The Life of an Administrative Assistant free essay sample

The life of an Administrative Assistant Most Administrative Assistants duties revolve around managing and distributing information within an office. Often individuals are employed by schools, companies, government agencies, legal firms and health care facilities. This generally includes answering phones, taking memos and maintaining files. Administrative assistants may also be in charge of sending and receiving correspondence, as well as greeting customers and clients. In some offices they may have to monitor and record expenditures. In some instances they are required to do scheduling and preparing presentation materials. Some assistants may have to type and proofread documents. The education and training requires the individual to be certified or have a two year associate degree program. This is usually offered at a community college. Some colleges offer bachelor’s degree programs in business admiration, which are four year programs that help you prepare students for this career. Depending on what type of office you want to work in other courses will need to be taken. We will write a custom essay sample on The Life of an Administrative Assistant or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Your college counselor can help you set those up. You are encouraged to become a certified administrative professional this is a one year program. Most places will require this you will learn research skills, communications skills, supervisor, office management and networking. Some other training may include accounting, marketing, statistics, finance, business writing and law. The salary for an administrative assistant is very appealing to the eye. Salary ranges from $17. 00 dollars an hour to $21. 00 an hour. The annual wages are anywhere from 29, 000 to 69,000 a year once again, this depends on what office or what type of work you prefer. The job outlook for this career seems to be very good. From 2008-2010 job opportunities will grow about 11%.

Emma essays

Emma essays The story, Emma, by Jane Austen, is a riveting tale about a heroine who through her determined will to assist others, realizes and attains her own dreams and desires. The story begins with 21 year old, Emma Woodhouse struggling with the loss of her governess of 16 years and a truly dear friend, Miss Taylor. Miss Taylor recently wedded Mr. Weston and moved half a mile away from the Woodhouses residence at Hartfield. Both Emma and her father are trying to cope with this drastic change and overcome their sense of despondency. Emma feels as if she has lost her best friend and is extremely depressed about the predicament. However, Emmas distraught and lonesome manner quickly changes with the arrival of Harriet Smith. Harriet, a young girl of unknown lineage, is a student at Mrs. Goddards school. Emma sees the reformation and refinement of Harriet as a challenge, and decides to take her under her wing. There is a rapid change of atmosphere and mood, as Emma is more cheerful and content because of her newfound friend. The two girls become best friends, and Emmas wound from Miss Taylors departure gradually begins to heal. As the story progresses, Emma notices Harriets fondness of a young farmer by the name of Robert Martin. Emma feels that Mr. Martin is not worthy of her dear friends hand, and convinces Harriet to decline his proposal. Emma, confident of her own matchmaking abilities, then tries to make a match between her companion and Mr. Elton, who is a charming gentleman of an impetuous background. This reveals one of the themes in the story, which is social class prejudice. Although Mr. Martins ear nings are quite respectable, Emma feels that because Harriet is a part of her life now, she should have the same opportunities and lifestyle as her own. Harriet can acquire this by marrying into a higher-class family. Emmas determination and will to make the match ...

Capitalization Rules for Names of Historical Periods and Movements

Capitalization Rules for Names of Historical Periods and Movements Capitalization Rules for Names of Historical Periods and Movements Capitalization Rules for Names of Historical Periods and Movements By Mark Nichol When are designations for historically significant phenomena treated with initial capital letters, and when are the names rendered with lowercase letters? Exceptions, as always, are available to confound us, but the rules are fairly straightforward. Names of political and cultural periods or events are often capitalized in their original connotations, but when such nomenclature is used by extension in a generic sense, the designations are (usually) lowercased. For example, one should write, for example, â€Å"The arts and sciences flourished during the Renaissance,† but â€Å"The downtown district is experiencing a renaissance.† (However, to describe someone as well rounded in skills or talents, write â€Å"He’s a Renaissance man† even when he is not a contemporary of Michelangelo.) The same distinction applies for such terms as â€Å"golden age† (â€Å"The Golden Age was the first of Hesiod’s Ages of Man,† but â€Å"Jazz music has experienced several golden ages†) and â€Å"belle à ©poque† (â€Å"The period of peace and optimism in France in the nearly half century before World War I came to be known retrospectively as the Belle Époque,† but â€Å"They look back on that prosperous period as a belle à ©poque†). Similarly, one would write â€Å"China’s infamous Cultural Revolution was a decade-long time of great turmoil,† but â€Å"American society has undergone a cultural revolution of late,† and while references to the mid-twentieth-century tension between Western nations and the Communist Bloc capitalize â€Å"Cold War,† any such conflict without open hostilities is a cold war. The Enlightenment was a specific cultural movement in Europe and Britain’s American colonies during the 1600s and 1700s, or a similar era in any one of several countries. Generic usage is as follows: â€Å"In the Western world, the concept of enlightenment in a religious context acquired a romantic meaning.† However, in specific usage, enlightenment is capitalized: â€Å"The Russian Enlightenment is a period in the eighteenth century in which the government in Russia began to actively encourage the proliferation of arts and sciences.† Adjectives preceding names of political entities are often erroneously capitalized. No civilization has ever gone by the official name of Ancient Greece or Imperial Rome, for example; the first word in such designations is generally a mere descriptor and is therefore lowercased: â€Å"The course is a general overview of the history of ancient Greece†; â€Å"This essay will discuss the economic structure of imperial Rome.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:How to Punctuate References to Dates and TimesFor Sale vs. On SaleCharles's Pen and Jesus' Name

Globalization and Human Rights Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Globalization and Human Rights - Essay Example This work talks about globalization and its effect on human rights. Globalization tends to refer to the economic systems that have been put into place in order for free trade to occur more easily. However, there is also a different kind of globalization which may be identified as an international â€Å"human rights regime†. In some sense the idea that occurrences within individual countries are the concern and responsibility of all countries was created with the Nuremberg trials of Nazi war criminals and the creation of the United Nations, one of whose purposes was to stop such genocide occurring again. However, as the events in Rwanda have shown, attempts to stop genocide have often been haphazard and/or non-existent. Concerning Rwanda, the essay talks that there are some bright spots within the history of the genocide in Rwanda. These suggest that it is the actions of individuals, rather than worldwide organizations that may in fact be able to at least partially alleviate what occurs in such terrible times. The paper concludes that, after the genocide of World War II the world decided, through the body of the United Nations, that it would no longer allow genocide to occur. Unfortunately, countries that are remote from others, or in perceived â€Å"unimportant† areas of the world – such as Africa – tend to be left to deal with their own problems. It seems obvious that if genocide had been occurring in a country such as the United Kingdom then America would have intervened the next day. This is reality, a sad reality, but undeniable nevertheless.

JAPANESE PUBLIC SCHOOLS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

JAPANESE PUBLIC SCHOOLS - Essay Example Instead, students from America have pressure to attain satisfactory grades despite the period they spend in school being minimal. This is unlike in Japan where students attend school for 240 days per year with the holidays being during the spring season a period that the students work on their homework and projects. This makes the students to be skillful in comparison with those of United States. United States is a multicultural state which makes it hard for schools to be managed. This is unlike in Japan where the culture is uniform making it easy to manage the students and treat the students uniformly. This has an impact on the overall performance of students. School curriculum in Japan is effective with the aim being to pressure students to work hard in school. It has various tests that the student must pass in order to move to the next level. In case, a student fails to pass these exams, there are career oriented schools that are aiming at nurturing the students’ talents. This is unlike in America where those who fail to pass to the next level look for their fate in the society making some of them venture in criminal activities. American curriculum varies depending with the state. This division weakens their curriculum as different states have their methods of teaching. This is unlike in Japan where they use a unified curriculum giving the educational ministry a chance to strengthen the

Why Education is the most important factor in a developing country Essay Example for Free

Why Education is the most important factor in a developing country Essay Education is often considered the greatest opportunity you can give a child, purely from what the child can do with that Education, will they become a Doctor and save 100 lives? Or become a Scientist and cure Malaria? They will also learn to be civilized, moral and then spread that to their children whom will possibly do the same until you have a lot of civilized people in one country working together and making trying their best to be the best people they can be, great countries rise, perhaps that may be why countries that see Education as â€Å"optional† are some of the most disorderly regions. Those regions include, The Middle East, Africa, and some of Latin America. According to Islamic beliefs, everyone is entitled to an Education; in fact, getting an education is described as â€Å"A Moral duty to yourself and Society† in the Quran but as the reader may know, Women are not allowed into Middle Eastern Universities and the Woman’s Father must approve of her Daughter even going to, what we know as, Middle school in The Middle East. Because Women are not allowed to study anything, including Politics, there is only a Male based government, and as we know by now, Men and Women are not as equal as we would like to admit, for instance, in countries where Women can hold political office (Europe, North America and Asia) are generally more peaceful areas of the world and that is because Men are likely to take a more stern and aggressive approach to threats while Women are more likely to want to avoid serious conflict and instead find alternatives. The point is that a bunch of governments, with only Men, are more likely to conflict with other countries because they don’t have something to bring them to sense when Violence seems like the best option, in The Middle East at least. In Africa, instead of religious reasons for people lacking education, the problem is Money. There are not enough good schools in Africa for all the children of the continent (obviously) and this leads to the kids having to work for whoever is hiring, which is usually one of the many warlords of Africa. Of course, this is not true for all of Africa, for instance, South Africa and Egypt are in the top 30 for richest countries in the World and in South Africa, 81% of their population has received an education comparable to High school level. Egypt has a lower percentage (73%) but this is still much higher than most African countries. The greatest reason as to why  Africa is in such a bad spot is because of European Imperialism, in the 18th Century, Africa was farmed by Europeans leaving them with less than half of the original natural resources they had before the Europeans came along, then they just left. Leaving the people with a freedom they hadn’t had in years, thus raised Warlords and corrupt political figures. The majority of African countries have not organized themselves from this time and because of that, most of the children in Africa have suffered and not gotten an education which will undoubtedly lead Africa to some bad times. Unlike the Middle East and Africa, Latin American countries have OK educational systems that are widely accessible and that is encouraged by most parents, but why is this area some of the most violent? Because of the growing Drug Empire(s) that has taken over almost all of South America and 2/3 of North America and still growing, that promises a lot of very fast which is what everyone wants, especially the poor. This is seen as a good alternative because school takes a lot of hard work that will cost a lot of money later on and even then, the job market is horrible unless you went to Harvard and got a 4.0 GPA all four years in undergrad, then exceled in Graduate school. However, if school was seen as the best option to the kids of Latin America, the kids have a great support system in their family to keep them motivated. Drugs are what are keeping most kids in Latin America from going to school and exceling in however they want to help Society. The world needs education because education teaches us the mistakes of the past, how to solve problems quickly and efficiently and basic civility. The greatest countries in the World currently all spend monstrous amounts of money on Education and investing in their children’s futures because that’s what their parents did for them and it worked and this has been proven time after time. So, to summarize, the Middle East must end their Misogynic beliefs and allow everyone education, Africa must establish a better and much larger educational system in their respective countries and Latin America must destroy the Drug Empires that have almost been allowed to grow and fester in order for these countries/regions to prosper to their full potential.

The Daily Life in a Civil War Camp :: essays research papers

Officers in the field lived much better than enlisted men. They generally assigned one or two officers to a tent. Since they provided their own personal gear, items varied greatly and reflected individual taste. Each junior officer was allowed one trunk of personal belongings that was carried in one of the baggage wagons. Higher-ranking officers were allowed more baggage. Unlike infantrymen, who slept and sat on whatever nature provided, officers sometimes had the luxury of furniture. Enlisted men, unlike their officers, had to carry all their belongings on their back. On long marches men were unwilling to carry more than the absolute essentials. Even so, soldiers ended up carrying about 30 to 40 pounds. Each soldier was issued half of a tent. It was designed to join with another soldier's half to make a full size tent. The odd man lost out. When suitable wooden poles were not available for tent supports, soldiers would sometimes use their weapons. Soldiers endured the daily round of roll calls, meals, drills, inspections, and fatigue duties. Throughout this tedious and seemingly endless routine, it was often the personal necessities sent or brought from home, or purchased from sutlers (licensed provisioners to the army) that made camp life tolerable. Many of these items were used for personal hygiene, grooming, and keeping uniforms in repair. Today these diminutive legacies provide us with a very personal and tangible connection to the soldiers of the Civil War. Confederate and Union soldiers added various clothing and equipment to their military issue . To make their life more tolerable, they brought various personal items to camp or were given them by family and friends. Few soldiers owned all the items in this exhibit, although most had at least some of them. A variety of personal items were used by Civil War soldiers. Confederate and Union soldiers often wore civilian-style underwear that they provided themselves. Officers and wealthy individuals frequently wore linen undergarments purchased from commercial houses. Junior officers and enlisted men, on the other hand, usually wore military issued cotton and wool garments. Confederate "haversacks" were used to carry food rations. These bags were typically made of linen and lacked the waterproofing found on Union counterparts. Personal effects grew in number during long encampments and were reduced to a minimum during long marches and battles. Items would generally be boxed and stored in military bases or shipped to quartermaster storehouses to be held until the campaigning season was over.

Impact of It on Process Improvement

VOL. 3, NO. 1, January 2012 ISSN 2079-8407 Journal of Emerging Trends in Computing and Information Sciences  ©2009-2012 CIS Journal. All rights reserved. http://www. cisjournal. org Impact of IT on Process Improvement 1 1 Lotfollah najjar, 2 Ziaul huq, 3 Seyed-mahmoud aghazadeh, 4 Saeedreza hafeznezamiCollege of Information Science & Technology, University of Nebraska at Omaha, USA, Fax: 402-554-3284, 2 College of Business Administration, University of Nebraska at Omaha, USA, Fax: 402-554-268, 3 Department of Business Administration, School of Business, State University of New York at Fredonia, Fredonia, Ny 14063, USA, Fax: 716-673-3332, 4 Civil and Environmental Engineering UCLA, 5731 Boelter Hall, box 951593 Los Angeles, CA 90095-1593 1 [email  protected] unomaha. edu, [email  protected], [email  protected] edu, [email  protected] com. ABSTRACTThere has been a lack of empirical research related to the role of IT in process improvement in a multidimensional way. The purpos e of this paper is to investigate the extent that IT could be used (from low tech to high tech and constraint to proactive), type of process reengineering projects employed (compromise to radical) and their effect on firm performance. The firm performance was defined as market share, customer relationships Management, IT impact, and efficiency (as multifaceted such as lowering the cost, lowering the process variability, and lead time).Data from 108 small-to-medium sized organizations both in service and in manufacturing were collected for this study. Both Factor Analysis and MANOVA Analysis were employed to analyze these relationships and to find out the optimum points (interaction among the types of IT and types of BPR) and their effect on firm performance. ). The result showed that organizations that adapt high technology alone or BPR alone cannot achieve the same result and business performance as the organization that benefits from interdependency between IT and BPR.Keywords: BP R, IT, Organizational Performance, Process Improvement, CRM, Efficiency, Factor Analysis, MANOVA. 1. INTRODUCTION The modern business organization is a complex collection of business processes, which cross multiple business units and handle everything from the mundane daily operations to core business processes. Many of these business processes have changed very little since their original implementation, thus failing to take advantage of new best practices or technological advancements.Over time, businesses realized that their current processes were no longer providing a competitive advantage, and that changes to processes were necessary in order to improve performance. In order to change the processes or to build completely new ones, process redesign or improvement must take place. Whether the method is Total Quality Management (TQM), Six Sigma, Business Process Reengineering (BPR), or one of the many others, the core concepts are the same: streamline the process, reduce costs, an d remove waste.Process improvements can be incremental and continuous, or they can be giant leaps that fundamentally change the way organizations do business. One thing in common with all process improvement initiatives is that information technology is a major component, regardless of the method. Hammer and Champy (1993) state IT is an enabler of BPR, and while this is still true information technology has become more than just an enabler. Just as throwing money at a problem will not make it go away, a business problem can’t be reengineered simply by hrowing new information systems at it (Hammer & Champy, 1993). 1. 1 Business Process Improvement The drive for process improvement is not new. Process improvement methodologies have been developed and used for over 30 years. Six Sigma was developed in the mid 1980s as a way to improve manufacturing processes (Drake, Sutterfield, & Ngassam, 2008). Business process reengineering pushed to the forefront of process improvement in th e early 1990s when some felt larger leaps in process performance were needed.Both of these methods are still among the most widely used today, and have been adjusted to meet modern business needs. There are three main types of process improvement: continuous, benchmarking, and reengineering. Continuous is more â€Å"systematic† than simply solving problems as they occur, and can be easily integrated into an organization. Improvements to processes using this methodology are typically small, but if they are ongoing will add up to larger gains in improvement over time (Tenner & DeToro, 1997).Continuous improvement is a plan-do-study-act method that uses the following six step model: understand the customer, assess efficiency, analyze the process, improve the process, implement changes, and standardize and monitor. Before an organization can accomplish higher levels of process improvement, it must first successfully 67 VOL. 3, NO. 1, January 2012 ISSN 2079-8407 Journal of Emergin g Trends in Computing and Information Sciences  ©2009-2012 CIS Journal. All rights reserved. http://www. cisjournal. org implement continuous improvement (Tenner & DeToro, 1997).Six Sigma, a continuous improvement methodology, was originally created by Motorola to help reduce manufacturing defects, with a five year goal of no more than 3. 4 defects per million. Analyzing the variation in defects was the key to Six Sigma, which required very accurate data (Drake et al, 2008). This method was designed as a quality improvement initiative, but its later implementation in other industries and services allowed for broader application. Bringing an organization in line with the best practices of their industry makes use of the benchmarking methodology.Benchmarking creates greater single improvements than the continuous method, but is more resource intensive and occurs less often (Tenner & DeToro, 1997). Benchmarking is essentially reverse engineering of a process: by taking apart a compet itor’s processes (or products) if can be seen how they work and what makes them good. Proper benchmarking requires a four phase, tenstep model. The planning phase includes identifying the benchmark subject, indentifying benchmark partners, and collecting data (Tenner & DeToro, 1997).The analysis phase includes determining the performance gap and projecting future performance. The integration phase includes communicating results and establishing goals. The action phase includes developing action plans, implementing the plans and monitoring results, and finally recalibrating the benchmarks (Tenner & DeToro, 1997). Reengineering is the highest level of process improvement. Reengineering creates radical improvements to processes, often resulting in high performance gains. Reengineering requires a highly skilled organization willing to accept high levels of risk (Tenner & DeToro, 1997).Like the continuous and benchmarking improvement methods, a step-by-step model is needed. The si x step model for reengineering includes the following: organizing the reengineering project, launching the reengineering project, inventing a new process, integrating, acting, and evaluating (Tenner & DeToro, 1997). The origins of business process reengineering began in the late 1980s, but truly started with an article in the Harvard Business Review which called for the total redesign of business processes.Michael Hammer (1990) felt it was not enough to simply renovate existing processes, but instead the processes should be removed altogether and replaced with new and improved processes started from a clean slate (El Sawy, 2001). Unlike other methodologies such as Six Sigma, information technology was seen as from the beginning to be a necessity when trying to achieve BPR (Hammer & Champy, 1993). 1. 2 Information Technology’s role in Business Process Reengineering For many BPR authors (Hammer & Champy, 1993; Davenport & Short, 1990; Irani, Hlupic, & Giaglis, 2002), informatio n technology is a crucial component of BPR.It is becoming clearer that investments only in new IT or BPR projects cannot stand by themselves (Kohli & Hoadley, 2006). Increasing market pressure, as well as an organization’s need to innovate, will lead to new IT adoption (Lee, Chu, & Tseng, 2009), but simply implementing new IT will not make BPR work. Hammer and Champy (1993) say it best: â€Å"A company that cannot change the way it thinks about information technology cannot reengineer. A company that equates technology with automation cannot reengineer. A company that looks for problems first and then seeks technology solutions for them cannot reengineer† (p. 3). How an organization uses IT will largely determine how well and to what degree they will be able to implement BPR. IT was originally considered simply as an enabler for BPR (Hammer & Champy, 1993), and while it is still true that IT can enable BPR initiatives, IT’s role in process improvement has become much greater and more varied. IT can be the initiator that drives process improvement, or the tool which makes process improvement possible. Eardley, Shah, and Radman (2008) define six roles that IT can play in BPR.These roles are: constraint, catalyst, neutral, driver, enabler, and proactive. These roles vary in impact from being constraining at the negative end to being proactive at the positive end. Legacy IT systems are the most common source of IT constraints. They are considered a constraint because process improvement is held back by old, inflexible IT systems (Eardley, Shah & Radman, 2008). Organizations have switched to client-server systems over time because of cost, but legacy mainframe systems still exist and the benefits of replacing them are debatable (Akhavan, Jafari & Ali-Ahmadi, 2006).The next step towards a positive IT role is that of catalyst. When new information technology is brought into a business and causes changes to business processes, IT becomes a catalys t. While the role of catalyst can be positive, if new information technology is not right for the organization the impact will likely be negative (Eardley et al, 2008). 68 VOL. 3, NO. 1, January 2012 ISSN 2079-8407 Journal of Emerging Trends in Computing and Information Sciences  ©2009-2012 CIS Journal. All rights reserved. http://www. cisjournal. orgSometimes, IT is nothing more than a support tool rather than a key component for process improvement. In these cases, IT is considered neutral. It will typically be seen in various software tools for process design and implementation (Eardley et al, 2008). Moving further toward a positive impact role is that of driver. Information technology’s role as driver is the result of a technology push from forced implementation of new information systems that then require process improvement to take advantage of the new capabilities (Eardley et al, 2008).Purely IT driven BPR without defined business needs are not desirable and could ne gatively impact business strategy (Eardley et al, 2008). The role of enabler is generally the most common role associated with BPR and process improvement. Enabler is also a business â€Å"pull† role as opposed to a technology â€Å"push†, meaning that IT and the business units are aligned from a strategic standpoint, thus leaving no technology gap (Eardley et al, 2008).The enabler role may be broken down into specific impacts as defined by Thomas Davenport (1993): automational (removing human interaction), informational, sequential (reorganizing process sequence), tracking, analytical, geographical (processes from different locations are coordinated), integrative (tasks and processes are coordinated), intellectual (intellectual assets are distributed) and disintermediating (process intermediaries are removed). Each of these impacts affects the BPR process differently and to different degrees.The final role for IT in BPR is proactive. Eardley et al. (2008) state that a proactive role is â€Å"the ‘ideal’ role of IT in BPR† (p. 639). This IT role ideally helps create major change as well as supporting BPR. When the organization standardizes BPR within the business and ties it closely with IT and the impact can be tremendous by allowing the ability to transform processes faster and on the fly (Eardley et al, 2008). The impact each of these roles has is dependent on the type of BPR projects that each role is coupled with. The types defined by Eardley et al. 2008) are: failure, compromise, one-step, evolutionary, and radical. A â€Å"failure† project type can theoretically be matched with the more desirable â€Å"proactive† IT role, but advanced IT would be hindered by a poor business plan. Conversely, a â€Å"radical† project type matched with a â€Å"constraint† IT role would result in a progressive business plan being wasted by old technology or simply a poor IT infrastructure (Eardley et al, 2008). The ideal coupling of IT roles and BPR types is for â€Å"evolutionary† and â€Å"radical† BPR projects to be joined with â€Å"proactive† and â€Å"enabler† IT oles to achieve the greatest positive impact on the BPR effort and on the business as a whole (Eardley et al, 2008). 1. 3 Performance and value impact on organizations The primary goal of any process improvement project, regardless of method, is to reduce waste, improve efficiency, and ultimately reduce costs. Information technology plays a key role in reaching process improvement goals, but it does not guarantee success. More than 70 percent of early BPR projects have ended in failure (Ramirez, Melville & Lawler, 2010).Choosing the proper method of process improvement or reengineering with a complementing information technology system will determine the impact on combined effectiveness. A study done by Ramirez et al. (2010) discusses the impact of IT on business process reengineering with a focus on cost rationalization BPR (doing more with less) and work restructure BPR (implementing new business processes). Ramirez et al (2010) found in their study that generally, the relationship of IT and BPR had a positive relationship on not only the production efficiency of a company, but also the market value.It was found that production output was increased by roughly one percent among surveyed businesses resulting from IT and BPR interaction, thus having a positive association towards operational efficiency (Ramirez et al, 2010). This result holds true for both cost rationalization and work restructure. However, for an organization’s BPR investment to get positive returns, the BPR project must be â€Å"IT centric† (Ramirez et al, 2010). This means that BPR projects that are not focused entirely around IT will see much lower returns, if any, from the project.While increased performance of production processes and value they add to an organization is simpler to documen t, performance improvements that affect an organization’s market value are more difficult to discern. To find the impact of IT and BPR on the organization’s market value, one must look at all BPR efforts which an organization has attempted, and their cumulative effect on that individual organization (Ramirez et al, 2010). Unlike the impact on production performance, cost rationalization BPR and work restructure BPR interactions with IT are not positively associated in the long term.There is evidence that over an extended period of time that the impact of either type of BPR can be negative in market value. This may be due to the number of BPR failures, especially earlier BPR efforts, in an organization (Ramirez et al, 2010). The one factor that may determine the degree of positive BPR impact on an 69 VOL. 3, NO. 1, January 2012 ISSN 2079-8407 Journal of Emerging Trends in Computing and Information Sciences  ©2009-2012 CIS Journal. All rights reserved. http://www. cisj ournal. org organization is the appropriate selection of information technology to complement the selection of the right BPR method (Ramirez el al, 2010).While IT and process improvement methodologies such as BPR can stand alone, their impact on each other is significant in improving performance. Research done by Albadvi, Keramati, and Razmi (2007) shows that BPR has a mediating effect on the impact of information technology on an organization’s performance. For IT to positively impact the performance of an organization and thus create a return on IT investment, BPR is needed for IT to reach its full potential (Albadvi et al, 2007). The risks involved with an organization’s decisions must always be accounted for.The impacts of IT and BPR are no different and must be considered along with performance goals. BPR itself requires an organization to measured take risks (Misra, Kumar & Kumar, 2008). Information technology can impact an organization’s risk due to BPR i n two ways. IT can help mitigate risk by aiding risk management with high quality risk models and process simulation. However IT can also be a source of risk, as BPR will inherently implement new IT systems and IT processes (Misra et al, 2008). Thus organizations must account for all risks involved with IT and BPR implementations.When all aspects, including risk, are considered it is clear that IT and BPR are necessary partners for improving organizational performance and productivity. These improvements will have an impact on a company’s overall market value but they can only be maintained long term with careful selection of projects (Ramirez et al, 2010). Beyond their partnership, IT and BPR must also complement each other to reach performance increase goals of an organization. The impacts that IT and BPR have on each other reinforce their recursive relationship. 2.PURPOSE This paper focuses on investigating the role and impact that information technology has had on process improvement. The combination of information technology with process improvement and how this combination impacts performance and sometimes the value of the business, as well as examples of IT, will also be discussed. This paper investigates the extent that IT could be used (from low tech to high tech and constrained to proactive), type of process reengineering projects employed (compromise to radical) and their effect on firm performance.The firm performance has been defined as market share, customer relationships Management, IT impact, and efficiency (as multifaceted such as lowering the cost, lowering the process variability, and lead time). 2. 1 The Roles of IT in BPR To determine the role of IT in BPR, existing work in the area (Chan, 2000; Gunasekaran and Nath, 1997; AlMashari and Zairi, 20006, Eardley, 2008) was also examined to determine whether parallels could be established for small-to-medium sized organizations both in service and in manufacturing.Their research found th at IT could have six possible roles: a constraint, a driver, a neutral, a catalyst, an enabler, or be proactive. The six different roles of IT in BPR are shown in Table 1based on Eardley’s model (Eardley, et al, 2008). Table 1: Characteristics of the role of IT in BPR Role of IT Characteristics of the Role Legacy IT systems dominate main business processes. In ? exible IT infrastructures. Lack of skill and/or investment in new IT. Business processes embedded in existing IT systems. Lack of potential for investment in IT due to budgetary factors. Lack of perception of the potential of IT by management.Strategic alignment is low. New IT has been acquired. Changes in the business have been made that favor the use of IT. New management that sees the potential of IT in business change. New relationship developed with IT vendor, consultant, or service provider. Strategic alignment at crucial stage. Constraint Catalyst 70 VOL. 3, NO. 1, January 2012 ISSN 2079-8407 Journal of Emergin g Trends in Computing and Information Sciences  ©2009-2012 CIS Journal. All rights reserved. http://www. cisjournal. org Neutral Lack of IS applications and IT infrastructure in the organization. No IS or IT strategy in place.Business change targets are not well de? ned. The business is in an industry with low information intensity or little competition through IT. Strategies and infrastructures are in alignment. The business has technological capability and seeks to exploit it through business opportunities. Possibly a new business or a technological innovation. Sufficient investment is available and IT development is not a limiting factor. Strategic alignment process is proceeding rapidly. IT is a key performance factor and a â€Å"competitive arena† in the industry. Management has a clear business vision and a future change plan.Business change targets are well de? ned. Sufficient investment is available and IT development not a limiting factor. Strategic alignment in pr ocess. Management has a clear business vision and future change plan. The IS and IT infrastructure is well developed. There are few constraints on IT development. Management sees the potential of IT. Strategies and infrastructure are in alignment. Driver Enabler Proactive Alan Eardley et al, 2008 described the roles of IT as visualized above, as being on a continuum with the constraining role at the â€Å"negative† extreme and the proactive role at the â€Å"positive† extreme, as shown in Figure 1.Roles of IT in BPR More ‘negative’ roles More ‘positive’ roles Constraint Catalyst Neutral Driver Enabler Proactive Figure 1: A continuum of the possible roles of IT in BPR 2. 2 Types of BPR project in the organizations The literature search identi ? ed a number of â€Å"types† of BPR projects in the organizations that were examined, which may be placed on a continuum from â€Å"failure† to â€Å"radical† in terms of their effect iveness in achieving the objectives of major business change (Figure 2). A brief summary of the characteristics of each type of BPR project is given below. Alan Eardley et al, 2008): †¢ Failure – IT does not have a planned role in the BPR project, or the project has to be abandoned, or it is completed but fails to provide the expected business improvements. †¢ †¢ Compromise – The existing IT infrastructure cannot be changed within the given time scale. The BPR project has to take this into account and although it may be a success, will be limited or unambitious in terms of its reach and range. Such BPR projects typically produce â€Å"islands of automation† as they are applied to limited business processes or functions.One-step – The reach and range (and therefore the scope and scale) of a â€Å"one-step† BPR project are greater than for Compromise, but the lack of IT support limits the potential of newly designed processes for achie ving â€Å"higher level† transformations. In this case IT is not seen by an organization as being truly strategic. 71 VOL. 3, NO. 1, January 2012 ISSN 2079-8407 Journal of Emerging Trends in Computing and Information Sciences  ©2009-2012 CIS Journal. All rights reserved. http://www. cisjournal. org †¢ Evolutionary – The rate of business change will be incremental through targeted process redesign.The infrastructure will be sufficiently ? exible to cope with progressive change, and the IT strategy will be capable of maintaining alignment with the business strategy over time, although periodic adjustments will be required. †¢ Radical – This type of BPR project achieves major business change with a high degree of reach and range within an acceptably short time scale. The IT infrastructure is very? exible and copes well with the major â€Å"step change† and the IT and business strategies are completely interdependent, being continuously in alignme nt. Types of BPR project Less effective types More effective types FailureCompromise One-step Evolutionary Radical Figure 2. A continuum of the possible types of BPR project The proposed framework by Alan Eardley et al, represents the roles of IT in BPR, the types of BPR projects, and includes the concepts of â€Å"business pull† and â€Å"technology push† (Figure 3) by superimposing upon the diagram four quadrants (Q1-Q4), which are interpreted as follows (Alan Eardley et al, 2008): Q1. Low â€Å"technology push† and low â€Å"business pull† – the â€Å"lower† roles of IT when applied to the â€Å"lower† types of BPR (i. e. to the left of the continuum) are associated with a generally low profile of IT in the organization.Similarly the commitment to radical change within the organization may be poor. These factors will interfere with the organization’s ability to implement BPR successfully. For instance, IT is likely to be a à ¢â‚¬Å"constraint† in an organization that is aiming to achieve at best a â€Å"compromise† approach to organizational change in a forthcoming BPR program. Q2. Low â€Å"technology push† and high â€Å"business pull – the â€Å"lower† roles of IT when applied to the â€Å"higher† types of BPR are associated with an organization that has poor strategic alignment (Avison et al. , 2004).It may possess corporate ambition in planning a radical BPR program, but its IT strategy is weak (indeed, the whole IT function may be under-represented organizationally) and its IT infrastructure lacks flexibility and â€Å"openness. † IT therefore has a constraining role in an organization that occupies this quadrant (e. g. typical symptoms include â€Å"legacy systems† and â€Å"islands of automation†) and prevents the effective implementation of programs of business change. This occurs irrespective of the organization’s ambition or competence in carrying out evolutionary or radical BPR. Q3.High â€Å"technology push† and low â€Å"business pull† – the organization that occupies this quadrant has a keen awareness of technological trends and standards, but a relatively poor business model. Its IT infrastructure is probably very advanced, and technology has a high profile although the business model or strategy may be relatively weak or undefined. Such an organization exhibits poor strategic alignment (Avison et al. , 2004) (in common with the example in the previous quadrant), and may not progress beyond a â€Å"compromise† or â€Å"one step† type of BPR, irrespective of its technical competence or resources.The potential of IT to be proactive or enabling in support of business change in this type of organization is wasted. The literature contains many examples (Davenport, 1995) of high technology companies that failed to change as a result of poor business processes and plans . Q4. High â€Å"technology push† and high â€Å"business pull† – an organization in this quadrant combines a high profile for IT (e. g. well integrated â€Å"IT governance† and a flexible and open IT infrastructure) with a well-developed business plan and well-designed processes.It is able to achieve a high degree of success in carrying out evolutionary or radical BPR, fully enabled by a proactive IT strategy. However, success is not likely to come about by being competent in isolated functions of IT and business. In order to occupy this quadrant, an organization needs to achieve a high level of strategic alignment (Avison et al. , 2004). Note: Description of Q1-Q4 is from â€Å"Alan Eardley et al, 2008)† 72 VOL. 3, NO. 1, January 2012 ISSN 2079-8407 Journal of Emerging Trends in Computing and Information Sciences  ©2009-2012 CIS Journal. All rights reserved. ttp://www. cisjournal. org Figure 3: A Proposed framework for evaluating the role of IT in BPR projects. 3. METHODOLOGY A total of 150 small-to-medium sized companies in both manufacturing and service sectors were contacted through the Midwest, and 108 valid questionnaires were returned with an effective rate of 72%. The returned valid questionnaires were adequate regarding the sample size and statistical assumptions to conduct MANOVA. The survey questionnaire was based on four constructs or dimensions and each construct had multiple items or questions for consistency of the measurement.The respondents were required to respond to four questions for each of the four constructs. For each of the questions the respondents had to indicate their agreement Q1: HH, high technology push with high business pull. or disagreement on a 11-point Likert-type scale with the end points being 0 for â€Å"less likely† and 10 for â€Å"more likely†. The four constructs determined the four dependent variables for conducting t MANOV . The four response variables were: market share, customer relationship management, IT impact on organization, and efficiency (multifaceted, such as lowering cost, lowering process variability, and lead time).Four quadrants of figure 3(Q1Q4) were chosen as four levels of treatment of one factor, which is the quadrant (One way MANOVA) as follows: Q1: LL, low technology push with low business pull. Q2: LH, low technology push with high business pull. Q3: HL, high technology push with low business pull. 73 VOL. 3, NO. 1, January 2012 ISSN 2079-8407 Journal of Emerging Trends in Computing and Information Sciences  ©2009-2012 CIS Journal. All rights reserved. http://www. cisjournal. org The following MANOVA linear model was used to see which quadrant was the optimum point for business performance.The pairwise comparison test was conducted to compare all four quadrants regarding the four dependent variables as representative of business performance. Y1,Y2,Y3,Y4 = B0 + B1X1 + B2 X2 + B3 X3 + B4 X4 + e Before conducting MANOVA, th e factor analysis was performed. Table 2 shows the result of factor analysis and factor loading. SPSS was used to analyze the data. Table 2: Scale Reliability: Cumulative variance explained and Cronbach’s alpha for four factors 16 questions Questions Impact of IT on Organization 0. 988 0. 750 0. 690 0. 790 0. 789 0. 789 0. 689 0. 87 0. 897 0. 745 0. 897 0. 798 0. 698 0. 987 0. 687 0. 786 100. 00 0. 754 Market Share CRM Efficiency Question 1 Question 2 Question 3 Question 4 Question 5 Question 6 Question 7 Question 8 Question 9 Question 10 Question 11 Question 12 Question 13 Question 14 Question 15 Question 16 Cumulative variance Cronbach’s alpha 28. 588 0. 788 56. 595 0. 881 70. 413 0. 974 The following tables shows the distribution of 108 organizations on 4 different quadrants. Table 3: Organization distribution on 4 quadrants Q1 LL 23 Q2 LH 28 Q3 HL 32 Q4 HH 25 4. DISCUSSION AND RESULTSTable 4 shows the result of MANOVA that all respondents’ means are signific antly different for all four quadrants, and different combinations of technology push and business pull achieved different levels of strategic alignment. 74 VOL. 3, NO. 1, January 2012 ISSN 2079-8407 Journal of Emerging Trends in Computing and Information Sciences  ©2009-2012 CIS Journal. All rights reserved. http://www. cisjournal. org Table 4. Tests of Between-Subjects Effects Dependent Source Quadrants nt IT. Impact M. Share CRM Efficency df 3 3 3 3 F 333. 960 236. 449 45. 051 79. 995 Sig. .000 . 000 . 000 . 00 The pairwise comparison shows the result of business performance for each quadrant as follows: Fig. 4: IT Impact 4. 1 Impact of IT on Organization This variable was the highest both for HH and LH respectively and again it proved that the organization with high technology alone cannot achieve the same result as the organization either with both high technology push and high business pull (BPR) or only high business pull (BPR). 75 VOL. 3, NO. 1, January 2012 ISSN 2079-8407 Journal of Emerging Trends in Computing and Information Sciences  ©2009-2012 CIS Journal. All rights reserved. ttp://www. cisjournal. org Fig. 5: Market Share 4. 2 Market Share This variable was the highest both for HH and LH respectively and again, it proved that the organization with high technology alone cannot achieve the same result as the organization either with both high technology push and high business pull (BPR) or only high business pull (BPR). Fig. 6: Customer Relationship Management 76 VOL. 3, NO. 1, January 2012 ISSN 2079-8407 Journal of Emerging Trends in Computing and Information Sciences  ©2009-2012 CIS Journal. All rights reserved. http://www. cisjournal. org 4. Customer Relationship Management This variable was the highest both for HH and LH respectively and again, it proved that the organization with high technology alone cannot achieve the same result as the organization either with both high technology push and high business pull (BPR) or only high busine ss pull (BPR). Fig. 7: Efficiency 4. 4 Efficiency: This variable was the highest both for HH and LH respectively and again it proved that the organization with high technology alone cannot achieve the same result as the organization either with both high technology push and high business pull (BPR) or only high business pull (BPR). ecurrent theme† (Markus and Robey, 1995, p. 592). The framework demonstrates that no serious BPR effort can afford to ignore the role of IT, and if it does so then the risk of failure is high. It appears that the role of IT in BPR is undervalued at present, especially in terms of its wider and more longterm implications. These implications are as follows. First, IT strategy and business strategy need to be aligned for maximum benefits to be realized. Second, IT strategy dictates the type of IT infrastructure within a company. Third, the IT strategy and infrastructure should both support the business strategy and even influence it.Most importantly, a s change is endemic to corporate life, the IT infrastructure also needs to be flexible in order to cope with changes in the environment and the business strategy (Alan Eardley et al, 2008). 5. IMPLICATIONS OF THE WORK The proposed framework is needed because some organizations attempt to undertake BPR or strategic alignment without giving due consideration to the role of IT in BPR. Indeed, it has been observed that the â€Å"exclusion and expulsion of IS specialists from BPR programs is a 77 VOL. 3, NO. 1, January 2012 ISSN 2079-8407 Journal of Emerging Trends in Computing and Information Sciences  ©2009-2012 CIS Journal.All rights reserved. http://www. cisjournal. org A flexible IT infrastructure appears to be an increasingly desirable objective for companies in a rapidly changing environment (Avison et al. , 1997). By enabling an organization to exploit potential business opportunities quickly, such flexibility helps give an organization competitive advantage (Duncan, 1995). A key issue for an organization is the configuration of its IT platforms, network, and telecommunications, and this in turn raises questions concerning configuration, compatibility and integration rules, access standards, connectivity of systems, and excess apacity over the current requirements (Duncan, 1995, p. 42). These needs have led to a move towards distributed computing and standardization (or â€Å"open systems†) that give a high level of connectivity. One example of a company that has implemented such an infrastructure for purposes of improving BPR success is Sweden Post (Moreton and Chester, 1997). any process improvement, no matter whether IT is present or not. Therefore, future research should integrate some dimensions of organizational structure and leadership, mission, and vision as mediating factors. REFERENCES [1] Akhavan, P. , Jafari, M. & Ali-Ahmadi, A. R. (2006). Exploring the interdependency between reengineering and information technology by developing a co nceptual model. Business Process Management Journal, 12(4), 517. Retrieved December 12, 2010, from ABI/INFORM Global. [2] Albadvi, A. , Keramati, A. , & Razmi, J. (2007). Assessing the impact of information technology on firm performance considering the role of intervening variables: organizational infrastructures and business processes reengineering. International Journal of Production Research, 45(12), 2697-2734. Retrieved December 9, 2010 from Business Source Premier database. 3] Al-Mashari, M. and Zairi, M. (2000b). Creating a fit between BPR and IT infrastructure: a [4] proposed framework for effective implementation. International Journal of Flexible [5] Manufacturing Systems. 12 (4). 253-74. [6] Avison, D. E. , Jones, J. , Powell, P. and Wilson, D. (2004). Using and validating the strategic [7] alignment model. Journal of Strategic Information Systems. 13. 223-46. [8] Avison, D. E. , Eardley, W. A. and Powell, P. (1997) â€Å"Developing information systems to support [9] fle xible strategy†, Organisational Computing. 7 (1). 57-77. [10] Chan, S. L. (2000).Information technology on business processes, Business Process Management Journal. 6 (3). 224-37. [11] Davenport, T. (1995). The fad that forgot people. Fast Company. available at: www. fastcompany. com/online/01/reengin. html (accessed July 2006). [12] Davenport, T. (1993). Process innovation: Reengineering work through information technology. Boston: Ernst & Young. [13] Davenport, T. , & Short, J. (1990). The New Industrial Engineering: Information Technology and Business Process Redesign. Sloan Management Review. 31(4), 11-27. Retrieved December 10, 2010, from ABI/INFORM Global. [14] Dedhia, N. (2005). Six sigma basics.Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 6. CONCLUSIONS This paper demonstrates the significance of IT in BPR and their interdependency that then impact business performance that is defined in four important dimensions: market share, customer relationship management, IT im pact, and efficiency (as multifaceted such as lowering the cost, lowering the process variability, and lead time). This study expanded and further explored the frame work developed by Alan Eardley et al,( 2008) by collecting data from 150 small-to-medium sized companies in both manufacturing and service sectors through the Midwest.They showed the different roles of IT in providing effective support for different types of BPR, and indicated that aiming for a type of BPR that is not compatible with the present role of an IT infrastructure will reduce the probability of success for a BPR project. If this is ignored, a BPR effort will either fail or will not produce the level of results that are often expected from BPR projects ( Alan Eardley et al, 2008). Organizations adapting high technology alone or BPR alone cannot achieve the same result and business performance as the organization that benefits from interdependency between IT and BPR.

Body Shop Proposal

Proposal Outline (4%) Proposition Statement:____________________________________________ This proposal aims to produce a 4-as campaign in Seventeen to promote The Body Shop Bath & body products to audiences aged 15 – 19. P1: Proposition (2 paras) I. The Body Shop is currently lacking in advertisement directed towards teenagers even though sales would be greatly boosted if they can manage to appeal to them. A. This is because they choose to focus on targeting working adults which is leaned towards a mature image and does not appeals to teens. B.They will lose the potential to increase their sales volume if this continues. II. There are three main possible themes that we would like to propose. A. Firstly, â€Å"Fire† will be emphasising on the strong yet feminine aspects of the product. B. Secondly, â€Å"Earth† will bring attention on the environmentally-friendly nature of the products C. And lastly, the â€Å"Air† theme showcases the comfort level of the p roducts. D. This is a proposal for an advertisement spread in Seventeen selling The Body Shop Bath & Body products. ?There is a choice of three themes for the campaign, â€Å"Fire†, â€Å"Earth†, and â€Å"Water†.The recommended products for the 4-ad campaign are to be bath & shower gel, body lotion, body butter, and body scrub. P2: Potential (3 paras) I. The Body Shop is currently lacking of advertisement directed to teenagers. A. For a cosmetics retail company, The Body Shop noticeably lacks of photographs of models with beautiful hair and perfect skin, which would attract attention of teenagers. B. Currently, The Body Shop is targeting working adults and the advertisement that they made is leaned more towards a mature image. This image does not appeal to teenagers. II.The Body Shop does not appeal to teenagers and in doing so, it loses a huge number of potential customers. A. Teenagers are not attracted to The Body Shop because of a lack of celebrity represen tation. B. With the lack of advertisement, targeted audience will not be encourage to trial purchase, brand switch and develop brand loyalty towards The Body Shop. III. Sales would be greatly boosted if The Body Shop were able to appeal to teenagers. A. The Body Shop will be able to maximise it’s profits because Singaporeans teenagers aged 15-19 are very willing to spend money on body products.B. Products such as body products could easily allow the consumer to develop brand loyalty towards the brand because they would have develop a habit for using our brand’s product. This results in repeated purchases and promotes sales in long term. P3: Possibilities (3 paras) I. The first theme, â€Å"Fire† theme will emphasize the strong yet feminine aspects of the product. A. â€Å"Fire† will pitch the products in a sexy yet elegant way, appealing to girls who want to be seen as confident and independent women. B.For example, in the Body butter advertisement, we ca n feature a model clad in only lingerie and high heels and applying body butter on her body. This would suggest that one would feel confident with their body after using our products. The main colour of this advertisement will be red, black and white to give off a Parisian feel, which represents elegance, yet at the same time emphasizes on the fiery and bold aspects of the theme. II. The second theme, â€Å"Earth† will focus attention on the environmentally friendly nature of the products.A. Products would come across as environmental and relaxing under the â€Å"Earth† theme and would appeal to both males and females because it makes them feel comfortable. B. The advertisement for bath & shower gel portray a model unwinding in a bathtub full of soapy water, implying that she had just used the product and suggest that one would feel relaxed after using the product. The background of this advertisement could be a natural setting filled with trees and plants to emphasize on the nature aspects of the theme. III.The third theme, the â€Å"Air† theme, will showcase the comfort level of the products. A. Under the â€Å"Air† theme, products would be pitch as simple yet lasting comfort, appealing to both genders because of the theme’s purity and freshness. B. One example of a body lotion advertisement under the â€Å"Air† theme is to do a compare and contrast of a model who applied the body lotion in the morning and the same model looking energetic and fresh at night to represent the lasting effects and the comfort level can be seen through the model’s cheerful appearance.The advertisement would be in pastel colours to emphasize on the theme’s purity. P4: Proposal (3 paras) I. We have decided to go with the â€Å"Earth† theme because it highlights the key feature of our product and will be effective in attracting our target audience’s interest. A. The Body Shop unique selling point is being environm entally friendly and it is also what the audience associate The Body Shop with. By going along with this theme, audience are able to identify The Body Shop because our concept will be consistent.B. B. Our target audience have a very hectic lifestyle and by portraying a product, which comes across as relaxing to them is a very feasible idea because it is what the target audience need and that is also what they are looking for. This will thus increase sales of the products. II. We have rejected the â€Å"Fire† theme because it doesn’t specifically appeals to our target audiences. A. The â€Å"Fire† theme might seem over-mature to our target audiences and they would not want to be associated with such image. B.The â€Å"Fire† theme might also be inappropriate and clashes with The Body Shop image because The Body Shop has always emphasize that beauty can be achieve even without baring a lot of skin. II. We have also rejected the â€Å"Air† theme becaus e it’s concept is very common in Body products. A. The concept of comfort in a body product is not unique and thus, would not be effective in attracting the targeted audience as it doesn’t stand out. B. Audiences are easily able to find cheaper alternatives with the same benefits. *Total number of paras: 11 (do not create any more paragraphs†¦ it’s 11, no more, no fewer)

10 Comma Cases in Which More Is More

10 Comma Cases in Which More Is More 10 Comma Cases in Which More Is More 10 Comma Cases in Which More Is More By Mark Nichol The movement toward open punctuation the omission of commas in cases in which they are deemed optional has its merits, but writers and editors should take care to retain commas or even insert additional ones to clarify meaning: 1. â€Å"He points to the benefits and wonders how schools can justify not investing in tools for disabled students.† Because wonders can be a noun as well as a verb, and because a pairing of the noun form with benefits initially makes sense, it might be misread here as such. To avoid this misunderstanding, insert a comma after benefits to give the reader pause and signal a new thought: â€Å"He points to the benefits, and wonders how schools can justify not investing in tools for disabled students.† Alternatively, alter the introductory phrase and make the following phrase an independent clause: â€Å"Pointing to the benefits, he wonders how schools can justify not investing in tools for disabled students.† 2. â€Å"The dog should be content to bark at passing trains and slumber.† The sentence incorrectly implies that the dog barks at two things: passing trains and slumber. But bark at refers only to trains, not to slumber. How about reordering the sentence to place slumber first? (â€Å"The dog should be content to slumber and bark at passing trains.†) Now he’s slumbering at passing trains, then barking at them. Either introduce a comma or insert a parallel-signaling to, or both: â€Å"The dog should be content to bark at passing trains, and to slumber.† 3. â€Å"Couch or calisthenics? A majority of California students are opting for a couch based on the results of the state’s annual physical fitness test.† As the second sentence is structured, the couch appears to be based on the fitness test results. Insert a comma after couch to clarify the structure (and in the initial sentence, follow couch with a comma there, too, for the same reason): â€Å"Couch, or calisthenics? A majority of California students are opting for a couch, based on the results of the state’s annual physical fitness test.† Better yet, invert the syntax in the second sentence: â€Å"Couch, or calisthenics? Based on the results of the state’s annual physical fitness test, a majority of California students are opting for a couch.† 4. â€Å"The world contains too many bored fourteen-year-old boys and ex-boyfriends bearing grudges.† This reference to a particular woman’s two greatest classes of nemeses is taken out of context, but it still should be clear that only those in the latter category bear grudges. Therefore, a comma should separate the two categories: â€Å"The world contains too many bored fourteen-year-old boys, and ex-boyfriends bearing grudges.† Or, if the context allows, reverse the order and strengthen the parallel structure: â€Å"The world contains too many ex-boyfriends bearing grudges, and too many bored fourteen-year-old boys.† 5. â€Å"Halle Berry is the first African American woman to win a Best Actress Oscar for her performance in Monster’s Ball.† As punctuated, this sentence implies that more than one African American actress was in contention for an Academy Award for Berry’s performance. To set the record straight, set the qualification off with a comma: â€Å"Halle Berry is the first African American woman to win a Best Actress Oscar, for her performance in Monster’s Ball.† Here’s a smoother revision: â€Å"Halle Berry, who won a Best Actress Oscar for her performance in Monster’s Ball, is the first African-American woman to take home the award.† 6. â€Å"The prison plays an important role during the film’s third act, in which our hero is arrested thanks to the villain’s devious machinations.† The tag phrase â€Å"thanks to the villain’s devious machinations† should be set off from the rest of the sentence with a comma. Better yet, insert that parenthetical phrase into the middle of the sentence so that the result of the plotting dramatically punctuates the sentence: â€Å"The prison plays an important role, during which, thanks to the villain’s devious machinations, our hero is arrested.† 7. â€Å"Americans divide Russians into authoritarians and democrats with no regard for native context.† The sentence mistakenly implies that the two categories in question are â€Å"authoritarians† and â€Å"democrats with no regard for native context. The writer meant, â€Å"With no regard for native context, Americans divide Russians into authoritarians and democrats.† (Or start that sentence with Americans, followed by a comma.) Those revisions are more elegant than the simplest solution, employed above in other examples: â€Å"Americans divide Russians into authoritarians and democrats, with no regard for native context.† 8. â€Å"Another astronomer named Edwin Hubble cast his eye on the pulsing light of distant variable stars called Cepheids.† The initial phrase of this sentence implies the previous mention of another astronomer by that name. Solve this error by setting the name apart as an appositive, with framing commas (and delete the extraneous named): â€Å"Another astronomer, Edwin Hubble, cast his eye on the pulsing light of distant variable stars called Cepheids.† 9. â€Å"High school students who carry a poor or no understanding of evolution into college are less likely to pick careers in the biological and geological sciences. â€Å"Or no† is a parenthetical phrase in which no parallels poor as an option, and it could be omitted with no structural damage to the sentence, so it should be enclosed by a pair of commas: â€Å"High school students who carry a poor, or no, understanding of evolution into college are less likely to pick careers in the biological and geological sciences.† Alternatively, the sentence could be relaxed and given more impact with a revision such as â€Å"High school students who carry into college a poor understanding or, worse, no understanding at all of evolution are less likely to pick careers in the biological and geological sciences.† (Note the relocation of the flexible modifying phrase â€Å"into college† to smooth out the syntax.) 10. â€Å"Hindu believers are governed by the three doctrines of dharma or universal law, karma or the cumulative effects of personal actions, and samsara or the cycle of rebirth.† Always set terms off from their glosses, or brief definitions (See? I just glossed gloss), by a set of parenthetical commas; both in this explanation and in the sample sentence, the sentence structure requires a semicolon in place of the closing comma: â€Å"Hindu believers are governed by the three doctrines of dharma, or universal law; karma, or the cumulative effects of personal actions; and samsara, or the cycle of rebirth.† (A simple gloss would look like this: â€Å"Dharma, or universal law, is integral to both Hinduism and Buddhism.†) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:16 Substitutes for â€Å"Because† or â€Å"Because Of†Use a Dash for Number RangesAffect vs. Effect

Asylum : Refugees Denied Of A Home

In the early 1900s, Britain became a new home for thousands of Black, Asian, and other refugees and immigrants seeking asylum from their own countries. The issue of discrimination and prejudice became prevalent and the outcry of blacks all over Britain was no longer ignored. It showed that there was not peace in a place that highly values their reputation. Britain’s leaders valued their reputation consisting of positive things related to aesthetic and class. Yet, there were people marching in their†¦ world of refugees. According to the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees: a refugee is a person who, owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of their nationality, and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail him/herself of the protection of that country (Refugee, 2008). The current crisis of refugees around†¦ treatment of refugees who land on Australian shores. â€Å"At the end of 2015, the number of refugees reached 65.3 million, revealing that 1 in every 113 people are displaced from their home.† This constant rise in refugee number highlights the importance for Australia’s government to move towards better solutions for the management of asylum seekers. This essay will consider the political context that surround refugees, giving the perspectives on the debate of whether to accept or deny refugees. This will†¦ The Unfair Treatment of Haitian Refugees compared to their Cuban Counterparts. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there are more refugees today than ever before—and more than half of them are believed to be children. Most of these people have left their homes in search of better living conditions and economic opportunities. This is especially true for Cuban and Haitian refugees. Living in a forever-changing world, we have to start rethinking our old immigration†¦ Asylees and Refugees Refugees and Asylees are defined as, â€Å"Under international law as being outside their home country and having a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group, according to Bridging Refugee Youth & Children Services article, â€Å"Refugee 101.† In the United States, refugee and asylees resettlement was reestablished in the 1980’s. So far, 1.8 million people came to live in the US and†¦ Category: The Blog SEO Key Term: Refugees Is this from the topics needing covered tab: Yes 10 Facts About Ecuador Refugees The 7.8-magnitude earthquake in April 2016 killed over 650 people in north-western Ecuador, across the provinces of Esmeraldas and Manabà ­. Rubbing salt into the wound, two strong aftershocks in May of M6.7 and M6.8 injured 90 people and devastated the two provinces. The United Nations Refugee Agency has called on donors to immediately provide monetary support of US$73 million†¦ Question: â€Å"How has Australia protected human rights of asylum seekers in Immigration detention centers?† My Research Project was motivated by a movie screening I had attended during Refugee Week. The film viewed was â€Å"Mary meets Mohammad† (2013), which documented the commencement of Tasmania’s first Immigration detention Centre in 2011. From this involvement I was inquisitive as to how alacritous Australia’s society is in supporting asylum seekers and refugees. Having limited prior knowledge on this divisive†¦ his/her country of origin due to political reasons. When the person requests for protection from a foreign country he/she is accepted as an asylum. The country offers protection to the person as a political refugee. Those who seek asylum are normally persecuted for political reasons (Oxford journal, 2011). Those who confess to the Muslim religion view political asylum and migration with great importance. This is due to the political situation of the Muslim states. The region experiences the challenge†¦ The securitization of Asylum Seekers by Australia Orin Troyer Introduction By the conclusion of 2014, in accordance to reports of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) there are approximately 59.5 million displaced people globally as a result of conflict, violence, environmental degradation and human rights violations. Of these, approximately 19.5 million are classified as an asylum seeker or refugee collectively. A refugee is a person who is unable or unwilling to return†¦ Norwegian freighter MV Tampa rescued 438 refugees off a sinking fishing boat named the Palapa (Doherty, 2011). It was an event that ushered Australia into what is now more than a decade of constant failures to meet humanitarian conventions and international laws outlined by the United Nations and ratified by the Australian government. Federal politicians will often exhort to the use of exclusionary, and often divisive language whenever asylum seekers or refugees are discussed, particularly in the public†¦

Rhetorical Analysis of Print Advertisement Essay

Rhetorical Analysis of Print Advertisement - Essay Example The rhetorical perspective is often quite subtle and covert and as such quite hard to detect on the fly. Herein, the various ways in which the advertiser has used will be examined with reference to the provided HP advertisement. The appeals used are mostly ethos, and pathos, appeal by association, and sentiment respectively. The poster is a picture of what could be a rocket or missile seconds after it is launched, it is shooting skywards, and leaving a considerable trial of smoke in its wake. At the bottom of the picture is the words â€Å"make it matter†, and then there is the HP insignia in bigger letters than any other words in the advert. The picture itself presents an appeal to pathos; a shooting rocket can be easily associated with power potency, and masculinity. With such an interpretation, men since they readily relate to the concept, nonetheless, even the women who are competing in the corporate world recently a man’s domain will forge an association. It could be said on introspection that the picture is seen as a semiotic representation of a virile male. The fact that most men want to be seen in this light makes it easy for a male viewer to relate the use of HP products to masculinity, virility, and power. The HP legend is done in stark, bold, blue letters it is then located strategically near the cloud of smoke seeming to be near the launching pad. Before it are the words, â€Å"make it matter†. This means the observer will see first words in small print, and possibly wonder what it is that they need to happen, and then they will see the huge HP insignia. This way HP will appear to be â€Å"what makes it matter† this generalization will appeal to audiences across a wide scope, this is because people have something close to their hearts they would like to see happening. This ranges from winning a lottery to getting a satisfactory grade in school and/or get a promotion. As such, most people have something they would want to make happen. By associating the product with that concept, it can transcend a myriad of social cultural boundaries. This is because human desire for perfection is universal and the advert can appeal to anyone at any place or job. The advert contains an appeal to ethos; this is because of its use of a rocket being launched. The average American knows that rocket launching and flying is an extremely tricky and difficult task. They also know that for safety to be achieved, precision and high levels of accuracy must be achieved. As such, a picture of a rocket that appears to have been launched successfully is used to create an association of HP being an exceptionally competent and effective company. Furthermore, while one may expect to see a rocket being launched in a metropolitan area the picture is shot on what looks like a desolate village, there are a few electric wires at the background, but they appear vague. This is to create in the customer the impression that HP has products, a re available, and suitable even when the area around is not seriously advanced. However, the rocket juxtaposes the surrounding environment, which seems to be a relatively unprosperous background, and modern technology, which is prominently showed in idea of the rocket. The power lines in the background may have been used further imply that fact that HP has "power†