been broadly classified as easy babies, difficult babies and slow-to-warm babies. Easy babies have a consistent behavior, which can be adapted easily to patterns of eating, sleeping and other routines. Difficult babies are very irregular and irritable in their patterns making it harder for them to adapt to changes. Slow-to-warm babies tend not to be very irritable, though their behavior is negative and they recede from public (Feldman p. 188, 2010). Common sense dictates that temperament should effect the development of a baby into a good or bad individual, or a healthy or unhealthy individual. But researches have shown that this is not the case, although temperament does have an indirect effect. The overall effect combines temperament and the societal nature and the general atmosphere around a person also. Temperament directly affects the attachment of babies with their parents. A recent research has shown that the parental attachment can also govern the development of a child’s temperament. Easy to handle babies are generally highly attached to parents (Smith, 2009). Behavior of a mother post-partum is a very important factor in determining a child’s temperament. Women with a higher level of maternal education are able to cope with babies better, having a lesser negative post-partum impact on their children (Smith, 2009). It has been observed that the mode of delivery has a very direct impact on the mother’s emotional stability. Natural and planned cesarean births fare far better than emergency cesareans and epidurals. These can also affect the temperament of children indirectly (Smith, 2009). Scientists are still unsure whether temperament is a completely psychological aspect of a human, or is there some biological effect too as

Summary what you have learned from the lectures Essay

Summary what you have learned from the lectures - Essay Example For employees, good job performance is more about utilizing functions that encourage the contributions of workers, thus making them feel motivated to work harder on the company’s behalf. Organizations can take advantage of rewards and pay hikes to inspire workers to do their best. Moreover, good leaders are also needed to find ways of communicating appreciation effectively to the workforce. Where organizations are concerned, good leaders will encourage the creation of a corporate culture that supports the realization of organizational objectives. Bad leadership will undermine the corporate culture and enable workers to develop unconstructive attitudes towards their responsibilities and the company in general. Bad leaders are also unable to communicate clearly with their employees. For workers, good leadership is more tied to the general treatment of employees. Good leaders are aggressive and firm while also being cooperative with their personnel. This will allow for them to be able to remain faithful to attaining organizational objectives while also giving room for workers to perform their different tasks in the ways that they deem fit. Good leaders also base promotions on principled workers and do not favor some over others. Organizations with good leaders will have a good corporate culture, a high morale, and be able to enjoy a sustainable long-term success. Creating an organizational culture that is supported by intrinsically motivated workers is critical to the success of every business. For most employees, motivation is an indication of the creativity and commitment that the workforce bears towards organizational functions. Employee motivation and job satisfaction are two connected aspects that contribute to the realization of company objectives. Moreover, most employees tend to compare their existing work conditions with their desired conditions to establish the levels of their satisfaction. While companies cannot meet all the goals of their workfo rce, it is important to identify the underlying factors that are associated with employee motivation in their particular business and learn how to employ them. This will inspire organizational commitment from any company’s workers. Organizational commitment involves a worker’s feeling of responsibility towards helping a company to achieve its goals. Organizational commitment deals with the emotional reactions of employees towards their responsibilities. To inspire organizational commitment, it is vital for a good corporate culture that makes workers feel like they belong to a second family to be developed. This will then spur the involvement of workers on an individual basis. Organizational commitment will not only improve production thereby improving profits, but will also result in lesser instances of absenteeism. Management structures can also be used to generate cooperation between workers, which then results in organizational commitment (Robbins, 509). While it is common for people to claim that workers prefer management structures rather than hierarchical structures in organizations, this is not always true. Organizations today have to strike a balance between bureaucratic models and flat organizational structures. People often imagine that equality among different ranks of workers is a natural state that need not be managed. However, this is not true. It is often difficult, particularly in organizations that embrace ‘

Crisis Management and Communication in Organizations Essay Example for Free

Crisis Management and Communication in Organizations Essay 1. Introduction In the modern changing world a crisis can happen anywhere. It cannot be expected. And Effective Communication is really important when managing a crisis as one mistake done by the Organization can affect the whole Organization itself, its stakeholders and the Industry. It even could threaten public safety, the financial position of the organization and the reputation. It can lead to disruption of operation creating loss of market (W.T Coombs, 2007). That’s where communication comes in handy as lack of communication between the Society and the Organization can lead to distress, this is the where verbal and non verbal communication is really important. Referring to the case of Dominos pizza (New York Times ,2009), when two employs of the Dominos franchise in Conover, N.C, played a video prank with the food and putting the video on YouTube, the Management waited hoping that it will blow away and that is what went wrong. There was no news from them in the first 24 hrs. Instead of answering the queries of the consumers and the media they waited in the hope that it will cool down which never happened (New York Times, 2009). In a situation like this it’s really important to face the society and tell them what’s going on, should communicate with them verbally and non verbally or else the society will keep the image of the organization the way they want, good or bad. When in crisis after appointing a spokes person, it’s really important for the spokesperson to be calm and pleasant when confronting the media avoiding nervous habits ensuring the limit of disfluencies such as â€Å"umhs† or â€Å"uhs†, while avoiding fidgeting and pacing (W.T Coombs,2007). There is a good crisis example in 1993 â€Å"The Pepsi product tempering in 1993† (M.Hubbard,2006).They proved that effective communication in the Organization and effective crisis public relations campaign combining various strategies can rebound the hoax(M.Hubbard,2006). When dealing with media regarding a business crisis, it’s really important for the organization to stick to what they say if the statements given by the organization keeps on changing, dealing with the public relations will be a total disaster. They have to be very clear about what they say avoiding the statements which doesn’t make sense keeping it simple with limited information for the time being. 2. The Crisis 2.1. Communication Tactics It was clear in the case of Dominos pizza (New York Times, 2009) that management wasn’t aware of the situation unless a blogger alerted the Domino’s vice president of communications Tim McIntyre. There was no reaction from the management first as they didn’t want to alert more people to the story. And according to the Adage, a trade publication, Dominos response was late as in a situation like this the firm should be responsive to the crisis in the first 24 hrs and domino’s took 48 hrs to be fully responsive (R.Flandez, 2009). Just for the sake that more people might be alerted there was no issue of formal press release to mainstream press meanwhile the internal team was busy to form a strategy. After the management came to know of the videos they started to search for the two employs of dominos that were responsible for the videos with the help of bloggers and YouTube, and little that they realized that 70% of the conversation was going on Twitter and YouTube. As the Crisis began and most of the conversations were going on within the Social Networks from dominos they opened a twitter account to be responsive to the consumers and the society, even the President of the domino’s pizza Patrick Doyle appeared on a YouTube video and explained the present situation of Domino’s and that the store where the video was shot were closed and sanitized, for the efforts of Domino’s Richard Levick, President of the Levick Communications gives an â€Å"F† for the first 24 hrs and an â€Å"A† for the rest (R.Flandez,2009). By using the social Networks domino’s managed to handle the situation well. 2.2. Goods and Bads During the crisis, It could be clearly seen that even though Dominos was in a bad situation they didn’t jump on defending just because they might attract more people and they didn’t hold anything like a press conference, which wasn’t appropriate during that situation, but they did upload a video on YouTube and opened a twitter account to defend dominos and to tell people what was going on which was a good thing they did. The YouTube and twitter response was good but what about the older generation?, the people who are not on any of these but still a fan of dominos, they will only hear what people say considering there was no press conference or statement on TV which is a direct source of information to the Public. From dominos if they had got on TV they could have told the public as whole that they are working on the crisis and what they are doing about it. Even in the YouTube video the president of Dominos pizza Patrick Doyle stated that the store where the video shot was taken by the pranksters was closed and sanitized (R.Flandez,2009),they could have invited the Media ( TV stations and reporters) to witness the process. Even though the two employs of Dominos were fired after the video they could have managed to get a live statement of what actually happened and why they did it. It could have given extra support to prove the innocence of the whole organization. In the case of Pepsi-Cola in 1993(M.Hubbard,2006) when a man in Tacoma, Washington claimed that he had found a syringe in a can of diet Pepsi, the story started spreading like wild fire in the country more claims started arising. Pepsi-Cola announced that they will pursue legal action against anyone making false claims and started work on proving the innocence of Pepsi-Cola, and the claims did turn out to be a hoax. The president of Pepsi Craig Weatherup made appearances on TV and gave statements on radio. They even brought in cameras to the Pepsi bottling plant to show the bottling process and proved that there is no way that a foreign object could be inserted in to bottle or can before its sealed(M.Hubbard,2006), which is a very good example of communication in crisis. Dominos did make mistakes but they still managed the situation at a time there was no Social media plat forms or strategy in the Organization (M.Agnes, 2012) 3. Recommendations After the incident took place on 13th April 2009.a study conducted by HCD Research found 65% of respondents who were daily customers hesitates to do so after watching the offending video(R.Flandez,2009). Recommendations are many for this kind of situations. Like they could have prepared a communication list of reporters investors and customers, business partners and advisors and give to an official statement instead of waiting without any actions like in the dominos case and also admitting that there is a problem helps to move on with the others steps of the process to overcome the crisis(M.Nowlan, 2006).Many companies give out the phrase â€Å" no comment† and that is not the best thing to do as the public will conclude the situation making the Company guilty. And also respond to the situation as quickly as possible (M.Nowlan, 2006). 4.Conclusion As Effective communication plays a major role in the business organization it’s really important for the organizations to be ready for what might come for them. As one single mistake made by them at a time of crisis can lead to a loss which would be difficult to get over. As in the case of Dominos they were nearly out of business, there was couple of things which could have been done from the company side which were neglected in communicating the public. It’s important to take action internally but considering the company to be a service provider, issues will rise in a speed that no human can expect it that way. Let this case be a lesson to all the service providers to improve their image for the future.

What Crime Has Been Comitted Essay Example for Free

What Crime Has Been Comitted Essay The purpose of this report is to sum up the court case of Rixon Vs Star City PTY LTD (2001 september). Mr Brian Rixon is the Appellant and Star City Pty Ltd (formerly Sydney Harbour Casino Pty Ltd) is the Respondent. Mr Rixon is suing Star City for battery, assult and unlawful arrest. What crime has beem commited? Include a defention of this crime. In this particulular case of Brian Rixon vs Star City PTY LTD, battery, assult and unlawful arrest were alegedely commited, these offences fall under tort law. A tort can be defined as a civil wrong. Battery can be defined as; direct intentional or neglective conduct that causes contact with the body of another without consent. While in criminal law this conduct is also known as assault, in civil actions a distinction is made between battery that invoves a threat of contact without assault. Brian Rixon had been made the subject of an exclusion order issued under the Casino Control Act (which meant that he could not return to the casino). However Mr Rixon did not abide to these terms and once again entered the casino. As a result of this an employee of the respondent approached Mr Rixon in the casino, placed his hand on Mr Rixon, spun him around informed him that; as an excluded person, he was required to follow him to an interview room. Mr Rixon was held in this room for approximately an hour and a half before police arrived; during which time he claimed he suffered stress and anxiety. Indentify the defenda nts and what plea they used. The defendants in this particular case are Star City PTY LTD. They had decided to plea not guilty and defended there employes decision to remove Mr Rixon from the casino as he was violating the casino control act. Outline the arguments they used in there case The defendants used the following arguments in there defence: Defence against assualt- Proof of assault requires proof of an intention to create in another person an apprehension of imminent harmful or offensive contact. If the assault lies in creating an apprehension of impending contact, proof of the assault does not require proof of an intention to follow it up or carry it through. However Mr Ross (Casino Inspector) placed his hand on Mr Rixons shoulder without using any degree of force and said Are you Brian Rixon? which leads to conclusion that Mr Ross had no intention of creating in Mr Rixon an apprehension of imminent harmful or offensive conduct Defence against battery- forms of conduct, long held to be acceptable, is touching a person for the purpose of engaging his attention, though of course using no greater degree of physical contact than is reasonably necessary in the circumstances for that purpose. Defence against false imprisonment/wrongfully accused-Any of the people in charge of the casino, the agent of the casino operator or the casino employee who knew that a person, the subject of an exclusion order, was in the casino premises must remove the person from the casino or cause the person to be removed from the casino. Or detain the subject until the authorities arrive to initiate protocol. Identify the Plaintiff The plaintiff In this particular c ase is Brian Rixon. Outline the arguments of the plaintiff. These arguments were used by the Plaintiff: Assault- The appellant Mr Rixon claimed that he was assaulted by the government inspector Ross. Mr Rixon claims that the inspector grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around while he was playing poker. He said that it hurt his shoulder and neck. Battery- The appellant Mr Rixon claimed that the inspector had grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around. This was not acceptable to him and he felt that it violated his security. Quote from her Honour The law cannot draw the line between different degrees of violence, and therefore totally prohibits the first and lowest stage of it; every mans person being sacred, and no other having a right to meddle with it, in any the slightest manner. †. False imprisonment/ wrongfully accused- The plaintiff claimed that he was wrongfully accused and did not deserve to be imprisoned. He also claimed that was in false imprisonment and that they had no right to keep him at the casino. In what court was the case heard? Was the case heard only by a judge or a judge and jury? Why? This particular case was held in district court infront of a judge- judicial officer: Balla ADCJ. This case was only presented in front of judge and not in front of a jury because it is not a criminal case it is a civil case. State the verdict and punishment handed down. Do you think this decision was fair why? / why not? The decision made by judge Balla was that the appeal would be dimmised with cost. The trial Judge rejected Mr Rixons case in battery on the basis that the touching lacked the requisite anger or hostile attitude to be considered as battery. Therefore her Honour dismissed the appeal. The trial Judge rejected the case in assault by finding that the actions of the defendants employee lacked `the requisite intention in relation to assault. Her honour rejected Mr Rixons account of being grabbed or spun round, her Honours finding that Mr Ross placed his hand on Mr Rixons shoulder without using any degree of force and said Are you Brian Rixon? This led her to conclude that Mr Ross had no intention of creating in Mr Rixon an apprehension of imminent harmful or offensive conduct. Therefore her Honour dismissed the appeal. The trial judge rejected the case in False imprisonment and wrongfully accused. The detention of Mr Rixon was made on reasonable grounds and that no more force was used than was proper in the circumstances. Her Honour said that Mr Rixons evidence established that he was informed of the reasons for the detention and that the police were notified immediately of the detention. Mr Rixon was not detained for any longer than was reasonable to enable a police officer to attend at the casino premises. Furthermore Mr Rixon was subject to an exclusion order. By entering the premise he violated the exclusion order and was detained while the police were notified. The staffs at Star City were just following protocol. Therefore her Honour dismissed the appeal. I believe that the verdict for this case was fair as Mr Rixon was out of line and did not need to sue on such an unworthy matter. The staffs at Star City Casino were simply doing their jobs as instructed. The judge did give the matter thoughtful revision and came to an accurate decision.

Soft Skills Importance in Organisations

Soft Skills Importance in Organisations 1 Introduction Background 1.1 Introduction Business concerns with people. Its about communication, coordination and relationship. Although business success is based upon logical acts and thoughts, the human element cannot be ignored (Armstrong, 2006). Thats why strong soft skills are vitally important. Organisations and businesses are established with one thing in mind that is to earn revenue for their stakeholders. Revenue is earned by selling products or providing services to its customers and clients. Businesses flourish because they have products or services to sell which their customers buy in return for profits. To compete or to survive in the competitive business environment, its critical for any organization to satisfy the customer needs. Service is often considered an important aspect of satisfaction of customer as well as a significant contribution. Customer satisfaction is an important aspect for business profitability (Armstrong, 2006). It is the satisfaction of the customers that keep them loyal and any good serv ice provided by the organisation help it to retain customers that in turn ends in high profitability. Increased competition and customer expectations have forced the companies to frequently provide good customer value and service. This has pressurised the businesses to focus more on customer satisfaction (Gerson, 1993). According to Phillips (1991), customer service is the base for a flourishing business and training is the services cornerstone. Quality product with just price attracts customers but it is not enough. Organisations came to realize that consumers decision to buy this product also depends upon the service or treatment that he/she has received. The importance of customer satisfaction is also a key element in service only industry. Thats why a strong emphasis has been put on soft skills and organisations lay a great importance for employees to acquire soft skills specially the ones who deal with customers. With the growing significance on quickly intensifying service sector; organisations recognized the soft skills importance and they are paying special attention to the softer side of their interaction with consumers. Training of employees especially in soft skills is vital for any organisation and it helps in overall employee improvement as well as development. The need and value for so ft skills development for employees has always been accepted by many organisations (Guirdham, 1999). Training also contributes towards development of employees and and plays an important role in their satisfaction. It helps to acquire new skills or polish the existing ones (Green, 2001). Organisational structures are influenced by customer oriented market and constantly changing environment that is leading the organisations to rely on soft skills training for employees. Organisation structures are necessary to support the effort of training managers and trainee employees. It also makes possible the effective performance of key training activities. Culture of an organization also plays an important part in assessing the needs and requirements for training and development. It also puts a positive pressure on organizational behavior and influences it. It also helps in producing high level of business performance. Culture is what makes an organisation unique and that differentiate it fr om other organizations. The stronger the culture is, the more effective the organization. Training equips organization with flexibility and durability required for growth and survival. Environmental pressures forces an organisation towards change. Training provides adaptability to change and answer to the challenge on how to adjust to change (Ulrich, 1998). Change and training is worthless if employees are not involved properly. Employees are regarded the most valued assets especially which are skilled in soft skills, as the nature of business changes. When organizational change occurs, major alteration and modifications in the policy of the management need to be reflected in the training theory. It is very essential for any organization to realize its environments dynamics and adjust to the changing requirements the internal or external environment (Bhattacharyya, 2007). Leadership is necessary for creating change and can produce orderly change. Leaders are expected to focus on taking the organization forward. Leadership in todays environment is a tough business. Organi zational leaders face a number of significant challenges as their jobs and the world around them become increasingly complex (Murphy and Riggio, 2003). In business, a rapidly shifting economic environment, changing demands of customers and increasing market competition has become normal. To compete, business leaders must continuously increase their performance by any measure. Organisations should work to assure that people in the company work flexibly in the response to change. Trained employees will respond positively to the change and employees that are skilled with both hard and soft skills can work more effectively in achieving organisational overall objectives. Studies have found a relationship between organisations productivity and employee satisfaction and also between satisfaction of employees and customers (Allen and Wilburn,). Satisfied employees can generate satisfied customers. Valued and satisfied employees make more contributions to the organizations performance. They are more productive and work more effectively. If they are satisfied with their job and working conditions, they will serve the customer needs more carefully and efficiently. To get an accurate picture of the service quality delivered; an organisation measure customer satisfaction and experience. Customer satisfaction measurement is about how customer perceives an organizations performance. Measuring customer satisfaction helps in finding out customer needs and determining customers problems. It also assists in improving product and quality of service that in turn leads to more satisfaction of customers. As with customer satisfaction measurement, training evaluation is equally important. Training evaluation is a way to gather information by which the organizations make decisions about training actions (Armstrong, 2008). Businesses apply evaluation of performance appraisal to calculate work performance and effectiveness of an employee, which can help in defining and developing training needs for the organisations. 1.2 Study Purpose The main idea of this dissertation is to investigate the soft skills importance for organisations working in the constantly changing customer oriented market. The significance of soft skills training for customer focused organisations was never felt before. Growing economical environment and customers high expectations forced the organizations to recognise the need of soft skills and soft skills training for employees (Muir, 2004). The other reasons for writing this research paper include examining companies relations with employees and consumers and its effect on satisfaction level of customers. The research focuses on employees soft skills development relating to changing nature of organisation culture. Effects of internal and external environmental factors on organisations functions and policies are also discussed. This paper also examined and argued on roles and responsibilities of HR professionals like HR managers for planning and developing HR strategies and policies. Aspects o f leadership are considered in details, like leading through change, motivating in employee relations and influencing during training and development. The writer has evaluated and related literature review with case-studies of Mobilezone Ltd and United Mobiles Ltd and concluded on the training and developing soft skills benefits and subsequent effects on employee and customer satisfaction. The research paper has analyzed critically on the training of soft skills and its impact on its staff and consumers. In the end the researcher has assessed customer satisfaction and evaluated training by use of research methodologies. The writer has tried to take several authors views on above mentioned subjects. Authors ideas and theories are not only mentioned but debated. The researcher provided point of view of different writers and counter arguments of some scholars on related. 1.3 Companys Overview The organisations selected for this dissertation are in the growing stages with different structures, cultures, and management and leadership styles. Their approaches towards customer satisfaction by training employees in soft skills differ from one another. Both companies are leading mobile phone sellers and service providers in Delhi region of India. The names of the companies are Mobilezone Ltd and United Mobiles Ltd. Both the companies are new to this field. They started their business and launched their operations with the growing demand for telecommunication sector in India. 1.3.1 Mobilezone Ltd Mobile Zone was established in 2002 with the vision of bringing top mobile brands, latest products, and to provide high quality services. It provides quality products of top mobile phone brands in India. Unlike its competitors, it planned its entry with a thorough and careful market research and its employees were well trained before the business actually started. In just 7 years of its existence, it gained a good market share and enjoys a commanding position in mobile phone market in Capital region. With main office in the heart of the city, it has presence in many other areas of Delhi through sales and service centres. Apart from providing services face to face it deals with customer problems and queries via call centre. It employees highly qualified and trained sales and service staff. There are total of 150 employees in the main office and service centres. 1.3.2 United Mobiles Ltd United Mobiles Ltd has also started their business in 2002 just a moth prior to its competitor. In contrast to its competitor, it was fairly new to this business and its staff had little experience in this business field. It also enjoys a market share in the area and earns good profits. Just like its competitors it has sales and service centres in different parts of the city. Its call centre is located in the main office. It employees around 100 staff at main office and service centres (excluding cleaning and maintenance jobs). 1.4 Selection of Topic Research was undertaken before deciding which topic area to select. After initial research on wide range of topics, discussions of ideas with colleagues and friends, browsing internet and libraries, exploring different dissertation of previous years and finally weighing opinions and careful thinking; the researcher narrowed down the topic and selected this specific research. The main motive for selecting the topic was that this covered a lot of subjects within, and extensive data material was available from different sources. The other reasons include the researchers own personal experience in the field and work experience in one of the companies; and the available ease for carrying out data collection research. 1.5 Project paper usefulness The research project can be useful for reference purposes for later projects and studies by the students. This research was conducted with the management help, so this study can also be useful for comparing companies results with its updated analysis. The companies can use it as a guideline to take improvement measures and modifications. The theory and research of this paper can also be of some assistance for companies and other researcher alike. 1.6 Aim and objectives Aim: To study and examine the importance of training soft skills in organisations in terms of customer satisfaction. Following are the research objectives: Examine and analyze the existing literature on employee training and development with specific focus on soft skills and customer satisfaction. Summarize the main subject matter of the findings and provide recommendations to the company on the conclusion. Determine the extent employees soft skills can be improved by training; and the degree of influence of skilled employees on the tendency of customers. Appreciate the contribution of internal and external factors towards skills training and development. Evaluate training and measure employee and customer satisfaction using available research methods. 1.7 Layout of research paper Chapter 1 is research paper introduction. The background and overview of the research undertaken, has been given by the writer. Research purpose, objectives, usefulness of the research paper, selection of topic and companys overview has been proposed. Chapter 2 encompasses the review of literature that includes the body of discussion. This section has further been divided into parts which are related and relevant. Research of soft skills, training and development, change, organisations structure and culture, HR professionals and leaders roles and responsibilities, employee relations and customer satisfaction; has been put forward and discussed and explained in details. This section has been critically analyzed, taking into account different perspectives. Different scholars and writers work has been taken into account, and comments and arguments were put forward by the researcher. Chapter 3 consists of review of methodology. Different research methods which could have been useful are discussed and weighed. Selection of appropriate methods and reasons for selection and rejection of research methods are presented in summary. Arguments and benefits for selected methods are also given. Sampling, tools of research, designs, models and other related techniques are also explained in this section. Chapter 4 comprises data analysis that the researcher collected and its significance in terms of reaching the explicit conclusions. Data gathered from interviews, questionnaires and other sources is analysed critically analysed. All the results are presented graphically. Comparison o results are also made in this section. Chapter 5 is summary, conclusions and recommendations. All the data in first 4 chapters has been summarised and concluded in this chapter, drawing together the threads of research project and the main things found out in data collection. Recommendations has been proposed after taking into consideration all the summarised research that gives detailed insight into the related research criteria. The researcher has also highlighted the areas the companies can focus in future to improve its business performance. 2 Literature Review: 2.1 Introduction: Organisations survive, grow and earn profits by meeting the needs and requirement of customers. To survive in the ever changing environment, it is critical for any organisation to satisfy the needs of the customers (Mullins, 2007). Consumers decision to buy this product also depends upon the service or treatment provided by the company. Thats why companies put a great emphasis on its employees training of skills as well as continuous development over the years; especially for the ones which provide service directly or interact with customers often. Organisations have started emphasising on soft skills importance for services and they are laying a great importance for employees to acquire soft skills. Training of employees in soft skills is vital for any organisation as it aid in employee development (Guirdham, 1999). Customer oriented market and changing environment has influence on the organization structure that leads to increased reliance on skills development. Organisation structures are necessary to support the effort of training managers and trainee employees (Armstrong, 2008). It also makes possible the effective performance of key training activities. Organisational structures are influenced by customer oriented market and constantly changing environment that is leading to more dependence on soft skills training for employees. Culture of an organization also plays an important part in assessing the needs and requirements for training and development. It also puts a positive pressure on organizational behavior and influences it. It also helps in producing high level of business performance. Change and training is worthless if employees are not involved properly (Armstrong, 2008). Employees are regarded the most valued assets especially which are skilled in soft skills, as the business nat ure organization itself changes. The role of managers and leaders are very important in development of employees. Leadership is necessary for creating change and can produce orderly change. Leaders are expected to focus on taking the organization forward. To get an accurate picture of the service quality delivered; an organisation measure customer satisfaction and experience (Bratton and Gold, 2001). Training is also evaluated to measure the employee work performance and effectiveness (Beardwell et al. 2007). 2.2. Training and Development Armsrtong (2008) defines employee development as a process to prepare organization employees for future responsibilities related to job. This may include training (formal or informal, mentoring, education, coaching etc. Training and development of employees is a HRM activity. HRM is concerned with personnel management and staff development in a company and is normally carried out by HR professionals e.g. HR managers (Armstrong, 2006). The nature of work HR carries out differs from one business to another and is effected by size and structure of the company. Talented pools of workers are always required by an organisation to compete successfully in todays highly competitive market (Bratton and Gold, 2001). Company can achieve and maintain this competitive advantage by regularly upgrading the workforce skills. Training and development is a never ending challenge that a company must address (Wilson, 2006). The development of employee skills is one of the most imperative tasks in which a n organisation can engage (Molander and Winterton, 2006). Effective training is paramount for survival and growth of a business. Training is not just about developing people but serving them to become more positive and capable in their jobs as well confident in their lives. The field of training is a fast growing sector of human life and has come of age as a profession. There are many motives for training and developing employees. It can be started for a variety of reasons for employees e.g. to facilitate an employee to be qualified for a planned change. It can be carried out as part of an employees professional development program or performance improvement (Rae, 1999). The training need has always been present in every walk of life and today the need is so much greater. There could be any reason but important are probably: the pace at which change is happening in every field of business life, and the employers attitude and the attitude of the individuals (Pont, 2003). Training is not only essential to create skilled force but also needed to maintain a high level of skills required by the constantly changing work environment and to equip employees to meet future demands (Stewart, 2996) (Pont, 2003). HR professionals do recognise training and development of an employee is a process that is ongoing but it speed up in case of organisational, cultural or environmental change. This training process involves continuous adjustment to adapt which is achieved from improved skills and increased knowledge (Beardwell et al 2007). The new working system demands completely new approach of thinking and extensive training in new skills (Beardwell and Claydon, 2007). The importance of training has long been recognized. The need for training is more prominent given todays business climate which affects the economy and society at large. The most simplistic definition of training is that it is an activity that changes peoples behaviour. Training is defined by Wilson (2006) as a planned process to modify employee knowledge, skill, attitude and behaviour through learning to gain performance. Employee is trained to make sure that organizations current or future needs are met. Training can equip employees to do their jobs, perform their tasks and handle complex products and services. In Bramleys (2003) words, training involves learning and educating employee to do something so that the things are done differently. He and (Wilson, 1999) further explains that training process is planned to facilitate education to help employees develop into more effective and efficient in performing their duties and completing their work. According to the CIPD, training is expected to equip workers to help them become strategically unique, in addition to the provision of skills, attitudes and knowledge required to attain operational efficiency. The foundation for training remains the traditional training process system. This involves: 1. identifying the needs for training and development of the company; 2. Planning training or devising a learning plan; 3. Carrying out or delivering training and 4. Assessing and evaluating outcomes/results. A training-need-analysis is the first step in identifying the types of programs that will further organisations goals, which helps to decide whether training is appropriate at all. The organisations have to assess why they need training. Is the current organisational deficiency that the training seeks to address really due to lack of skills and knowledge or some deeper problems? Frequently, organisations implement training program because a HR professional identifies an individual or business need (Smith and Mazin, 2004). Then plans are made on how to deliver the program and by which method. Although the terms training and development are often linked, these address slightly different needs. Training focuses on learning the necessary skills and acquiring the knowledge required to perform the job. Training deals with design and delivery of knowledge to improve organization performance. Development focuses on the preparation needed for future jobs; it should be considered investment in the work force since its benefits are long term (Buhler, 2002). Training inclined towards focusing on short term results. Development may inadequately focus on working environment. It is very important for the business to review its training to a broader scenario (Bryans and Smith, 2000). According to Armstrong (2006), people are learning and will continue to do so throughout their career, whether taught formally or as an experience. Mullins (2007) observed that people learn within the organisation and in everyday life situations. Competition, technological advances and organizational devel opment, all necessitate the creation of knowledge that leads to constant advancement. That directs oganizations to take more interest in employee development within evolving organization. Training is the main area of the HRM function of particular importance and relevant to the management effectiveness. There are not many scholars who argue in opposition to the importance of training as a foremost influence on the organization success. Leading writers have recognised the importance of training as fundamental for management (Bratton and Gold, 2003). Many believed that training employee development is a key factor of HRM within organization. Training as described by Keep (1989 cited by Wilkinson, 2006), is a litmus test against which managements characteristics practices can be measured. Other advantages of staffs training and development includes: increased employee morale, motivation and job satisfaction, increased efficiency and effectiveness, increased ability to adopt latest meth ods and technologies, enhanced company image, reduced employee turnover, risk management. The precise staff training at the right timing presents big payoffs for the employer in increased knowledge, productivity, contribution and loyalty (Web 3). Training let the organization to develop and promote its own business culture. It also permits organizations to become accustomed to changes in the working environment and can be used as a change agent (Wilkinson, 2006). Training can improve effectiveness of the organisation in fiercely competitive markets. Training assists in optimizing the development of human resource for employee to achieve the individual as well as organisational objectives (Benson, 2006). It increases the job skills and knowledge of employees and expands the horizons of their intellect and their personality. Training and development also aids in signifying the team spirit sense, team work and inter team relationship. It also helps the company to be effective in decisi on making and solving problem. It also assists in developing leadership skills, loyalty among employees, staff motivation, enhanced attitudes and other features that successful employees normally display (Armstrong, 2008) (Bratton and Gold, 2003) (Jenkins,2002) (Pont, 2003) (Price, 2007). Of course, the basic and main goal of a business is to enhance its value and to increase its stakeholders wealth. It requires effective and efficient use of limited resources available to the organization to achieve theses aims. Resource aavailability (human, physical and financial) are considered important inputs (Bacon Haque, 2008). HR scholars agree that an organisation is only as good as persons working in it but opinions vary on how it translates into practice. Many organisations not only consider training as n chance for employees to learn something but also as an investment that would produce results for business. It also takes money and time to train staff (Bacon Haque, 2008). With a supportive environment and a little encouragement and reinforcement, a business can accomplish the required result on a substantial investment in people. An organized approach is needed in evaluation of needs of training; otherwise organization may not be able to utilize valuable resources eff iciently (Armstrong, 2006). Training matters for a company because of the established links between productivity and skills. Organisations allocate resources for training because of fear of skills shortage. Some scholars like Kallenberg Moody (1994) recognize that investment in employee development result in higher returns in future. Employees are the essential and crucial resource. Its important for an organisation to optimize the employees contribution to the organisations goals and objectives in order to maintain effective performance. Adequate supply of technically and socially competent and proficient staff is only ensured by training and development. Training helps the staff to become capable for career advancement into specialist departments and management positions. Staff training can be on-the-job that is conducted at the trainees workplace, and off-the-job which is carried out away from employees work place (Mullins, 2007). Some employees are naturally gifted in talents w hile others work hard to gain but all can still benefit from learning new techniques. People usually receive a well to do on the job training in one form or another. Some people are good at finding their own paths and procuring the necessary resources and information, many persons learn best by following, observing and asking questions (Smith and Mazin, 2004). Training is not always the answer to problems related to performance. Some training analysts (Rosner, 1999 cited by Smith and Mazin, 2004) believed that training could be a good investment or could be a waste of resources. It is in fact a waste of resources when the desired behaviour does not occur. Thats why training and development doesnt succeed all the time to achieve desired results and in obtaining aims and objectives of the organisation. There can be many causes for the failure but most common are (Web 6): Training is often put into practice for the wrong reasons and seldom aligns to a business measure. If training program does not support the business goals then no improvement can be recorded. Training is thought to be a solution for a range of performance problems when training may not be concern at all. It also fails because it does not succeed to give direction and focus. Sometimes the solution proves too expensive for the desired outcomes. Individuals behaviour towards t raining also plays an important part; e.g. when training is believed just as an event than as enhancement of skills and abilities of the employees, it fails to generate business results. Other important reason for failure is lack of management support (Mullins, 2007). Employees will hardly ever implement new skills and knowledge without it in the workplace. Failure to include and credit other influences and processes apart from training that may have influenced the business outcomes may also be a good reason of failure. Some businesses invest little in training because they dont have enough funds. Other reason is the fear that individuals will leave and move to other companies at some later stage. Few organisations consider recruitment process sufficient and rely on the natural skills of employees rather than training (Harrison, 2005). It is HR managers role and responsibility to develop and implement training strategies and policies. He/she is also involved in people management activities like developing organization, recruitment and selection, talent management, learning and development, human resource planning, knowledge management, reward management, etc (Hyde et al. 2009). Depending on the business nature and size of the company, the HR managers not just have responsibility of training and developing employees but for performance management as well.Training processes take place in the context of internal and the external environment of the organization. Human Resource Managers need to realize the training and developments nature and process to be able to facilitate learning and development within the organisation (Watson, 2006). While providing training, the managers need to recognize the importance and effects organization structure and design because these describe tasks and responsibilities, roles and rela tionships, work and channels of communication (Mullins, 2007). Structure is clearly important for any organization, whatever its size. The aspects that determine how the company functions in relation to its eternal and external environment are its structure and the processes that operate within it. Structures are necessary to support the effort of training managers and trainee employees. It also makes possible the effective performance of key training activities (Hyde et al. 2009). Human Resource Development (HRD) is a name which signifies the newest evolutionary phase in the long custom of training, educating and developing employees. It focuses on the principle of contributing to the success of individual, organisational and societal objectives. According to McLagan (1989 cited in Wilson, 2005) it is the incorporated use of training, career development and development of a company to improve organisational and individual value. HRD gives the business benefits assisting the ability to increase revenue. Companies need to develop a learning culture that responds quickly to the ever changing environment. HRD policies can help the organisation to obtain this objective (Nixon, 2004). 2.3. Soft Skills There are two versions of HRM as explained by Storey (1992). He made the distinction between the soft and hard HRM approaches and describes that although both approaches to HRM emphasise on employees and consider them important for achieving competitive edge that has to be attained, developed and organized in ways that benefits the business. Soft version further focuses on communication, leadership and motivation and lays emphasis on peoples skills, commitment, adaptability and performance (Armstrong, 2006). Organisations that have a mixture of both approaches tend to endure and grow in the competitive business environment. Many schol Soft Skills Importance in Organisations Soft Skills Importance in Organisations 1 Introduction Background 1.1 Introduction Business concerns with people. Its about communication, coordination and relationship. Although business success is based upon logical acts and thoughts, the human element cannot be ignored (Armstrong, 2006). Thats why strong soft skills are vitally important. Organisations and businesses are established with one thing in mind that is to earn revenue for their stakeholders. Revenue is earned by selling products or providing services to its customers and clients. Businesses flourish because they have products or services to sell which their customers buy in return for profits. To compete or to survive in the competitive business environment, its critical for any organization to satisfy the customer needs. Service is often considered an important aspect of satisfaction of customer as well as a significant contribution. Customer satisfaction is an important aspect for business profitability (Armstrong, 2006). It is the satisfaction of the customers that keep them loyal and any good serv ice provided by the organisation help it to retain customers that in turn ends in high profitability. Increased competition and customer expectations have forced the companies to frequently provide good customer value and service. This has pressurised the businesses to focus more on customer satisfaction (Gerson, 1993). According to Phillips (1991), customer service is the base for a flourishing business and training is the services cornerstone. Quality product with just price attracts customers but it is not enough. Organisations came to realize that consumers decision to buy this product also depends upon the service or treatment that he/she has received. The importance of customer satisfaction is also a key element in service only industry. Thats why a strong emphasis has been put on soft skills and organisations lay a great importance for employees to acquire soft skills specially the ones who deal with customers. With the growing significance on quickly intensifying service sector; organisations recognized the soft skills importance and they are paying special attention to the softer side of their interaction with consumers. Training of employees especially in soft skills is vital for any organisation and it helps in overall employee improvement as well as development. The need and value for so ft skills development for employees has always been accepted by many organisations (Guirdham, 1999). Training also contributes towards development of employees and and plays an important role in their satisfaction. It helps to acquire new skills or polish the existing ones (Green, 2001). Organisational structures are influenced by customer oriented market and constantly changing environment that is leading the organisations to rely on soft skills training for employees. Organisation structures are necessary to support the effort of training managers and trainee employees. It also makes possible the effective performance of key training activities. Culture of an organization also plays an important part in assessing the needs and requirements for training and development. It also puts a positive pressure on organizational behavior and influences it. It also helps in producing high level of business performance. Culture is what makes an organisation unique and that differentiate it fr om other organizations. The stronger the culture is, the more effective the organization. Training equips organization with flexibility and durability required for growth and survival. Environmental pressures forces an organisation towards change. Training provides adaptability to change and answer to the challenge on how to adjust to change (Ulrich, 1998). Change and training is worthless if employees are not involved properly. Employees are regarded the most valued assets especially which are skilled in soft skills, as the nature of business changes. When organizational change occurs, major alteration and modifications in the policy of the management need to be reflected in the training theory. It is very essential for any organization to realize its environments dynamics and adjust to the changing requirements the internal or external environment (Bhattacharyya, 2007). Leadership is necessary for creating change and can produce orderly change. Leaders are expected to focus on taking the organization forward. Leadership in todays environment is a tough business. Organi zational leaders face a number of significant challenges as their jobs and the world around them become increasingly complex (Murphy and Riggio, 2003). In business, a rapidly shifting economic environment, changing demands of customers and increasing market competition has become normal. To compete, business leaders must continuously increase their performance by any measure. Organisations should work to assure that people in the company work flexibly in the response to change. Trained employees will respond positively to the change and employees that are skilled with both hard and soft skills can work more effectively in achieving organisational overall objectives. Studies have found a relationship between organisations productivity and employee satisfaction and also between satisfaction of employees and customers (Allen and Wilburn,). Satisfied employees can generate satisfied customers. Valued and satisfied employees make more contributions to the organizations performance. They are more productive and work more effectively. If they are satisfied with their job and working conditions, they will serve the customer needs more carefully and efficiently. To get an accurate picture of the service quality delivered; an organisation measure customer satisfaction and experience. Customer satisfaction measurement is about how customer perceives an organizations performance. Measuring customer satisfaction helps in finding out customer needs and determining customers problems. It also assists in improving product and quality of service that in turn leads to more satisfaction of customers. As with customer satisfaction measurement, training evaluation is equally important. Training evaluation is a way to gather information by which the organizations make decisions about training actions (Armstrong, 2008). Businesses apply evaluation of performance appraisal to calculate work performance and effectiveness of an employee, which can help in defining and developing training needs for the organisations. 1.2 Study Purpose The main idea of this dissertation is to investigate the soft skills importance for organisations working in the constantly changing customer oriented market. The significance of soft skills training for customer focused organisations was never felt before. Growing economical environment and customers high expectations forced the organizations to recognise the need of soft skills and soft skills training for employees (Muir, 2004). The other reasons for writing this research paper include examining companies relations with employees and consumers and its effect on satisfaction level of customers. The research focuses on employees soft skills development relating to changing nature of organisation culture. Effects of internal and external environmental factors on organisations functions and policies are also discussed. This paper also examined and argued on roles and responsibilities of HR professionals like HR managers for planning and developing HR strategies and policies. Aspects o f leadership are considered in details, like leading through change, motivating in employee relations and influencing during training and development. The writer has evaluated and related literature review with case-studies of Mobilezone Ltd and United Mobiles Ltd and concluded on the training and developing soft skills benefits and subsequent effects on employee and customer satisfaction. The research paper has analyzed critically on the training of soft skills and its impact on its staff and consumers. In the end the researcher has assessed customer satisfaction and evaluated training by use of research methodologies. The writer has tried to take several authors views on above mentioned subjects. Authors ideas and theories are not only mentioned but debated. The researcher provided point of view of different writers and counter arguments of some scholars on related. 1.3 Companys Overview The organisations selected for this dissertation are in the growing stages with different structures, cultures, and management and leadership styles. Their approaches towards customer satisfaction by training employees in soft skills differ from one another. Both companies are leading mobile phone sellers and service providers in Delhi region of India. The names of the companies are Mobilezone Ltd and United Mobiles Ltd. Both the companies are new to this field. They started their business and launched their operations with the growing demand for telecommunication sector in India. 1.3.1 Mobilezone Ltd Mobile Zone was established in 2002 with the vision of bringing top mobile brands, latest products, and to provide high quality services. It provides quality products of top mobile phone brands in India. Unlike its competitors, it planned its entry with a thorough and careful market research and its employees were well trained before the business actually started. In just 7 years of its existence, it gained a good market share and enjoys a commanding position in mobile phone market in Capital region. With main office in the heart of the city, it has presence in many other areas of Delhi through sales and service centres. Apart from providing services face to face it deals with customer problems and queries via call centre. It employees highly qualified and trained sales and service staff. There are total of 150 employees in the main office and service centres. 1.3.2 United Mobiles Ltd United Mobiles Ltd has also started their business in 2002 just a moth prior to its competitor. In contrast to its competitor, it was fairly new to this business and its staff had little experience in this business field. It also enjoys a market share in the area and earns good profits. Just like its competitors it has sales and service centres in different parts of the city. Its call centre is located in the main office. It employees around 100 staff at main office and service centres (excluding cleaning and maintenance jobs). 1.4 Selection of Topic Research was undertaken before deciding which topic area to select. After initial research on wide range of topics, discussions of ideas with colleagues and friends, browsing internet and libraries, exploring different dissertation of previous years and finally weighing opinions and careful thinking; the researcher narrowed down the topic and selected this specific research. The main motive for selecting the topic was that this covered a lot of subjects within, and extensive data material was available from different sources. The other reasons include the researchers own personal experience in the field and work experience in one of the companies; and the available ease for carrying out data collection research. 1.5 Project paper usefulness The research project can be useful for reference purposes for later projects and studies by the students. This research was conducted with the management help, so this study can also be useful for comparing companies results with its updated analysis. The companies can use it as a guideline to take improvement measures and modifications. The theory and research of this paper can also be of some assistance for companies and other researcher alike. 1.6 Aim and objectives Aim: To study and examine the importance of training soft skills in organisations in terms of customer satisfaction. Following are the research objectives: Examine and analyze the existing literature on employee training and development with specific focus on soft skills and customer satisfaction. Summarize the main subject matter of the findings and provide recommendations to the company on the conclusion. Determine the extent employees soft skills can be improved by training; and the degree of influence of skilled employees on the tendency of customers. Appreciate the contribution of internal and external factors towards skills training and development. Evaluate training and measure employee and customer satisfaction using available research methods. 1.7 Layout of research paper Chapter 1 is research paper introduction. The background and overview of the research undertaken, has been given by the writer. Research purpose, objectives, usefulness of the research paper, selection of topic and companys overview has been proposed. Chapter 2 encompasses the review of literature that includes the body of discussion. This section has further been divided into parts which are related and relevant. Research of soft skills, training and development, change, organisations structure and culture, HR professionals and leaders roles and responsibilities, employee relations and customer satisfaction; has been put forward and discussed and explained in details. This section has been critically analyzed, taking into account different perspectives. Different scholars and writers work has been taken into account, and comments and arguments were put forward by the researcher. Chapter 3 consists of review of methodology. Different research methods which could have been useful are discussed and weighed. Selection of appropriate methods and reasons for selection and rejection of research methods are presented in summary. Arguments and benefits for selected methods are also given. Sampling, tools of research, designs, models and other related techniques are also explained in this section. Chapter 4 comprises data analysis that the researcher collected and its significance in terms of reaching the explicit conclusions. Data gathered from interviews, questionnaires and other sources is analysed critically analysed. All the results are presented graphically. Comparison o results are also made in this section. Chapter 5 is summary, conclusions and recommendations. All the data in first 4 chapters has been summarised and concluded in this chapter, drawing together the threads of research project and the main things found out in data collection. Recommendations has been proposed after taking into consideration all the summarised research that gives detailed insight into the related research criteria. The researcher has also highlighted the areas the companies can focus in future to improve its business performance. 2 Literature Review: 2.1 Introduction: Organisations survive, grow and earn profits by meeting the needs and requirement of customers. To survive in the ever changing environment, it is critical for any organisation to satisfy the needs of the customers (Mullins, 2007). Consumers decision to buy this product also depends upon the service or treatment provided by the company. Thats why companies put a great emphasis on its employees training of skills as well as continuous development over the years; especially for the ones which provide service directly or interact with customers often. Organisations have started emphasising on soft skills importance for services and they are laying a great importance for employees to acquire soft skills. Training of employees in soft skills is vital for any organisation as it aid in employee development (Guirdham, 1999). Customer oriented market and changing environment has influence on the organization structure that leads to increased reliance on skills development. Organisation structures are necessary to support the effort of training managers and trainee employees (Armstrong, 2008). It also makes possible the effective performance of key training activities. Organisational structures are influenced by customer oriented market and constantly changing environment that is leading to more dependence on soft skills training for employees. Culture of an organization also plays an important part in assessing the needs and requirements for training and development. It also puts a positive pressure on organizational behavior and influences it. It also helps in producing high level of business performance. Change and training is worthless if employees are not involved properly (Armstrong, 2008). Employees are regarded the most valued assets especially which are skilled in soft skills, as the business nat ure organization itself changes. The role of managers and leaders are very important in development of employees. Leadership is necessary for creating change and can produce orderly change. Leaders are expected to focus on taking the organization forward. To get an accurate picture of the service quality delivered; an organisation measure customer satisfaction and experience (Bratton and Gold, 2001). Training is also evaluated to measure the employee work performance and effectiveness (Beardwell et al. 2007). 2.2. Training and Development Armsrtong (2008) defines employee development as a process to prepare organization employees for future responsibilities related to job. This may include training (formal or informal, mentoring, education, coaching etc. Training and development of employees is a HRM activity. HRM is concerned with personnel management and staff development in a company and is normally carried out by HR professionals e.g. HR managers (Armstrong, 2006). The nature of work HR carries out differs from one business to another and is effected by size and structure of the company. Talented pools of workers are always required by an organisation to compete successfully in todays highly competitive market (Bratton and Gold, 2001). Company can achieve and maintain this competitive advantage by regularly upgrading the workforce skills. Training and development is a never ending challenge that a company must address (Wilson, 2006). The development of employee skills is one of the most imperative tasks in which a n organisation can engage (Molander and Winterton, 2006). Effective training is paramount for survival and growth of a business. Training is not just about developing people but serving them to become more positive and capable in their jobs as well confident in their lives. The field of training is a fast growing sector of human life and has come of age as a profession. There are many motives for training and developing employees. It can be started for a variety of reasons for employees e.g. to facilitate an employee to be qualified for a planned change. It can be carried out as part of an employees professional development program or performance improvement (Rae, 1999). The training need has always been present in every walk of life and today the need is so much greater. There could be any reason but important are probably: the pace at which change is happening in every field of business life, and the employers attitude and the attitude of the individuals (Pont, 2003). Training is not only essential to create skilled force but also needed to maintain a high level of skills required by the constantly changing work environment and to equip employees to meet future demands (Stewart, 2996) (Pont, 2003). HR professionals do recognise training and development of an employee is a process that is ongoing but it speed up in case of organisational, cultural or environmental change. This training process involves continuous adjustment to adapt which is achieved from improved skills and increased knowledge (Beardwell et al 2007). The new working system demands completely new approach of thinking and extensive training in new skills (Beardwell and Claydon, 2007). The importance of training has long been recognized. The need for training is more prominent given todays business climate which affects the economy and society at large. The most simplistic definition of training is that it is an activity that changes peoples behaviour. Training is defined by Wilson (2006) as a planned process to modify employee knowledge, skill, attitude and behaviour through learning to gain performance. Employee is trained to make sure that organizations current or future needs are met. Training can equip employees to do their jobs, perform their tasks and handle complex products and services. In Bramleys (2003) words, training involves learning and educating employee to do something so that the things are done differently. He and (Wilson, 1999) further explains that training process is planned to facilitate education to help employees develop into more effective and efficient in performing their duties and completing their work. According to the CIPD, training is expected to equip workers to help them become strategically unique, in addition to the provision of skills, attitudes and knowledge required to attain operational efficiency. The foundation for training remains the traditional training process system. This involves: 1. identifying the needs for training and development of the company; 2. Planning training or devising a learning plan; 3. Carrying out or delivering training and 4. Assessing and evaluating outcomes/results. A training-need-analysis is the first step in identifying the types of programs that will further organisations goals, which helps to decide whether training is appropriate at all. The organisations have to assess why they need training. Is the current organisational deficiency that the training seeks to address really due to lack of skills and knowledge or some deeper problems? Frequently, organisations implement training program because a HR professional identifies an individual or business need (Smith and Mazin, 2004). Then plans are made on how to deliver the program and by which method. Although the terms training and development are often linked, these address slightly different needs. Training focuses on learning the necessary skills and acquiring the knowledge required to perform the job. Training deals with design and delivery of knowledge to improve organization performance. Development focuses on the preparation needed for future jobs; it should be considered investment in the work force since its benefits are long term (Buhler, 2002). Training inclined towards focusing on short term results. Development may inadequately focus on working environment. It is very important for the business to review its training to a broader scenario (Bryans and Smith, 2000). According to Armstrong (2006), people are learning and will continue to do so throughout their career, whether taught formally or as an experience. Mullins (2007) observed that people learn within the organisation and in everyday life situations. Competition, technological advances and organizational devel opment, all necessitate the creation of knowledge that leads to constant advancement. That directs oganizations to take more interest in employee development within evolving organization. Training is the main area of the HRM function of particular importance and relevant to the management effectiveness. There are not many scholars who argue in opposition to the importance of training as a foremost influence on the organization success. Leading writers have recognised the importance of training as fundamental for management (Bratton and Gold, 2003). Many believed that training employee development is a key factor of HRM within organization. Training as described by Keep (1989 cited by Wilkinson, 2006), is a litmus test against which managements characteristics practices can be measured. Other advantages of staffs training and development includes: increased employee morale, motivation and job satisfaction, increased efficiency and effectiveness, increased ability to adopt latest meth ods and technologies, enhanced company image, reduced employee turnover, risk management. The precise staff training at the right timing presents big payoffs for the employer in increased knowledge, productivity, contribution and loyalty (Web 3). Training let the organization to develop and promote its own business culture. It also permits organizations to become accustomed to changes in the working environment and can be used as a change agent (Wilkinson, 2006). Training can improve effectiveness of the organisation in fiercely competitive markets. Training assists in optimizing the development of human resource for employee to achieve the individual as well as organisational objectives (Benson, 2006). It increases the job skills and knowledge of employees and expands the horizons of their intellect and their personality. Training and development also aids in signifying the team spirit sense, team work and inter team relationship. It also helps the company to be effective in decisi on making and solving problem. It also assists in developing leadership skills, loyalty among employees, staff motivation, enhanced attitudes and other features that successful employees normally display (Armstrong, 2008) (Bratton and Gold, 2003) (Jenkins,2002) (Pont, 2003) (Price, 2007). Of course, the basic and main goal of a business is to enhance its value and to increase its stakeholders wealth. It requires effective and efficient use of limited resources available to the organization to achieve theses aims. Resource aavailability (human, physical and financial) are considered important inputs (Bacon Haque, 2008). HR scholars agree that an organisation is only as good as persons working in it but opinions vary on how it translates into practice. Many organisations not only consider training as n chance for employees to learn something but also as an investment that would produce results for business. It also takes money and time to train staff (Bacon Haque, 2008). With a supportive environment and a little encouragement and reinforcement, a business can accomplish the required result on a substantial investment in people. An organized approach is needed in evaluation of needs of training; otherwise organization may not be able to utilize valuable resources eff iciently (Armstrong, 2006). Training matters for a company because of the established links between productivity and skills. Organisations allocate resources for training because of fear of skills shortage. Some scholars like Kallenberg Moody (1994) recognize that investment in employee development result in higher returns in future. Employees are the essential and crucial resource. Its important for an organisation to optimize the employees contribution to the organisations goals and objectives in order to maintain effective performance. Adequate supply of technically and socially competent and proficient staff is only ensured by training and development. Training helps the staff to become capable for career advancement into specialist departments and management positions. Staff training can be on-the-job that is conducted at the trainees workplace, and off-the-job which is carried out away from employees work place (Mullins, 2007). Some employees are naturally gifted in talents w hile others work hard to gain but all can still benefit from learning new techniques. People usually receive a well to do on the job training in one form or another. Some people are good at finding their own paths and procuring the necessary resources and information, many persons learn best by following, observing and asking questions (Smith and Mazin, 2004). Training is not always the answer to problems related to performance. Some training analysts (Rosner, 1999 cited by Smith and Mazin, 2004) believed that training could be a good investment or could be a waste of resources. It is in fact a waste of resources when the desired behaviour does not occur. Thats why training and development doesnt succeed all the time to achieve desired results and in obtaining aims and objectives of the organisation. There can be many causes for the failure but most common are (Web 6): Training is often put into practice for the wrong reasons and seldom aligns to a business measure. If training program does not support the business goals then no improvement can be recorded. Training is thought to be a solution for a range of performance problems when training may not be concern at all. It also fails because it does not succeed to give direction and focus. Sometimes the solution proves too expensive for the desired outcomes. Individuals behaviour towards t raining also plays an important part; e.g. when training is believed just as an event than as enhancement of skills and abilities of the employees, it fails to generate business results. Other important reason for failure is lack of management support (Mullins, 2007). Employees will hardly ever implement new skills and knowledge without it in the workplace. Failure to include and credit other influences and processes apart from training that may have influenced the business outcomes may also be a good reason of failure. Some businesses invest little in training because they dont have enough funds. Other reason is the fear that individuals will leave and move to other companies at some later stage. Few organisations consider recruitment process sufficient and rely on the natural skills of employees rather than training (Harrison, 2005). It is HR managers role and responsibility to develop and implement training strategies and policies. He/she is also involved in people management activities like developing organization, recruitment and selection, talent management, learning and development, human resource planning, knowledge management, reward management, etc (Hyde et al. 2009). Depending on the business nature and size of the company, the HR managers not just have responsibility of training and developing employees but for performance management as well.Training processes take place in the context of internal and the external environment of the organization. Human Resource Managers need to realize the training and developments nature and process to be able to facilitate learning and development within the organisation (Watson, 2006). While providing training, the managers need to recognize the importance and effects organization structure and design because these describe tasks and responsibilities, roles and rela tionships, work and channels of communication (Mullins, 2007). Structure is clearly important for any organization, whatever its size. The aspects that determine how the company functions in relation to its eternal and external environment are its structure and the processes that operate within it. Structures are necessary to support the effort of training managers and trainee employees. It also makes possible the effective performance of key training activities (Hyde et al. 2009). Human Resource Development (HRD) is a name which signifies the newest evolutionary phase in the long custom of training, educating and developing employees. It focuses on the principle of contributing to the success of individual, organisational and societal objectives. According to McLagan (1989 cited in Wilson, 2005) it is the incorporated use of training, career development and development of a company to improve organisational and individual value. HRD gives the business benefits assisting the ability to increase revenue. Companies need to develop a learning culture that responds quickly to the ever changing environment. HRD policies can help the organisation to obtain this objective (Nixon, 2004). 2.3. Soft Skills There are two versions of HRM as explained by Storey (1992). He made the distinction between the soft and hard HRM approaches and describes that although both approaches to HRM emphasise on employees and consider them important for achieving competitive edge that has to be attained, developed and organized in ways that benefits the business. Soft version further focuses on communication, leadership and motivation and lays emphasis on peoples skills, commitment, adaptability and performance (Armstrong, 2006). Organisations that have a mixture of both approaches tend to endure and grow in the competitive business environment. Many schol