Advancement in Science and Technology Research is a peer-reviewed open access journal published quarterly Essay

Advancement in Science and Technology Research aims at providing a platform for researchers, engineers, scientists, and educators to publish their original research results, to exchange new ideas, to disseminate information in innovative designs, engineering experiences and technological skills. It is also the Journal’s objective to promote engineering and technology education. The papers for publication in Advancement in Science and Technology Research are selected through rigorous peer reviews to ensure originality, timeliness, relevance, and readability. Advances in Science and Technology is a irregular series presenting the Proceedings of CIMTEC, International Cermics Congress and Forum on New Materials. The series is published on behalf of TECHNA GROUP, Faenza, Italy. With the second review conference of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) approaching in April, a raft of studies have appeared making clear that fundamental changes in science and technology are affecting the implementation of the treaty and that it must be adapted to take account of them.[1] The most significant development is the revolution in the life sciences and related technologies, including a growing overlap between chemistry and biology. There is a vastly increased understanding of the functioning of biological systems as a result of the mapping of the human and other genomes as well as of advances in structural biology and the study of proteins (proteomics). Information technology and engineering principles are increasingly integrated into biology. The intersection between chemistry and biology has further expanded thanks in part to the automation of synthesis and screening of chemical compounds enabling laboratories to assess vast numbers of new chemical structures and a much-enhanced understanding of how certain â€Å"chemicals of biological origin† act. Technological advances supplement these trends, for example, providing for more efficient means of delivering biologically active chemicals to target populations or targeting organs and receptors within an organism. These developments are expected to bring many benefits, including new medical treatments and methods of pest control. At the same time, the capacity to discover or design new chemical structures that may have utility as chemical warfare agents has also increased significantly. Novel agents can be created far more quickly than ever before. In addition, advances in manufacturing technology have shortened other time requirements, enabling shortcuts in the progression from research and development to full-scale manufacturing. Changes in the chemical industry have dispersed technology and facilities, complicating verification and traditional nonproliferation strategies. As a result, the time and effort needed to field a new chemical weapon has shrunk, particularly in the early stages, while the capability to detect such actions has not grown significantly. These trends and a recently increased interest in the use of incapacitants for law enforcement purposes raise at least the threat that states could skirt or quickly break out of the CWC prohibitions on developing and acquiring chemical weapons. It has also enlarged the overlap between the two otherwise quite separate treaties governing chemical and biological weapons, the CWC and the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC). States-parties need to adapt the implementation of the CWC to account for these changes or risk diminishing confidence in its effectiveness and endangering its viability.

Hartalega Holdings Berhad Strategic Management

1. Introduction Hartalega Holdings Berhad is a gloves manufacturer and began their business with the vision of produce gloves that protect life (Hartalega, 2013). Hartalega has experienced tremendous growth in the market and there are many issues and problems that faced by them. The first issue that faced by Hartalega is fluctuation of US dollar (CIMB Research Report, 2011). USA is a key market for glove industry and has contributing part of the market share of Malaysian industries. Fluctuation on US dollar has affected the margins of the company.Besides, the economic conditions have influence the glove industry will continue to be unstable due to rises in material and production costs. Moreover, high latex price also is one of the issue that faced by Hartalega (CIMB Research Report, 2011). Latex prices continue to be volatile would bring an effect to its margin. Supply of latex may be reduced due to the weather conditions. During the dry season in Thailand and Malaysia, it would dec rease the production of latex. Thus, price of latex during dry season will be slightly higher compare to other season.Furthermore, Hartalega faced the issue about labor. The recent governments policies about foreign labor have cause a great concern for the gloves industry. The gloves industry has voiced out their concerns towards this issue because hired labor would have an impact on the manufacturers’ costs. Besides, more and more glove manufacturers are using automation and it will decrease the reliance on manpower. Next, pollution is one of the most important issues that faced by Hartalega as their company’s reputation has affected by the negative news or rumours.Hartalega was received complaints from the Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Dept and a few residents of Taman Suria and claim that they are causing air and water pollution. Hartalega deny all the accusation and declare that they are operating legally according to the Malaysian environment regu latory standard (â€Å"Hartalega: Aggrieved At Accusations†, 2010). This might affect the reputation and the creditworthiness of Hartalega and might cause the market share decrease in this particular time frame. 2. Remote EnvironmentRemote environment is the factors that affect a form of decision making abilities, but are beyond its control. Political, economic, social, technological and ecological factor are the factors that include in the remote environment. The first factor is political factor. Hartalega has exports almost all of their products mainly to the developed countries such as USA, Brazil, Japan, Germany, Europe, Malaysia and others. Hartalega also has expanded its business successfully to China and India. Gloves sales have increase but a little drop in the selling prices. Major output of the company is made up by nitrile gloves.The total costs of the gloves increases due to the high output and increase in labor costs. Besides, the recent governments policies abou t foreign labor have cause a great concern for the industry. Hartalega have to adjust the wage structure of their workers due to the minimum wage ruling that effective from January 2013 that regulate by the government. Stringent government regulatory also is the threat for Hartalega. There are many government regulations and policies need to be follow by the company such as minimum wage legislation, guidelines on buffer zones and more.If companies fail to follow or break the rule that enforce by government, it may bring them into trouble, such as they might receive penalty from the government. Next is economic factor. Fluctuation of US dollar, raw materials prices increase and fuel costs rising has bring an impact towards the gloves industry with challenging economic conditions (Hartalega, 2013). Fluctuation on US dollar has affected the margins of the company. The nitrile gloves have experienced declining its margins due to high raw materials price and face competition with their c ompetitors.Furthermore, demand for nitrile gloves have not affected by economic crisis and slowdown because it is a recession proof products and an essential thing in the healthcare sector. Hartalega expects the demand for nitrile gloves will maintain positive growth in the future and continue export to the other countries such as Europe, China and India. In economic factor, Hartalega might face the threat of high latex price. Latex prices change irregularly would create a threat to its margin. Supply of latex may be reduced due to the weather conditions as well as measures to support rubber prices by Thailand and Malaysia.The dry season in Thailand and Malaysia would decrease the production of latex. Thus, price of latex during dry season will be slightly higher compare to other season. In the social factor, the annual report of Hartalega has show that Hartalega has enjoy the 100% market share in Victoria, Australia because all public hospitals in this state only used Hartalegaâ₠¬â„¢s gloves. Global hospital supplies market also is one of the opportunities for Hartalega. People wearing gloves in the hospital help to prevent spread of germs and help to protect both medical staff and patients from infection.Hence, it also shows that Hartalega has a big opportunity to growth in this area. Hartalega can offer top quality and great selection of gloves to the hospitals or other industry, so that more and more people from all around the world can choose and use Hartalega’s gloves. Opportunity that can be found in this factor is industry recognition. Industry recognition defines as the degree of public awareness for the brand or products. Hartalega has put many efforts in innovation, quality, R&D and good manufacturing.Thus, Hartalega has the opportunity to gain more recognition from all around the world as the company continually expands its business to more nations. Furthermore, technological factor is also one of the factors that affect a decision making abilities of the company. Advancements in technology enables Hartalega placed them with a competitive advantage in the glove industry. High efficiency production lines, automated product handling system, glove removal system, process simulator and biomass heat energy plant are the technologies that used by Hartalega (Hartalega, 2013).High efficiency production lines is the latest high speed production lines in the industry which able to produce 40,000 pieces of gloves per hour. Automated product handling system used to remove defect during transit, packing and storage. RFID tags are tagged in every pallet, so that can monitoring the product movements and make sure the products are on time delivery to the customers. Besides, glove removal system used to decrease the reliance towards the manual workforce. This system also able to remove nitrile and latex gloves quickly from the hand moulds.Process Simulator enable the company test their imagination in a timely manner and ensure quick delivery of a new product to their customers. The opportunity that found in this factor is advancement of technology. Technology advancement enables the company produce more pieces of gloves in a shorter time and better quality. Besides, automated product handling system that used by Hartalega also enable the company can easily track the location of the products and ensures provides an on time delivery to their customers. Last is ecological factor.Hartalega has set up a â€Å"next generation integrated glove manufacturing complex† (NGC) that contains high technology production lines and mainly involved in the production of rubber gloves (Hartalega, 2013). The project location is landscaped to be green and eco-friendly environment. Moreover, Hartalega has used biomass energy plants to avoid emission of Greenhouse Gases (Hartalega, 2013). Biomass energy plant is the only environmental friendly energy plant in the industry where it burn on the plantation waste to generate heat f or the production process.Hartalega also used effluent water treatment plants to ensure the waste that the company discharge is no harm to the environment. Biomass heat energy plant allowed Hartalega to conduct their business in a more effective way. Negative complaint about pollution could a threat for Hartalega. In year 2010, Hartalega has received complaints from Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Dept and some residents of Taman Suria and claim that they are violate the environmental regulations that set by government. Hartalega deny all the accusation and declare that they are operating legally according to the regulations stated.Although Hartalega has state that they have independent inspectors and consultants who regularly test water and air emissions to ensure it is always full compliance with the requirements of government, but this also might happen again if they did not provide sufficient information and training that relates to the green environment to their employees. This also might affect the reputation and the creditworthiness of Hartalega and might caused the market share decrease in this particular time frame. 3. Industry Environment Industry environment is the concept to the foreground for the strategic thought and business planning.This includes Porter 5 Forces that explain the competitiveness of the particular company in the relevant industry. The strategic business manager can use this model or strategy to get a better understanding of the industry context in which the firm involves so that an effective strategy to compete with rival can be developed. There are 5 forces or factors to create the competitiveness of the company which is the threat of new entrants, threat of substitutes, bargaining power of suppliers, bargaining power of buyers and intensity of rivalry.Threat of the new entrants is the seriousness of the barriers occurred or presented by the existing competitors to the new entrants to enter the relevant industry o r market. A high threat of entry means that the new comers are likely to be attracted to the profits of the industry and can enter the market with ease. New entrants enter the market can threaten or decrease the profit gained by the existing competitors which mean high threat of entry will result the industry become more competitive. The glove industry has high threat of entrants as only RM1 million to RM1. millions is needed to start a line (CIMB Research Report, 2007). Cheap labor, low level of technology skills needed and natural gas access as well as the procurement price for latex due to bulk purchase making the barrier of entry high for the new entrants. However, although it is cheap to enter the industry, new comers may not be competitive as they have to differentiate themselves from other existing competitors and need to compete in terms of volume to enjoy the economies of scale. Moreover, threat of substitutes is the availability of product a consumer can purchase instead o f the industry’s product.The availability of close substitute products can make an industry more competitive and decrease the profitability of the particular market. The threat of substitutes for rubber glove industry is relatively low as the industry is dominated by the main 6 players, namely Top Glove, Supermax, Kossan Rubber, Hartalega, Latexx Partners and Adventa. Top Glove is the traditional industry leader but recent research showed that Hartalega has had taking on Top Glove in term of the success on the development of R&D (Research and Design) of Hartalega.The other reason for the low threat of substitutes is low rubber glove cost and making no incentives for the research house to find other alternatives. The bargaining power of suppliers explains the pressure the suppliers can exert on business by raising prices or reducing the quality of purchased goods and services. Powerful suppliers can squeeze the profitability out of an industry to recover cost increases in its own prices. (Pearce, 2012). The main raw material for rubber glove industry is latex.The steady easing in the price of latex since April 2011 and currently stable price appeared to be favorable to the glove manufacturers. Top Glove has ventured upstream into rubber plantations to secure a stable latex supply. Meanwhile, Kossan Rubber is concerning on the niche market that might get better margin, Supermax is putting effort on downstream distribution network and Hartalega is creating more values on its innovation technological of the production lines. So, the bargaining power of suppliers might be low as the results of effort that the glove manufacturers have putted.Furthermore, the bargaining power of buyers refers to the pressure the buyers can exert on business by force down the price, demand higher quality or more services and play competitors off against each other in term of the expense of industry profits. Strong buyers can pressure sellers to lower the prices for the products , improve products’ quality or offer better services. As mentioned just now, the substitutes for the rubber glove is low as the industry is dominated by the main six players. So, the bargaining power of buyer is tentatively low as well.It is because there is not much alternatives the buyers can choose to purchase. The buyers for glove industry are mainly as doctors or laboratory users. Lastly, intensity of rivalry explains to the extent to which firms within an industry put pressure on other competitors and limit their profit potential. High intensity of rivalry means competitors aggressively other competitors’ target and aggressively pricing products. The industry leader for rubber glove industry is always Top Glove where Hartalega is the world’s largest synthetic glove manufacturer.There is a high intensity of rivalry in the rubber glove industry. For instance, on the topic of labor costs with respect to the monthly minimum wages to be RM 900 in Peninsular Mal aysia and RM800 in Sabah and Sarawak, OSK Research Sdn Bhd. analyst Jerry Lee noted that Top Glove Corporation Bhd. might be the most impacted and Hartalega Holdings Bhd. is the least affected due to its innovation in automating its production lines. On this issue, Top Glove might be affected due to the ineffectiveness of handling the labor issue.It may affect its image of industry leader. As a conclusion, the threats of new entrants is high, threat of substitutes is low, bargaining power for both suppliers and buyers are low and there is high intensity of rivalry. So, the rubber glove manufacturing industry is attractive and still can earn good profit the 5 forces can be managed well by the relevant firms in the industry. 4. Operating Environment The operating environment describes the conditions, entities, events, and factors that surrounding the organization that will affect the choices and activities.A firm needs to depend on the operating environment because it will affect the organization in acquiring the needed resources or in term of profitability. The factors are the firm’s competitive position, the composition of its customers, its reputation among suppliers and creditors and its ability to attract qualified employees (Pearce, 2012). A firm’s competitive position explains the position of the particular firm in the relevant industry. It can be the leader industry or just a follower in the industry.By accessing the competitive position of the firm, the organization able to more accurately forecast both its short and long term growth and its profit potential. Hartalega is the world’s largest synthetic glove manufacturer where Top Glove is the industry leader in rubber glove industry. Although Hartalega is not the industry leader but it acquires sufficient resources and technology in generating more high quality gloves with its new automated production lines and glove removal system. And they are expert and have improved in R&D devel opment.The high efficiency production lines enable Hartalega to produce 40,000 pieces of gloves per hour per line, the highest among the industry where the glove removal system is capable of removing not only latex but also nitrile gloves up to a speed of 30,000 pieces of gloves per hour. These technologies make Hartalega to become the world’s largest synthetic glove manufacturer. Customer profile is the firm analyzes and identifies what type of the customers that the company served, what kind of customers they have and etc.The traditional approach of this factor is to segment the customers in term of geographic, demographic, psychographic and buyer behavior information (Pearce, 2012). This can allows the company to know the needs of each segment with ease and then satisfy their needs. The products that Hartalega offer are examination, surgical, laboratory, Clean Room Packed Class 100, Food Grade and so on. They also provide synthetic gloves to latex sensitive users from prot eins that may cause allergic reaction.Basically, the customers that Hartalega served are generally on the international market where Hartalega export their products to overseas to gain high profit. Medline, the largest manufacturer and distributor of healthcare supplies and services in US, is one for the two major customers of Hartalega. The next factor is the firm’s reputation among their suppliers. Firm regularly relies on its suppliers for financial support, services, resources and equipment. It is clearly seen that suppliers play an important role in determining an organization’s success or not.Hartalega has a strong reputation as the highest quality and lowest cost producer of nitrile gloves has enabled the firm to boost their sales every year. The financial support and resources that can be acquired from their suppliers are significant to the organization itself. Although the raw materials for produce the glove have increased which is latex, but Hartalega still c an manage to handle the situation by adjusting the price for the gloves. And the buyers can accept the adjustment in price that Hartalega made.That means the increase of price in raw material by the suppliers still can be acceptable by Hartalega and their buyers. Moreover, the reputation of the company does affect the reliability for their creditors. If the reputation of the organization is low, then the creditworthiness of the firm might be affected. That mean if the company is currently influence by negative rumors or news, probably the firm’s market share will be affected. Hartalega was affected by negative news which state that Hartalega was causing water and air pollution near Taman Suria, Batang Berjuntai in 2010.However, Hartalega has successful dismissed allegations of pollution where The Department of Environment (DOE) has claimed that Hartalega is complied with the Malaysian environment regulatory standard. This might affect the reputation and the creditworthiness o f Hartalega and might caused the market share decrease in this particular time frame. Other than that, Hartalega Chairman, Kuan Kam Hon claimed that Hartalega recorded revenue of RM931. 1 million, representing a significant 27% jump from RM734. million in the previous financial year while profit after tax increased to RM201. 4 million compared with RM190. 3 million for the last fiscal year. That means the company are currently gaining profit and they are able to implement a dividend policy which pay out minimum of 45% of the Group’s annual net profit as dividends to their shareholers. These few conditions showed that Hartalega are doing well in their business and able to earn profit in the industry. Lastly, the ability of the firm to attract capable employees is one of the components for the operating environment.The management for the human capital within the organization is vital for the organization to develop competitive advantage so that the organization can compete with their competitors. The organization needs to determine whether their workers or staffs are capable, skillful and experience or not. The more effective the management of human capital, the more easier the firm to achieve success in the industry. Hartalega has implemented a competitive remuneration package to their employees in order to recruit and retain performance centric individuals.They adopted several training programmes to encourage professional development and develop leadership skills among their employees such as Supervisor Development Programme and Group Leader Apprentice Programme. This programme is to invite talented students to learn the necessary skills and knowledge in manufacturing rubber gloves. The qualified students are able to become permanent workers for Hartalega. 5. Internal Analysis Value chain analysis is to understand how a business creates customer value by examining the contributions of different activities within the business to that value (Pearce II, J. A. , & Robinson, R. B. , Jr. , 2013). The value chain includes the primary activities and support activities. Primary activities involve inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing and sales, and service. Support activities involve general administration, human resource management, research, technology, and systems development, and procurement. First is inbound logistics. Hartalega adopted the global supply chain management for their company with the raw materials, components, and parts from all over the world. Latex plays an important in the Hartalega Company.Research analyst said the latex price rise soon. This situation will affect the Hartalega’s profit decrease. In the operations, Hartalega has high efficiency production lines. Hartalega from a beginning of a one line operation grow into a sizeable company of 43 production lines. They produce over 8 billion gloves annually. Hartalega is the highest speed production line in the industry. They can produce 40,000 pieces of gloves per hour per line. They never decrease the quality of gloves even though they produce the gloves at such high speed.Their programmable logic controls measured and acquired every critical parameter. It is communicated to the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition system and later fed to the Data Management System for trending and other analytical auditing. Third is outbound logistics. Customer can buy the product through the internet. Customers can order their products, make request and register to receive materials on some pages. Customers need to fill in their name, address email address and phone number only and submit to the Hartalega, and then Hartalega will deliver the product which is already order by customer to the ustomer. If the customer orders a gift online and they want Hartalega sent it directly to the recipient, customer need to submit the recipient’s address. In the marketing and sales, Hartalega is the largest producer of premium qual ity nitrile gloves in the world. They have good reputation as produce the nitrile gloves at the highest quality and lowest cost. It helped the Hartalega Company increase their sales during the year under review. Nowadays, many companies do their business in China and India. Hartalega also do their business in China and India.It is because these countries have high population figures. Demand from existing customers grows and Hartalega also try to attract new customers. Next is service. Hartalega receive some complaint about ammonia gas and chemical waste pollution. The Department of Environment (DOE) already checks the Hartalega’s factory and cleared glove manufacturer Hartalega Holdings of allegation pollution. Selangor DOE director Che Asmah Ibrahim said that Hartalega Holdings has compliance with the rule and regulation and they no need close the factory. General administration or management is one of the supportive activities.Profit margin of Hartalega has decrease compare d with the previous financial year. Although their profit margin decreases, they also maintain the highest margins in the sector globally. Although margins narrowed slightly, it is because of this foresight that we still achieved an absolute increase in our bottom line on year on year basis. Second supportive activity is procurement. Procurement is a part of inbound logistics or purchasing activities. Hartalega adopted the global supply chain management for their company with the raw materials, components, and parts from all over the world.Global supply chain management help the company compete all over the world and give company a competitive advantage. Company also can lower the supply chain cost if adopt the global supply chain management. Next is human resource management. Hartalega has implemented a competitive remuneration package to their employees in order to recruit and retain performance centric individuals. They also become the number one company for talent, they not only in the glove manufacturing sector but in the manufacturing sector large.Hartalega has provided several training programmes to encourage professional development and develop leadership skills among their employees such as Supervisor Development Programme and Group Leader Apprentice Programme. This programme is to invite talented students to learn the necessary skills and knowledge in manufacturing rubber gloves. The qualified students are able to become permanent workers for Hartalega. Last is research and development. Hartalega Company is focused on research and development (R&D). They highly focused on research and development because they want to ensure continuous product innovation.Research and development helps the Hartalega increase the barrier to entry. It is because the characteristics of synthetic nitrile, which needs careful R&D to ensure similar consistency to natural rubber gloves in terms of softness and elasticity. Besides that, R&D also helps the Hartalega successfull y reduced raw material usage per unit and do not decrease the product quality. They also have raised the bar with their various inventions and have far surpassed the industry due to their engineering capabilities in their manufacturing processes.Therefore, Hartalega highly focused on research and development because R&D helps Hartalega to benefit from maintaining the product quality at lower unit production costs, increases the barrier to entry, and the ability to reduce prices without affecting margins. Value chain analysis can helps Hartalega found the strength and weaknesses. First strength from Hartalega is company adopt the global supply chain management and it help the company lower the supply chain cost and give company a competitive advantage. Second is high efficiency production line.Third is customer can buy the product through the internet. Fourth is good reputation at the highest quality and lowest cost and it helping the Hartalega increase their sales. Next is Hartalega has provided several training programmes to encourage professional development and develop leadership skills among their employees. It helps Hartalega attract new employee and help their existing employee become more talented. Superior success in R&D activities leading to product innovative is strength from Hartalega. On the other hand, Hartalega also have some weaknesses.First is Hartalega receiving some complaint about ammonia gas and chemical waste pollution. Although Department of Environment said that Hartalega Holdings has compliance with the rule and regulation and they no need close the factory but it also influence the reputation of Hartalega. Another weakness is profit margin of Hartalega has decrease compared with the previous financial year. 6. Strategy Formulation TOWS Martix | Strengths 1. Global supply chain management 2. High efficiency production line 3.Online purchasing 4. Good reputation 5. Training programmes 6. Strongly R&D| Weaknesses 1. Receive compliant infl uence reputation 2. Profit margin decrease | Opportunities 1. Industry recognition 2. Global hospital suppliers and industrial laboratory 3. Synthetic glove | a) Strengths- Opportunities (SO) 1. Market development (S3, S4, O2) 2. Product development (S6, O2)| b) Weaknesses-Opportunities (WO) 1. Concentrated growth (W2, O2, O3)| Threats 1.High latex price 2. Government regulatory 3. High intensity of rivalry | c) Strengths – Threats (ST) 1. Innovation (S6,T3)| d) Weaknesses- Threats (WT) 1. Vertical Integration (W2, T1, T3)| a) Strengths-Opportunities Strategy (SO) SO strategy is using the firm’s internal strengths to take advantage of external opportunities. It is the most favourable situation which allows the firm to faces several environment opportunities and has numerous strengths that encourage pursuit of those opportunities (Pearce & Robinson, 2013). 1.Market development (S3, S4, O2) Hartalega have a good reputation as produce the nitrile at the highest quality an d lowest cost in the world and online purchasing. The main buyers for Hartalega are doctors or laboratory users. Therefore, Hartalega can use their main buyers as one of their company strengths to take advantage to global hospital supplies and industrial laboratory market. Hartalega able to offer the highest quality, lowest cost and at the same time they can provide variety types of gloves to hospitals and industrial laboratory.Besides that, customers around the world also can easily and convenience to make an order directly for the company website, this is because Hartalega had prepared the online purchasing method for their customer and business partners. These will make more and more hospitals and industrial laboratory around the world recognize and use Hartalega’s gloves. On the other hand, this method can help Hartalega to increase their sales and profit as well. 2. Product development (S6, O2) Hartalega is expert on their research and development (R&D).Therefore, Hartal ega can use this strength to develop more different types of gloves to attract more customers from global hospital supplier and industrial laboratory market. In addition, due to them expert in R&D, they not only focus the needs of the hospital and industrial laboratory, but also can try to satisfy the need for other different customer in order to help Hartalega to increase their market share also. So, they can come out different types of qualities of the product to fulfil different groups of the customers’ need. ) Weaknesses-Opportunity Strategy (WO) WO strategy is to improve company internal weaknesses by taking advantage of external opportunities. A firm faces an impressive market opportunity but is constrained by weak internal resources (Pearce & Robinson. 2013) 1. Concentrated growth (W2, O2, O3) Hartalega can increase their production of synthetic gloves and expand more into global hospital supplier and industrial laboratory market. This is because the costs of raw mater ial to produce synthetic glove is cheaper than latex (Hartalega, 2012).Therefore, Hartalega can major expansion of synthetic gloves to global hospital supplier and industrial laboratory market will help them substantial cost savings to counter price competition and overcome the profit margin (Hartalega, 2012). So, Hartalega can avoid the high rises of latex price. By avoiding fluctuation of latex price, their profit earned will be more stable and able to increase the profit too. c) Strengths-Threats Strategy (ST) ST strategy is using the firm’s strengths to avoid or reduce the impact of external threats.A firm that has identified several key strengths faces an unfavorable environment (Pearce & Robinson, 2013). 1. Innovation (S6, T3) As mention on above, R&D is the strength for Hartalega. Therefore, Hartalega can use this strength to create the barrier to entry. R&D can help Hartalega successfully to reduce raw material usage per unit and maintain the product quality and incre ase the barrier to entry. So, Hartalega can offer the cheaper price to their customer compare with their competitors such as Top Glove.Hartalega also keep on focusing on their R&D in order to develop more different types of innovation product and try to beat down their competitors and become the leader in the rubber glove industry. d) Weaknesses-Threats Strategy (WT) WT strategy is a defensive tactics aimed at reducing internal weakness and avoid external threats. This is the least favorable situation, with the firm facing major environment threats from a weak resource position (Pearce & Robinson, 2013). 1. Vertical Integration (W2, T1, T3) Nowadays, the price for one of the raw material to produce glove which is latex is keep on rising.This situation was affected Hartalega’s profit to decrease. Therefore, Hartalega can benchmark other companies’ product and make a comparison on how other competitors performs their product activity effectively. This is useful to Hartal ega to improve the management control. The objective of benchmarking is to identify the best practices in performing an activity and learn how to down the costs of the raw material, less defects, or other outcomes related to excellence achieved (Pearce & Robinson, 2013). Hartalega can apply backward vertical integration to control their raw material price.For example, Hartalega can follow its competitor which is Top gloves has ventured upstream into the rubber plantation to secure a stable latex supply. 7. Recommendation A competitive advantage is an advantage over competitors gained by offering consumers greater value, either by means of lower prices or by providing greater benefits and service that justifies higher prices. (Riley, 2012) Differentiation is one of the most practical ways in which Hartalega can gain advantage over other competitors in the rubber gloves industry.Differentiation can be achieved by Hartalega through high quality, efficient low cost manufacturing of glov es. Hartalega is recommend to continuously enhance their flexibility and efficiency in their production process scheduling, saving more time, employees efforts and the company’s money. Besides that, Hartalega needs to ensure all operations from the top to bottom must run efficiently by adopting programmable logic controller able to the monitoring of the operation automatically and promote continuous production that help in increase production and minimize cost.Hartalega should focus on customers’ satisfaction because it had placed a lot of emphasis in R&D to produce a wide and diversified range of high quality and value-added glove products in order to fulfil the expectation of their customers. The company also collaborates closely with related government agencies and Ministries to keep itself abreast of the latest development in rubber research technology. Hartalega also can uses state-of-art technology and efficient automatic glove manufacturing machine to obtain the highest yield and to remain as one of the most cost-effective and highest quality producer in the industry.With all these advantages and strategies, Hartalega is able to compete and stand out in the industry. For the Goods and Service Design, Hartalega can print instructions and methods of wearing gloves on the packaging. Besides, Hartalega can focus on detailed product design such as creating innovative glove with functions and amenity features for all type range of gloves use in surgical and clinical practice and operation.In addition, Hartalega products packaging must provide with its product outlook and description that meet the preferences of their customer across different countries and cultures. Concerning fluctuation price on raw material, Hartalega needs to find multiple sources of raw materials to avoid high fluctuation of cost on raw materials. Therefore, Hartalega is recommended to invest more and expand their own rubber plantation acreage, this would reduce their depen dence on raw rubber from other suppliers.Hartalega has to maintain and enhance its products and operation quality endlessly, therefore, Hartalega always needs to audit their operation and the product quality control to ensure low / no defects in their production based on the Six Sigma and Total Quality Management procedure. On the other hand, Hartalega needs to review foreign countries’ Acceptable Quality Level to improve in their company’s quality management system (Bheda, 2010) Perhaps, Hartalega needs to adopt total quality management or R&D on high quality latex to ensure producing high quality products that meet their customer expectation.In conclusion, each key analysis and discussion on Hartalega manufacturing operation will help in understanding and makes improvement from each operation processes based on the studies of latest operation management system. With this, Hartalega will be able to maintain or strengthen each of its manufacture’s operation and its products positioning in the world market.

Compassion fatigue in nursing and how it relates to home health nurses Essay

Compassion fatigue in nursing and how it relates to home health nurses Introduction                   Compassion fatigue is the psychological, spiritual, and bodily exhaustion of nurses, especially those that provide care to patients suffering from high levels of physical and emotional pain (Anewalt, 2009). The phenomenon has been reported in many specialized lines of nursing care, including emergency care, cancer care RNs and casualty staffs (Lombardo & Eyre, 2011). Compassion fatigue has been commonly reported in Care giving nurses, as a unique burnout that limits their ability to show compassion or perform excellently in other spheres of care delivery. The phenomenon of compassion fatigue has been commonly reported among the nurses that provide care at home, especially where the nurse feels that they are not able to stop the pain of their patient (Yoder, 2010). The feelings of being desperate about the inability to manage or halt the suffering of the patient trigger the feelings of distress and guilt among the doctors and patients (Ward-Griffin, St-Am ant & Brown, 2011). This paper will explore the phenomenon of compassion fatigue among the nurses that provide care at home, and the relevance of the subject to nursing practice. Significance and background of Study                   There have been concerns that the nurses that provide home health care to parents, relatives, and friends, especially those providing care to their aging parents are more vulnerable to compassion fatigue. From the Canadian and the US environment, observations include that the years of many nurses have been increasing. The increment of the average nurse’s age further implies advancements in the mean years of their parents. The advancing age of parents and relatives increases their burden of delivering home health care (Aiken, 2007; Newson, 2010). There has also been growing threat that the personal balance between the responsibilities of carrying out their duties at the hospital and caring for their aging parents has been a major issue for healthcare organizations.                   Unfortunately, there are no statistics showing the prevalence of double-duty delivery of care among these nurses. In the current study, the phenomenon of double-duty is conceptualized as working in a healthcare organization or setting, and then offering care at home, to parents or other relatives. However, the studies in the area, give indications that between one-third and half the number of nurses care for their aging relatives and friends (Ward-Griffin et al., 2009). Taking into account that the problem of an aging nursing population and the necessity to provide care to aging relatives correspond with one another. It became apparent that studying the issue of compassion fatigue was necessary (Ward-Griffin et al., 2009; Hsu, 2010). The problem of compassion fatigue in care delivery                   Compassion fatigue is often the effect of finding distinctive constraints in the way of care delivery, whether the limitations are of a psychological, institutional or personal nature (Epstein & Hamric, 2009). These constraints are those that are likely to hinder the process of care delivery, because they inhibit the capacity to do what is considered morally right. One of the individual-based manifestations of the phenomenon includes the feelings of anger, aggravation and guilt/ self-blame, at being unable to deliver maximum care of the sickly or aged patients at home. The root causes of the problem in a nurse’s work and professional life include the self-professed violation of professional or individual-based responsibilities and core values. The problem is usually overtly expressed or manifested, whenever it coincides with the experience of being inhibited from taking the decision and/or action that is thought of, as ethically appropriate.                   From a personal point of view, as a nursing practitioner, the principal values that I feel that I must devote myself to, including my God, family, work, and community. Among the four top focal points that demand my attention emotionally and physically, I have the inherent feeling that is serving the requirements of God and my family are the first priorities, because these social spheres are irreplaceable. The delivery of service to my workplace and the community is different, in that it is a personal choice. For example, it is personal, whether I am satisfied with the work offered by a healthcare facility. The same situation applies to the community of residence because the lack of satisfaction with the social fabric or the values of one society can be solved by moving into another one. One of the unfortunate events that demonstrated the experience of compassion fatigue, was the case that forced me to call in an oncologist friend, so that she could deliv er care to my mother, after I was called in for an emergency at the healthcare centre (McCarthy & Deady, 2008). After being called for the emergency duty, I tried to avoid the task so that I could deliver care to her, but it was unfortunate that the hospital reported having attempted to reach other nurses unsuccessfully.                   At that point, the decision and the emotional turmoil resulted from the feelings that I would be turning away from delivering the best care that I wanted my mother to receive. The home health (personal) responsibility also had to be balanced off with the need to provide care to the at-risk patient facing the risk of death at the hospital. At the end of the ordeal, I had to call the friend, so that she could check on my mother, as I rushed to the hospital to save the patient under emergency care (McCarthy & Deady, 2008). The phenomenon has also been apparent in the cases where I have had to be called in for the facility, while delivering care to the home health clients that have contacted me to offer care outside my official hours of work (Hamric & Blackhall, 2007). Knowledge development around the problem of Compassion fatigue                   In order to continue to develop knowledge for practice improvement in this core area of service delivery, I will explore the fields of nursing that are at higher risks of suffering from compassion fatigue. One of the studies that have been instrumental, and one that will continue to be, is that by Bourassa (2009). The study pointed out that some nursing groups are more vulnerable. The groups that are at a higher risk of suffering from compassion fatigue include social workers, support staff for the victims of domestic violence, oncologists, genetic consultation nurses, and palliative care nurses (Bourassa, 2009). Through the study of the various fields of nursing care delivery, I discovered that they all share some common characteristics, including that they are caregivers for vulnerable groups. The sources of the compassion fatigue are that they all tend to internalize the suffering of the patients suffering from life-threatening conditions and the abus es experienced by the victims of ill-treatment. Other groups that are at high levels of vulnerability to developing compassion fatigue include those that deliver care to helpless patients. These lines of nursing care include those working in the conditions of mental care; end-of-life and pediatrician care (McCarthy & Deady, 2008).                   Towards developing more knowledge and exposure in the professional skills and the discipline needed to deal with the problem of compassion fatigue, I have enrolled in courses on compassion fatigue. Apart from starting a course on compassion fatigue, with the Traumatology Institute, I have joined their professional network, which offers its members with updated information from practice-based research and changing practice dynamics (Traumatologyinstitute, 2014). Further, from a study done by Potter and colleagues (2013), it was found that the training and development delivered through compassion fatigue hardiness courses were effective in increasing a nurse’s knowledge stock. More importantly, the study reported that the programs were effective in improving the nurse’s ability to counter the adverse effects of compassion fatigue. The findings of the study showed that secondary trauma effects reduced drastically, immediately after starting th e resiliency training. Therefore, this will be another important source of education and development, as well as knowledge development for more advanced care delivery. The measures of progress will be the number of training hours accessed, and the scores attained on a variety of scales. This includes the â€Å"IES-R (Impact of Event Scale-Revised) and the ProQOL (professional Quality of Life† levels (Potter et al., 2013). The ProQOL measurement model will be the most critical test, and the analysis tool is included as an appendix at the end of this paper (Baranowsky & Gentry, 2010). Outside resources for knowledge development                   Evaluation of a compassion fatigue resiliency program for oncology nurses. Oncol Nurs Forum, 40 (2), by Potter and colleagues will be an imperative resource for improving my knowledge of compassion fatigue and updated care models. The source will be very helpful because it has reported the effectiveness of resiliency training, which is an important piece of my quality improvement plan.                   The Traumatology Institute, apart from being the provider of the courses I plan to take, on compassion fatigue is paramount. The benefits to be enjoyed from being a member of the institute include that I will get access to their periodic publications, which reported evidence and practice-based findings and information (Traumatologyinstitute, 2014). Potential barriers to knowledge development                   The first primary hindrance is lacking enabling resources and structures. For example, at the health facility I am attached to, there are no resources that can offer useful information on compassion fatigue (Shariff, 2014). The second barrier is monetary, because my finances will limit me from joining more professional institutions and courses like Traumatology Institute. Conclusion                   Compassion fatigue has been defined in many ways, but its key features are psychological and physical exhaustion, due to the provision of care to patients or groups suffering from high levels of pain and suffering. The phenomenon is common among oncologists among other lines of nursing. The issue is crucial to my practice, as a nurse, because I often encounter conflicts between caring for my family and meeting professional demands. Towards the expansion of the knowledge developed around the issue of compassion fatigue, I have joined a learning institution and will be self-administering tests to gauge my levels of compassion fatigue. References Aiken, L. (2007). U.S. Nurse Labor Market Dynamics Are Key to Global Nurse Sufficiency. Health Serv Res, 42 (3 PT 2), 1299-1320. Anewalt, P. (2009). Fired up or burned out? Understanding the importance of professional boundaries in home health care hospice. Home Healthcare Nurse, 27 (10), 591-597. Baranowsky, A.B., & Gentry, E.J. (2010). Trauma Practice, Tools for Stabilization and Recovery (2nd Ed). Oxford: Hogrefe Publishing. Bourassa, D.B. (2009). Compassion fatigue and the adult protective services social worker. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 52, 215-229. Epstein, E., & Hamric, A. (2009). Moral Distress, Moral Residue, and the Crescendo Effect. J Clin Ethics, 20 (4), 330-342. Hamric, A. B., & Blackhall, L. J. (2007). Nurse-Physician Perspectives on the Care of Dying Patients in Intensive Care Units: Collaboration, Moral Distress, and Ethical Climate. Critical Care Medicine, 35 (2), 422-429. Hsu, J. (2010). The relative efficiency of public and private service delivery. World Health Report (2010) Background Paper, 39, 4-9. Lombardo, B., & Eyre, C. (2011). Compassion Fatigue: A Nurse’s Primer. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 16(1), 1-8. McCarthy, J., & Deady, R. (2008). Moral Distress Reconsidered. Nursing Ethics, 15(2), 254-262. Newson, R. (2010). Compassion fatigue: Nothing left to give. Nursing Management, 41(4), 42-45. Potter, P., Deshields, T., Berger, J. A., Clarke, M., Olsen, S., & Chen, L. (2013). Evaluation of a compassion fatigue resiliency program for oncology nurses. Oncol Nurs Forum, 40(2), 180-7. Shariff, N. (2014). Factors that act as facilitators and barriers to nurse leaders’ participation in health policy development. BMC Nursing, 13, 20. Traumatologyinstitute. (2014). Compassion Fatigue Courses. Traumatology Institute. Retrieved from: http://psychink.com/training-courses/compassion-fatigue-courses/Ward-Griffin, C., St-Amant, O., & Brown, J., (2011). Compassion Fatigue within Double Duty Caregiving: Nurse-Daughters Caring for Elderly Parents. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 16(1), 1-9. Ward-Griffin, C., Keefe, J., Martin-Matthews, A., Kerr, M., Brown, J.B., & Oudshoorn, A. (2009). Development and validation of the double duty caregiving scale. Canadian Journal of Nursing Research, 41(3), 108-128. Yoder, E. (2010). Compassion fatigue in nurses. Applied Nursing Research, 23,191-197. Source document

People of Europe v.s. Napoleon Bonaparte Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

People of Europe v.s. Napoleon Bonaparte - Essay Example The reason behind such an exile to the island of St. Helena instead of Elba has been the fear of his return to the continent again. It is essential to remember that it was the dissatisfaction of the French people about the rule by the alliance of the Great Powers which helped the return of Napoleon to the land and it is essential to regard the interest of the people of France regarding the current decision to expel him to the island of St. Helena. In other words, it is unjustifiable to expel Napoleon Bonaparte the island of St. Helena against the interests of the French people who made the way for his return to France from the exile to Elba. "Napoleon was exiled to the island of Elba, where he was sovereign ruler for 10 months. But as the alliance of the Great Powers broke down during the Congress of Vienna and the French people became dissatisfied with the restored royalists, Napoleon made plans to return to power. Sailing from Elba on February 26, 1815, with 1,050 soldiers, Napoleo n landed in southern France and marched unopposed to Paris, where he reinstated himself on March 21." (Biographical Sketch: Napoleon Bonaparte).

Instruction and Student Learning Research Paper

Instruction and Student Learning - Research Paper Example One essential element that needs to be carefully monitored is the curriculum and instruction of the school. It is evident that any curriculum definition one way or another puts emphasis on the learning process, gained knowledge and skills, subject content and students’ comprehensive learning experience. In designing an appropriate course curriculum, an essential process needs to be considered including which curriculum model is most suitable for the needs of the learner. The process of learning is as important as the content learned (Newby 2005). One of the most traditional and most commonly used models is â€Å"content or syllabus-based†. Blenkin et al (1992) suggest that curriculum is delineated into subjects and delivered through a bulk of knowledge-content. Education, he states, is the route where these can be transferred to students using efficient teaching and learning methods. This type of curriculum emphasizes students attending schools to learn subject-specific facts. It also helps to use this model in assessment process where students, according to their gained qualification can be grouped in to high and low achievers. Schools at present may have similar goals of optimizing students’ learning and maximizing their potentials but may have differing philosophies, approaches and educational strategies in fulfilling these goals. â€Å"Predictably, the traditional teacher-centered model in which knowledge is â€Å"transmitted† from teacher to learner is rapidly being replaced by alternative models of instruction (e.g., learner-centered, constructivist, and sociocultural ideas) in which the emphasis is on guiding and supporting students as they learn to construct their understanding of the culture and communities of which they are a part (Brown et al., 1993; Duffy & Cunningham, 1996; Pea, 1993). In the process of shifting our attention to the constructive activity of the learner, we recognize the need to anchor learning in real-w orld or authentic contexts that make learning meaningful and purposeful. â€Å" (Bonk & Cunningham, 1998, p.27) Constructivist theory is gaining more attention, recognition and acceptance in many educational institutions. It premises on the belief that learners â€Å"construct† their own learning, and in effect, have better retention of it. In the Constructivist theory the emphasis is placed on the learner or the student rather than the teacher or the instructor.   It is the learner who interacts with objects and events and thereby gains an understanding of the features held by such objects or events.   The learner, therefore, constructs his/her own conceptualizations and solutions to problems.   Learner autonomy and initiative is accepted and encouraged (Van Ryneveld, n.d., n.p.). Teachers come up with several strategies in capturing their students’ attention, and courses are offered in helping educators become more efficient in imparting knowledge and skills t o their pupils. No longer do they limit their teaching strategies to boring lectures, dizzying written and oral examinations and students’ delivery of memorized answers to expected questions. Teaching aids have likewise expanded from using flashcards, blackboard demonstrations and textbooks to more concrete materials like actual 3-dimensional objects, dioramas and multimedia materials. Activities are likewise evolving to be more

TOBACCO COMPANIES AND PRODUCT SAFETY Assignment

TOBACCO COMPANIES AND PRODUCT SAFETY - Assignment Example Thus it is very important to set a strict code of business or marketing ethics for every company in order to avoid the existence of unethical behavior within the business operations. This is also applicable in the selling of the products or services involving the behavior of the salesman (Carroll and Buchholtz, 2009). Deregulation within various industries has raised the scope of committing unethical activities which in turn have resulted in intense competition between all the companies within the industry. It is the competitive pressure mixed with the uncertainty in the existence which has resulted in compromising with the business ethics by the organizations (Barnett, 2007). There are a large number of evidences claiming that many organizations have violated the ethical rules and regulations within last few years. As the buyers cannot identify or evaluate the purchasing variables or purchasing criteria, it results in giving possible chances for the markets to conduct various unethi cal activities at an increasing rate (Carroll and Shabana, 2010). Because of the unethical activities the organizations seek to achieve short term profits but in a broader aspect it negatively impacts the image, goodwill or reputation of the organization. The organizations that were suspected of performing various unethical activities had also to suffer from the legal terms. The businesses generally perform these sorts of unethical activities for achieving their short term goals or objectives, but there are evidences which claim that it declines their reputation in each and every sphere. The unethical activities might be conducted by the marketers in different manner. They might be providing misleading information to the customers in order to persuade them in their purchasing decisions (Curwen and Whalley, 2005). Another example of performance of unethical activities includes charging higher prices for lower quality of products or services. Thus it can be said that one organization conducts its business performance by unethical means in order to achieve short term profits and they face the consequences hampering their reputation in the latter part (Friedman, 2004). The case study deals with the unethical activities conducted by the tobacco producing companies in United States. It represents how the companies neglected the standards set by the department of justice i.e. DOJ in United States. According to the district judge, if DOJ could prove that the big tobacco producing companies are performing deceptive activities for their short term profit seeking purpose, then they would be penalized strictly and have to pay a heavy amount of money. This paper would be highlighting the moral or ethical issues related to the selling of products or services in the market. The responsibilities or duties of an organization towards its organization are very significant. Theories or literatures would be reviewed for strengthening the entire arguments made in this paper. The pa per would be finding the key issues that might be taken into consideration while solving the case study. It would be starting with an introduction about the duties and responsibilities of an organization towards its consumers. Duties of the Companies There is a big procedure involved in the offering of products or services to the consumers. An organization has to handle a large number of duties for dealing with

New Business Propsal Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

New Business Propsal - Research Paper Example This strategy will enable the company to easily capture the older Chinese people. In general, fruits are good for the health. Therefore, it is a good business strategy to develop a wide-range of combined fruit juices to enable the company attracts a large population of health conscious individuals living in China. Executive Summaries and Business Pro Forma Executive summaries and business pro formas is about studying the market demand and analyzing the actual cost of establishing a business (The City of Victoria, 2011). In general, drafting an executive summaries and business pro formas is important part of designing a business proposal since the process of going through the proposed business plan would give the business owner a better insight whether or not the proposed business idea is feasible or not. Specifically the population of China is one of the highest around the world. As of July 2010, the total population in China is a little more than 1.3 billion (Central Intelligence Ag ency, 2011a). Regardless of gender and sexual orientation, the target consumer for this product is between the age brackets of 15 – 64 years old is 72.1% of China’s entire population or close to 965 million individuals (ibid). Aside from having a very low unemployment rate with only 4.3% as of the last quarter of 2010, makes the idea to operate the business in China more feasible and lucrative as compared to doing the business in the United Kingdom (Central Intelligence Agency, 2011b). To make the proposed fruit-, tea-, and coffee-based smoothies reach the target consumers in China, I intend to penetrate the target consumers by initially renting out a small booth or stalls in different malls in Shanghai. In line with this, the top 10 malls in Shanghai China which I intend to establish a small booth or stalls include: Carrefour, No. 1 Department Store, Friendship Store, Grand Gateway Mall, Orient Department Store, Plaza 66, Shanghai Westgate Shopping Mall, Super Brand M all, Westgate Mall, and Yaxin Plaza (World Guides, 2011). Aside from making it easier for me to pull out the stalls in areas wherein the volume of target consumers who will be purchasing fruit-, tea-, and coffee-based smoothies is low, one of the reasons why it is necessary to start the business in a small-scale includes cheaper rental fees and lower manpower cost. By cutting down the daily operational cost in each mall, it is possible for me to take advantage of economies of scale and easily make the brand name be known to the public consumers. When managing the proposed business, it is very important on my part to reach the level higher than the break-even point. By reaching the break-even point, it means that I will not incur either business profit or loss. When computing for the break-even point, it is important to determine the variable and fixed operational expenses. Regardless of whether or not the total volume of sales is high, the fixed operational cost is referring to fix expenses which I should pay each month. On the other hand, variable costs include expenses which may accumulate depending on the demand for the proposed product. The minimum monthly wage in Shanghai, Beijing and Tianjin China is 1,120 yuan or 11 yuan per hour

Job resume Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Job resume - Essay Example Excellent communication skills, good negotiation skills, passion in travelling, fluency in English and the ability to undertake difficult responsibilities are some of the plus points which made me suitable for this profession. Apart from marketing skills, in my opinion, a marketing professional needs management skills and the ability to work in a team. My diverse experiences in Bobby Brown Cosmetic Shop, Samsung life insurance and Oriental Spoon Restaurant have added more value to my leadership, marketing and management skills. It is difficult to market a product using the same marketing strategy all over the world. Each market has its own identity and characteristics because of the cultural, social, political and economical differences. In other words, custom made marketing strategies are necessary for each market. Korea is one of the rapidly developing economies in the world even amidst tensions with the neighboring countries like North Korea. In United States, FedEx has succeeded in monopolizing the logistics market whereas in Korea same thing cannot be said about FedEx. I have studied many of the marketing strategies of the FedEx in America and I think I can implement those strategies in Korea with a little bit of fine tuning. Currently, FedEx failed to deliver even in-state deliveries on the same day of shipping in Korea (Max). But in United States the case is different. In fact same day delivery of goods made FedEx the number one logistics company in United States. In my opinion, FedEx should try to deliver as much as goods on the same day of shipping in Korea also in order to become the market leader there. I have an extensive 150 days marketing plan for my Korea operations if succeeded in getting a marketing profession in FedEx. If FedEx provides me an opportunity to work in Korea, I will use the initial 30 days for studying the market. Market study is

The importance of Auditing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The importance of Auditing - Essay Example The research paper is specifically meant to explore the reasons why developing countries in particular often fail to meet their expectations in terms of economic development. As such, the hypothesis for the research is: "Implementing better regulated auditing systems with severe consequences for not passing the audit will help developing countries to improve their economic development and avoid widespread corruption." Along with this hypothesis, the methods for data collection that will be mainly used include qualitative research. This will be mainly comprised of secondary data obtained from published literature such as journals as well as other official documents in the same area of study. The main advantage of using secondary research for this particular research is that the data going to be used is authentic. This data would have been validated in other previous studies. One of the reasons for the financial success of developed countries is their reliance on strict auditing practices. However, one of the reasons for the financial problems of many developing countries is lack of regulation of auditing system. Developing countries fail to apply the right plans for developing because they depend on accounting and neglect the auditing systems. By not involving auditing systems in the process, the range of corruption will increase. Unfortunately, accounting and auditing systems or procedures of developing countries are currently struggling to keep pace with those of the developed nations because they were specifically designed to meet the needs of centrally planned economy and not globalized economies (Prather-Kinsey, 2006). Therefore, the accounting systems lack uniformity as well as accounting standards because they are applied differently across industries and sectors. The auditing and accounting systems normally set clear objectives of providing accounting information related to tax, statistics, and financial

Access to Higher Education Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Access to Higher Education - Assignment Example umber of domestic students under two scenarios 2006-2021 by capital city Available at: http://www.universityworldnews.com/filemgmt_data/files/AUR_51-01_Birrell_Edwards.pdf Some of those recommendations include reducing the cost of access to higher education, strengthening the domestic universities to provide quality education to Australian citizens. In addition, due to the inequality level in accessing education especially among people from the lower socio-economic class, the government should aim at empowering these people to enable them compete favourably with the other social classes for positions in the universities. Discussion of the contributing factors Higher education in Australia has been faced with many challenges, these challenges have led to low enrolment in the universities and consequently a small population of the country has graduate qualifications. Some of the factors that have caused the low levels of university enrolments include the following. 1. The high cost of education- One challenge that makes increase in access of higher education hard to achieve is the cost implication that comes with it (Chen & St John, 2011, p23). The cost of acquiring a degree is very high in the country such that not everyone in the society can be able to match. This high cost of acquiring a degree is a challenge especially to individuals in the lower socio-economic class (Harmon 2010, p. 75). Very often, you will find needy students that are very bright but cannot afford to further their studies. The only hope for these students is either to find a sponsor or the government loans and grants provided by governments. The very bright ones are at an advantage because they are likely to receive sponsorship or even get free education from some universities that do this as part... The assignment "Access to Higher Education" investigates access to higher education in Australia. This paper also discusses the causes of the problems that are faced in the country, their origin and the solutions that be implemented to improve the accessibility to higher education in this country. The government of Australia has been putting policies to ensure that raises the number of adults who have a university degree to 40 per cent by the year 2025. However, several challenges stand in the way of government and attaining this dream of realizing the increased number of university graduates. Such problems include the high cost of university education, the attitudes of the people, preferential treatment of some people by the universities, commercialisation of education, which has led to university graduates not being fully equipped to enable work competitively in the job market. In order to deal with these problems in the Australian higher education, this report has given some recommendations that can improve the accessibility of higher education and help the government to attain the target of increasing the number of adult graduates to 40 per cent. Some of those recommendations include reducing the cost of access to higher education, strengthening the domestic universities t o provide quality education to Australian citizens. Due to the inequality level in accessing education, the government should aim at empowering these people to enable them to compete with the other social classes.

Types of foodservice operation in healthcare facilities Research Paper

Types of foodservice operation in healthcare facilities - Research Paper Example There are four major types of food service operation alternatives for foodservice directors who seek to change foodservice systems to enhance quality control; these include conventional service, commissary, ready prepared, and assembly-serve food service (Food Product flow, n.d). Foodservice has a number of special characteristics that make it unique to production of other products, and this uniqueness influences decisions concerning production and service; in this regard, foodservice directors choose foodservice operations based on the uniqueness of the foodservice. Different foodservice operations offer solutions to some of the challenges such as scheduling employees and production, difficulty in staffing, and high labor and food costs that emerge from the unique characteristics of foodservice. Conventional food service Conventional foodservice system is the foodservice system that entails assembling ingredients and producing food onsite/location, held at appropriate temperatures, either heated or chilled, and served to customers (Types of Food Service Operations, n.d); also, foods are prepared closest to meal times as possible and the food is purchased all along the food processing continuum. Conventional foodservice is the foodservice system used extensively in schools, restaurants, colleges and universities, and cafeterias, but many of these conventional foodservice systems are increasingly using more and more food products from the complete end of the food-processing continuum because of the current labor shortfall affecting them today. Advantages of conventional foodservice system include high degree of perceived quality because it makes people think of fresh homemade foods, flexibility in menu items because food is prepared and served instantly thus food quality is uncompromised, in addition to, the ability to use traditional standardized recipes that need little or no need of modifications at all (Foodservice Systems, n.d). Disadvantages of conventiona l foodservice include intensive labor demand because more labor must be scheduled to meet high demands of food at peak times, higher food costs due to less control of portion sizes or wastages, less control over food safety due to inconsistences in staff adherence to standard operating procedures. Commissary foodservice Commissary foodservice, also known as centralized foodservice, is the system of foodservice where food production is centralized and food is transferred to satellite locations that act as receiving kitchens where food is then served to customers (Foodservice Systems, n.d). In this system of foodservice, food items are bought near the non-end of the food-processing continuum and food is prepared in the central kitchen exclusively thereby reducing costs considerably. In addition, the system takes advantage of economies of scale, low labor costs, and is best utilized in the airline industries, large restaurant corporations and a number of schools. Advantages of commissa ry foodservice include lower food and supply costs due to purchasing food supplies in large quantities, great purchasing power, improved ingredient control that decreases food costs, and effective inventory control to issue foods in appropriate quantities, lower labor costs, and high flexibility in scheduling of food preparation. Disadvantages of

19th and 20th Century Gender Expectations in Literature Essay Example for Free

19th and 20th Century Gender Expectations in Literature Essay The late 19th century produced a myriad of successful authors, poets and play-writes that often incorporated the local customs, traditions and expectations of the time (and perhaps their own experiences) into their work. A fact of the times, even into early 20th century, is that women were not equal to men and the expectations of women were not equal as well. This point will be illustrated by comparative analysis of two separate forms of literature: Tristan Bernard’s humorous play I’m Going! A Comedy in One Act, and Kate Chopin’s short story â€Å"The Story of an Hour. † Authors can use plays, stories or poems to bring us into their world, and through imagination we can connect with them, if only briefly, and enjoy their point of view and what they are trying to convey. Through their writing, they are actually giving us a look at history and through that snapshot of time we can see the differences between society’s expectations then and now. Tristan Bernard’s (1866-1947) I’m Going! A Comedy in One Act (1915), (Clugston, 2010a), is a play set in Paris about a married couple (Henri and Jeanne) who on a Sunday morning are trying to decide how they are going to spend their day. Henri wants to go to the races but he wants Jeanne to stay home, though she wants to go with him, or to see her friend (Clugston, 2010a). The theme of the play is one of distrust and manipulation, as each truly wants to spend the day on their own, and at the end of the play that is exactly what they do (Clugston, 2010a). See more: Analysis of Starbucks coffee company employees essay In this play, Bernard uses the setting of the stage and symbolism to convey to the audience a sense of separate desires of the couple starting with the opening scene when Henri and Jeanne enter and sit on opposite sides of the room (Clugston, 2010a). Bernard, in fact, used symbolism in many of his works, and exploited the psychoanalytical technique to draw his dramas together (Degasse, 2008). What one really has to look through the mist to see, however, is how Bernard incorporates society’s expectations (or double standard) of women in  Paris (and throughout the world, really), though in a humorous and dramatic style, into the play. One has to keep in mind that the male audience of that time probably had the same attitude and beliefs as the character Henri, and though it may have been viewed as right or wrong, women were expected to be subservient and obedient while the male was allowed further freedoms. Henri wants to goes to the races alone, and ultimately, that is what he does while Jeanne stays home, but let us look deeper at the play and uncover the nuances that show the inequality of the times and how Bernard conveys that conviction. After Henri and Jeanne’s initial entrance and they set down, the first thing that happens is Henri makes a comment about how every Sunday the weather is nice until noon, then its cloudy and rainy or there is an advancing thunderstorm (Clugston, 2010a). This verbal observation of the weather may be a metaphor and actually provide two meanings; one is that it is in fact rainy and Henri is setting a negative atmosphere for Jeanne who expects him to take her out for the day, and the other could be the weekly Sunday dilemma of Henri trying to go to the races without Jeanne. The rainy, or soon to be, day also sets a tone of despair, but provides Henri with an excuse to go to the races alone and save him and his wife the additional cost of a carriage in order to avoid the rain, and additional cost of a ladies ticket (Clugston, 2010a). In truth, it is just a manipulation of the circumstances for Henri to try to dissuade Jeanne in joining him at the races (Clugston, 2010a). Then in Bernard’s I’m Going, A Comedy in One Act (1915), Henri recommends a promenade (a walk) with his wife instead of accompanying him to the races and Jeanne responds â€Å"Yes, up the Champs-Elysees together! And have you looking daggers at me all the time! Whenever I do go with you, you’re always making disagreeable remarks. † Henri responds with â€Å"Because you are in a bad humor – you’ll never give me your arm. † (Jeanne called him on his bluff, because he really doesn’t want to take a walk either), (cited in Clugston, 2010a, 1. 1. 26-29). She has no real intention of going for a walk with him as she did not intend to go to the races, but does not want to see him go alone to the races and enjoy himself alone, either. This is another example of manipulation; her manipulating him and vice versa, and starts the back and forth farce of both supposedly wanting to spend the day together when they really do not (Clugston, 2010a). When Jeanne decides Henri can go to the races alone because she intends to go see a friend, Henri decides he will stay at home and not go to the races (Clugston, 2010a). This is an obvious representation of the husband not trusting the wife, and even though she has given sanction to him to proceed, he abandons all intentions to leave because of his suspicion of her meeting with her friend and also perhaps meeting another man. The deception between both characters is obvious at this point in the play but not obviously clear as to why. Though we know by this point that Henri’s intention has always been to go to the races alone, it is not yet clear why Jeanne reacts the way she does. Is it that she is abused, or expected to stay home alone while Henri goes to the races, or does she have her own nefarious agenda, or both? Finally, and after much back and forth ruse of both characters, Jeanne decides to stay at home alone and lets Henri leave for the races alone, only to delight in the fact that she can spend her afternoon working on hats and enjoying chocolate at home as detailed immediately after Henri departs for the races in Bernard’s I’m Going! A Comedy in One Act (1915), (cited by Clugston, 2010a, 1. 1. 81-185): (Waits for a moment, listens, and hears the outer door close, then rises, and goes to the door at the back. She speaks to someone off-stage) Marie, don’t go before you get me a large cup of chocolate. Bring two rolls, too. Oh, and go at once to my room and bring me my box of ribbons and those old hats. (She comes down- stage, and says beaming) What fun I’ll have trimming hats! Throughout this play Jeanne is expected by Henri to stay at home while he enjoys the afternoon alone, and despite the opposition Jeanne gives him, she eventually desists and Henri has his way while she is left at home. This is an excellent example of how women were treated by their husbands then as compared to how most men and women interact today. There was probably no other recourse for the character Jeanne but to resolve herself to some enjoyment at home with her hats, and chocolate, and rolls. It could be argued that that is what she wanted all along, that she only wanted a reassurance that her husband loved her, but probably not, more than likely she simply had no other choice than to occupy her Sunday alone as best as she could and succumb to her husband’s wishes. There stands some ambiguity as to whether they really love each other, or if Jeanne is simply stuck and cannot get out of the situation she is in. Sixteen years earlier than the play by Tristan Bernard discussed above, but in the same era of male dominance, Kate Chopin (1850-1904) wrote several short stories and novels which also depict the sexist plight of women in her time and the choices they had to endure in order to survive, including quite possibly domestic violence in a time when no recourse was available (Tate, 2000). Unlike Bernard, who was a renowned writer at the age of 25, Chopin was considered a feminist, and as a young widow who had to raise six children alone when she lost her husband to swamp fever, she eventually succeeded by turning to writing and was widely accepted in the southern United States literary circle (Tucker, 1996). Much of her writing incorporates her own life experiences and tribulations, such as â€Å"The Awakening,† (1899) which depicts a 19th century woman who is adulterous, but maintains her strength and individuality despite of what society thinks about her (Tucker, 1996). It is of little doubt that Kate Chopin was of the same opinion and character of many of those characters in her stories. According to Leary (1968), much of her writing â€Å"Speaks of marital unhappiness and of dangers which lie in wait for people who do as they want to do without concern for other people† (p. 60). Kate Chopin’s â€Å"The Story of an Hour† (1894), (Clugston, 2010b), is written clearly and succinctly leaving little room for ambiguity or misinterpretation. Chopin’s direct style of writing draws the reader in quickly and gives immediate insight to what is happening and what the feelings of the characters are, thus increasing the understanding of what the author is trying to convey. Like Bernard, Chopin uses symbolism and tone to enhance the (in this case) imaginary setting to further the reader’s experience. Unlike Bernard, Chopin’s form was short stories and novels instead of plays to be performed in front of live audiences. It is also important to look at Kate Chopin from a biographical/historical perspective to realize Chopin has also used life experiences as a basis for some of her characters: in this story Mr. Mallard has reportedly been killed in a train accident, while in reality Kate Chopin’s father really was killed in a train accident (Tucker, 1996). According to Seyersted, (cited in Kelly, 1994, p. 332), after critiquing â€Å"Athenaise,† he states that â€Å"In spite of its ‘happy ending,’ this tale is, on a deeper level, a protest against woman’s condition. Seyersted is undoubtedly referring to women’s struggle at that time for equality with men. Closer comparison of this story with Bernard’s play will bring to the surface many similarities of the uphill struggle women of this era endured and how it is depicted and evident in our literature. In Chopin’s â€Å"The Story of an Hour,† the main character, Mrs. Mallard receives word at home that her Husband had been killed in a train accident, she was distraught and crying, and when this subsided, she retires alone to a large armchair facing an open window in her room (Clugston, 2010b). This initial reaction to her loss seems fairly normal up to this point in the story, but then the Narrator describes what Mrs. Mallard sees, smells and hears from the open window, using symbolism and tone to describe a renewal in life, as described in Chopin’s â€Å"Story of an Hour,† (cited by Clugston, 2010b, para. 5): She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life. The delicious breath of rain was in the air. In the street below a peddler was crying his wares. The notes of a distant song which some one was singing reached her faintly, and countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves. As the story unfolds, Mrs. Mallard feels an emotion coming to her which she initially cannot identify, but ultimately does identify it; it is relief and a sense of a newfound freedom (Clugston, 2010). But why would she feel this way now unless she felt oppressed or abused when her husband was alive? A better description of what Mrs. Mallard had endured under her Husband’s rule and what she imagined the future to hold is stated in the story: â€Å"There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature† (cited in Clugston, 2010b, para. 14). The Author is speaking to the reader about this issue in 1894, a very bold and controversial statement for a time in which women were not expected to behave this way. Nearing the end of the story Mrs. Mallard finally accepts her newfound freedom and rejoices to herself â€Å"Free! Body and soul free! † (cited in Clugston, 2010b, para. 19), only to be persuaded out of her room by her sister and lead downstairs just as her husband comes through the front door, he was in fact not dead after all (Clugston, 2010). Mrs. Mallard died upon seeing her husband though the doctors said it was heart disease (earlier in the story it does mention she had a weak heart), (Clugston, 2010). One has to wonder though, did Mrs. Mallard die from heart disease or is this another symbol the Author uses to express Mrs. Mallard (or any oppressed woman) would rather die than give up her freedom and individuality? Tristan Bernard’s I’m Going! A Comedy in One Act is a play written by a man in France sixteen years after Kate Chopin’s â€Å"The Story of an Hour,† which is a short story written by a woman in the United States. Though there are differences in the Authors, origin, form, audience or reader, some compelling similarities exist; the time they were written (1915 1894, respectively), that both Authors incorporate issues of the time into their work, and perhaps most importantly, they both display the subservient, oppressive place which women are expected to take in the 19th and 20th centuries.

The Scarlet Letter | Plot and analysis

The Scarlet Letter | Plot and analysis In this section, the book describes a nameless character who coincidentally shares the same occupation and desires as the author of this book, Nathaniel Hawthorne. The narrator works as a chief executive officer at the Salem Custom House, meaning that he collects tariffs on foreign goods. Unfortunately, not many ships dock at Salems Port for whatever reason, so the narrator often finds himself with little to do during the work week. One gloomy day, the narrator tries to keep himself entertained by exploring the abandoned second floor of the custom house. While checking out a room upstairs, he discovers a scarlet A and an old note written by a former chief executive officer at the Custom House nearly 200 years earlier. While examining the scarlet letter, he holds it over his chest, but drops it immediately because he feels a burning sensation in his chest. He then reads the note, which tells a story about a woman who committed adultery. This inspires him to write his own spin on the n ote, even though it wouldnt be factually accurate. At the end of this section, a new president is elected, and he loses his job, which forces the narrator into following his dream of becoming a writer to make a living. Questions about the Custom House: Who is this nameless narrator who works in the Custom House? Why didnt the narrator follow his dream of becoming a writer? If the narrator hates his job and is bored because there is no work for him to do, why doesnt he quit and follow his dream? What inspired the narrator to go up to the second floor of the custom house knowing that it was unused and probably empty? Why did he feel a burning sensation when he held the scarlet letter up to his chest? Why did the narrator lose his job after a new president was elected? My Reactions towards the Custom House: I was kind of surprised to see that the narrator shares so many traits as the author, but wasnt given a name. I would have assumed that if the author intended to put himself in the story, he would have named his character after himself. I wonder why he did this. The book described the building he worked in as being run down and rotting. I believe that this adds to the narrators resentment of his job because I think it makes him feel as if his job isnt important enough to work in a building that isnt falling apart. The narrator also described that his Puritan ancestors would have looked down upon his desire to become a writer. This shocked me because back in Puritan times, Monks Priests wrote a vast majority of all books, and they were held in high esteem. One would think that his or her ancestors would be proud to have a writer in their bloodline because a studious person was looked up to. Journal Entry: Chapter 1 The Prison Door and Chapter 2 The Marketplace Summary of Chapter 1 In chapter 1, the scene is set at the Jailhouse in Salem. A throng of hooded people dressed in somber clothing are gathered around the jailhouse door to scorn and belittle the offender who is about to be released. The area around the Jailhouse is described as being dreary and dead, even the trees and grasses have died because of the gloom radiating from the jailhouse, except for 1 lone rosebush, which provides a relief for the condemned because it is a sweet moral blossom which shows a sign of forgiveness. Summary of Chapter 2 In chapter 2, Hester is released from the Jailhouse, holding an infant and is escorted up onto the scaffold where she will stand for 3 hours as people stare and taunt her. As she is standing up on the scaffold she reminisces about her parents and their house, until her attention is drawn to an old, misshapen man. This misshapen man is the person she married while in Europe before coming to America. By this point, her attention has been drawn back to the crowd, which scares her briefly, causing her to squeeze her baby out of instinct. Questions about Chapters 1 and 2: Why are people dressed in hoods as they gather around the Jailhouse? How has the Rosebush survived the sullen atmosphere it is growing in? Has Hester seen the rosebush? Has it affected her feelings in any way? Why was Hester allowed to take an infant into a dangerous environment such as the Jailhouse? Didnt the Puritans consider the safety of the baby? While standing up on the scaffold, why did Hester choose to reminisce about her parents? My Reactions towards Chapters 1 and 2: Why do the Puritans consider the suffering and punishment of others as a source of entertainment? Based on their morals, wouldnt they want to alleviate some of Hesters suffering, rather than add to it? I find that the lack of compassion shown by the Puritans in the Scarlet Letter very disturbing. If the Jailhouse was designed to detain violent and destructive criminals, why was Hester held there? Hester did not harm or endanger anyone; therefore I believe that she didnt need to be treated as someone who is dangerous. Was the rosebush planted in front of the Jailhouse intentionally? Or was it a sign of forgiveness from God? I find this very odd that something so beautiful would even survive in an environment so dreary and dead. If wearing the scarlet A was not a repercussion of Hesters offense, why did she even bother making it? If I committed that sin and had to face severe ridicule because of it, I wouldnt want to attract more scorn unto myself by wearing a big, extravagant scarlet A. Journal Entry: Chapter 3 The Recognition and Chapter 4 The Interview Summary of Chapter 3 In this chapter, Hester is continuing her punishment on the scaffold. She sees her husband, who is dressed in Indian clothing. He makes a gesture to Hester, telling her not to draw attention to him. After making this gesture, he begins asking a man in the crowd about Hesters crime and who the co-sinner was. The man replies that she was the wife of a wealthy Englishman from Amsterdam and that she committed adultery, but refuses to reveal the father of the child. For some reason, Chillingworth makes a comment about how such an old man could keep a young woman such as Hester happy. After this, we are introduced to Reverend Dimmesdale, Reverend Wilson, and Governor Bellingham, who question Hester in attempt to get her to confess to who the real father is but to no avail. Then Reverend Wilson attempts to make her reveal the father by giving her a sermon on sin, which makes her scarlet A glow. After the three try everything they can think off, they give up, and Hester is taken back to the Jailhouse. Summary of Chapter 4 In chapter 4, Hester meets her husband face to face for the first time since the beginning of the novel. Since he is a physician, he is called into the Jailhouse to drug Hester, and make her more susceptible to interrogation. When he enters Hesters jail cell, he offers her a potion, but Hester refuses it out of fear of being poisoned for revenge. Chillingworth tries once more to get Hester to reveal the father, but she refuses. As Chillingworth is walking out of the entrance of the cell, he makes Hester promise to keep his identity secret. Because of his evil facial expressions, Hester calls her husband a reincarnated version of the devil. Then Chillingworth vows to find the father of her baby, and leaves the Jailhouse. Questions about Chapters 3 and 4: Did Roger Chillingworth think that Hester would take him back after abandoning her in America for many years? Why didnt Chillingworth want attention drawn to him as Hester was standing on the scaffold? Why did Chillingworth lie about his identity when he asked the man about Hesters crime? Why did Hester withhold the name of the father of her child? Isnt she a little bit angry towards the father for not sharing any of the punishment? My Reactions towards Chapters 3 and 4: I was surprised that Chillingworth sent Hester to America instead of keeping her with him until he finished his work. Wouldnt newlyweds want to stay together no matter what? On top of what was said above, I also wanted to know what Chillingworth was up to in Amsterdam after Hester left. Finishing up some work before he left obviously wasnt the only thing he was up to while in Amsterdam for multiple years after Hester left. When I read his remark about how her husband must have been foolish to think that he could keep a young wife happy, I wondered why he married Hester. Typically, when one is in love, they look out for the best of the other. In this relationship, it seems as if Chillingworth just wanted Hester as a trophy wife. After Reverend Wilson gave Hester the sermon about eternal damnation and sin, I felt really bad for Hester. After all she had been through that day, she must have been feeling many unpleasant emotions, and Reverend Wilson just amplified the feeling of guilt within her. Journal Entry: Chapter 5 Hester at Her Needle and Chapter 6 Pearl Summary of Chapter 5: In chapter 5, the author focuses on Hesters life after being released from prison. Hester is granted her freedom to live wherever she pleases, but she chooses to stay in Boston. Even though many years have passed, Hester was still considered an outcast and was forced to live on the outskirts of town. To support herself and Pearl, she works as a seamstress, and sells her goods in town. Her skill as a seamstress was described as being so great, that even the Governor wore her garments, despite their shameful source. Her work was held in such high regard that people asked her to craft things such burial shrouds, priestly vestments, and officials robes. All of this work afforded both Hester and Pearl a good life, but Hester still felt alienated from her community. Summary of Chapter 6: In chapter 6, the author focuses on Pearl for the first time through the entire novel thus far. Much like the rosebush in chapters 1 and 2, Pearl is the only consolation for Hester as the rosebush is the only consolation for the prisoners. Hester dresses Pearl in fine clothing, despite Puritan ethics. In addition to the scarlet letter, Pearl is another symbol of Hesters sin. Pearl is described as being a defiant child, for example, when Hester attempts to teach Pearl about God, Pearl refuses to listen, and she constantly produces mischief. Pearl also seems to be a little more aware of her surroundings than other infants. While many other 2 or 3 year olds would have disregarded the scarlet A entirely, Pearl asks Hester about it constantly. Questions about Chapters 5 and 6: Why doesnt Hester leave Boston after she is granted her freedom? Why hasnt her community let bygones be bygones and re-accepted Hester back into their community? Why does Hester violate Puritan dress ethics with her sewing? Hasnt she offended the Puritan community enough? Even though Hesters products violate the dress code for Puritans, why do people still purchase them? If Pearl wasnt an illegitimate child, would her behavior have changed? My Reactions towards Chapters 5 and 6: I was shocked to read that Hester decided to stay in Boston, despite her reputation there. If I were in this situation, I definitely would have left and started anew in a new colony or even Europe, that way Chillingworth would have been off of my back, and I wouldnt have to face any more scorn. It was a very brave mood on her part. While reading this section, I half-expected Hester to be allowed back into the community, because people started to interact with her in a positive way for the first time in a long time, by buying her stuff. Unfortunately for her, that was the only positive interaction she would ever receive from them. Towards the end of chapter 5, I was disgusted to read how she was treated by the poor people she served. Even though she made them clothes free of charge, the poor people still treated her in a disrespectful manner. The least they could have done was treat her with respect. After reading chapter 6, I discovered that Pearl was nothing like what I expected her to be. When I first saw the title of chapter 6, I expected a sweet little girl, who was perfect in every way, and caused no trouble, but in actuality, Pearl was every parents nightmare. Journal Entry: Chapter 7 The Governors Hall and Chapter 8 The Elf Child and the Minister Chapter 7 Summary In this chapter, Hester is summoned to the Governors hall to defend her custody over Pearl. While on the way to the Governors hall, a group of children harass Hester and Pearl, but Pearl throws a tantrum and scares the group of children off. Rumors have spread that Pearl is a demon child, and it is questionable if Hester should raise her, because she is alone, and Pearl is a handful in addition to her work to support them. It is also questioned if Hester can raise Pearl in a moral and God-infused environment. While entering the hall, Hester and Pearl take notice of the ornate portraits and suits of armor which decorate the hall. While passing an especially lustrous set of armor, Pearl points out her mothers reflection in the statue, which frightens Hester because the fiery scarlet A dominates the reflection. Chapter 8 Summary In this chapter, Hester meets with the Governor, Reverend Wilson, and Reverend Dimmesdale. Upon entering the conference room, Hester is asked why she feels she deserves to keep Pearl. She points out that she should keep Pearl because she can teach Pearl not to make the same choice she did. Then Wilson tests Pearl on her knowledge on religious topics. Unfortunately, this doesnt seem to sway any of their choices in her favor, so Hester begs Dimmesdale to speak on her behalf. Dimmesdale says that Pearl is both a blessing and a curse from God. Pearl is a blessing because she is a smart and healthy child, but also a curse because on top of being mischievous, she is a constant reminder of her sin. He also says that the best place for a child to be is with its mother because there is a sacred bond between them. After this, the Governor and Reverend Wilson decide to let Hester keep Pearl. Infuriated that Hester was allowed to keep her child, Chillingworth went to the Governor, demanding that he reopen the case to determine who Pearls father is, but he refuses. Hester is also asked by Mistress Hibbins if she would like to join a sà ©ance, but she refuses because she got to keep Pearl. Questions about Chapters 7 and 8: How was Pearl able to scare off a group of children easily twice her age? Why does Pearl point out the scarlet letter often, knowing that it causes her mother pain each and every time she is reminded of it? How did rumors of Pearl being a devil child spread? Hester lives on the outskirts of town and doesnt appear to be in the loop. Why does Pearl refuse to answer any of Reverend Wilsons questions, knowing full well that will allow her to stay with her mother? What makes Reverend Dimmesdale vouch for Hester? Considering he is the moral guru for the town, one would think that he wouldnt be inclined to speak on a sinners behalf. My Reactions towards Chapters 7 and 8: While reading the body of Chapter 7, I was confused on how the townspeople questioned whether or not Pearl was human. I assumed that this question arose from Pearls bad behavior and extreme awareness for her age, which made me seriously consider the theory that Pearl was the spawn of the devil. Also while reading the body of Chapter 7, my perspective of the Governor changed. When he was first introduced, I imagined him as a shorter and wider fellow, but when I learned that he fought battles against the Indians with the suit of armor in the hall, my picture of him changed. Instead of a short, stocky man, I re-imagined him as a taller, well built character. While glancing at the title of Chapter 8, I noticed that it is titled The Elf Child and the Minister. The title made me wonder if little Pearls facial figures had literally begun to look like those of an elf. Even having finished the book, I still cannot make sense of the title. After reading the beginning of Chapter 8, I was flabbergasted at Reverend Dimmesdales, Reverend Wilsons, and Governor Bellinghams treatment of Pearl. Upon entering the room these 3 fully grown men begin to tease a toddler by calling her a bird and demon child. On top of being fully grown men, these are the town leaders who are teasing Pearl. These men are supposed to be the epitome of morality and good behavior. Journal Entry Chapter 9 The Leech and Chapter 10 The Leech and his Patient Summary of Chapter 9: In Chapter 9, Chillingworth has changed his name, and nobody knows his real past, except for Hester, who is bound to secrecy. He has become the town doctor, and has been accepted by the townspeople because they dont have access to quality medical supplies. The town sometimes refers to Chillingworth as a leech, because the use of leeches to cure diseases was common at that time. He is also referred to as a leech because Dimmesdale has been suffering from health problems because of Chillingworths prodding and interrogation. It is also noted that Dimmesdale clutches his heart often. Because Dimmesdale has no wife or companion to live with, Chillingworth demands to live with him for health reasons. The ministers room is hung with pictures showing biblical scenes of adultery biblical punishment. As time passes, Chillingworths trust is questioned because rumors spread of his past. Summary of Chapter 10: In this chapter, the ministers signs of torture are becoming more and more visible. To make matters worse for Dimmesdale, Chillingworth is showing incredible persistence when it comes to discovering what Dimmesdale is hiding. Despite all of his attempts, Chillingworth still cannot determine what secrets Dimmesdale struggles to keep hidden. One day, Dimmesdale inquires Chillingworth about an odd herb. The doctor says that he found it above the grave of someone who buried their sins with them. Then Chillingworth begins to prod Dimmesdale more about buried sin, but Dimmesdale backs out. Suddenly the sounds of Pearl playing are heard from Dimmesdales window, but Pearl drags her mother away when she sees Chillingworth because she thinks that he is the devil. The doctor asks Dimmsdale about his spiritual condition, but Dimmesdale basically tells him that its Gods business. The minister then apologizes for his behavior and then goes to bed. While Dimmesdale is sleeping, Chillingworth pulls back his shirt and reveals the ministers deepest secret. Questions about Chapters 9 and 10: Why didnt Dimmesdale refuse when Chillingworth insisted on living with him? He knew that Chillingworth was after something that he was hiding. Why is Dimmesdale punishing himself so severely? How did the townspeople catch wind of Chillingworths secret past? Can Pearl detect evil in people she hasnt been in contact with? (I.E. Chillingworth?) My Reactions towards Chapters 9 and 10: Since the Puritans believed in superstitions such as witches, etc, I cannot believe that the townspeople trusted a man with such an evil appearance. After learning that Dimmesdale had a secret earlier on in the novel, Chillingworths body transformed from a tired, and old man to a nasty, dark being from all of his attempts to get Dimmesdale to reveal it. After reading that Chillingworth insisted on living with Dimmesdale for health reasons, I cannot believe that Dimmesdale actually accepted and allowed him to move in. He knew from previous chapters that Chillingworth would stop at nothing to find out about his secret. After finishing Chapter 9, I learned that the term leech had 2 meanings when referring to Chillingworth. Originally it was a term used for all doctors at that time period, but as the chapter progressed, Chillingworth sucked all of the life out of Dimmesdale from his persistent questioning. While reading Chapter 10, I was stunned that Pearl detected that Chillingworth was evil. She didnt really have any prior contact with him, and she doesnt live within the community. I believe that she is either really smart or observant or she has a special power. Journal Entry: Chapter 11 Interior of a Heart and Chapter 12 The Ministers Vigil Summary for Chapter 11: In this chapter, Dimmesdale is at the peak of his misery. Chillingworth will not stop playing games with him, and he is getting no sleep because of his guilt. Even though he is suffering mentally, physically, and even spiritually, he keeps his secret bottled up. While Dimmesdale feels worse, his sermons on sin keep getting better and better. To make things harder, he punishes himself physically, by whipping his back repeatedly with a lash, in addition to extreme fasting. One night, he plans to have a vigil where Hester once stood in an attempt to relieve his sin. Summary for Chapter 12: In this chapter, Dimmesdale carries out his plan for a vigil on the scaffold. While standing up there, he fantasizes about revealing his sin, until Reverend Wilson, who is coming from a funeral for Governor Winthrop, passes by the scaffold. He thought about laughing when Wilson passed, but decided against it. After Wilson is gone, Dimmesdale laughs a little bit, which is accompanied by Pearls laugh, who is also standing on the scaffold with Hester. The three hold hands and Dimmesdale feels energized. Pearl asks if Dimmesdale will stand with them tomorrow, but he says no. Suddenly, a meteor flies across the sky, which is in the shape of an A, which frightens Dimmesdale because its a sign of his sin. After the meteor is out of sight, Chillingworth gets Dimmesdale off of the scaffold and takes him home. My Questions about Chapters 11 and 12: Is Dimmesdale even worried about being caught anymore? Or has his guilt focused all of his energy to punishing himself? How didnt Wilson notice Dimmesdale up on the scaffold? Is the meteor a coincidence? Or a sign from God? My Reactions towards Chapters 11 and 12: I was really shocked when I read that Dimmesdale was at the point that he was hitting himself to express his pain inside. I am really puzzled as to why he just doesnt confess now. He is at the point of death, is his secret really worth his life? I could understand why he chose to stand on the scaffold to release his guilt. He chose to stand on the scaffold to mimic Hester punishment because he is the co-adulterer. I believe that it took real strength to do that because anyone could have seen him doing that, and then he would have had to face his worst fear. At first, while reading, I was a bit confused when Pearl asked if the minister would stand with them again tomorrow, because I thought that they had to keep standing up on the scaffold as a continuation of their punishment, but then it hit me that they were only standing up there because Dimmesdale was up there. Chapter 13 Another View of Hester and Chapter 14 Hester and the Physician Summary for Chapter 13: In this chapter, Hester is becoming more and more active in the town. She frequently makes trips into town to donate food to the poor and to nurse the sick and injured. While she is still subject to prejudice even after 7 years, she is gradually being accepted back into the community. The weight of Pearl, her jobs, and prejudice have finally taken their toll on Hester. Much like Dimmesdale, the weight of their suffering has taken a toll on their physical appearances. She is no longer the beautiful woman she once was. Summary for Chapter 14: In this chapter, Hester tries to alleviate some of Dimmesdales suffering by telling Chillingworth to back off of him. When they go to speak with him, he tells her that he has heard that she can take off the scarlet letter, but she describes that it cannot be removed by human hands. She also thinks that it is time to tell Dimmesdale who Chillingworth really is, which makes Chillingworth realize that he has become a figure of pure evil, instead of the brilliant man he once was. My Questions about Chapters 13 and 14: Why is Hester still the object of scorn after 7 years? Shouldnt the Puritans move onto something else? Why is Hester still so kind to the people that treat her like dirt? How can Chillingworth realize that he is so evil and not want to change his ways? My Reactions towards Chapters 13 and 14: While reading, the author mentioned that Hester still accepted scorn from the townspeople after 7 years. I wondered if anyone else committed a serious sin in those 7 years who deserved a punishment similar to Hester. Or has Hester been used as a deterrent to keep everyone from messing up? After reading chapter 13, I couldnt believe that Hester was still in Boston after all the insults she had taken, let alone taking care of and helping the people that put her down. That just goes to show that Hester is not only a model for sin but a model for supreme compassion. What probably shocked me out of the whole book more than anything else was the fact that Chillingworth knew that he was evil, and still didnt want to change. Any normal human being can be inconsiderate or hurtful, when they are confronted about their behavior; they examine themselves and desire to change. Journal Entry: Chapter 15 Hester and Pearl and Chapter 16 A Forest Walk Summary for Chapter 15: In this chapter, Hester resolves that she truly hates her husband, after the pure hatred he showed in the previous chapter. After Chillingworth leaves to go mix potions from the weeds he collected, Hester goes to find Pearl. She finds Pearl playing in the puddles on the beach, with an A shaped in seaweed on her chest. When Hester sees the A, Pearl and she engage in conversation about the A. Pearl mentions that she sees that Dimmesdale clutches his heart often. This shocks Hester because she learns that Pearl is supernaturally observant, which might endanger them all. Summary for Chapter 16: In this chapter, Hester goes to meet with Dimmesdale in the forest to reveal Chillingworths real identity to him. While walking through the forest, she decides to take Pearl along with her. The sunlight seems to follow Pearl as she plays in the forest, but seems to avoid Hester. Upon reaching a stream, they wait for Dimmsdale to arrive, and Pearl asks about the black man and how he correlates to the scarlet letter. To avoid conversation, she tries to get Pearl to play, but Pearl doesnt want to out of fear of the black man. Hester tells Pearl that it is not the black man who gave her the symbol; it was the minister who did. My Questions about 15 and 16: Why did Hester even marry Chillingworth in the first place? She knew full well that neither of them were in love. Is Pearl really as observant as she is believed to be? Or is gathering this information from an outside source? How does Hester think that revealing Chillingworths real identity going to help Dimmesdale? My Reactions towards Chapters 15 and 16: I was felt almost scared for Hester, Pearl and Dimmesdale at this point in the story. I was sure that Chillingworth had something even more sinister up his sleeve. After reading about Pearls constant haranguing about the scarlet letter, I began to doubt that she was thinking for herself at this point. Someone must be putting her up to it to either test how Hester responds when Pearl asks that question or to gain information about the ties between Dimmesdale and Hester. When Pearl and Hester went to go tell Dimmesdale who Chillingworth really was, I wondered how Hester thought that would help Dimmesdale. Journal Entry: Chapter 17 The Pastor and his Parishioner and Chapter 18 A Flood of Sunshine Summary for Chapter 17: In this chapter, Hester and Dimmesdale meet in the forest to avoid Chillingworth and the public. They join hands, and Hester reveals Chillingworths real identity to him. This makes Dimmesdale angry, and he starts blaming her for his sin. To get him to stop, Hester pulls him in close to see the scarlet letter, which makes him forgive her because it shows him that Chillingworth is a bigger sinner than the both of them. To avoid any more suffering caused by Chillingworth, they plan to sail away to Europe, and live with Pearl as a family. Realizing that this is his opportunity to finally release all of the pain and suffering within him, Dimmesdale plans to reveal his secret to everyone in Salem. Summary for Chapter 18: After plotting their escape, the couple feels a burst of new life within them. Hester unties her hair for the first time in many years and removes the scarlet letter and Dimmesdales sullen face has finally picked up. He tells Hester that he can feel joy again, and is excited to finally get to know his daughter. My Questions about Chapters 17 and 18: Why didnt Hester fight back when Dimmesdale was yelling at her? Will Chillingworth expose Dimmesdale and Hester before Dimmesdale can do it himself? Why is Pearl cautious of her transformed mother? My Reactions towards Chapters 17 and 18: When I read that Dimmesdale yelled at Hester and blamed her for his sin, I was surprised that she acted in the manner that she did. I would have expected her to break and fight with Dimmsdale because she easily could have defended herself in that argument. But her action did make sense, because a fight would have divided them, which is the exact opposite of what they needed at that moment, if they wanted to steal away and start a new life. After Hester confronted Dimmesdale about Chillingworth I could really feel the all of the suspense. It was like I was experiencing the same fear of Chillingworth that Dimmesdale and Hester felt. After reading that Pearl was afraid of her transformed mother, I was mystified. I expected Pearl to love her mother even more than she did before, now that she was finally happy. Journal Entry: Chapter 19 The Child at the Brookside and Chapter 20 The Minister in a Maze Summary for Chapter 19: In this chapter, Hester calls Pearl to rejoin her, but Pearl refuses, because she doesnt recognize her transformed parents. To get Pearl to come back, Hester ties her hair back up and pins the scarlet letter on once more. After the letter is fully secured, Pearl rushes back to her mother and father. She envelopes Hester in a hug and kisses her, along with the scarlet letter. Without revealing that Dimmesdale is her father, Hester tries to get Pearl to embrace Dimmesdale as well. Dimmesdale kisses her once, but then washes the kiss off in the stream. Summary for Chapter 20: On the way back to the town, Dimmesdale cannot believe the energy he feels. He even runs and skips with Pearl. When they reach the town, Hester makes reservations on the ship to Europe because she has become acquainted with the captain due to her chari