Prostitution in the United States Research Paper

Prostitution in the United States - Research Paper Example By identifying the most important factors surrounding the problem of prostitution, further research can be done to address each issue in more detail. This study will use the definition of prostitution provided by Murphy: â€Å"the exchange of sexual services for economic compensation† (775). To better understand the historical context and contemporary situation of prostitution in the U.S., a general review of the literature was conducted. Who becomes a prostitute? Anyone could become a prostitute, and yet the women that do tend to have some common traits. Their childhoods are often as problematic as their adulthoods, and women who choose prostitution have often suffered from specific and predictable childhood experiences. Valera et al. report that almost half of a sample of prostitutes reported experiencing unwanted sexual contact on the part of an adult during their childhood. In the same sample, 39% of women also reported having been abused by a guardian to the point of inju ry (Valera et al.). Edwards, Halpern, and Wechsberg describe both a history of child abuse and the presence of psychological distress as predictors of prostitution. In another study by Farley and Barkan, 57% of prostitutes reported suffering sexual assault during childhood and 49% reported having been physically assaulted. Clearly, the childhood experiences of these women have a staggering impact on them that is long-lasting. Unfortunately, childhood abuse is not the only abuse prostitutes experience, even if it is the first. Many prostitutes have suffered abuse and exploitation from men their entire lives, first through family members and later from pimps and clients (Carter and Dalla). These and the previously described factors seem to point toward a connection between childhood abuse and adult prostitution, so that some intervening response process to the earlier abuse puts these women at a greater risk for prostitution. There are several identifiable socioeconomic factors at wor k in the histories of women who become prostitutes (Burnette et al.). Women who become prostitutes have lower rates of education and higher rates of homelessness when compared to non-prostitutes (Burnette, Schneider, Ilgen, and Timko). Of course, without economic necessity or a drug habit, these women would not be motivated to engage in prostitution (Murphy). Given other resources for economic support, these women would not need to turn to prostitution. Socioeconomic conditions that may contribute to a woman’s continuing engagement in prostitution include a poor economy with a job shortage. Women interested in leaving prostitution and pursuing mainstream employment may be hindered by the contemporary economic climate and its shortage of new jobs. There are other attributes that can predict whether or not a woman is likely to become a prostitute. For example, women who are addicted to drugs are much more likely to become prostitutes than women without substance abuse problems (Burnette et al.). As they sink deeper into drug abuse, their ability to gain or maintain traditional employment is hindered. Through prostitution, they can continue the cycle of their addiction and make money to continue buying more drugs. They may even meet a drug dealer who is also a pimp, and get involved with prostitution through his design. Drug addicts are more

The Place of Diversity Essay Example for Free

The Place of Diversity Essay The term â€Å"Diversity† is a dimension that can be used to differentiate groups and people from one another. (Bacher, 200) The word itself has become more frequently used in recent years as the world is beginning to encompass people with many differences. Diversity covers a range of characteristics and deals with how we accept and deal with how we accept or respect those characteristic. Bucher , 2010) In other words, diversity is just not about ethnicity, race, gender but its much broader then we actually think but it’s the otherness or those human qualities that are different from our own and outside the groups, to which we belong, yet present in other individual groups. The specific characteristic or trout’s that difference people or groups are referred to as the dimensions of diversity (Bucher, 2010). As one recognizes the many dimensions of diversity, it is important to note that not all of the dimensions are visible. Many all of the dimensions are visible. Many of our dimensions that make us different are considered hidden because they are not apparent by working at a person. Also, some dimensions may be a person’s race, gender, or ethnicity (Bacher, 2010). Sometimes hidden dimensions can include non- physical traits such as social class, religion, level of education, sexual orientation, and religion, level of education, sexual orientation, or marital status. We can recognize that diversity can have different meanings; we must also recognize that people will have their own dimensions of diversity, whether visible or hidden. My Place for Diversity Multimedia Review: I completed and viewed the profiles and observe the Characteristics of the people in the multimedia. I recognize how there can be preconceived ideas of how a person will look if they contain certain dimensions. As I completed the profile, I reviewed Tammy. Reading the non- observable characteristic. I used my own stereotype and prejudices to attempt to determine which person would match the given description, I was wrong. The method I used to determine who fit the profile could be considered visible dimension. I only can conceive what I see not what is hidden my visible dimension maybe consider optimism. The profile describe this person being born in syracaur, NY, they lived in an upscale suburb. These people graduated at the age of 17, then went to college out of state and visit her family during the summer breaks; she is 5ft 3 in tall with few gray hairs. Next, I ruled out the other woman because their description didn’t fit in my mind to the non- observable characteristic. Why? While one lady looked as if she was upscale by her dressed appearance and long dark hair setting in a office seat. Actually, after I read the observable characteristic, then I noticed that Tammy did fit the visible dimension because of her work baggage on her work uniform. Also she had glasses on that made her look professional. Most hidden dimension can be over looked by just judging the outer appearance whether then accepting the person and respect their uniqueness. When you see many different sides of other cultures, you are now being well-versed, and can make sensible assessments about others.

Leadership Essay -- essays research papers

Leadership comes in many different forms but they all are heading toward the same goal; and that is to communicate with people. Some people are silent leaders and lead by example some are more vocal. Nevertheless, whatever type of leader you are, there are certain criteria that must be met. For example being a good role model, being dependable, being trust worthy, these are all things that a true leader must possess. However, all leaders have their strengths and weakness and these are a few areas in which men and woman striving to become leaders often have trouble dealing with. All to often leaders become over defensive and it beings to tear away at the seams of a cohesive unit. A little defensiveness is healthy self-protection...like your immune system. Excessive defensiveness will prevent you from learning from your mistakes after all, why do anything different, if all your mistakes are someone else's fault? Feeling angry because of changes imposed from above? Attack the stupidity of your bosses and you will feel better! This move can be self-defeating if it stops you from understanding their rationale and coming to terms with your own resistance to change. If you have healthy self-esteem, you should be able to admit your mistakes if you have low self-esteem you will either be too hard on yourself for even small mistakes, or you will overreact and defensively never admit them! When you anticipate the failure of one of your projects, do you start telling people why it will fail? You are setting up your defenses in advance so you will not have to create the m after the fact. Advance defensiveness can even facilitate failure. Some people will even sabotage their own projects, when they start to think they will fail, if they can do so in a way that ensures their getting off the hook. Recognizing and avoiding your own excessive defensiveness is not easy if you have developed a pattern of protecting a fragile self esteem in this way. However, you will not keep up with the demand in today's competitive market to learn faster if you do not confront this issue for yourself. Assertiveness - you may think you are assertive just because you rant and rave at times. Maybe you often give in to others, kidding yourself that you are just being reasonable. So how can you say "no" to your boss or others without incurring their wrath? Say "Yes, but"...... ...create a learning organization, first focus on creating a more entrepreneurial culture Fostering continuous employee development is complementary to a learning culture. However, an organization can learn in an entrepreneurial sense without a lot of employee development. You could have a fast learning organization that continually imported fresh talent with little emphasis on employee development. This is not to downplay the value of employee development - just to clearly separate it from organizational learning. Being a leader is never an easy task, and only a select few have the ability to lead. Not many people can take an organization, a team, or their local neighborhood and get them to work together toward a single goal. They have to be stern but at the same time sympathetic, they have to be able to delegate power without causing uproar. So many things go into being a leader that when everything is said and done, most people shy away from being a leader and feel as though they need to follow. However, that is the difference between a leader and a follower. When crunch time comes, the true leader will stand forward and guide his/her team, organization, or what have to victory.

Free College Admissions Essays: An opinion I have had to defend :: College Admissions Essays

Tell us about an opinion you have had to defend Tell us about an opinion you have had to defend. How has this affected your belief system? I chuckle to myself every time I think about this. I am perceived as a mild-mannered, intelligent individual until I mention that I am involved in riflery. It is interesting to watch someone's expression change. It is as if I instantaneously grew a pair of horns and a sharp set of claws. Believe me this gets worse; I am a member of the NRA. I try to tell these folks that I belong to the NRA to fire my rifle. "Oh my God! You fire real guns? with real bullets?!?" they remark with a perplexed look on their face. Besides having horns and claws, I now possess a tail and leathery wings. This is how it began five years ago. I had played on a soccer team for several years. As I grew older I began having difficulty playing soccer because of shortness of breath. I was diagnosed as having mild asthma which ended my soccer career and eliminated my participation in most physical sports. Shortly afterward, during a Boy Scout summer camp, I participated in riflery at their shooting range. This was the first time I had ever touched a firearm. To my amazement, I won the camp's first place award for marksmanship. I was more than eager when a friend of mine asked me if I would like to join a shooting club. My parents were wary when I asked to join the rifle club. My mother feared guns, but my father felt there was no problem with trying this sport. Gratefully, he gave me the opportunity to try rifle marksmanship, despite secretly hoping that I would quit. Both of my parents were afraid of what people would think about their son's involvement with guns. Like my parents a majority of people believe that all firearms are dangerous to our society. All they remember are the hysterical news releases of street violence and injured children. I am often asked how many deer I've shot. Frankly, I could never bring myself to injure another living creature and neither would most of the competitors I have met. Yet, I keep finding myself defending the sport from all of the misconceptions that surround it.

Discuss personal therapist variables

The literature on therapist effectiveness had found support for the importance of the personal experience and background of the therapist. This would imply that counseling effectiveness does not rely only on the theoretical orientation and academic training, but also on the values, principles, emotional stability, self-awareness, and optimism of the therapist (Seligman, 2006).As a student of the counseling process, I am fairly certain that being optimistic, open-minded and emotionally mature are what I consider my strengths and which will help me become a more effective therapist. Counseling is a helping profession and I believe that we could not give to others what we do not have. As a therapist, one must be able to reserve judgment, to accept clients unconditionally and have the willingness to help.Emotional maturity is said to be borne from experience and age (Sperry, Carlson & Kjos, 2003), and although I am not advanced in age, I know that I am emotionally mature because I have a lready experienced a number of difficult situations in my childhood which also gives me an insight into the feelings and thoughts of my clients, I am in a better position to understand them, because I have experienced what they are going through.However, this advantage may also have its own flaw since transference can easily occur in this situation. I have a good grasp of who I am as a person, but I think that I still need to work on my inner self-awareness as well as determining what values are predominant in my life and how I can deal with how my values might influence my relationships with my clients. Nevertheless, I am confident that through this course and in the coming terms, I would be able to deal effectively with the said limitations.I had always been a firm believer of man’s capacity for growth, and I have to say that my counseling approach would be evocative or client-directed (Seligman, 2006). I think that when people are given the opportunity to think and confron t their own issues and problems, they would be able to realize the solutions to their problems. As a therapist, it is my responsibility to help clients become more self-aware, define their identities, become independent and confident. Thus, I am more inclined to use listening skills, empathy, and genuineness in my counseling sessions.

The genre that I have chosen is comedy Essays

The genre that I have chosen is comedy Essays The genre that I have chosen is comedy Essay The genre that I have chosen is comedy Essay Essay Topic: The Chosen The genre that I have chosen is comedy is comedy. The reasons for why I have chosen this genre are that I know a lot about this genre as I usually watch comedy films in my spare time, so I also enjoy it to. The aspects that make a comedy a comedy are the 1 liners, the toilet humour, people hurting themselves humour, sexual innuendos and the fact that most comedy are funny in their own little way. Comedies are light-hearted dramas that are used to provoke laughter and amusement for the audience watching it. The comedy genre achieves this by exaggerating the situation, the language, actions and characters. There are many different forms of comedy including: Slapstick This is comedy with broad, aggressive, physical action, including harmless or painless cruelty and violence and sight gags, e.g., a custard pie in the face, collapsing houses, a fall in the ocean, a loss of trousers or skirts, runaway crashing cars, people chases, etc. The most recent of this type of film is Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1993) Verbal Comedy This was classically typified by the cruel verbal wit of W. C. Fields, the sexual innuendo of Mae West or the verbal absurdity of dialogues in the Marx Brothers films, or later by the self-effacing, thoughtful humour of Woody Allen. Screwball Screwball comedies are light-hearted and romantic stories, commonly focusing on a battle of the sexes. They usually include visual gags, wacky characters, a fast-paced plot, and rapid-fire wisecracking dialogue reflecting sexual tensions and conflicts in the blossoming of a relationship (or the patching up of a marriage) for an attractive couple with on-going differences. Parody or Spoofs These types comedy are usually humorous take-offs of more serious films. These types completely over exaggerate the plot, the action and especially the characters in order to have its mocking type of effect. The most recent of these types of films is Scary Movie 1 2, both a take off of successful horror films. Cinematic comedy can be considered as the oldest film genre, it was ideal for the early silent films as it was dependent on visual action. The earliest comedy made was produced by the Lumiere Brothers in 1895 and was titled Watering the Gardener There have been many comedies released over the last century the most recent releases have been: American pie 1 2 Road Trip Scary Movie 1 2 Other films that fit in with this genre include: Shriek if you know what I did last Friday 13th Ace Ventura Dude, wheres my car? Dogma Plot The plot of comedies usually depends on the type of comedy the film, whether it being spoof comedy or screwball comedy they all differ. Although there are a few similarities, all comedies use sight gags, 1 liners etc, in order to stay with that genre. Examples, Road Trip use many visual gags. Characters In most comedies the characters can be easily stereotyped. There is always a Cheerleader or Captain of a football team, there is always a Dumb Blonde who never gets the jokes and there is always a Sexually Frustrated Geek. Occasionally, the comedy genres add a Goth or Rocker or someone of an alternative scene into a film. Examples Scary Movie and Cant Hardly Wait. Narrative The way in which the story is told revolves around the 1 liners, the sexual innuendos etc Stars The stars that are most likely to be associated with this genre are: Charlie Chaplin, Harry Lloyd and Buster Keaton and a more recent actor Seann William Scott etc. The 2 film covers above are American Pie 2 and Scary Movie. American Pie 2 and Scary Movie have many differences, the most obvious of which is that American Pie 2 has some relation to Screwball comedies and Scary Movie has relation to Parody or Spoof comedies. Whilst American Pie 2 exaggerates aspects of the film, Scary Movie overly exaggerates the film mocking most slasher movies, i.e. Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer etc. The Films both rely on visual gags, but Scary Movie uses much more of them to add to its mocking tone. Soundtracks, American Pie 2 uses a romantic sort of soundtrack whilst Scary Movie uses a more haunting soundtrack in order to stay as a parody of slasher films. In similarities, both American Pie 2 and Scary Movie have the stereotypical characters of the comedy drama; there is the Cheerleader Buffy in Scary Movie and Captain of the team Oz in American Pie, there are the sexually frustrated geeks, Jim and Bobby.

Contemporary Approaches to Management Essays

Contemporary Approaches to Management Essays Contemporary Approaches to Management Paper Contemporary Approaches to Management Paper Contemporary Management Approaches and Their Environments In the following paper, will be describing how the four contemporary approaches to management are different from one another. Will also be describing open systems and the types of environments these systems exist under. The last part of the assignment is to interrelate the two and explain why or why not. The four contemporary approaches to management theory include the following: the esoterically systems theory, the quantitative management theory, organizational behavior, and the systems theory. First, lets begin with beefing the esoterically systems theory. The esoterically systems theory is an approach to job design that attempts to redesign tasks to optimize operation Of a new tech oenology while preserving employees interpersonal relationships and other human aspects of the work. The quantitative management theory emphasizes the application of quantitative analysis to managerial decisions and problems. Organizational behavior is an approach that studies and identifies management activities that promote employee effectiveness by examining the complex and dynamic nature of individual, roof and organizational processes. Finally, the last approach the systems theory, states that an organization is a managed system that changes inputs into outputs. Inputs can be described as the goods and services businesses take into use and create products or services. Outputs are the resulting product or service that the business creates from the inputs. The second part of this assignment was to define and explain an open system. All businesses are going to be open systems. Open systems are organizations that are affected by, and that affect, their environment. Open systems take in inputs in the forms of goods and services and these inputs are used to create a product or a service. Some common examples of inputs include raw materials, equipment, capital, information, and services. The resulting product or service the system makes is referred to as the output. Outputs are in constant interaction with the firms environment. Some common examples of outputs include products, such as cars, furniture, and computers, or services, such as accountants, medical services, and insurance providers. The internal environment of the company can be defined as all internal forces inside an organization such as the mangers, employees, and resources. The external environment includes all relevant forces outside of the businesses boundaries. Common examples of external environment forces include competitors, customers, the government, and the economy. The micromanagement is best described as the general environment; it includes governments, economic conditions, and other fundamental factors that generally affect all organizations. The final part of this assignment was to indicate whether the four contemporary approaches to management are relevant in the three environments I described in the last paragraph, and why or why not. Lets take a look at the first contemporary approach to management. The esoterically systems theory is present by far in the internal environment, since it focuses primarily on employees interpersonal relationships, thus impacting the external environment. The second approach, quantitative management, is relative to the external external environment and micromanagement. It can be useful during forecasting equines trends and analysis of the markets. Organization behavior is relative in both the internal and external environment. The last approach, the systems theory, concerns all three of these environments since all of these environments can be expressed relating back to inputs and outputs. The following paper describes how the different business environments can be related the four contemporary approaches to management. In closing, the systems theory, seems to be the best since it accurately addresses the internal, external, and micromanagement.

Personal Financial Management

Personal Financial Management Introduction A contingency plan is an essential tool in the preparation of a retirement plan and an estate management plan. The goal of this contingency plan is guarantee the maximum possible use of existing and anticipated financial resources by coordinating all of the assets, liabilities, and other sources of income of an individual.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Personal Financial Management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In the process of developing a contingency plan, it is assumed that and individual has the willingness and capability to undertake necessary cash and investment commitments. Furthermore, there is also the need to be uniquely identified in order to come up with appropriate recommendations. This will ensure that the plan is realistic, effective, and efficient. Discussion In the current setting, the level of risk tolerance is moderate. Therefore, the willingness to take on risks is similar to th e capacity to assume risks. Given that existing income requirements for the portfolio are minimal, there has to be a total return methodology on the continuing capital gains rather than the creation of current income. However, existing liquid assets are adequate to offer cash reserves during any emergency (Kapoor, Dlabay, Hughes, 2012). Since the wish is to retire after 32 years of active employment, the key objective is to have a balanced portfolio in order to have sufficient retirement income. In such a case, it is important to manage the financial assets by having a portfolio comprising both taxable accounts as well as two IRAs. The calculations for this plan are based on average annual inflation being at four percent with the social security inclusion being at fifty percent. The bond mutual funds are at 4% with the equities giving a return of between 5-10%. On the other hand, annuities amount to around 5% with social security COLA rates being at 3%. The personal residence and p roperty growth rates are at 2%. The inflation of the college expenses stands at 7%. The family assets, cash-value life- insurance, as well as liabilities are defined at present market value (Kapoor, Dlabay, Hughes, 2012). The key strategy is to join an investment club and then to manage a portfolio of nearly eight to ten minor capitalization of stocks. Furthermore, investments will be done on mutual funds that are well managed due to their high-quality complements towards the personal stock holdings. Consequently, investments will be done in the other partner’s IRA but in a fund that focuses on high quality large capitalization companies.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The smaller IRA can be invested in an aggressive expansion small cap fund while the other taxable assets will be invested in the equity income fund, a money market fund, a global fund and fi nally, to a short-term bond fund. Given the existing uncertainty regarding the markets outlook, portfolio diversification will assist in dampening volatility while providing the room to ride out any downturns arising from a given market segment. Notably, replacement costs take most of the familys budget especially replacement of key items. Therefore, the annual income target is aimed at $200,000 and the plan is to increase it at an average annual inflation level of nearly two percent over the life expectancy. Saving current income is the key to attain financial goals while preparing for emergencies (Stovall Maurer, 2011). When it comes to the retirement plan, the social security will provide a distinctive advantage since it covers inflation-adjusted incomes. This will help to keep at bay erosive outcomes arising from inflation. Therefore, it will be essential to restructure the income together with the assets to meet current tax liabilities. Therefore, nearly 50% of the non-pension assets will be invested in equities while the other 50% will be on fixed-income along with cash. On the other hand, pension payments will be dealt with as fixed-income assets whereby almost 70% will be invested in equities while the remaining 30% will be invested in fixed-income plus cash. Therefore, this investment will act as a source of constant income that will be used to meet the familys daily expenses. Consequently, it will act as a foundation for growth in case the living expenses increase due to inflation. However, it is essential to consider the idea of overcoming inflation while supporting a desired lifestyle. The firmness of life insurance companies is also a growing concern due to financial troubles in the industry. Savings also offer economic control and as such, the savings will cover between 3-6 months of the living expenses.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Personal Financial Management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Therefore, this entails maintaining a sufficient disability as well as survivor income to sustain present living standards without depleting the capital until retirement. A credit management strategy from a professional will help in avoiding dealing with credit agencies by managing the credit debt. A good debt reduction plan will help in straightening out the inaccurate credit history. For instance, Equifax from Creditnet will help to monitor the credit profiles from every bureau. It will also provide notices if any changes can result in an unmanageable debt profile and protect identity from any fraudulent acts. Furthermore, it will offer simulations on how certain credit acts being undertaken can affect the credit score in addition to providing tips on how to administer the credit score (Kapoor, Dlabay, Hughes, 2012). Under estate planning, providing for the children is a major concern and the course of action should be that all of the property will be passed t o the surviving partner and the distribution to the children will be after the partner’s death. The estate plan entails applying gift and estate tax credit due to access to the gift tax credit, referred to as applicable credit tax. This plan involves distributing the applicable credit total, to the children after the death of the first partner. Thus, transferring of the estate balance to the surviving partner will be under unrestricted marital deductions through a trust arrangement. Such a plan will help to minimize the amount of the remaining partners estate that in the end trims down the estate tax obligations (Kapoor, Dlabay, Hughes, 2012). The distribution will happen after the first death of a partner and the trust created and will ultimately distribute equal shares of the estate to all the children. If the other partner becomes involved in running the family business then life insurance will facilitate her to execute a buy-sell agreement that is funded from the life in surance. Furthermore, in case of death, the proceeds from the insurance will be used to buy the business interest arising from the estate. Accordingly, the children will have full control of the business, as well as the estate including the cash that they can divide among them or their heirs.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More However, purchasing of the life insurance can be done directly to equalize the estate and not to increase the value of the estate that in the end can attract estate tax liability. In order to avoid the uncalled for tax drain and provide additional money to the estate, every instance of ownership will be removed from the insured. For this reason, the marginal tax bracket should remain at 30% whereby the average tax bracket lingers at 24%. The surviving spouse will most likely continue with the existing pension payments and she should have a possible advisor who can assist in assessing the options. Therefore, assets received upon death like life insurance payments can be invested into intermediate-term fixed-income funds to have the liquidity that can be used in later on investments in various funds. Furthermore, the IRA should be turned into the other spouse IRA and then invested in a similarly aggressive expansion fund such that the asset allotment remains unaffected until a better option arises. Given the fact that death can occur when the beneficiary is a minor or he/she has developed special needs, a guardian will be appointed to take charge of beneficiarys personal care. Therefore, a residuary clause will ensure that disposal of the estate assets following payments of all debts will be passed on the children (Stovall Maurer, 2011). The competitive line of credit from the bank will offer the capital required to run the rental real estate business. The business will be dealt as a personal net worth and it should have stable plus dependable cash flows including protection from disasters. Investment decisions are based on projections from markets and asset class. An asset allocation approach will offer the prospect for additional control over the amount of return in return for assuming further risks. The asset allocation is also a no-derivative approach that will help to minimize risks in addition to reducing the in general portfolio volatility. Holding vario us asset classes will help to reduce the risks especially when major markets go down. In such a plan, the key concern is to ensure that the mortgage is completed by 2025, and the vehicle loan by 2014. In addition, poor health, inflation, disability, and possible tax hikes are obstacles that can impede the plan. In order to minimize tax liability and at the same time preserve more of the estate an amount of up to $13,000 will be contributed yearly to the childs college account, so as not to incur federal gift tax charges (Stovall Maurer, 2011). Estate planning includes minimizing probable taxes, and thus help in assuring preferences concerning health care treatment. A proper estate planning recognizes what will take place in the home, investments, life insurance, the retirement plan, and additional property, especially in the event of a disability. Conclusion The above contingency plan has come up with an estate plan that not only serves the immediate needs but also the future neces sities of the beneficiaries. It covers a broad series of legal, tax, as well as financial considerations. The contingency plan takes into consideration the coordination of the plan with those of estate goals. Given that investment in the family business is a crucial asset, the plan has addressed retirement and estate planning matters comprising value of the shares and the estate, the insurance, retirement planning as well as the preservation of the estate. References Kapoor, J. R., Dlabay, L. R., Hughes, R. J. (2012). Personal Finance (10 ed.). Los Angeles: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Stovall, J., Maurer, T. (2011). The Ultimate Financial Plan: Balancing Your Money and Life. New York: Blackwell.

Business Management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Business Management - Research Paper Example While costlier than the previous method, the experiment demonstrated promising results, only to be shut down by company executives (Beer, 9). An overemphasis on top-down management forced ASDA’s mid- and lower-level managers to abandon their entrepreneurial spirit and to quit providing upper-level management with valuable insight from the customer and store levels. This is evident in one manager’s quote, â€Å"†¦the stores were full of people who did care, and who knew how to run a store, but were not allowed to do it,† (Beer, 6). The behaviors and activities of executives that led to this culture within ASDA are best stated by the terminology ASDA store employees chose for ASDA’s corporate headquarters: the Dream Factory. As one store manager stated, â€Å" †¦ASDA House never bothered to find out whether their policies had realistic time scales or even whether they were achievable at all,† (Beer, 9). Clearly, top executives had become so focused on the corporate lifestyle they created, complete with â€Å"hunting and partying,† that they were actively choosing to ignore advice from store-level management that could have potentially saved the company (Beer, 6). A human resource manager captured this environment best, stating, â€Å"The top managers at ASDA knew the company had lost focus, but they didn’t seem to care,† (Beer, 6). Clearly, important decisions were waiting on Archie Norman in the winter of 1991 that would affect the future of the company. The important question is what is to be done? How should ASDA turn itself around? I believe the most important lesson new ASDA executives could learn is that top-down, dictatorial management failed in ASDA. The Perry Barr experiment demonstrates the potential impact skill teams and compensation based on skill can have not just on productivity and morale, but on changing the toxic culture at ASDA. Skill teams show employees that upper-level management doesn’t care

Friction Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Friction - Lab Report Example A proof of an increase or decrease in mass of the Newton’s experiment is determined by the force and acceleration achieved from the experiment. Goals: The goal of the experiment is to verify the existence of Newton’s second law by finding the coefficient of static friction, Â µs and the coefficient of kinetic friction, Â µk. using the experiment stated below. Introduction: Have you wondered the make-ups of mechanics? Well Newton’s second law breaks it down into simple understandable terms by providing a means of translating directly between the acceleration and force acting towards a given mass or object. Theoretical background: The experiments are based on the concepts of force and Newton’s Laws of Motion, particularly Newton’s Second Law which states that: the acceleration of a body is directly proportional to the net force acting on the body, and inversely proportional to the mass of the body. From this definition, the equation Net Force = Mass x Acceleration (Fnet = mass x acceleration) is derived. Air tracks were used to reduce friction; the little amount of friction that remains in the system is negligible in the data. The suspended mass was subject to gravity which has a constant acceleration of -9.81 m/s2. The variables were solved to include: acceleration of the sled, velocities of the sled at each photo-gate, net force acting on the string, and the time taken from release to the first photo-gate and between the photo-gates. Acceleration was calculated using the formula: Acceleration= Velocity/ Time. The experiment is commonly used in mechanics fields to determine the acceleration acti ng towards a given mass or object. ... Theory: The variables to be used in the experiment and their explanation involves F used to show the force, m used to show the mass being used and a used to show the acceleration of the object. The variables used by Newton’s lay emphasis on the net force used exerted on the experiment in question. The relationship between force and motion was initially discussed by Aristotle (384-332B.C). He proposed that the natural state of an object was during rest, and force was required to put an object into motion, therefore, a continuous force was necessary to keep the body in motion. Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) argued that a body at rest is a unique case of a more broad case of constant motion. He noted that in the absence of friction acting on a body to slow it down, the body might continue to move in a straight line forever. He proposed that bodies remain at rest or in a state of constant motion unless an external force acts on them to change this motion. Frictional force is a force unlike other forces which accelerate or slows down a moving body (Lerner & Lawrence, page 51). Isaac Newton (1642-1727) sanctified the relationship between force and motion by proposing that the acceleration of a body is directly proportional to the net force acting on it and inversely proportional to the mass of the body. This law is summarized by the formula F=ma which is verified quantitatively in this experiment. Work done i.e. physical work defined in terms of physical quantities is expressed as a product of positional change multiplied by the component of force Fx in the displacement direction dx. W = Fx ?x = F?xcos? Where ? is the angle between the direction of displacement and the direction of force. This relationship can be written in the vector dot product form W = Fx The

Nothing in Much Ado About Nothing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Nothing in Much Ado About Nothing - Essay Example This is why his plays have made it into college classrooms and their popularity has endured through the centuries. He was a master at making almost universal commentaries about human organization and behavior in a way that also served to entertain. It's important to remember, though, that the original context for Shakespeare’s plays was the same context in which plays are performed today. They were originally intended to provide a simple evening's worth of entertainment for the price of a ticket with the hope that the audience would continue to come back for more. â€Å"Shakespeare’s plays were written to be performed to an audience from different social classes and of varying levels of intellect. Thus they contain down-to-earth characters who appeal to the working classes, side-by-side with complexities of plot which would satisfy the appetites of the aristocrats among the audience† (Geraghty). One of his more popular romantic comedies is the play Much Ado About Nothing in which the word 'nothing' takes on numerous meanings and has an effect on characters actions throughout the play. The play takes place at the home of Leonato, a nobleman of Messina and centers around the stories of two young couples. The female half of these couples are residents of Leonato's house, his daughter Hero and his niece Beatrice. The action begins with the expected arrival of the prince Don Pedro and his party including the male halves of these romantic couples. Claudio is a young nobleman and Benedick is a clever man who has proven himself valuable. An unwelcome part of the crowd is Don John, Don Pedro's illegitimate brother who expresses all the typical bitterness and resentment expressed in characters placed in this life role. Benedick and Beatrice are already acquainted with each other and quickly resume their years long banter back and forth. As they compete with each other over which one can get the most words in, Claudio and Hero are quietly falling in l ove with each other. They decide to marry with the wedding planned in a week. To help pass the time until the wedding day, Hero and Claudio agree with the others to play a game on Beatrice and Benedick designed to force them to finally admit their love for each other. The trick works, but it isn't the only one in the works. Don John, jealous and anxious to cause trouble, convinces one of his men to make love to Hero's maid Margaret at Hero's window one night. As Borachio is busy doing this, Don John brings Don Pedro and Claudio to the garden outside Hero's window where they believe they are seeing Hero being unfaithful to her betrothed. Naturally filled with rage, Claudio calls off the wedding, but does so in a very humiliating way at the ceremony in front of the gathering. The family, finally convinced she might be telling the truth that it wasn't her, decide to pretend she died of her shock and grief in the hope that the truth would come out. It nearly comes to a fight between Cla udio and almost everyone else until the night watchman hears Borachio talking about what he'd done. Claudio, in his grief and to amend for his error, agrees to marry another one of Hero's cousins. It isn't until they are before the altar that Claudio finally realizes the veiled woman standing with him is really Hero. The play ends with Beatrice and Benedick getting married and everyone joining in a celebratory dance. One of the major motifs that runs through this play, giving it

Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 14

Marketing - Essay Example Market forecasts for the digital media industry over the past four years are said to be inaccurate and reflected a longer span of time before a major market segment is established. This scenario, however, was altered when Apple iTunes Music Store and Ipod Video was introduced by Apple. The success of these products had been phenomenal and is poised to change the landscape of the entertainment world. It was Apple who introduced and pushed for the concepts of video on demand (VOD), along with novel ideas such as pod casting, which is becoming a major factor in video marketing. Sales of the Ipod Video had been surprisingly brisk since Christmas and Apple is likely to raise its sales to 30% for the first quarter of 2006 alone. Steve Jobs, Apple CEO, announced in an Apple press release that they have sold one million videos in less than 20 days of Ipod Video’s release. (Apple) Meanwhile, the traffic on Apple iTunes online store was reported to have jumped 50% in the latter part of last year. (Siglin) A week after its launch, Apple iTunes Music Store boasted to have reached a 2 million-dollar mark, with the store selling music for $0.99 a song. The staggering demand for the Apple portable media has not gone unnoticed by the video industry. Last October, Ipod Video’s launch was sent off by a historical deal between Apple and ABC with the sale of the latter’s television series â€Å"Lost† episodes through Apple iTunes Music Store. Apple is currently in strategic partnership with Walt Disney Co., ABC’s parent company, which involves similar sale of popular ABC shows like â€Å"Desperate Housewives,† â€Å"Night Stalker,† and â€Å"That’s So Raven.† Siglin quoted the NBC Universal chairman, Bob Wright, being interviewed by the Los Angeles Times: â€Å"Apple’s success certainly reinforces the view that there is a demand out there†¦ It’s for real, and it’s going to be with us for a long

Discharge plan and Legislation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Discharge plan and Legislation - Essay Example A typical scenario involves the screening of hospital records for Mr. Sharma within 24 hours of admission to identify if he is a high risk patient who requires discharge planning. A typical high risk criteria might include factors like being age 65 and older and living alone with no immediate social supports. Prior to being admitted to the hospital Mr. Sharma had a care giver who visited morning and evening. This is expected to continue after discharge. However, there are additional complications that will require the need for additional assistance. Mr. Sharma is now recovering from a stroke and is undergoing therapy to help in the process. Additionally, Mr. Sharma has a wound which he acquired on getting the stroke. This wound is slow to heal. Further, Mr. Sharma has mild osteo-arthritis which appears stable but may later cause pains and therefore curtain his movements significantly. This discharge plan relates to 87 year old Mr. Sharma who has a history of minor strokes, Type 2 dia betes which is diet controlled; and a past history of hypertension which has been well controlled with the use of the medication, bendrofluumethiazide. Mr. Sharma also has mild osteo-arthritis which appears stable. In his recent bout of stroke Mr. Sharma stumbled and fell resulting in a wound to his leg. The wound became infected and has been slow to heal. Additionally, on his admission to hospital Mr. Sharma’s blood sugar level was raised to 10mmol g per litre. Mr Sharma has been in hospital for the past ten days and based on the results of tests has made a good recovery. He is very keen on going back home and so it is important that a proper discharge plan be done. This plan should include health care officials at the hospital, social services, his caregiver, Mr. Sharma and his family. During discharge from hospital the Caregiver for Mr. Sharma should be consulted. The caregiver’s comments should be taken into consideration and both Mr. Sharma and his caregiver shoul d receive a copy of the discharge plan for Mr. Sharma detailing the care that is required. According to the British Geriatrics Society (2006), older people who have been discharged from hospital and are living in a community have higher levels of dependency as well as more complex health and social care needs than other patient groups. Mr Sharma is 87 and falls in this group. He has complex problems which include hypertension, Type 2 diabetes and a wound to his leg which he obtained when he stumbled after suffering a recent stroke. This infection has been slow to heal. There is no present sign of infection but it will require special care on discharge. There are a number of problems that 87 year old Mr. Sharma is likely to face on discharge, some of which should be dealt with before discharge. They include management of diet, exercise, wound care to prevent re-infection, and proper use of medication. It has been suggested that Mr. Sharma starts to attend a local Expert Patient Progr amme in his community which will be organised by the community matron. This will have an impact on planning. Discharge arrangements are dependent on social services, health authorities, NHS trusts and primary care groups/trusts BGS (2006). Mr. Sharma should be involved early in the assessment process and care plans should offer them real choice. Carers are also entitled by law to receive if they require an

Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 14

Marketing - Essay Example Market forecasts for the digital media industry over the past four years are said to be inaccurate and reflected a longer span of time before a major market segment is established. This scenario, however, was altered when Apple iTunes Music Store and Ipod Video was introduced by Apple. The success of these products had been phenomenal and is poised to change the landscape of the entertainment world. It was Apple who introduced and pushed for the concepts of video on demand (VOD), along with novel ideas such as pod casting, which is becoming a major factor in video marketing. Sales of the Ipod Video had been surprisingly brisk since Christmas and Apple is likely to raise its sales to 30% for the first quarter of 2006 alone. Steve Jobs, Apple CEO, announced in an Apple press release that they have sold one million videos in less than 20 days of Ipod Video’s release. (Apple) Meanwhile, the traffic on Apple iTunes online store was reported to have jumped 50% in the latter part of last year. (Siglin) A week after its launch, Apple iTunes Music Store boasted to have reached a 2 million-dollar mark, with the store selling music for $0.99 a song. The staggering demand for the Apple portable media has not gone unnoticed by the video industry. Last October, Ipod Video’s launch was sent off by a historical deal between Apple and ABC with the sale of the latter’s television series â€Å"Lost† episodes through Apple iTunes Music Store. Apple is currently in strategic partnership with Walt Disney Co., ABC’s parent company, which involves similar sale of popular ABC shows like â€Å"Desperate Housewives,† â€Å"Night Stalker,† and â€Å"That’s So Raven.† Siglin quoted the NBC Universal chairman, Bob Wright, being interviewed by the Los Angeles Times: â€Å"Apple’s success certainly reinforces the view that there is a demand out there†¦ It’s for real, and it’s going to be with us for a long

Networking Activity Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Networking Activity - Coursework Example One lesson touches on the importance of employees to an organization. I learnt that employees play a central role in the success of an organization. Therefore, there is a need of introducing proper motivational policies aimed at making these employees to be efficient in their work. The most surprising lesson is that high salaries are not a motivating factor, however, lack of good pay, may be a de-motivator. Therefore, the best motivating policies are the ones that touch on satisfying the interests of employees, and this includes good working conditions, chances of promotion, and provisions for vacations. Based on my conversation with Tawni Cranz, this networking activity was a success. This is mostly because to make a new friend on her, and also learn on some issues touching on human resource management. This is an important contact that I made, because in future, she may advice me on how to get a good

Capital Budgeting Essay Example for Free

Capital Budgeting Essay Introduction The purpose of this paper is to analyze and interpret the answers of the Capital Budgeting Case. I will discuss my recommendation about which Corporation and investor should acquire based on the quantitative reasoning. I also will describe the relationship between the net present value and the internal rate of return for the two corporations that are analyzed. Capital Budgeting Case A company is planning in acquiring a new corporation and there are two options with the same cost of $250,000 but both with different 5-year projections of cash flows. The evaluation done to the two corporations (A and B) is based on the Net Present Value (NPV) and the Internal Rate of Return (IRR). The net present value represents the value the project or investment adds to the investor wealth. The NPV method of capital budgeting suggests that all projects that have positive NPV should be accepted because they would add value to the investment. On the other hand, the internal rate of return is defined as the discount rate that equates the present value of a projects cash inflows to its outflows. According to the internal rate of return method of capital budgeting, the investment should be accepted if their IRR is greater than the cost of capital. The results for Corporation â€Å"A† shows a NPV of $20,979.20 based on discount rate of 10%. And, we got an IRR of 13.05% which means that is the discount rate that makes the NPV equal or close to $0.00. On the other hand, the Corporation â€Å"B† with a discount rate of 11% got a NPV of $40,251.47 and an IRR of 16.94%. A positive NPV is considered a good project, and we want to choose the one with the highest NPV. Therefore, I would recommend acquiring the Company â€Å"B† because it has a higher NPV than the other company. Corporation B will be giving us a current value cash return of $40,251.47 above our 11% required rate of return during the next 5 years. And, if we recalculate the NPV using the IRR of 16.94% it will result on an NPV close to $0.00. The relationship between NPV and IRR is based on the discount rate used to bring up the cash flows to the present. For the case of Company â€Å"B†, with the discount rate of 11%, if we have a NPV of $0.00, our IRR will also be 11%. But, if our NPV is higher than $0.00, our IRR will be also higher than 11%. And, if we have a negative NPV, then our IRR will be less than 11%. In other words, the NPV and the IRR most of the time yield the same result of acceptance or rejection. Conclusion In conclusion, the best recommendation is to acquire Company B because it will give us higher current values during the first 5 years and higher returns of the investment.

Social Housing Provision Changes Since 1980

Social Housing Provision Changes Since 1980 Changes in the Organisation and Provision of Social Housing Since 1980 Abstract Did the Housing Act of 1980, which granted tenants the right to buy council property, along with other housing policy geared towards a neo-liberal attitude to economics and the housing market, such as the stock transfer from local authorities to housing associations, the direct payment of housing benefit into tenants accounts and rent increases due to deregulation eventually lead to increased social polarisation between rich and poor and, in particular, homelessness in urban environments? If so, how did this happen and what were the implications of this policy on the present housing climate? Introduction to Problem The Housing Act of 1980 was a flagship policy by the newly elected Conservative government. It allowed five million tenants the right to buy their council house from the local authority at a reduced rate. This opportunity to buy was extended further in years to come, and was used primarily as a means to reduce the amount of council owned housing in favour of a number of other economic models more conducive to the right wing Conservative party ideology. The central principles of the right to buy policy, intended to reduce the amount of publicly owned housing stock, was eventually extended to include initiatives for councils to voluntarily give up their hold on their housing property. This included the allowance of private landlord ownership, the selling of council property though voluntary transfers, and also continued into present Blairite policy with the Arms Length Management Association. While the 1980 Housing Act provided revenue for run down council estates and their tenants, an d also allowed working-class tenants an opportunity to get onto the property ladder, it also contributed to fuelling a growing minority of underclass citizens, who were deprived of the council housing stock on which they were previously reliant, and were subsequently forced into a cycle of unemployment and homelessness. Although housing stock was overinflated in comparison to other capitalist countries in the 1980s, and the Housing Act was initially beneficial in many ways to the owner of the housing association. Other policies that directly affected housing stock also reflected this trend towards neo-liberalism and a policy of equal responsibility, whether the citizen was rich or poor. These policies include the stock transfer from local authorities to housing associations, rent increases due to the deregulation of the housing sector and the payment of housing benefit directly into a tenants bank account rather than to the landlord. This resulted in an increase in homelessness and social polarisation between the rich and poor. Literature Review A great deal of literature has been written on how Thatcherism has affected British housing and the effects that this had on the development of homelessness. The British Political Process: An Introduction (Wright, 2000, pp. 30-3), along with Jean Conways Housing Policy (2000) offer a good general overview of the policies forwarded and their effects this had on the power of local councils, as well as an analysis of their motivations for instigating these privatisation policies. Wright includes some details on how the Housing Acts tended to profit smaller, richer rural councils to the detrement of poorer communities, and both books go into detail about the 1988 and 1989 Housing Acts, the latter of which forced council rents up, which meant that they were unable to fund any major repairs or new building on their housing stock. Anne Power (1993) in Hovels to High Rise stresses that the right to buy polarised the market because it left behind those who aspired to buying their council hous e, but couldnt afford it. Similarly, Andy Thornley (1992) in The Crisis of London comments that, despite the intentions for right to buy to raise revenues to fund the regeneration of squalid and neglected housing estates, very little money was actually raised to reinvest in council housing because of the restrictions in place on capital receipts (p. 15). This, coupled with the deregulation of the private rented sector of the housing market in the Housing Act of 1988, led to a substantial increase of the price of rental accommodation and an increased inability for people on lower incomes to pay their housing associated costs (pp. 10-24). Tim Blackman (1995) in Urban Policy in Practice also comments that because the better parts of Britains publicly owned housing stock has been sold off, many of Britains remaining council estates have effectively become welfare ghettos (p. 153), and rife with drugs, poverty and squalid housing. Keith Dowding and Desmond Kings Rooflessness in London (Policy Studies Journal, Vol. 28, 2000) focuses on the difficulty of getting a coherent study of homelessness because of the ambiguity of the terminology homelessness which, in British law, excludes almost everybody. They argue the problem with the term intentionally homeless, a term used in the 1977 Housing (Homeless Persons) Act. This concept of intentionally homeless is used to varying degree of exactitude by different councils. Johnston Birchall (1992) comments how this varies wildly from council to council (p. 142). David Robertson (1998, p. 14) comments how this judicial discretion is often used to deliberately introduce ambiguity into policy and law, allowing for councils to absolve their obligation to house the homeless. Alison Ravetz (2001, p. 199-204) argues further that the extreme right agenda of Conservative policy combined with the 1977 Housing Act, which changed the way housing was allocated based on priority, ensu red that the priority homeless began to usurp ordinary council house waiting lists. Paradoxically, because these people were in themselves labelled as a priority for councils, potential tenants would become homeless simply in order to qualify for housing. As the number of publicly owned council houses decreased, this increased the numbers of homeless people in Britain at the time. Loveland (1995) in Housing Homeless Persons argues that the right to buy also degraded the remaining housing stock, as the properties sold tended to be in more desirable areas, and also, even at a discounted rate, only the more affluent tenants could afford to buy (p. 35). MacEwan (1991) in Housing, Race and Law mentions that the incidence of building society repossessions increased in districts responsible for Housing (Homeless Persons) provisions from 218 in 1979 to 748 in 1987, half of which were former council houses bought under the right to buy. The effects of the various Housing Acts passed by the C onservative Government on the elusive statistic of homelessness is variable. Tim Blackman in Urban Policy in Practice comments on the GNI (Generalised Needs Index), which is used to assist councils in allocating funds to housing stock (p. 97). Methodology The problem of homelessness in Britain is twofold. First, it has been very difficult to statistically measure homelessness. Many homeless people are disillusioned and unaware of their rights to apply for housing. Also, the 1977 Housing (Homeless Persons) Act uses the problematic statement of intentionally homeless which can be used in many different guises. Thus, this study of the effects of homelessness in Britain will have to take this into account, and the wildly varying statistics on homelessness testify this difficulty. However, it is safe to assume that the housing policy has led to an increased number of homeless people in Britain. This dissertation will look at the existing literature on homelessness in the 1980s, of which a great deal has been written. Secondly, the problem with homelessness and the underclass in general is that they occupy a class on the fringes of society and therefore, are not easily put into traditional catgories of class or structure. In order to eschew these difficulties with information presently available, it may be apt to conduct an independent study of homelessness, via the means of a questionnaire. This could either target the street homeless, the advantage of this method being that the questionnaire would be more quickly implemented, or else a random cross-section of society. The advantages of this method would be that it would take into account the innate elusiveness of the homeless section of society. Conclusions/Implications Thatcherism and right wing policy has led to a minorty of underclass people. Due to the strict enforcement of Thatcherite and neo-liberal housing policy that has degraded council housing stock, deregulated private sector rental markets and sold off much of the higher quality housing stock and led to a ghettoisation of many more run-down council estates, especially in urban areas of Britain. This dissertation will look primarily at the effects this has on generating an underclass of homelessness. The implications of this study will be to chart how the implementation of right wing housing policy has generated and exacerbated the continued dependency of the underclass. Bibliography Birchall, J., Housing Policy in the 1990s, (London: Routledge, 2000) Blackman, T., Urban Theory in Practice, (London: Routledge, 1995) Burrows, R., Please, N., Quilgars, D., Homelessness and Social Policy, (London: Routledge, 1997) Conway, J., Housing Policy, (London: Gildredge, 2000) Dowding, K., King, D., Rooflessness in London from Policy Studies Journal, Vol. 28, 2000 Loveland, I., Housing Homeless Persons: Administrative Law and the Administrative Process, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995) MacEwan, M., Housing, Race and Law, (London: Routledge, 1991) Ravetz, A., Council Housing and Culture, (London: Routledge, 2001) Robertson, D., Judicial Discretion in the House of Lords, (London: Clarendon Press, 1990) Thornley, A., The Crisis of London, (London: Routledge, 1992) Wright, T., The British Political Process, (London: Routledge, 2000)

Tori Amos Biography :: essays research papers

Tori Amos, Goddess of Rock and Roll, and the piano. The girl who has been through so much, but still lives to tell about it and share all of her life experiences through her songs. Her life is almost like a song itself, with all of the trials and tribulations one can imagine.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Amos, who was born in Newton, North Carolina on August 22nd, 1963 wasn’t originally called Tori. Her given name was Myra Ellen. The change of her name came later in her career. Right from the beginning, her talents on the piano were recognized. At the young age of three, before her legs were even long enough to reach the pedals, she was climbing up to the piano bench to play a song. By the age of five, she was the youngest student to ever be accepted to the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore. She stayed at the Conservatory for several years, but by the age of eleven she was asked to leave because she didn’t want to play the music that was required of her. She once stated in an interview on the Rosie O’Donnell Show, â€Å"Those guys are dead, why do I want to play that crap! I want to be a composer...don’t we all...but I did.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After getting kicked out of the school she began playing at piano bars. Her father always was tagging along, because she wasn’t old enough to go alone. She played at the bars, in addition to a Marriot hotel, until she graduated from high school. Sometime after that Ellen, as she was called, changed her name. One of Tori’s sisters brought her boyfriend to one of Tori’s shows one night to see her play. After the show the boyfriend told Amos that she indeed was not an Ellen. She looked like a Tori, and that is how it all began.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After high school, she joined a band called Y Kant Tori Read. The band signed to the Atlantic record label, and worked on the release of their first album. Their CD release flopped, and the band broke up. When their CD was first released, not many people wanted it. Amazingly enough, the CD now goes for around one hundred dollars as a Tori collectors item.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During this time, Tori was still doing little gigs here and there. One night after a show, something happened that changed her life dramatically. Tori offered a member of the audience a ride home after the show, and he raped her in the back of the car with a gun to her head.

Transculturation in Our Sister Killyjoy and Nervous Conditions Essay

Transculturation in Our Sister Killyjoy and Nervous Conditions Postcolonial insights include theories of Diaspora, cultural hybridity and transculturation. The latter, ‘transculturation’ is the term used to define ‘cultural change induced by introduction of elements of a foreign culture.’[1] The term ‘transculturation’ was first coined by Cuban anthropologist and sociologist Fernando Ortiz in 1947 to describe the phenomenon of merging and converging cultures. Transculturation covers war, ethnic conflict, racism and multiculturalism, hence it is a concept very relevant to the postcolonial period and subsequently to postcolonial literature. When transculturation affects ethnicity the term ‘ethnoconvergence" comes into being and is opposed by ‘ethnocentrism’ the view that one's culture is of greater importance than another’s. Ethnocentrism manifests itself in various aspects of culture, though the main ethnocentric divider is always religion or belief, these ethnic divides are most frequently binary. ‘Our Sister Killjoy’ and ‘Nervous Conditions’ both show aspects of transculturation, perhaps the most obvious sign are the narrator's adoption of the dominant English language to write their novels. At varying points in each novel it is also clear that both Aidoo and Dangarembga have difficulty in choosing between the two cultures in their own personal struggles with transculturation. I shall go on to explore these instances of transculturation within both novels. Tsitsi Dangarembga’s 1988 novel ‘Nervous Conditions’ is a landmark in postcolonial literature as it was the first published English novel written by an African woman. Set in 1960’s Rhodesia and emerging from the shadows of apartheid, it chronicle... ...147 [10] Dangarembga, Tsi Tsi. Nervous Conditions. Scattle: The Seal Press, 1988 page [11] Okonkwo p6 [12] Odamtten, Vincent O. The Art of Ama Ata Aidoo: Polylectics and Reading Against Neocolonialism (Florida: University Press of Florida, 1994) page 122 [13] Aidoo, Ama Ata Our Sister Killjoy (New York: Longman, 1977) page 13 [14] Aidoo, Ama Ata Our Sister Killjoy (New York: Longman, 1977) page 57 [15] Odamtten, Vincent O. The Art of Ama Ata Aidoo: Polylectics and Reading Against Neocolonialism (Florida: University Press of Florida, 1994) page 125 [16] Aidoo, Ama Ata Our Sister Killjoy (New York: Longman, 1977) page [17] Aidoo, Ama Ata Our Sister Killjoy (New York: Longman, 1977) page 112 [18] Pratt, Mary Louise Imperial Eyes: Travel Writing and Transculturation (London, Routledge 1992)

What It Takes to Be a Manager

nd nd 2 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH (2 ICBER 2011) PROCEEDING WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A MANAGER: THE CASE OF MALAYSIAN FIVESTAR RESORT HOTELS Rozila Ahmad ([email  protected] edu. my) Noor Azimin Zainol ([email  protected] edu. my) Universiti Utara Malaysia Sintok, 06010 Kedah ABSTRACT This article investigates the requirement for managerial posts in five-star resort hotels in Malaysia. Despite the growth of hotel industry in Malaysia, academic literature especially qualitative empirical study focusing on the human capital needs of the industry in the country is scarce.Different from other industries, in the hotel industry a Bachelor’s Degree hardly guarantees the attainment of management position. Based on interviews with 42 hotel employees including 19 managers from six hotels, this article suggests that work experience and leadership skill is crucial for hotel managers to perform their job. Other requirements are knowledge, education and Engli sh proficiency. This suggestion is supported by the employees’ profile. The implications are discussed, emphasizing the need to consider increasing hotel students’ work experience in the industry and enhancing their leadership skill.Keywords: human resource management, hotel industry, career, leadership, education, communication INTRODUCTION There is a shortage of skilled workers in Malaysia due to its rapidly growing economy (Business Monitor International Ltd. , 2010). Tourism is among the main contributor for the economic growth and its alignment with hotel industry has created many job opportunities to the local population. Based on the statistics by Malaysian Association of Hotels (2011a) from 2007 to 2010 the number of tourist arrival has increased from 20. 9 million to 23. million and this was followed by the increment in the number of hotels and motels from 1567 to 2005. This has led to the continuous growth of public and private institutions offering hotel man agement courses to fill the workforce needs of these hotels. Despite the increasing number of hotel graduates, hotels are still facing worker shortages (Malaysian Association of Hotels, 2011b). As in developed countries, Malaysian hotels are having problems in attracting and retaining skilled and knowledgeable workers (Patah, Zain, Abdullah & Radzi, 2009; Cheng & Brown, 1998).On one hand, the shortage of skilled workers in Malaysian hotels is caused by the unattractive work atmosphere of the industry. On the other hand it is caused by Malaysian workforce inferiority to attain management position. Similar to the developed countries, Hotels in Malaysia are facing problems in attracting and retaining skilled and knowledgeable workers due to low salary, rigid job traits and conventional style of top-down operation (Ahmad, Solnet & Scott, 2010; Yamashita & Uenoyama, 2006; Davidson, Guilding & Timo, 2006).However, such problem is less prevalent in Multi National Corporation (MNC) due to t heir strategic human resource management practices that managed to attract and retain skilled workers from competing hotels (Ahmad et al. , 2010). MNC are required to involved more locals in middle and top management position. However, after three decades of growth foreign international hotel managers still dominate the Malaysian hotel industry and this could be due to the decreased level of human capital among the Malaysian workforce (Lazzeretti & Petrillo, 2006).Numerous academic literatures in Malaysia have discussed on how the industry can retain their skilled employees. However, literature on how academicians can increase their students’ employability for 2040 nd nd 2 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH (2 ICBER 2011) PROCEEDING management position is scarce despite the indication of Malaysian workforce inferiority to attain management position. This deficiency in the literature gives rise to the research question of this article. The research ques tion of this article is, â€Å"What are the requirements for managerial post in Malaysian five-star hotels? Although articles on required skills for managerial post or similar articles from other countries can serve as a guide, such articles based on empirical study in Malaysia is beneficial to provide a more specific information. Furthermore, to maximize the foreign exchange revenue and the employment of the local population, local colleges and universities need to increase their graduates’ employability. Prior to that, the students must be equipped with the knowledge, skills and abilities required for managerial post.The purpose of this article is to investigate and highlight what are the knowledge, skills and abilities required by the local graduates to attain management position in Malaysia. This article makes theoretical and practical contribution. It increases the number of academic literatures concerning human resource issues in the Malaysian hotels. It investigates t he practitioners’ perception of what is required for management post. By including non-management employees’ perception, it provides comprehensive information of the requirements.This article will benefit the hotel industry in the long term. With the aim to reduce skilled workers shortage and hotel graduates' unemployment, it coordinates industry demand with academic institutions supply. LITERATURE REVIEW Skilled Workers Shortages Since 1970 there has been a rapid growth of tourism industry in Malaysia (Goldsmith & Zahari, 1994). To cater tourists’ needs the supply of hotel and motel rooms has been increased to 158,480 in 2010 (Malaysian Association of Hotels, 2011). The rapid expansion of the hotel industry has exaggerated the demand for employment of competent people.This resulted in skilled workers shortages (Malaysian Association of Hotels, 2011; Business Monitor International Ltd. , 2010). Based on Malaysian Association of Hotels Workforce Survey reports, i n 2008 there was a shortage of 2113 workers in the hotel industry. To mitigate the problem hotels employed foreign workers to work in all the departments except finance and human resources. This has reduced workforce shortages to 1146 in year 2009. In both years Food and Beverage (restaurant) department faced the highest worker shortages while the housekeeping department employed the highest number of foreign workers.The high percentage of foreign employees in housekeeping (10%), stewarding (9%), and food and beverage (restaurant) (5%) is understandable because Malaysian could earn more doing other jobs such as rubber tapping. Furthermore, the Malaysian Muslims are forbidden from serving liquor and this makes occupation in food and beverage (restaurant) department less favourable to them. However, the employment of foreign workers for top management posts (6%), executives (3%), and other posts in sports and recreation (5%) and front office and reservation (2%) is disturbing.It sugge sts that Malaysian workforce (including hotel management graduates) is not skilled enough for these posts. Existing literature lends some support to this suggestion. Hospitality Education in Malaysia The employment of foreign workers to mitigate skilled workforce shortages is acceptable in the past but now it is a dilemma. Such practice may lessen the benefits (such as employment opportunities for the locals and foreign exchange revenue) gained from tourism activities.In 1994 colleges did not have the capacity to produce sufficient number of graduates to meet the increasing demand for skilled workers because there were only ten private schools and colleges and two public institutions (Goldsmith & Zahari, 1994). To date, there is at least 61 private colleges and universities, five public universities, five polytechnics and six community 2041 nd nd 2 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH (2 ICBER 2011) PROCEEDING colleges (Ministry of Higher Education, 2011). Some of these colleges and universities have a number of branches.Despite the rapid growth in the hotel education sector, shortage of skilled workers in the industry still persists. In Malaysia, local graduates’ Bachelor’s Degree in Hotel Management hardly guarantees the attainment of management position. This is different from other countries. Besides recruiting management employees internally, hotels also recruit graduates straight from the university (Mullen, 2007; Yamashita & Uenoyama, 2006). Therefore, the attainment of a managerial position is either through hard work by starting from an entry level position or by a ‘fast track’ through having an academic qualification (Mullen, 2007).Hence, there are managers who have never graduated from the university. They started their career as non-managerial employees and by being among the best performers they have been promoted to a managerial position. While internal promotion is common in Malaysia, direct recru itment from the local university for management posts is rare. Hotels, especially MNC prefers to recruit by advertising through the internet, newspaper and â€Å"words of mouth† in addition to establishing links with government agencies and related associations (Ahmad, 2010).Fresh graduates are perceived to be incapable of handling management duties. Reduced human resource capital in Malaysia is among the reasons for skilled workers shortage in the hotel industry. Human resource capital is at a lower standard than the 1980s because the level of English proficiency and service orientation is lower among the young workforce (Lazzeretti & Petrillo, 2006). Different from their juniors, the senior workforce’ early education was in English (Lazzeretti & Petrillo, 2006; Hanapiah, 2002). Thus, their English proficiency is better. They are looked upon as those who can epresent the organization because of their ability to communicate and deal in English language (Hanapiah, 2002) . The importance of English proficiency is more obvious in MNC hotels whose customers and managers usually communicate in English. Besides English proficiency, other requirement for hotel management post is education, skills and knowledge (technical, human resources, finance and marketing), personality (dedication, creativity, sociability, adaptability and ambitious), leadership quality and work experience (Jayawardena, 2000; Hanapiah, 2002).However, recent academic literature on these skills within the context of Malaysian hotel industry is scarce. There are a number of hotel management literatures from developed countries which discussed about management skills with implications for educational institutions. Kay and Moncarz (2004) stressed on the importance of knowledge in financial management and human resource management competencies. They suggest educational institutions provide proper coverage of financial management course. Likewise, they encouraged the industry to recruit gr aduates from hospitality programs with strong financial management curriculum.Their opinion has deviated from earlier research on management skills that suggested leadership and interpersonal skill as the most significant skills for hotel managers. However, the significance of leadership skill has continuously been supported by recent academic literatures (Boone & Peborde, 2008; Brownell, 2006). According to Boone and Peborde (2008), there are five fundamental leadership skills and these are establishing credibility, managing time, being proactive, empowering others to act and networking.Based on their article, credibility concerns on constituents’ trust and confidence of their manager, being proactive is knowing and executing what needs to be done for the organization’s benefit, empowerment includes enabling self leadership, providing choice, developing competence and confidence and fostering accountability and networking is developing personal contacts to get valuabl e support, feedback, insight, information and resources. They argued that leadership is not a charisma that one may or may not possess; it consists of attitudes, behaviours and skill that can be adopted, learned and mproved through practice. Therefore, they 2042 nd nd 2 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH (2 ICBER 2011) PROCEEDING suggest college students and early career workers to master the fundamental leadership skills to build a strong leadership base. Hotel management students should be properly tooled with the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to attain management position and then, face and handle the industry’s challenges (Kay & Moncarz, 2004; Boone & Peborde, 2008; Brownell, 2006).Prior to that, it is beneficial to investigate what are the knowledge, skills and abilities required to attain management position within the context of the local hotel industry. With the aim to equip Malaysian students with the necessary knowledge, skills an d abilities, the skills required for management position in Malaysian five-star hotels are assessed in detail. METHODOLOGY The methodological approach used in this study is framed within qualitative research. Respondents were contacted through e-mails and phone calls to request for an interview.A personal interview method was used for data collection which was carried out in May and June 2008. Interviews were conducted according to the respondents’ schedule and availability and at their preferred location. It is important to provide a relaxed environment during the interview to encourage the respondents to openly and fully discuss the topics (Cooper & Schindler, 2003). The interviews were unstructured to give respondents the opportunity to provide more information. The interview started with informing respondents the purpose of the research and their right to withdraw from the research at any time to ensure they were comfortable.To ensure confidentiality, develop trust and en courage the respondents to provide full information, names were coded. M1 refers to the first managerial employee interviewed while NM2 refers to the second non-managerial employee interviewed. Interviews were recorded on tape with the respondents’ permission. Taping the interview allows the researcher to concentrate on the discussion and listen to the interview as often as needed. Repeatedly listening to a taped interview enables the researcher to capture the essence and meanings of words, which facilitates quality analysis of data. ANALYSISThe data collected was analysed using content analysis. To capture the emotion, content analysis of transcripts was conducted manually and respondents’ answers were quoted in the findings. A software program was not used to analyse the data because relying on computers can â€Å"run the risk of trivializing the meaning of texts† (Krippendorff, 2004). â€Å"Content analysis is a research technique for making replicable and v alid inferences from texts (or other meaningful matter) to the contexts of their use† (Krippendorff, 2004, p. 18). Qualitative content analysis allows a researcher to discover what the text reveals.All interviews were transcribed. The transcripts were read multiple times to understand the context of each statement and to enable the researchers to become immersed in the data The sample size for the study was 42 respondents, 19 managerial employees and 23 non-managerial employees. All respondents were from six Malaysian five-star resort hotels that employ more than 300 fulltime employees and have been in business for at least 12 years. All respondents had more than one year’s working experience with the hotel industry to ensure that they had the capability to provide the in-depth information required.Twenty-one respondents were employees of three MNC hotels. Four of the hotels employed expatriates for general manager post. Foreign workers were employed for management and nonmanagement post. The respondents’ profile is described in Table 1. An exploration of respondents’ views on requirement for managerial post was sought. 2043 nd nd 2 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH (2 ICBER 2011) PROCEEDING Table 1: Respondents Profile Respondents Post Work Experience Education MNC M1 HR Director 20 years Non Hotel Diploma v M2 Chief Security 16 years Non Hotel Diploma v M3 HR Officer 17 years SPM M4 HR Manager 18 years Hotel Diploma M5 Senior Security Officer 19 years STPM M6 Security Officer 11 years SPM M7 Assistant Front Office Manager 10 years Non-Hotel Diploma M8 Training Manager 10 years Hotel Diploma M9 Landscape Executive 9 years Primary School M10 HR Officer 15 years Hotel Diploma v M11 Assistant Pastry Chef 20 years A Level v M12 Assistant Chief Engineer 17 years Non Hotel Certificate v M13 Executive Housekeeper 19 years SPM v M14 Executive Housekeeper 16 years Hotel Certificate v M15 Executive Chef 15 years SPM v M16 HR Manager 20 years Non Hotel Degree v M17 Executive Housekeeper 18 yearsHotel Certificate M18 Food and Beverage Manager 21 years SPM M19 Personnel Manager 10 years Non Hotel Diploma NM1 Housekeeping Supervisor 17 years SRP v NM2 F Captain 12 years Non Hotel Certificate v NM3 F Captain 9 years SPM v NM4 F Cashier 8 years SPM v NM5 Recreation Coordinator 14 years SPM NM6 Senior life guard 18 years SPM NM7 Account Clerk 18 years SPM NM8 Driver 15 years SPM NM9 Accounts Supervisor 12 years STPM NM10 Hostess 6 years SPM NM11 Commis/ Cook 14 years SPM NM12 Laundry Supervisor 13 years SPM NM13 Receptionist 12 years Hotel Diploma v NM14 Public Area Supervisor 8 years Islamic School NM15 Laundry Supervisor 5 years SPM v NM16 Driver 11 years Primary School v NM17 Room Attendant 9 years STPM v NM18 Housekeeping Coordinator 15 years SPM v NM19 Technician 13 years SPM v NM20 Public Area Supervisor 14 years Primary School NM21 Landscape Supervisor 9 years Non Hotel Certificate NM22 Housekee ping Supervisor 15 years SRP 2044 nd nd 2 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH (2 ICBER 2011) PROCEEDING NM23 Food and Beverage Supervisor 7 years Islamic School FINDINGS To answer the research question, respondents were asked to describe the requirements for a hotel managerial post.The requirements mentioned by respondents were positive attitude, leadership skill, communication skill, interpersonal skill, self-motivation, determination, emotional intelligence, knowledge, experience, education and English proficiency. Experience was most frequently mentioned followed by leadership skills, knowledge and education. Table 2 summarised respondents’ views of the requirements for a managerial post in the hotel industry. Work experience was the most frequently mentioned criterion. Majority of the respondents perceived it to be the most important criterion to attain managerial post.Unlike other industries, those people with education but without experience are l east likely to be in managerial positions. This assertion is supported by the examples below: In the hotel industry, an applicant for a managerial position requires more than a degree. Most of the university send students here for three to six months industrial training. But that isn’t enough. That is not good enough. You can be a manager in some hotel, but how are you going to make decision†¦ If you don’t have enough experience and you make the wrong decision, you’ll become the laughing stock to your staff. You have pioneer staff in the hotel.You have supervisors who will question you back. If you work in the government sector or any other sectors, that’s a different story. In hotel industry, you really need the experience. (M7) The importance of having work experience in the hotel industry was mentioned by most of the respondents. According to the respondents, even those with a diploma must start from the entry-level position, and from there it dep ends on their performance. While M17 clearly stated that work experience is more important than education, NM4 gave example of problems faced by new managers without working experience.Even the managers started at the entry-level like us. Then, they learned and learned. High education without work experience is not good enough (for managerial position). From what I’ve seen, fresh graduates who started at management level have difficulty to organise things. (NM4) The next criterion most frequently mentioned was leadership. Some managerial respondents highlighted the importance of leadership qualities. The managerial respondents stated that managers who seek excellence from employees should have leadership qualities. Those with leadership qualities are respected by their subordinates.They are able to make subordinates embrace the organization’s culture and they manage to get things done and obtain good results. 2045 nd nd 2 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS AND ECONOM IC RESEARCH (2 ICBER 2011) PROCEEDING Table 2: Requirement for Managerial Position Respondents Leadership M1 v Knowledge Experience Education English Proficiency v v v v v v v M5 v v M6 v M7 v M8 v M9 v M2 M3 v v M4 M10 v M11 v M12 v v v v v v v v M13 M14 v v v v v v v M15 M16 v M17 v M18 v NM1 v v v v v v v v NM2 v v v M19 v v v NM3 v v NM4 v v NM5 v v NM6 v v NM7 v v v v NM8 NM9 v v v NM11 v NM13 v NM14 v v NM15 v v NM16 v v v NM12 v v NM10 v v v NM17 NM18 v NM19 v NM20 v NM21 v v v NM22 v v v NM23 v v v 2046 v v nd nd 2 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH (2 ICBER 2011) PROCEEDING A leader’s personal characteristics mentioned by respondents were determination, positive attitude, selfmotivation, emotional intelligence and efficiency. In addition, they felt that managers should be smart, creative and credible. M1 stated the followings: 1. A leader has positive attitude, emotional intelligence, self motivation and determination. . Managers must have lea dership quality to spread the organization’s culture to all their subordinates. 3. Leaders guide their subordinates and makes them realised the importance of satisfying guests which leads to customer loyalty in addition to employees’ loyalty. Therefore, the organization will attain long term profitability. 4. â€Å"We train them, we guide them, we coach them, and if there’s derailment, we put them back on the track†. The influence of a great leader is evident in some of the non-managerial employees and given below is an example.I enjoy my work because I got the chance to meet the guests†¦ My former general manager used to say â€Å"You must take good care of the guest because if you don’t, they will go to other hotels. When this hotel is out of business where can you work? † He advised us to make the guests happy and to do what we should do. It is not difficult at all. When the guests come, I open the door for them, greet them†¦ th ey are like kings and we must treat them well. (NM8) The importance of knowledge was also frequently mentioned by the respondents. Knowledge is gained from experience, education and training:We must be knowledgeable in all aspects; the department that we’re handling and the departments that are related to us. We must at least have the basic knowledge of the functions of front office, maintenance, food and beverage and kitchen. Another thing is how to manage human. This is important. If you want to be a good manager, you must know how to manage your subordinates. (M18) According to M11, those who have worked in many places, including overseas, are knowledgeable and they bring in new ideas. M15 stated that it is also important that managers know the current issues in the hotel industry.Other knowledge listed by the respondents as important included â€Å"how to do paper works† (NM21) and â€Å"how to communicate with colleagues† (NM15). Although education is not t he most important requirement for a hotel managerial post, it is compulsory in order to be promoted to a higher-level management position. In some five-star hotels, employees are required to have at least a university certificate in order to be promoted to a management position in addition to other requirements. In other five-star hotels having a university diploma is a necessity.Now we require at least a diploma. In the past there were not many hotel schools. Only those who are rich can afford to study overseas to learn about hotel management and hotel industry. But now, even Malaysia has Hotel Management School. However, for me, education is secondary because in hotel industry you need experienced people. Experience comes first. (M18) Of the 19 managerial employees interviewed, five managers had a certificate (including STPM and A Level) seven managers had a diploma and one manager had a degree. Seven of these managers were MNC hotel employees.Based on the respondents’ prof ile, even those without college or university certificate had the opportunity to be managers in MNC hotels. At present, only those with certificates are appointed as managers. 2047 nd nd 2 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH (2 ICBER 2011) PROCEEDING Another requirement mentioned by respondents was English proficiency. Out of 42 respondents, only eight mention about the importance of English proficiency. According to the respondents, to be a manager they must be able to communicate in English.While the inability to communicate in English will disqualify them for managerial positions, fluency in English is an advantage for them to further develop their careers. M18 stated that English proficiency is important because majority of their guests are foreigners. Interest to work in the industry is another important criterion that is rarely mentioned in the literature. According to a managerial respondent, students’ interest to work in the industry is importan t because it might affect the quality of their work.Whenever students come and work in the hotel industry, I ask them â€Å"are you here because of your father, or you yourself want to come here†. If someone says, â€Å"I don’t like hotel work, my father asks me to come here†, I will say, â€Å"Pack up your bags and go home†. Seriously, if you want to work in hotel industry, you must have the interest. If not, you will waste money, time and effort to do something that you don’t like. So you better don’t do it. Make your decision now, do you want to be a hotelier or not? Honestly, the quality of workers now is very different compared to the last fifteen years. Now there are so many opportunities.So the quality is not there anymore. (M18) Communication skill and interpersonal skill was also listed by the respondents as one of the necessary skills. However, it was mentioned by very few respondents and not much was said about the two skills. Maj ority of the respondents mentioned about the importance of having work experience. Although it is clear that work experience is more important compared to education, this finding does not suggest that work experience is more important compared to other skills such as leadership and interpersonal skill. The objective of this study was to investigate what are the equirements for managerial post and not to rank the skills’ importance. DISCUSSION Based on the literature review and the findings of this study, the requirement for managerial post in Malaysian five-star hotels is work experience, leadership skill, knowledge, education, English language proficiency, communication skill, interpersonal skill and interest to be a hotelier. The significance of most of these skills for managerial success has been mentioned in existing literature. However, the significance of work experience and English language proficiency is more pronounced in the Malaysian context.This study found that h aving work experience is a necessity for graduates’ employment for managerial post. Knowledge and leadership skill are developed through education and work experience. While management theories and basic technical skills can be taught by academic institutions, leadership skills such as analytical and conceptual thinking, relationship building, and self control requires experience in the field (Brownell, 2006). Furthermore, work experience enhanced students’ technical skill. Technical skill efficiency is important for the first level managers due to their proximity with the non-managerial employees (Daft, 1998).Therefore, a partnership with the industry through industrial training is crucial to develop students’ leadership skill which is necessary to foster high-performing organisation (Brownell, 2006). Sending students for industrial training is a normal practice for hotel schools. However, it was perceived insufficient by the hotel managers. Therefore, it is be neficial to lengthen the industrial training period and to encourage students to do part-time at hotels. Part-time employees are employed during peak season when there is abundant of task to be completed.Therefore, besides earning some money, students can gain experience and enhanced the required skills. 2048 nd nd 2 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH (2 ICBER 2011) PROCEEDING Different from developed countries, education is perceived as secondary to work experience in Malaysian five-star hotels. However, the importance of education keeps increasing due to the increasing number of hotel management schools and hotel management graduates. The findings of this study reveal that currently even those without higher education could attain management position in MNC five-star hotels.However, these managers have had many years of working experience and have gone through a number of supervisory and management trainings conducted by the hotels. Even the local independe nt and chain hotels provide continuous training to their employees (Ahmad et al. , 2010). Due to the social and demographic changes, at present more educated individual is required for management post. Thus, only those with sufficient work experience and academic qualification could attain management position while others have to start from entrylevel position.To encourage hotels to recruit management candidates straight from the university like in the developed countries, local universities need to produce graduates who have sufficient work experience and are capable to handle management duties. The importance of English proficiency for graduates’ employment and career development especially in the hotel industry is prevalent in Malaysia (Hanapiah, 2002). Although English proficiency was mentioned by few respondents, it does not suggest that it is not as important as other skills. Furthermore, none of the respondents stated that it is less important compared to other skills. In fact, they stated that it is significant for the labour market employability and workforce advancement. The importance of English language proficiency has been highlighted in existing academic literatures (Lazzeretti & Petrillo, 2006; Hanapiah, 2002; Brownell, 2006). Due to the importance, Malaysian five-star resort hotels have been providing English language training to their employees (Ahmad et al. , 2010). Academic institutions can produce graduates who are fluent in English by using the language as the medium of instruction.Other than that, it is beneficial to interview students during their admission process to assess their personal characteristics and English proficiency (Brownell, 2006). Selecting the right candidates for the industry can make producing quality graduates easier for the academic institutions. Interest in the field is another factor to qualify candidates for management post. Unlike other professions such as architecture and engineering, it is difficult to fi nd students whose ambition is to be a hotelier or hotel employees. Academic institutions play an important role to develop students’ interest.Such interest can be developed by inviting successful guest speakers from the industry to share their experience and provide information of their job and how much they earn. However, the interest built can be destroyed overnight if the students encounter negative experience such as workplace bullying during their industrial training or part-time employment in the industry (Patah, Abdullah, Naba, Zahari and Radzi, 2010). Therefore, practitioners have to ensure that their employees can be a role model to the students and not someone they want to avoid.On the other hand, students should be groomed to face the challenges at the workplace. LIMITATION AND CONTRIBUTION OF THE RESEARCH This study lists the requirements for managerial posts but it does not rank the requirements based on their importance. Although it states that work experience i s more important compared to education, such statement is made based on respondents’ words. The qualitative nature of this study does not allow for ranking. Skills listed in the findings came from respondents’ mind. Respondents were not given any list of skills for them to rate and rank.Therefore it is imprecise to suggest that work experience is more important compared to leadership skill just because more respondents mentioned work experience as the requirement for managerial position. This article contributes to the hotel management literature by explaining about the requirements for the attainment of management post in Malaysian five-star hotels and provides suggestions on how to develop and enhance the skills needed in the industry. The suggestion is based on practitioners’ view that is supported by 2049 nd nd 2 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH (2 ICBER 2011) PROCEEDING he previous literature. This article can serve as a guide to t he academicians, the university and colleges’ students and to those in early career positions in the hotel industry. CONCLUSION It is essential for the industry and the academic institutions to have a partnership and unity of effort to mitigate the issue of skilled employees’ shortages. The academicians need to realize the importance of producing skilled workforce compatible with the industry human capital needs and the industry need to provide a more favourable workplace that graduates may perceived as an avenue to build their career.Increased unemployment of hotel management graduates coupled with increased dependency on foreign workers does not benefit the country, the industry and the academic institutions. 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