Thanks for 24 Years of Service

1. How valid do you think the comments are that Russ is hearing? Answer – Students’ answers will vary with their age and experience. The issue is the validity of the comments. The issue is dealing with the perceptions. Basically, Russ needs to translate his experience into transferable job skills and sell himself as an adaptive person. Most of what he’s hearing is probably stereotypical, but he can’t re educate the job market; he has to reinvent himself. 2. If you were a small business executive in need of someone with extensive financial experience, would you consider Russ?Explain your position. Answer – Again students’ answers will vary. Pro—great extensive experience, new ideas from a different industry, and a high performance track record. Con—the need to adjust to a new company culture, possibility of leaving due to pay issues, not knowing the specific business. Discuss with students how they could address the cons either a s a business owner or as Russ. Business owner—assign a mentor to help cultural adjustment, offer pay incentives tied to company growth and profitability that could help make up for the pay cut.Russ—shift his own attitude and realize the world has changed, work for a temp agency to get experience in smaller companies, study the company’s industry and bring a series of new ideas with him to the interview that related specifically to a small company in that industry. 3. What suggestions might you make to Russ to help him find suitable employment? Answer – See comments under #2. Russ’ biggest challenge is changing his own mindset and then demonstrating that to potential employers. Focus on transferable, skills not specific job experience Thanks for 24 Years of Service 1. How valid do you think the comments are that Russ is hearing? Answer – Students’ answers will vary with their age and experience. The issue is the validity of the comments. The issue is dealing with the perceptions. Basically, Russ needs to translate his experience into transferable job skills and sell himself as an adaptive person. Most of what he’s hearing is probably stereotypical, but he can’t re educate the job market; he has to reinvent himself. 2. If you were a small business executive in need of someone with extensive financial experience, would you consider Russ?Explain your position. Answer – Again students’ answers will vary. Pro—great extensive experience, new ideas from a different industry, and a high performance track record. Con—the need to adjust to a new company culture, possibility of leaving due to pay issues, not knowing the specific business. Discuss with students how they could address the cons either a s a business owner or as Russ. Business owner—assign a mentor to help cultural adjustment, offer pay incentives tied to company growth and profitability that could help make up for the pay cut.Russ—shift his own attitude and realize the world has changed, work for a temp agency to get experience in smaller companies, study the company’s industry and bring a series of new ideas with him to the interview that related specifically to a small company in that industry. 3. What suggestions might you make to Russ to help him find suitable employment? Answer – See comments under #2. Russ’ biggest challenge is changing his own mindset and then demonstrating that to potential employers. Focus on transferable, skills not specific job experience

“Let me hear it from the beginning,” said Inspector Dulles

â€Å"Let me hear it from the beginning,† said Inspector Dulles, as he scanned the forensic evidence before him: a Glock 17, with one bullet fired; fingerprints on the handgun showing those of the victim, Robert Green, 52; the medico-legal report showing the victim had succumbed to irreversible shock due to gunshot wound on the frontal region.   On the other seat was the victim’s widow, Laura Green, 32. She wore a black dress and high-heeled shoes.   But her eyes were like a hawk’s, cold and piercing and fathomless.â€Å"My husband arrived on the usual hour,† she said, as if dictating to a stenographer.   â€Å"He took a shower, changed clothes, and settled down before the TV set with a glass of Jack Daniels. He refused to eat when I told him dinner was set.   At about eight he went inside his study and I followed.   He was incoherent, like he was angry with himself or something.   Finally he took out his pistol from a drawer and shot himself. †Ã‚   Mrs. Green stopped as if collecting her thoughts, but she was motionless as a statue. â€Å"I called   911.   Then you came.†Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Pardon me for being blunt,† Dulles said, sipping from a glass of cold water, â€Å"but I gather Mr. Green has been seen around with another woman,† Dulles said.Mrs. Green assumed a pained expression, but said nothing.   â€Å"Do you quarrel about such things?† pursued the detective.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"No,† said the woman. â€Å"He knew I would disapprove, so he had tried to keep it a secret.   But I have ways of knowing.†Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Did you spy on him?†Ã‚  The woman shrugged and pursed her lips.Dulles silently put down his glass. He liked interrogating suspects who flinched and cowered, but he could not penetrate this one.   He has to try harder. â€Å"So you found out, one way or another, and plotted your revenge.† (No response).   But you made sure all his insurance policies were good and to your name just in case something happened (still no response).   And you kept nagging at him, humiliating him in the eyes of people, making his life miserable, until he thought of filing for divorce (Dulles thought he saw a gleam in the widow’s eyes).But you threatened to shame him by revealing all about all his philandering and kinky affairs if he persisted, and he became desperate and mad. (Here, the widow’s eyes slowly shifted from gazing into emptiness, like a machine gun turning on its swivels to aim at a new target: the eyes of Inspector Dulles.   He found it disturbing to look at it squarely, but he could not now stop). â€Å"Then you pestered him no end until he could take no more and so he took his own life.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"No!†Inspector Dulles dodged as if to ward off a blow; at the same time he heard the sound of shattering glass.   Turning to look, he saw tiny shards of what remained of his glass of water on the floor.   He turned to look at the window, and was surprised to see it wide open. Faces appeared suddenly at the door, puzzled.   He waved them off.   â€Å"Some vandal threw a stone from the street.†He turned to look at Mrs. Green.   But the malignant gleam he saw for one fleeting second was gone.   She just sat there and stared at nothing.   Dulles knew when a case led to nowhere: this was a case of plain suicide.   â€Å"I’m sorry, Madam,† he said, touching her hand, â€Å"I didn’t mean to be rude or something.   You can go.†The widow rose from her chair, like alighting from a throne, a queen about to address her admiring subjects.   Dulles could not help noting her sensuousness, though little of her skin, ivory white and flawless, is revealed by the black satin dress.   She had looked insignificant, but now he found herself admiring the delicate curve of her neck, her slender limbs, her wicked inviting lips. He felt her attractive; he was like moth drawn to a flame.   Like a wraith, she walked gracefully to the door and vanished.Two weeks later, Dulles found himself knocking at the door of her mansion.At 48, he was unmarried.   He loved hearing old Fagin’s song in the musical Oliver! as he deliberated whether to take himself a wife: â€Å"The finger she will wag at me, the money she will take from me, the misery she’ll make for me: I guess I have to think of it again!†Ã‚   But this evening he felt himself like a moth drawn to a flame.   He had postponed this trip and scorned himself for being like a junior on his prom date.   He had left the office early while Dave, his assistant, hunched low over the computer.   Although embarrassed, he mentioned to Dave he was going to see the widow.   He waited for Dave to laugh but was surprised to find the other in a sombre mood.â€Å"Tell you what,† Dave said.   â€Å"I found something about her.   She’s not so pretty, but she has a wa y with men.   You won’t believe it, but she’d been previously married to three men.†Ã‚  Dulles chuckled.   â€Å"Well, I’m not the marrying type.†Ã‚  Dave continued. â€Å"All her husbands had died, violently.   One leaped off a cliff during a camping trip with the wife.   Another drowned in a swimming pool for kids.   And the last, as we know it, shot himself on the head.†Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Was there foul play?† Dulles asked.â€Å"There was no evidence to incriminate her, although she was always present in the scene of the tragedy.   It was like she was always there to witness the unhappy end of a partner.   I’m not superstitious, man,† Dave said, â€Å"but I won’t try meddling with that woman.†Ã‚  Dulles was thoughtful as he pressed the door bell.   He waited for a few minutes until the door opened.   Laura was in black as usual, looking young and tempting and mysterious.   She invited him insid e.   â€Å"I have been expecting you,† she said.â€Å"Indeed?† Dulles said.   She did not look surprised after all.   She asked for leave to fetch a drink for them.   Left alone, Dulles stood up and surveyed the room.   His gaze focused on the books on the shelf.   She returned and gave him his drink.   They engaged in small talk.   Dulles had found the woman unattractive this time, and he berated himself for having fallen easily for her charm.   Then he turned to gaze at her eyes and once more he felt drawn to her.â€Å"I see you’re a witch,† Dulles said.Laura’s eyes were cold but no change came in them. Dulles went on: â€Å"I can see you’re into voodoo and the like, telekinesis and that stuff.   You know, I remember that stunt of yours in the office.   No vandal ever threw a stone inside the office.   I knew the windows were closed, had been closed for years.   Nobody had opened them.   The glass shattered by themselves. You did it by your mind, didn’t you?†Ã‚  Laura was silent.   â€Å"All your husbands, they died by your will, the power of your mind over matter.   I’ve looked into your husband’s records and nothing showed they were into some trouble.   I suspect you did them in when they found out all about your witching stuff.†Their eyes locked.   Laura’s were expressionless, then tears came into them.   She cupped her hands on her face and wept inconsolably.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Hahahahahaha! Hehehehehe! Harharharhar† Dulles was convulsed with laughter.   He embraced the weeping widow.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"I got you that time, didn’t I?†Ã‚  Laura looked up to the gay detective.   â€Å"What do you mean?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"It’s all a joke.   I made that up.†Ã‚  Laura was crying and laughing at the same time. â€Å"You brute,† she said.Two hours later, Inspector Dulles was at the wheel of his orange Mustang, happily relishing his intimate moments with the young widow.   But as he made a turn in the twisting mountain road, he felt sick, not knowing why.   Then he saw a car zooming up in the rear: it was Laura on her convertible.   Dulles slowed down.  Ã‚   Dulles waited for her to come alongside and waved, but she did not smile.She just stared at him, their cars racing into the winding skyway, the drone of their cars engines like a throbbing drum.   Then Dulles felt the Mustang going airborne, heaved by an unseen power.   He panics and grabs the wheel, but it would not budge, and he turns to look   at Laura, the roar of the Mustang like thunder in his ears, and saw her eyes widen, fierce and commanding and terrible, and as the car leaped out to space, Dulles opened his mouth to scream.

Discussion Question Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Discussion Question - Assignment Example Thus, value of the customer information determines the value of the company (Blattberg, Kim and Neslin 32). With time, database management helps companies understand their customers better and offer them products and services which match their perceptions, likes and requirements more closely. Customer loyalty is the measure of happiness and satisfaction of customers in which they buy the product or avail the services of a company time and again. From an organization’s point of view, it is a strategic management tool wherein right customers are attracted and stimulated to buy and bring in more customers. Lucky Larry made use of databases and valuable customer information to identify frequent and heavy gamblers. It initiated a casino publication to keep them abreast of the latest happenings, news and programs at Lucky Larry’s. There were tournaments arranged for the identified key players to encourage their playing enthusiasm and entice them to come back time and again to the casino. Players who played the biggest and the largest were entitled to prestigious ‘A-Club’ and were also given silver coins as commemoratives from Lucky Larry’s (Kotler, Bowen and Makens 642). Kay Palace, the manager of the database program constantly measured the impact of programs designed with the help of information extracted from databases to improve the results and bring about necessary changes as and when needed. Lucky Larry’s database marketing is definitely a part of integrated marketing program as it is an attempt to attract and contact the customers directly. Database marketing falls under direct marketing when it fulfills two conditions- the results of the list are analyzed and secondly, the list is updated; both of which are true in the case of Lucky Larry’s. Percy (164) asserts that database marketing, as a part of direct marketing can serve as a strategic marketing tool and

Literature Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Literature Review - Essay Example The leakage may then lead to security threats when the unauthorized persons manipulate the data for their benefits (Quinn, 2010). Ethics in information systems guide companies on how to handle their confidential data. Governments also formulate laws that govern the use of information systems to prevent the privacy threats. Professional bodies such as nursing that deal with confidential information of their patients adhere to ethics and laws to prevent the violation of privacy laws of data. The National Health Systems uses information system applications to make their services efficiently. The users of the applications follow the rules of ethics to ensure that they do not violate the privacy of patients’ information. One of the applications used in the health systems is the Summary Care Record (SCR). This application stores information of patients in a central database such that it can be accessed from various hospitals. The access of information in various hospitals enables pa tients to attend the health institution of their choice (Maccoby, Norman, & Margolies, 2013). The ethical principles that govern the privacy of SCRs include the golden rule, risk aversion, the rule of change by Decartes, and utilitarian hypothesis. The utilitarian theory argues that organizations and individuals should perform functions that benefit more people in the society (Diney, Hu, Smith, & Hart, 2013). National hospitals use the SCR in a way that benefits the whole society. This is because the citizens attend the hospital of their choice whenever they are sick. The doctors and nurses use the system to check the health history of patients; this helps them to determine the best treatment for their clients. The privacy of health records is also guarded by the rule of change that was formulated by Decartes, which argues that firms should use techniques that may be repeated more than once (Tajero, & De, 2012). This means that actions that may not be repeated are unethical, and the y may violate the privacy of information. The repeated action in the use of the health records is mainly the use of passwords and identification cards, which ensure that only the authorized medical practitioners access the information of patients. The authorized persons who access information may do so numerous times. An action that may not be repeated is hacking, which leads to the access of the information about a company by unauthorized persons through the exploitation of a system’s weakness (Rosenberg, 2004). Hacking violates the privacy of patients’ information meaning that it is an unethical act. The weakness of Decartes principle is that it fails to specify whether the repeated action is right. This is because in some cases, activities such as hacking are possible to repeat when the hacker identifies the weakness in a system. Since hacking is unethical, repeating it violates the principle of privacy meaning that the rule of change misleads users (Rosenberg, 2004 ). The other ethical principles that govern the use of hospital computers leading to information privacy include machines in ways that respect the society, not interfering with other people’s work in the computer, and not using the machine to steal. Computer users who observe these tenets promote the confidentiality of their information and that of others (McCarthy, & Halawi, 2013). The social issues in information systems include those that govern the way a company mingles with the

Corporate social responsibility Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Corporate social responsibility - Essay Example The primary object of business is to supply quality goods and services to the consumers through the creation of utilities. Peter Drucker (1974) enumerates 8 key areas in which objectives of performance and results are to be set. They are marketing, innovation, human organization, financial resources, physical resources, productivity, social responsibility and profit requirements. Every business organization like everyone, lives in the midst of laws of the land, government regulations, economic conditions, changing consumer preferences, technological changes, culture, values system and business ethics of the society. All these factors constitute the business environment. A business organization and its environment are mutually interdependent, interacting with each other continuously. Environment is the supra-system of which the firm is only a small subunit. It can survive and thrive only when the environment desires its output of goods and services and is prepared to approve of an end orse its activities. Business organization had grown from the time immemorial, with the advent of industrial revolution, business organization, controlled by few thrive towards profit maximization. Industrial revolution changed the whole concept of business and capitalistic approach and individual profit making takes the prime objective. But during the 20th century it has changed. More democratic governments and their control but a brake on profit maximization tendencies of the organization and diverted them towards employee welfare and social welfare activities. Governments through various legislations are safeguarding interest of employees. Later on due to technological innovations and global connectivity the whole concept of business has changed. Development of technologies posses’ opportunities and uncertainties as well as risk and challenges, which can make or mar the future of business. Economic environment such as changes in competition, demand, lifestyle, consumer

Sustainability for the Future Global Supply Chain Essay

Sustainability for the Future Global Supply Chain - Essay Example iled in the activity participate actively in all facets of the business process as they strive to institute sustainable competitive advantage for their businesses or organizations. The founding of a new or existing venture requires the conceptualization of the supply chain management in the business process and the institution of the concepts entailed in the practice to facilitate successful and sustainable supply chain (Palevich, 2012, p 13). The company Coffee Warehouse is a new business established to provide high quality, full service distribution of specialty beverages and related supplies to coffee houses and espresso stands throughout London. The combined effort of the principle owners brings the management office of the business at high levels of customer engagement service and experience in managing distribution and sales. Thus, from this perspective, the business will benefit significantly in exploring the concepts entailed in facilitating sustainable global supply chain. The Coffee Warehouse business provides high quality and full service distribution of coffee in the region of its operations. The ownership, which constitutes of Steve and Jennifer Smith both combine their experience in the capacity of office management, customer service and distribution and sales management. The firm has commitments to facilitate distribution to independent retailers throughout the London market and its outskirts, as it initializes its financial arrangements and progress in the supply chains. The sales projections of the firm began at $2, 229,000 the first year and increased accordingly in the second year and third year of operation to $2, 936,000. The net profit projection extends to $406,000 at the last part of this third year of operation. Therefore, observing the progress of the firm in its existent operation structures, the development of a sustainable supply chain is key to the projection of the business accordingly to higher levels of success. The firm has

Mixed Methods - Mixed Methods Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Mixed Methods - Mixed Methods - Research Paper Example However, the problem comes in during analysis of the findings using mixed research approach (Tashakkori, & Teddlie, 2003). In a research field, the results are valued differently according to the use or importance of the outcome. According to Tashakkori, & Teddlie (2003), in a mixed research, an investigator applies both qualitative and quantitative study technique to obtain detailed and reliable information about a particular matter. This may occur at two levels. First, it may occur as a â€Å"single approach design† whereby the results obtained in a particular approach are improved by employing the other technique to acquire additional information. The other one is â€Å"mixed approach designs† where the researcher separates research approach and research design (Trochim, & Donnelly, 2008). Both â€Å"mixed-model designs and mixed-methods designs† apply mixed research approach to yield high quality output. Mixed method is useful when researcher want to develop his or her study from one level to another. For instance, the researcher may use qualitative research method to gather data which will guide him or her to make some assumptions (Tashakkori, & Teddlie, 2003). These assumptions are tested through quantitative study approach. Also, it is applicable in the reverse direction whereby, the researcher starts with quantitative study and then apply qualitative research approach to clarity some assumptions. Therefore, mixed method is useful where neither qualitative nor quantitative research techniques cannot generate meaningful output individually. Also, it is important because it adds value to the outcome of the study (Trochim, & Donnelly, 2008). However, this method poses limitations when it comes to making analysis of investigation

Internal Communication between Managers and Employees Research Paper - 1

Internal Communication between Managers and Employees - Research Paper Example The study will be concluding with recommendations and conclusions for these employers that should be taken into consideration while dealing with the three factors. The procedure of collection of the data followed by its analysis and interpretation of the result while finding a solution to any research problem is known as the research philosophy. It mainly comprises of two approaches. One is the positivism and the other is interpretive. The positivist style gives establishing theory prior to the research conduct. This type of research can be carried out by means of experimental and descriptive research method. It is positively associated with the natural sciences. On the other hand, interpretive gives the establishing theory after conducting the research. The interpretive research model works on the basis of the human perceptions. It helps to understand mainly the nonstatistical variables like the human perceptions, their social behavior, social motives etc. In this research, the inte rpretive research model has been chosen for finding out the internal communication between the managers and the employees, the strategy of the company in developing the brand and the expansion strategy of the company in marketing its products. The two main types of research strategies are qualitative and quantitative research strategies. Both qualitative and quantitative research strategies hold equal importance while finding a solution to any research problem. Quantitative research strategy involves various statistical calculations, different computational techniques, and procedures. It mainly considers close ended surveys. A qualitative research strategy is just the opposite of quantitative research strategy. It gives the description of the individuals in the natural situation and tries to find solutions to the research.

Naming and Shaming Sex Offenders Essay Example for Free

Naming and Shaming Sex Offenders Essay Define: The social issue naming and shaming sex offenders is the worst sex offenders being named and shamed on a website with their picture, name, address and date of birth on their profile. People can type in the suburb they live in and see what sex offenders live in their area. Argument #1 For: Sex offenders, even more so than other forms of crime, are prone to re-offending upon release from prison. Therefore, to protect society, they should be required to register with a local police station, and their names and addresses should be made available to the public. Police would also supply this information to schools and day cares, who will be consequently far more alert to any risk. Parents would find this information invaluable in ensuring their children’s safety, and it would cut the rate of sexual crime by those freed from prison. In the end, we have to protect our children at any cost. Against: This proposal is an essential violation of the principles of our penal system, which are based on the serving of a set punishment before being freed from prison. This registration inflicts a new punishment for an old crime and will lead to sex offenders to be demonized by their neighbours and community, and possibly be forced to move out of the town they are located in. It will also lead to campaigns and violence, sometimes against innocent people with similar looks and names, such a risk cannot be taken. Argument #2 For: Crimes for sexual offence are among the most repulsive and damaging that exist; they can ruin a person’s life. As the offenders responsible for these crimes cannot be imprisoned forever, and must be released at some point extra caution must be taken to ensure they pose no threat to the public. Against: The suggestions of this website are clouding the options. Physiological evaluations can define accurately whether an offender is still danger to society or not. If an offender is still a danger to society then they should not be released from prison, if they are not a danger any more then they should be released and be able to live a happy and normal life. Studies have shown that treatment is quite effective to help reduce the rate of re-offending. Argument #3 For: A national web register would allow police to track re-offenders faster, increasing the success rate and the speed of which they are brought to justice. Against: Police can be aided by a register only available to the police. Making it public might make the offenders run and making it hard for police to track them. Studies have shown that a public register is a subjective to abuse from the public. Around 2 out of every 5 offenders have been a victim of vigilantism. The social ostracism, denial of rehabilitative measure such as housing and stable employment, and threats of vigilantism, making former offenders disobey reporting requirements. Argument #4 For: A national register would benefit sexual offenders directly, as they would be on local registers of counseling and psychological help groups, who would be more able to offer help. Against: Offenders should have access to these services anyway, regardless of whether their names are available to society or not. This register has led to large qualities of withdrawing sex offenders listen on the register, along with their families. The register is a spread of myths and stereotypes used by the public to justify the ostracism and denial of service. Sex offenders in Australia have lost jobs, housing and treatment options and forced to live under never ending changing requirements.

Should Hong Kong Dollar Depeg with USD Essay Example for Free

Should Hong Kong Dollar Depeg with USD Essay Since Joseph Yam had mentioned by June 2012that it should be time to call for a review of the link to dollar. This reminded us to focus back on this 29-year-old currency linking system of HKD to USD. It was a very good / effective system to help Hong Kong to remain stable under the economic turmoil when first applied in 1983. This formed a very firm ‘firewall’ to protect the stability of the Hong Kong Dollar. We also had the testimony for the effectiveness of this system while the economic crisis that happened in 1997 and 2007. Although the Hong Kong Government had shown their loyalty of pegging the Hong Kong Dollar to U. S. currency and had announced that there are no plans to adjust such link. But I really agree with Joseph Yam that it should be time to call for a review. Since we all know that Hong Kong is having a higher and higher inflation rate that makes the whole city suffer. As well as most of the inflation we experiencing are imported inflation. We may find that U. S. is seeming to have a down slope economic trend and their currency is a lot weaker than before, especially against RMB. If Hong Kong still insists to peg HKD with U. S. currency that means we will, to some extend, having the same trend and future with the state i. e. declining. Moreover, Hong Kong is a place that mainly depends on import and almost all our daily necessities are imported from other countries and of which, mainly from Mainland China. RMB is now having a very strong appreciating trend from which HKD had depreciated 40% to 50% against RMB in the past decade. And we found that the price of food and products that imported from China is becoming more and more expensive. That really makes the whole city suffer. I am quite agreed with what William Ackman, founder of hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management LP, said in September that he had placed a wager that would profit if Hong Kong allows its currency to appreciate against the dollar to curb inflation. Also to switch the linking of HKD from USD to RMB in the coming three to six years. This is one of the effective ways to release the painful situation we are currently experiencing. Lets not afraid of changing from the 29-year-old policy to a new and aggressive format.

Face Recognition Attendance System

Face Recognition Attendance System In the 21st century, everything around us has become depends upon technology to make our life much easier. Daily tasks are continuously becoming computerized. Nowadays more people prefer to do their work electronically. To the best of our knowledge, the process of recording students attendance at the university is still manual. Lecturers go through manual attendance sheets and signed papers to record attendance. This is slow, inefficient and time consuming. The main objective of this project is to offer system that simplify and automate the process of recording and tracking students attendance through face recognition technology. It is biometric technology to identify or verify a person from a digital image or surveillance video. Face recognition is widely used nowadays in different areas such as universities, banks, airports, and offices. We will use preprocessing techniques to detect, recognize and verify the captured faces like Eigenfaces method. We aim to provide a system that wi ll make the attendance process faster and more precisely. The core problem is identified along with solutions and project path. Furthermore, detailed system analysis and design, user interface, methods and the estimated results are presented through our documentation. Keywords: Attendance; Automate; Recording; biometric; face recognition; FRAS Face Recognition Attendance System NIST National Institute of Standards and Technology UML Unified Modeling Language IDE Integrated Development Environment MS Microsoft VS Visual Studio SQL Structured Query Language SSMS SQL Server Management Studio OO Object Oriented 1.1 Introduction Office automation refers to the collective hardware, software and processes that enable automation of the information processing and communication tasks in an organization. It involves using computers and software to digitize, store, process and communicate most routine tasks and processes in a standard office. [1] In addition, attendance considered as the biggest issues that may face lecturers in class. It takes time, effort and difficult to manage. Therefore, our project will focus on online student attendance. In another word, the aim of this project is to build a system that help lecturers take students attendance in a professional way. 1.2 Problem Definition Taking and tracking students attendance manually, losing attendance sheets, dishonesty, wasted time and high error scales are problems facing the lecturers use the existing attendance system. It is a hard process, take time and cause a lot of paper-based work. As a result, in order to solve these problems and avoid errors we suggest to computerize this process by providing a system that record and manage students attendance automatically without needing to lecturers interference. 1.3 Project Objectives Our primary goal is to help the lecturers, improve and organize the process of track and manage student attendance and absenteeism. Additionally, we seek to: Provides a valuable attendance service for both teachers and students. Reduce manual process errors by provide automated and a reliable attendance system uses face recognition technology. Increase privacy and security which student cannot presenting himself or his friend while they are not. Produce monthly reports for lecturers. Flexibility, Lectures capability of editing attendance records. Calculate absenteeism percentage and send reminder messages to students. 1.4 Project Scope Our project targets the students of different academic levels and faculty members. The main constraint we faced is distinguishing between identical twins. This situation is still a challenge to biometric systems especially facial recognition technology. According to Phillips and his co-researcher paper [2] to get the best results of the algorithms your system employed, they should run under certain conditions for taken pictures (i.e age, gender, expressions, studio environmentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦etc.) otherwise, the problem is still ongoing. They provide application (method) to solve this problem, but in order to use this solution you have to sign a contract with the (NIST) organization and to be a researcher or developer. For us, to solve this issue we suggest to record twins attendance manually. 1.5 Contributions of This Study We have searched for a system that can take, monitor and manage students attendance and absenteeism, send reminder messages, calculate absenteeism percentage, and produce weekly, monthly, and annual reports. Based on our searches, there is no integrated system can support our idea. In this project, we are trying to develop such a system that can do all those tasks. Our project will serve students, lecturers, and the university as whole. 1.6 Project Timeline We utilized Gantt chart in figure 1.1, to show a project schedule with the start and finish dates of several tasks of a project and the deadline to submit the project. 1.7 Document Organization This project consists of six chapters. These chapters organized to reflect the scientific steps toward our main objective. A brief description about the contents of each chapter given in the following paragraphs: Chapter 1 introduces the problem definition, project objectives, the contribution of this project, the scope of the work, and the project layout. Chapter 2 provides the reader with an overview of the literature review. Chapter 3 displays the analysis of the existing system, requirements elicitation which includes (functional requirements, nonfunctional requirements, User Requirements.), requirements specification, research methodology. Chapter 4 displays the architectural design, object oriented design figure. Chapter 6 displays the conclusion that includes limitation and future work.    2.1 Introduction Over the past decade, taking down students attendance process had been developed and changed.The driven force of this development is the desire to automate, facilitate, speed up and save time and efforts. Although that the attendance systems are around us everywhere, Taibah university lecturers still use a traditional way to record students attendance either through calling out students names or through a passing attendance sheet among students to sign beside their names. Both ways are time consuming and associated with high error scales. In this project, we attempt to reduce wasted time, eliminate buddy clocking, and automate the process. Our system uses facial recognition technology to record the attendance through a high resolution digital camera that detects and recognizes faces and compare the recognize faces with students faces images stored in faces database. Once the recognized face matches a stored image, attendance is marked in attendance database for that person. The process will repeat if there are missed faces. For example, if there are 4 faces missed for a bad position while the detecting phase, then this phase will start again to detect the missed faces and recognize them and continue the attending process. By the end of the month, a monthly report is send to the lecturer contains attendance and absence rates as a chart and the names of absentees. Also, a warning message sends to the student if he passes the allowed number of absence. In this chapter, we present a brief overview of face recognition in the background section, relevant works to our project with their advantages and disadvantages, how we relate to these studies and how this project can provide some beneficial features for lecturer. 2.2 Background Most lecturers have a significant number of students and it is hard to keep taking or tracking all their absence. Facial recognition is commonly used in many institutions to take attendance of a significant number of students. There are many errors that could occur during this process, including misidentification and self-recognition [3]. Lecturer can control the errors and correct it. In the next subsection, brief overview of the usage,techniques, and methods in facial recognition. 2.2.1 Face Recognition Usage Face recognition rises from the moment that machine started to become more and more intelligent and had the advance of fill in, correct or help the lack of human abilities and senses. [4]. Common uses ofFacial recognition clarify in following points; Security; can be crime-fighting it will recognize people based on their eyes, nose and face. Searching for lost people. Games Taking student or employee attendance 2.2.2 Face Recognition Techniques and Methods Many factors influence the process of face recognition such as shape, size, pose, occlusion, and illumination. Facial recognition, have two different applications: basic and advanced . Major face recognition recognizes faces or no faces such as balls and animals. If it is a face, then the system searches for eyes, a nose, and a mouth. Advanced facial recognition manages the question on a specific face. This contains unique landmarks: the width of nose, wideness of the eyes, the depth and angle of the jaw, the height of cheekbones, and the separation between the eyes, and makes a unique numerical code. Utilizing these numerical codes, the system then matches that image with another image and distinguishes how comparable the pictures are to each other. The image provenance for face recognition include pre-existing pictures from various databases and video camera signals. [5] A facial recognition system involves the following phases: Face detection, feature extraction, and face recognition as illustrated in Figure 2.1. [5] Figure 2.1:General structure of the face recognition system. The following table compares some of the biometric technology used lately. Table ‎2.1: Comparison among some of the biometric technologies Biometric Technology Accuracy Price Tools required Facial recognition Moderate Moderate Camera Voice recognition Moderate Moderate Microphone Fingerprint High Moderate Scanner 2.3 Related Work In this section, we highlight some related works that were developed to recognize faces and takedown attendance together with the advantages and disadvantages of each system. 2.3.1 Review of Relevant Work 2.3.1.1 Auto Attendance Using Face Recognition (by Mahvish Tania) Figure 2.2: Screenshot of Main Interface (Admin Tasks Interface) Figure 2.3: Screenshot of Auto Attendance systems interface In this project, we have two users responsible for the system [6]. The instructor who takes the attendance and admin who is responsible for managing students faces in the faces database. Admin selects a camera to capture, collect and save images to database or a folder. After the collection and saving the process done the trainingSet manager start to extract faces from the image by face detection. Finally, the trainingSet manager (Admin) will add the extracted image -person- to class or trainingSet. And as you can see in the illustrated figure, 2.3 above, attendance is taken down by recognizing the faces through a web camera and automatically marked in attendance sheet with daytime. The instructor chooses the course ID and the class ID to begin the attending process. Advantages: The system stores the faces that are detected and automatically marks attendance. Provide authorized access. Ease of use. Multiple face detection. Provide methods to maximize the number of extracted faces from an image. Disadvantages: The accuracy of the system is not 100%. Face detection and loading training data processes just a little bit slow. The instructor and trainingSet manager still have to do some work manually. 2.3.1.2 Attendance System on Face Detection (By NevonProjects) The system is created for employing a simple and a secure way of recording attendance. First of all, the software takes a picture of all the authorized individuals and stores the information into the systems database. Then, the system stores pictures by mapping it into a face match structure. The system will recognize the registered person and mark his/her attendance along with the arrival time whenever he/she enters the locations again [7]. Advantages: The system stores the faces that are detected and automatically marks attendance. Ease of use. Manipulate and recognize the faces in real time using live video data. Multiple face detection. Multipurpose software. Can be used in different places. Disadvantages: The accuracy of the system is not 100%. It can only detect face from a limited distance. It cannot repeat live video to recognize missed faces. 2.3.1.3 Face Login Face Login allows you to log in to your PC by looking at your webcam. FaceLogin associates user accounts with a picture, and then, when looking at your webcam, you can login because it detects you on the webcam. [8] Advantages: Only an administrator can run FaceLogin and change its settings. More than one way to configure users. Can store more than one image for a user to maximize face detection. Disadvantages: Applications accuracy is not 100%. Adding users manually. Associated risks with stored data and images. Uses traditional way to access the application. Limited use. 2.3.1.4 Biometric Face Detection Attendance Systems Face recognition systems with time attendance provide multi-biometric and multi-authentication modes. Attached with high resolution infra-red camera works in low light, best face recognition algorithms and identification methods. Advantages Convenient. Provide many recognition ways. High accuracy. Used for secure purposes. Provide many communication models. Disadvantages Limited capacity. Detect faces from a limited distance. People stand in a queue to take their attendance. Screen size. Still uses traditional authentication PIN way. 2.3.1.5 C-400 Facial Recognition Clocking System Facial recognition timing systems will give you precise attendance information and stop employees buddy clocking when employee sing on behalf of his colleague-. [9] Advantages C-400 Face recognition timing technology reduces any likelihood of your employees signing for each other in/out. Complete suite of reports. Printable attendance register in the event of an emergency. Disadvantages There is no External Bell Attachment. Device is expensive. The face has to be in front of the device to record attendance. 2.3.1.6 Churchix Face Recognition Software Churchix presents face recognition software, which takes someones face through a picture or video and then identifies it by comparing it with those in a database of pictures. The software is becoming more common in every day interactions. [10] Advantages: Attending members in videos and photos. High quality photos. High accuracy. Disadvantages: Some people they see as a threat to privacy. Inability to capture all the faces in the video. Restart the video several times to capture all faces. Figure 2.5: Screenshot of Churchix Face Recognition Software 2.3.2 Relationship Between the Relevant Work and Our Own Work Table ‎2.2: Comparison among applications viewed in the previous section Application Auto Attendance Using Face Recognition by: MahvishTania Attendance System on Face Detection By: NevonProjects Face Login Biometric Face Detection Attendance Systems C-400 Facial Recognition Clocking System Churchix Face Recognition Software Face Recognition Attendance System Database à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ Hardware PC Webcam PC , camera Pc , webcam Camera camera PC , camera PC , camera Language C# C# unknown Unknown unknown unknown C# Scope student student anyone employees employees anyone Student light-on when-the camera starts à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ Fast Face detection à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ unlimited distance à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ High accuracy à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ From table 2.2, the main point in our project is to create a system that facilitates students attending process. The following points summarize features will be adopted in the system: The light on when the camera starts facial recognition because reduce the error There are screen next to the camera to display the result of attendees and absentees The system at the end of the class update attendance sheet 2.4 Summary An automatic attendance management system is needed tool for huge organizations. Many organizations have been used face recognition system such as train stations, airports, and companies. Overall, this chapter provided an overview of some related works that were developed with their advantages and disadvantages. Moreover, we compare between the relevant work and our own work and show the differentiation between them. The matter that has to be taken into consideration in the future is a method to guarantee users privacy. Whenever an image is stored on servers, it must be impossible for unauthorized person to get or see that image. 3.1 Introduction This chapter examines the analysis that determined the adequacy of the existing attendance system and identifies the requirements of the new system. Additionally, a specification of functional, nonfunctional and user requirements will be presented to understand how the system will work. In the term of analyzing these requirements, UML diagrams of the new system will be presented. 3.2 Analysis of Existing Systems In the school, colleges and universities attendance system are used to keep the record of a student presence and absence. It is true that the Taibah University has an electronic system but still needs a manual intervention. There are two case to attend students: First, add students attendance directly to the attendance web page. Second, write attendees names on a paper then move it to the web page. These two cases have drawbacks such as in the first case, there is a possibility to disconnect the connection and chose the wrong date. In the second case, there is a chance to loss the paper and it is a waste of resources We did a questionnaire that was targeted a lecturer in Taibah University and the number of participants nineteen. The aim of this questionnaire is to determine the satisfaction of the current system. Here are some questions and their statistics. As shown in figure 3.1, 84.2% of lecturers do not like the existing systems, we should take into consideration this percentage and develop a new attendance system. As can be seen from the Figure 3.2, 84.2% of the lecturer sees the existing system not suitable for all people like deaf. This is one of the drawbacks of the existing system, and there are more such as: There is always a chance of forgery (one person signing the presence of the other one) More manpower is required (some person to take attendance) To overcome the problems in the existing system, we will develop a face recognition attendance system. The majority of lecturer sees as in the figure 3.3, if we replace the current system with a biometric system it will be successful. Overall these statistics, the lecturer is not satisfied about the existing attendance system. 3.3 Requirements Elicitation The requirements are the descriptions of the system services and constraints. 3.3.1 Functional Requirements System functional requirement describes activities and services that must provide. Taking and tracking student attendance by facial recognition in specific time. Sending the names of the absent student directly to the lecturer Permitting the lecturer to modify the student absent or late. Showing the names of who is absent or late in the screen to avoid errors. 3.3.2 Non-Functional Requirements Nonfunctional Requirements are characteristics or attributes of the system that can judge its operation. The following points clarify them: Accuracy and Precision: the system should perform its process in accuracy and Precision to avoid problems. Modifiability: the system should be easy to modify, any wrong should be correct. Security: the system should be secure and saving students privacy. Usability: the system should be easy to deal with and simple to understand. Maintainability: the maintenance group should be able to fix any problem occur suddenly. Speed and Responsiveness: Execution of operations should be fast. 3.3.3 User Requirements or Domain requirements Tools that the user must have in order to use the system and obtain good results: Software Requirements: windows7 or higher, SQL and visual studio. Hardware Requirements: high resolution camera and screen. 3.4 Requirements Specification Use case diagram is one of Unified Modeling Language (UML) that describes the system functionality, what actors that interact with the system and any associations between use cases. As shown in figure 3.4, the FRAS has actors named Admin, Lecturer and Student which are the main users of the system. Other actor, timer which turns camera on to record attendance by detecting and recognizing faces. 3.4.1 Use Case Description (Detailed Use Cases) (1) Log in Table ‎3.1: Log-in usecase description Use Case Name: Log in Use Case Number:1 Actors: Admin, Lecturer, student Description: This use case describes how Admin, Lecturer and student log into the system. Triggering events: Lecturer, admin and student enter his username and password. Steps Performed (Main Path): 1-System requires users to enter username/password. 2-Users enter username/password. 3-System validate entered username/password. 4-The use case ends successfully. Preconditions: System installed on pc. Admin, Lecturer and student must be authorized. Post-conditions: Log in is successfully. Alternate: If the Admin, Lecturer and student is not fill correctly, the log in fails. (2) Manage student attendance. Table ‎3.2: Manage student attendance usecase description Use Case Name: Manage student attendance Use Case Number: 2 Actors: Admin, Lecturer. Description:

Wonder Collar :: Animals Product Advertisement Essays

Wonder Collar Pet owners, you know that technology has given us great many tools to make life easier and happier for you and your pet. With things like invisible fencing and the microchip ID, you pet's safety is greatly increased. And with noise training products, you can live at peace with you pet humanely. But the problem with these products is that you have to buy four or five different products each with its own collar. It is impossible to use them all at one. Well this is a problem no longer with the WonderCollar. The WonderCollar is a all in one collar. NO more switching collars for training and for your fence. The best part is that you get to decide which products you want. By visiting our webpage, you can choose the options you want and your collar will then be custom made! Here is a look at some of the options featured on the WonderCollar. Noise Training Does your dog have a hard time listening to you? Are you at your wits end because your dog chews on the furniture, jumps on visitors, digs in the yard, or excessively barks and you have tired all the tricks in the book to get him to stop? Now there is help. Our system comes with a noise training option to help deter unwanted behaviors and to teach your dog some basic obedience. As we all know, there is a wrong way and a right way to use "trainers". That is why each of our products comes with a training manual and video, and we have a hotline available so that you can find the answer to any other questions you might have. Here is a closer look at the WonderCollar's noise training options. The Collar The remote training collar attachment allows you to "train without pain." It uses the same technology as a pager. A remote sends a signal to the collar, which then vibrates or produces a noise. There is a switch on the collar attachment that allows for eight levels of noise and three levels of vibration. Another switch allows you to choose the noise or vibration option, or both! The pager has a range of up to 100 ft. and can be used indoors and out-of-doors. The collar attachment has an internal antenna and is waterproof. Perfect for all types of environments. It also comes with an on/off safety switch. It is powered by a 6-volt battery pack that is interchangeable between all the WonderCollar's attachments. Wonder Collar :: Animals Product Advertisement Essays Wonder Collar Pet owners, you know that technology has given us great many tools to make life easier and happier for you and your pet. With things like invisible fencing and the microchip ID, you pet's safety is greatly increased. And with noise training products, you can live at peace with you pet humanely. But the problem with these products is that you have to buy four or five different products each with its own collar. It is impossible to use them all at one. Well this is a problem no longer with the WonderCollar. The WonderCollar is a all in one collar. NO more switching collars for training and for your fence. The best part is that you get to decide which products you want. By visiting our webpage, you can choose the options you want and your collar will then be custom made! Here is a look at some of the options featured on the WonderCollar. Noise Training Does your dog have a hard time listening to you? Are you at your wits end because your dog chews on the furniture, jumps on visitors, digs in the yard, or excessively barks and you have tired all the tricks in the book to get him to stop? Now there is help. Our system comes with a noise training option to help deter unwanted behaviors and to teach your dog some basic obedience. As we all know, there is a wrong way and a right way to use "trainers". That is why each of our products comes with a training manual and video, and we have a hotline available so that you can find the answer to any other questions you might have. Here is a closer look at the WonderCollar's noise training options. The Collar The remote training collar attachment allows you to "train without pain." It uses the same technology as a pager. A remote sends a signal to the collar, which then vibrates or produces a noise. There is a switch on the collar attachment that allows for eight levels of noise and three levels of vibration. Another switch allows you to choose the noise or vibration option, or both! The pager has a range of up to 100 ft. and can be used indoors and out-of-doors. The collar attachment has an internal antenna and is waterproof. Perfect for all types of environments. It also comes with an on/off safety switch. It is powered by a 6-volt battery pack that is interchangeable between all the WonderCollar's attachments.

An Analysis of Wright’s Poem Saint Judas Essay -- Saint Judas

An Analysis of Wright’s Poem Saint Judas      Ã‚  Ã‚   Upon reading the poem "Saint Judas" by James Wright, the reader quickly realizes that the poem deals with Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus' twelve apostles.   The author describes Judas as "going out to kill himself,"(line 1) when he sees a man being beaten by "a pack of hoodlums"(2).   Judas quickly runs to help the man, forgetting "how [his] day began"(4).   He leaves his rope behind and, ignoring the soldiers around him, runs to help.   Finally, he remembers the circumstances that surround his suicidal intentions and realizes that he is "banished from heaven"(9) and "without hope"(13)   He runs to the man anyway and holds him "for nothing in [his] arms"(14)      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In order to understand James Wright's intentions in writing this poem, one must first have an understanding of the biblical story that it deals with.   According to the Bible, "Satan entered Judas, who was numbered among the twelve [apostles].   So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray [Jesus] to them.   And they were glad, and agreed to give him money.   Then he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them"(Luke 22. 3-6).   The Bible goes on to document Jesus and the apostles during the Last Supper, and Jesus revealing his knowledge of Judas' plan to betray him.   He tells his apostles:   "But behold, the hand of my betrayer is with me on the table"(Luke 22. 21).   Judas later leads the officials to Jesus and identifies him to them by kissing Jesus.   "Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, 'Whomever I kiss, He is the One, seize Him...Then immediately he went up to Jesus and said, 'Greetings, Rabbi! and kissed Him"(Matt. 26. 48-49).   After Jesus is ta... ...ough Wright does not say it directly, this may even suggest that the victim Judas encounters could be Jesus on his way to be crucified.   Judas temporarily forgets his intent to kill himself and runs to the victim, ignoring the soldiers.   Then he remembers the Last Supper and the meal he ate with Jesus and the other apostles ("Bread my flesh had eaten"(12)), and his betrayal of Jesus with a kiss ("the kiss that ate my flesh"(13)).   He goes to the man and "[holds him] for nothing is his arms"(14).   In this line Wright compares Judas' payment for betraying Jesus to the fact that he now offers comfort for nothing.    Works Cited 1. The Holy Bible, New King James Version. Reference edition. Thomas Nelson, Inc. 1983. 2. Wright, James. "Saint Judas." Approaching Poetry, Perspectives and Responses. Ed. Meg Spilleth. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1997. 70.   

Marketing of Lucky Charms

General Mills Goes Ceriously Retro Target is running a 1-month exclusive with General Mills showcasing retro packaging around Cocoa Puffs, Cheerios, Lucky Charms, Trix, Kix and other brands within their cereal portfolio. A collectable t-shirt is promoted on the new retro-themed packaging, offering consumers the chance to get a vintage-styled tee of their favorite morning munch. Overall, its a smart play. Target gains exclusivity, consumers feel rewarded with a limited piece of throwback merch, and wearing the fashion creates conversations around the cereal brands and must-have appeal for young-ins. A website has been built to offer up a chance to win the tees. This isn’t the first time General Mills or others have tapped the retro look. Junk Food was wildly popular with teens a few years back via licensed t-shirts using iconic General Mills logos and characters such as Lucky Charms, Trix and others 70’s and 80’s characters. Mountain Dew and Pepsi recently announched retro packaging and product formulated with real sugar in their Throwback LTO. Dew has also used their past icons successful in recent campaigns such as Green Label Art showcasing their legenday Hillbilly character. General Mills is likely reaching a younger consumer, a savvy trend follower that will still rock the retro tee, which will likely fare well when it’s time for parents to write their grocery lists. This type of straightforward offer often favors well in a value-focused economic environment where there is a lot of pressure on established name brands to keep generic from brands taking market share. Hell, even I’d consider rocking a Boo Berry t-shirt to the gym for anyone looking to pick me up a gift on my b-day (which is a only a month away)! General Mills to make all its cereals from healthier ingredients By Bob Faw NBC News updated 12:37 p. m. ET, Thurs. , Sept. 30, 2004 Each year the average American downs 160 bowls of cereal. Thursday will see a tremor in this $9-billion-a-year industry as General Mills announces that all of its cereals — not just Wheaties and Cheerios, but Cocoa Puffs and Lucky Charms — will be made with whole grains. â€Å"Emerging science continues to support the benefits of whole grains in people's diets whether t be heart health or maintaining a healthy body weight, and we are trying to make it easy,† says John Haugen, vice president of marketing at General Mills. â€Å"When the †¦ consumer trend of being more health conscious came out, we lost sales to competitors who were already in that space,† says Tony Alvaraez, CEO of Interstate Brands. While General Mills says it's spending millions on the switch to whole grains, the amount of sugar in its cereals — 13 grams, for example, in just one cup of Trix — won't change. So some industry observers are accusing General Mills of gimmickry. â€Å"Certainly it's a marketing ploy. This is about marketing. It's not really about nutrition,† says Marion Nestle, a nutritionist at New York University. Still, many mothers are applauding General Mills. â€Å"If it's to better the health of kids and whoever eats it, it's about time they started getting it done,† says Kris Simonson. Die-hard consumers like her daughter Kali Simonson could care less. As long as the cereal tastes good, she doesn’t care what's in it.  © 2008 msnbc. com_ Reprints_ *General Mills Thrives on Increased Marketing Spending: *Boosting TV Ads Hiked Cereal Sales, But Digital ROI Even Higher BOCA RATON, Fla. AdAge. com) — General Mills, one of the package-food industry's top performers, laid out a number of recent marketing successes at the Consumer Analysts Group of New York conference this morning, and offered a preview of the rest of its fiscal year. The company has staunchly supported consumer-marketing spending increases — 19% in the first half of fiscal 200 9, which began in June — while competitors, including Kellogg and Kraft, have begun to scale back on the heady marketing outlays of 2008, instead preaching bundling and greater return on investment. General Mills estimates that its consumer-marketing spending will be up by â€Å"double digits† for the full fiscal year. CEO Ken Powell has repeatedly said that it's particularly important to support well-known brands during the current economy. â€Å"We're meeting here in Florida at a time of great economic uncertainty around the world,† Mr. Powell said. â€Å"General Mills has weathered the storm due in large part to the strength of our product categories and the strength of our brands. † He underscored that the company has a number of well-known 50-year-old brands, such as Cheerios and Pillsbury, as well as 30-year-old brands such as Yoplait and Nature Valley, that consumers trust. Positive response General Mills' sales have responded well to increased marketing support as consumers are eating more at home. Sales grew 11% in the first half of fiscal 2009, to $7. 5 billion. The company has raised guidance with each of the first two quarters. General Mills is doing so well that analysts had been expecting the company to raise its earnings guidance again this morning. For the balance of 2009, the company said it is planning a broadcast blitz for its cereal brands. Ian Friendly, chief operating officer of U. S. retail operations, said he expects the ad program to generate the biggest bump in sales. The company's Cheerios, Honey Nut Cheerios, Multigrain Cheerios and Lucky Charms have been faring particularly well. General Mills is launching Banana Nut Cheerios, Cinnamon Chex, and Fiber One Frosted Shredded Wheat cereals in the coming months. Some of these products are likely to be advertised to baby boomers, who Mr. Friendly noted will make up about half of the U. S. population by 2010. When I started here in 1983, we didn't do much advertising to baby boomers,† he said, adding that boomers are eating more cereal as they age. â€Å"We're targeting them directly now. † The company is also working harder to target Hispanics, with Progresso products such as Menudo being tested in Texas. Mr. Friendly said the company credits Hispanic-targeted advertising for Honey Nut Cheerios with a 35% increase in year-to-date sales with those consume rs. Bromley Communications is General Mills' Hispanic agency. Online growth But while the bulk of the company's spend remains on TV, Mr. Friendly said in a conference with reporters that it has begun to see significantly higher return on digital investment. General Mills has been diverting funds online, driving traffic to recipe sites such as BettyCrocker. com. The company's cooking sites had about 8 million visitors last month. General Mills also recently launched a free Betty Crocker iPhone application, which offers meal suggestions based on what's in a consumer's pantry. â€Å"We are seeing very high returns from digital than broadcast,† Mr. Friendly said, declining to give the percentage of spending that's moved online. â€Å"It's ot that our TV ads don't work, but when you're watching TV you're doing it for a different reason. When you go to a website you have a very specific purpose. † General Mills Thanks Its Lucky Charms, Melinda Peer, 06. 18. 08, 5:45 PM ET http://www. forbes. com/2008/06/18/general-mills-guidance-markets-equity-cx_mp_markets38_print. html With higher ingredient costs eating int o food companies' profits, General Mills surprised investors with news that full-year results would be better than expected. That's because they've been serving up extra costs to consumers. Shares of General Mills, Inc. gained $1. 1, or 3. 2%, to close at $62. 64 on Wednesday after the company said year-end results would top guidance thanks to a 13. 0% sales increase in the fourth-quarter. The food company, which boasts popular brands like Cheerios, Yoplait, Green Giant and Haagen-Daz, now expects 2008 earnings of $3. 71 a share and sales of $13. 7 billion. Earnings, adjusted to exclude a favorable tax ruling and gains from valuations of commodity holdings, are expected to be $3. 52 a share–an 11. 0% increase from last year's earnings of $3. 18 a share. Analysts had been expecting earnings of $3. 48 and sales of $13. 4 billion. The company's previous guidance had been for adjusted earnings between $3. 45 and $3. 47 a share. But with commodity prices showing no signs of falling, it's unclear how long the General Mills can expect consumers to foot the bill. Cocoa U. S. futures soared to a 28-year high at $3,122 a tonne as investors responded to reports of pressured supply in the Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa grower. Corn for delivery in July 2009 matched Monday's high of $8. 07 a bushel before settling ahead by 6 cents at about $8. 01 a bushel. General Mills, however, expects growth to meet or exceed expectations through 2009. It guided for adjusted earnings in the range of $3. 78 to $3. 83 a share. Analysts have been expecting earnings of $3. 81 a share in 2009. Rival company Kellogg's, raised prices in January to offset expensive raw material costs. Rather than hiking prices again, the company said it would shrink the size of cereal boxes instead and sell them for the same price (See: Kellogg's Crumbling Profits). Kellogg's skimmed an average of 2. 4 ounces from boxes that will be used for 14 products under brands like Apple Jacks, Cocoa Krispies, Corn Pops, Froot Loops and Honey Smacks. The boxes shipped to U. S. stores earlier this month.

Shadowing Report

Shadowing Report Interview Date: 04. 08. 2012 Interview Time: 1:00pm Shadowing Date: 04. 12. 2012 Shadowing Time: 8:30am – 2:00pm The person I chose to shadow for this assignment is John Smith who is a friend of mine. He, himself has been in the management profession for the past 4 years or so starting at Pizza Hut. According to him, he worked at Pizza Hut for about six years and was originally hired as a driver. Due to a car accident, the management opportunity fell into his lap and he began training as a shift manager.He moved his way up quickly to become the acting Store Manager, although he says his official title was Assistant Store Manager. He worked for Pizza Hut for a total of 6 years with half of those years in the management position before finally pursuing another job in another city. That job was with Mighty Taco, Inc, which I'm sure you have heard of because the restaurant is a staple to the Buffalo area. He then packed up himself and his family from the Rochester area to move here to accept the position.I asked him why he made that move and he said it was so his wife could get help with their newborn daughter while she went back to school. He said that it was actually his wife who found the listing for the job in the newspaper and encouraged him to send in his resume. Because of his experience with management when working at Pizza Hut, he was essentially hired after one interview. He has now worked for Mighty Taco as a Manager for almost a year and he works with other Managers, including Shift Managers, Managers and General Managers, and crew members.Mighty Taco, Inc, as I mentioned before, is a staple to the Buffalo area that was founded in 1973. The almost 40-year old company describes itself as being synonymous with fast, delicious, Buffalo-style Mexican food and has about 20 different locations. The first Mighty Taco opened up in Buffalo, NY at 1247 Hertel Ave on August 31, 1973, and although that location is no longer around, the compa ny has made its name for itself within the Buffalo community. The restaurants have what you would expect from a fast-food Mexican chain in that they primarily sell tacos and burritos, but with a twist.They have specials such as the â€Å"Roastito† which consists of chicken breast or steak in a tortilla with roasted peppers and onions, cheese and sour cream, the â€Å"El Nino Burrito† which has half a pound of ground beef in it and the â€Å"Mighty Fish Taco† which consists of a battered fish filet, lettuce, tomato cheese and tartar sauce or salsa. One of the things that I believe makes the company so unique is there unusual advertisements. I remember when I first moved to this area a decade ago and saw my first Mighty Taco commercial on the TV.I must say that it weirded me out, but the advertisements have grown on me over the years and I appreciate their uniqueness. From the chanting of â€Å"Mighty Taco, Mighty Taco, Mighty Taco† to â€Å"Buf-Mex at its Best† the company has won the hearts of all within this area. One might think that working in a fast-food restaurant that education and training may not be necessary but I learned very quickly that this is far from the truth. While this may be true to be a crew member, being a manager in this industry requires the manager to be fully prepared and equipped for anything that comes to them, including training and education.When asked about such training, Steve explained that he received most of his training at his previous job at Pizza Hut. There were many training seminars and programs that he had to go through, including mock role plays and information on how to deal with various paperwork. An example of a mock role play he gave was a customer coming in complaining they found a foreign object in their food and how they would handle it. This later came into real life when one day at Mighty Taco a customer actually came up to him with a complaint of a foreign object found in the ir food.He said it was kind of ironic but he handled the situation by the book. He apologized profusely to the customer and offered to remake their order as well as throw in a free bag of chips and cheese. He also filled out the proper paperwork associated with the issue including the batch number of the food, time, date, etc and sent it all the main office. The customer left satisfied and the company was able to address the issue. Another situation in which he put his training in mock role play to use was with a situation with an employee. Employee subordination is something no manager likes to deal with.In fact, Steve said it is one of the more challenging part of his job because no one wants to be a disciplinarian. In this situation, an employee was directed to do dishes before he left for the day by the manager on duty to which the employee refused. The manager on duty again directed the employee to help with the dishes and again the employee refused so Steve was brought in to d eal with the situation. He explained that he sat the employee down and explained to him what would happen if he refused to do the work he was assigned one more time.It would be considered insubordination and there would be repercussions of suspension or even termination. The employee still vehemently refused to do the dishes and Steve had no choice but to write up the employee and suspend him pending termination. The next day the employee was terminated. In this situation, both managers agreed that they handled it by the rule book and sadly it ended up with a non-ideal resolution. These are just many of the items that the training seminars prepare the management for.Since working for Mighty Taco, the only difference he says is that he had to re-certify his food safe certification due to more and more restaurants in the industries making the switch from Prometric to Servsafe. Managers for Mighty Taco typically work a 45 hour work week with at least 5 hours of overtime guaranteed but no more than 7 hours. They get compensated for that overtime with the typical time and a half pay. Steve says that the summer months and Christmas time tend to be busier so he more often than not pushes to the 47 hour mark during those times.The managers typically work one of two shifts, either the opening shift which is 8:30am – 5:30pm or the closing shift which is 5:00pm – 2:00am. While he does not directly work on the schedule, he does have training in making schedules due to his experiences with Pizza Hut. He is trained in making the schedules while complying with various laws associated with schedule making, like scheduling minors. In terms of choosing his work week, he says he typically just rolls with what schedule is given to him but he also gets the days he requests off without an issue.Apparently as long as he works a Monday morning inventory shift every 3 weeks and works a certain amount of open and closing shifts per period, he is free to work whenever, as long as he works 45 hours a week. When it comes to the salary ranges for the various positions within the store, it seems that Mighty Taco, on average, pays higher than other places within the field. He states that the crew members at Pizza Hut only started at minimum wage whereas the crew members at Mighty Taco start at $8 per hour, almost $1 more per hour. The Shift Managers at Mighty Taco start off at about $9. 0 per hour and the Managers start off at about $11 per hour. The General Managers get paid a salary wage that is set by Mighty Taco based upon experience and time with the company. Not only do the employees with Mighty Taco generally get paid higher, but Mighty Taco has some great benefits. For example, the Managers and General Managers get full medical insurance and the General Managers get full medical insurance for their families as well. The only thing Steve has to pay is the co-pays. â€Å"Health insurance is rare enough in the food industry, but to get it paid in fu ll? That's amazing! Steve says. He also receives a week of vacation after being with the company for a year with the maximum going to 4 weeks. Employee evaluations are something that is common to every business and Mighty Taco is no different. Raises within the company are earned through 6 month reviews. Steve explains that his second review is actually coming up because, like previously mentioned, he has been with the company for almost a year. The raises for managers is a percentage based system based upon how the store is doing, how the manager personally does and various other factors.After explaining to me how the performance evaluations are done, I quickly realize that he is talking about a Graphic Rating Scale Method that I learned about in my Human Resources class. A Graphic Rating Scale Method is the most common type of evaluation method which lists a number of traits and a range of performance for each field. Some of the various traits Steve is scored upon include time man agement, training and development of employees, organizational know how, communication, teamwork, etc. According to Steve, teamwork is one that he always scores high on due to his ideals on the importance of teamwork.He believes that in the service industry,your work is also dependent on other people and goes on to say, â€Å"one man cannot do the job alone and it requires teamwork to accomplish any goals for yourself and the company. † The supervisors in the company who conduct these evaluations are the General Manager of the store and the District Manager. Being a manager is something that Steve enjoys with his favorite part pertaining to the management of the employees and helping to improve them as well as himself through the hard work and effort put into the job.He, in particular, really likes working for Mighty Taco because he feels like the company respects all their employees. He says that at his previous job, he did not feel like he or the other employees received an y of the respect they deserved. Being respected is key in maintaining moral and motivating employees. Although he does enjoy it, the job of a manager can be stressful at times. It is the big stuff he dreads, like the before-mentioned issues with crew members, but the little stuff is easy to deal with.Things like not having enough crew members during a busy shift or running out of a particular food or customer complaints. He says the best thing is to remain focused and to try and not let it get to you. He says that as a manager, he cannot let the stress get to him because he is the example to the crew members and must remain professional. However, once he gets home, he relieves stress by spending time with his family, specifically his 10 month old daughter, and playing video games like any typical male in their 20's. Steve would like to stay with the company as long as he can due to the opportunities it has given him.His ultimate goal is to be a District Manager for Mighty Taco, in p articular the one for the new restaurants opening up in Rochester, where he is originally from. He then jokes and says that he'll settle for being promoted to a General Manager position for now. Overall he really likes Mighty Taco as a company and hopes to stay with them for a long time. I shadowed Steve on Thursday, April 12, 2012 during an opening shift from 8:30am to 2:00pm. This is what happened while I was there: Upon entering the store, the alarm was shut off and the ovens were turned on.From there the lights were turned on and he clocked into the system. At this point, he is the only employee in the store and arrived approximately 10 minutes before his shift started. The next employee didn't arrive for about 15 more minutes and he is the cook, hence the ovens being turned on. His next step is to goes into the office to check the manager logs for any important information left by the previous shift's manager. This manager log, he informs me, includes any employee interactions and write ups, and any pertinent information like any cleaning jobs that have to be done today.He tells me that one of these cleaning jobs includes cleaning out the freezer, which is not done very often. From there he pulls all the paperwork and starts to go over any checklists, like the opening checklist. He gets the sales from the previous night and how over or under it is from forecast as well as the labor yield and the cost of sales of food. With all that information written down, he then calls it in to his District Manager. The next thing he does is check all the emails for any customer complaints that came in overnight and anything that may have come in from the main office.Today in the emails, he received a complaint about missing an item on his order and he informs me that this is pretty commonplace. The next big thing he does has to deal with the money in the safe. He made sure that the deposit from the previous night is there and make sure it adds up. He also counted the c hange in the petty cash and called the bank with an order for more change. Once making sure that all the money is there, he then ensures that all of his other employees arrive before going to the bank. Once three more employees arrive, we go on over to the bank at about 9:00am to deposit the money and to get the coin order.Upon returning to the store, he then writes down all the information about the deposit including the credit card log. He then faxed that information over to the office. After the money is situated, he then helped the crew members with setting up the line and making sure everything is in order for the morning. He set up the soda machines, and made fun of me for saying soda rather than pop, he filled up the food wells in the line for the employees and just went around seeing what the employees needed help with. He did this until about 9:45am where he then puts the cash drawers into the register.I ask him if he prefers to work on the line or to work in the office and he tells me he'd prefer to be in the thick of things but he has to the his managerial duty. At 10:00am, he finished the checklist and essentially opens up the store for the customers. Now the day officially begins and it is quite interesting to see everyone working together in this environment. As soon as the store opens, a customer immediately comes in and I ask if this is a normal occurrence. I'm told by Steve and the employees that more often than not, customers do not start showing up until closer to 11:00am.Also at 10:00am, another employee comes in and Steve immediately directs him to do a lot check, which he tells me includes sweeping and emptying the trash outside. At 11:00am, two more employees show up and I ask Steve what is the role of all these employees. Because to me it seems there are a lot of employees but then again, I am not used to this line of work. As it stands right now there are 8 employees plus Steve and he tells me what each of their jobs are. There is a co ok for the morning, but he eventually goes on to register or line depending on where he is needed.There are two employees on register up front, there are two employees on headset/cash-out on drive-thru, there are two employees dedicated to drive-thru line and two employees dedicated to the front counter line. The employees on line are broken down into wrappers and grill. I ask Steve which of these jobs he prefers to help out on and he informs me he prefers wrapping on the front counter line. He also then informs me that when the lunch rush happens at 11:30am, that I need to stay out of everyone's way. I can only describe the lunch rush as being organized chaos.While it is extremely busy, Steve directed all his employees efficiently based upon their strengths and weaknesses. He helped out wherever he was needed and kept up morale and motivation by joking with his employees. The banter back and force is amusing but at the same time questions are being asked about appropriate conduct. For example, questions about what went on a particular taco were often shouted out as well as questions confirming what the customer wanted. Even at the store's busiest moment while I was there, Steve kept his cool when dealing with both employees and customers alike.It seemed to me that everyone worked together efficiently in this environment, bringing about a sense of teamwork. After the lunch rush was over, which was about 1:30pm, we had a moment for me to ask him some questions about his day. I asked him how he prioritized his responsibilities during the day. He explained that there are 5 priorities set by Mighty Taco: customer service, cleanliness in customer area such as the dining room, cleanliness in the kitchen area in customer view, food preparation and food maintenance, and other cleanliness duties.He explains that anything he does throughout the day, he first takes into account the customers because he believes they are one of the most important aspects of his field. I t hen ask him how he decides who gets assigned to which job. He says its based upon their knowledge, skill level, time allotment and willingness to learn. He says that employees that are only there for a short time he more often than not will direct them to do a simple and quick cleaning or preparation job. I also asked him what is the most dangerous thing that has ever happened to him during his time as a manager.I got a startling response that I didn't expect. He started off laughing and saying that he was robbed at gunpoint one time when working at Pizza Hut. Apparently one night close to closing time, a man came in following an employee demanded all the money in the register. In this situation, one that he hopes no one ever has to go through, managers are taught to comply with any and all demands of the perpetrator. Procedure states that in such an event, the police should be called as well as the immediate supervisor and District Manager and the store should be shut down.Sadly th e perpetrator was not found but no one was harmed, which is the main goal in a situation like that. On that scary note, the shadowing was over and I thanked him profusely for allowing me to shadow his job and told him I would contact him with any further questions. Throughout this entire experience, I learned quite a bit of things. I have never worked in a management position before even though that is what my major is. Prior to coming back to school I have only ever worked in the Accounting world, from being a bookkeeper to working in Accounts Payable.While I would still like to stay in that section of the business world, this experience has taught me the hard work that goes into management. I hope to take these experiences and use them to further my career after I graduate, hopefully getting a position as an Accounts Payable Manager. Steve Nadig left me with some good advice for the eventuality of me becoming a manager of some sort which basically was to keep all my paperwork as o rganized as I can. He says that's his least favorite part of the job and he works hard on keeping all his paperwork in order.He also states that I should try to be as unbiased as possible, which I will take to heart because I know first hand what its like to have bias get in the way of a good management decision. Overall I found this to be a wonderful experience and I'm happy for getting the chance to do so. Works Cited â€Å"What Types of Behavior Indicate Insubordination? † Small Business. 21 Apr. 2012 . â€Å"Mighty Taco. † Mighty Taco. 21 Apr. 2012 . Dessler, Gary. â€Å"Chapter 6 Performance Management and Appraisal. † A framework for human resource management. Boston: Prentice Hall, 2011. 174.

Organizational Strategy and Change Essay

John Kotter in his book explained the significance of change intervention in any organization or business. According to him, adopting change has been the trend in our society for two decades now though sometimes traumatic; the result would be improved quality of products and services, new opportunities for growth and increase productivity (Kotter, p. 3). He stressed the significance of change management because there are many benefits that a company can get from it. He emphasized that an organization finds help in adapting to shifting conditions and have improved competitive mechanics over other competitors (p. ). However, if an organization is passive to change may face the adverse effects which according to Kotter are described as being pessimistic and suspicious of others who are pushing for transformation (p. 17); hence, this company will end up incompetent. A good example of a company that endorsed change after being attacked with bad publicity was McDonald’s. McDonald’s is a food chain that is leading in the global market; it serves more than 100 countries having about 30,000 restaurants all over the world. This company has started as the first food service retailer that offers informal eating-out market, which eventually paved the way for this kind of business. According to Eric Schlosser, at the growth of fast food chains in America, American society has gone tremendous change specially in the lifestyle and values of the American people; considering the fact that much money has been spent in fast food than in education. In the same way, due to this trend, many women and mothers are working with the convenience of food preparation since a family spent their meal at restaurants and fast food chains (p. ). With this trend, McDonald is considered as the largest purchaser of beef, pork and potatoes; it is also the largest owner of retail property according to Schlosser (p. 4). After many years of existence, Ray Kroc had continued to reinvent the image of the restaurant image by placing the smiling Ronald McDonald at restaurant and by creating a friendly environment around the area. However, despite of having a good reputation and being a fast growing business, McDonald’s had suffered enormous bad publicity from different sources. The first one was the libel case filed by the Greenpeace employees in 1990 and the second one was a documentary film written, directed and performed by Morgan Spurlock entitled â€Å"Super Size Me† in 2004. The appearance of these controversies had moved the McDonald’s Company to reshape their culture and focus. The libel case filed against McDonald was considered the longest libel case in the history of English that lasted in 314 days in 1990. The two Greenpeace employees issued many articles saying that McDonald’s prepared food are environmentally hazardous and physically harmful to the consumers. The libel suit also presented issues relating to discrimination to its employees, the company was responsible for cruelty to some of its animals used as foods, and children are exploited for using them in television campaign. This publicity was proven true after the US Congress made an investigation about the hearsay. In their report as discussed by Schlosser in his book, explained that there was presence of E-Coli in some of their food due to unclean surroundings and contaminated and/or lethal meat which they sold to many children (p. ), since children are their number one patronage. The â€Å"Super Size Me† ads which was produced and experimented by Spurlock himself for one month was a concrete explanation why McDonald’s foods are not good for the body. According to Thom and Geiger, Spurlock had gained twenty-five pounds after one month of eating all McDonald’s food which caused him to â€Å"suffer from fatigue, headaches, and indigestion; his blood sugar skyrocketed, his liver filled with fat, his cholesterol went off the charts, and his blood pressure was unmanageable† (p. 98). This experiment has just proven that fast foods are not healthy according to Thom and Geiger (p. 199); this has alarmed the whole America and started blaming fast food for unhealthy body and began to fight a war against obesity. The next question is: â€Å"What is the response of McDonald’s to this issue? † Galloway and Kwanash-Aidoo had described clearly the response made by the company to this very intriguing issue. At first, McDonald’s through its spokespeople did not make any comment saying that they have not seen the film yet. However, later, they told the press that the movie is just a distortion of reality. Kapica and Coffing (spokepersons) have said that the issue of obesity is a personal responsibility not theirs, since it is the person’s choice what they want to eat (p. 70). Nevertheless, in March after twelve weeks since the appearance of the ads, McDonald’s had announced that they would phase the super-sizing option in their restaurants and they introduced the â€Å"Happy Meals† with salad and pedometers (Galloway and Kwanash-Aidoo, p. 71). Yet, the story did not end there until the issue became national. For this reason, McDonald’s made a lot of public relation campaign just to offset the issue. Macmillan and McGrath has stated in their book that after that issue, McDonald’s and other fast food chains has introduced couple of lower fat options, including a Salad Shaker (with nonfat dressing), a Fruit and Yogurt Parfait (p. 160). The documentary film has helped American people to become health conscious people and industry to consider social responsibility. Despite the company’s attempt to change the food offerings, the issue continued that required crisis management approach. McDonald’s in Australia as well as in America used a proactive approach which allowed McDonald’s a fair hearing in the court of public opinion. This approach made the company showcased their management and the new direction that McDonald had initiated in order to minimize the impact of the movie. The result of the approach was very effective because they were able to â€Å"weaken and shorten the life-cycle of the issue† according to Galloway and Kwanash-Aidoo (p. 5). To sustain its campaign, in February 7, 2007, the McDonalds Australia has joined the foundation and they had come up with nine products with approval of the Heart Foundation Tick. Heart Foundation Tick is a program aiming to encourage food producing companies all over the world to espouse healthy and nutritious food to eliminate heart problem caused by food intake. The Australian Sports Medicine Federation explained what the Heart Foundation Tick is. According to them, this is a program that challenges all food companies since 1989 to produce healthier products to provide consumers enough choices of healthier foods available on shelves of the supermarkets or restaurants. And every company that responds to the challenge must generate or produce foods that conform to the strict standards of the organization. Specifically, the foods are to be tested for some chemical contents that are harmful to the body before they are given endorsement; the foods should not contain the following ingredients: saturated fat, Trans fat, salt and kilojoules. Once passed the quality, the company will be given the Heart Foundation Tick with corresponding logo that appears on the label of the product. Currently, based on the report released in 2006, McDonald’s restaurants all over the world serve its customer with 100% pure USDA inspected beef with neither no fillers nor additives, whitefish from the Pacific Ocean and Baltic and North Seas, vegetables and fruits are farm-fresh delivered on regular basis (Fact Sheet about McDonald’s). Remarkably, McDonald Company had enforced strategic actions in order to counteract bad publicity and maintain their status quo. In the report made by William Greider in a newspaper published online in July 2003 said that the company had taken a strong political will to advise its meat suppliers to stop using growth-stimulating antibiotics that are dangerous to human health. By this warning, the company would not be willing to purchase the said products; in the statement made by McDonald’s director, he said, â€Å"we would be a catalyst for change industry wide. This very significant affirmation from the company was a response to the controversy that thrown on them and to the call of social responsibility. During this crucial situation, it is very important that a company is always ready to initiate change. McDonald’s action for change is very critical but very essential because it turned the company upside down, and it was successful; McDonald’s remained as the number one fast food chain in the world. To categorize the perspective, the change is institutional and contingency; institutional because it is a change that considers the external forces such as social, governmental, legal and cultural. It is a contingency perspective because the top management must initiate the change that focuses on the most directly affected by the circumstances. McCalman once said, â€Å"Change is an ongoing process† (p. 8).