Differential Calculus: Maximum and Minimum Problem and Solution

An oil refinery is located on the north bank of a straight river that is 2 km wide. A pipeline is to be constructed from the refinery to storage tanks located on the south bank of the river 6 km east of the refinery. The cost of laying pipe is $200,000 per km over land to a point P on the north bank and $400,000 per km under the river to the tanks. To minimize the cost of the pipeline, how far from the refinery should P be located? (Round your answer to two decimal places. ) 1 year ago Report Abuse Colorado†¦ Best Answer – Chosen by VotersThis is a min-max calculus problem, where we want to minimize the cost function: We need a drawing of the situation: see https://docs. google. com/drawings/d/1PvkU†¦ where R is the refinery, O will be the x-axis origin, P is the point on the north bank, and x= distance from O to the storage tanks. [Note, we could have put R at the origin, but the algebra is a little simpler this way] The cost C(x) of the pipeline as a function of x is: C(x) = distance along north shore * pipeline cost over land + distance under the river * pipeline cost under land The distance along the north shore is 6-xThe distance (by Pythagorean theorem) under the water is sqrt( 2^2 + x^2) So, C(x) = (6-x)*200000 + sqrt(4 + x^2) * 400000 [You should graph this] To find the value of x where C(x) is minimized, we set dC/dx = 0, [Reminder – use the chain rule to differentiate the second term] Differentiating and simplifying, we get dC/dx = C'(x) = -200000 + 400000x/ sqrt(4+x^2) = 0 400000x / sqrt(4+x^2) = 200000 400000x/200000 = sqrt(4+x^2) Squaring both sides, we get 4x^2= 4 + x^2 x = sqrt(4/3) = 1. 15 So the distance from the refinery to point P is 6-x = 4. 85 km

Carbon Dioxide Essay

Carbon dioxide is the main pollutant that warms our planet Earth. Living things produce carbon dioxide when they breathe. However, carbon dioxide is considered to be a harmful pollutant when linked with any vehicle, trains, power plants, as well as other various human activities that involve burning fossil fuels such as gasoline and natural gas. Studies have shown that In the past 150 years, such activities have released enough carbon dioxide into the atmosphere to raise its levels higher than they have ever been before. One of the most obvious consequences of carbon dioxide emissions is gray, muggy smog hanging over large cities. Smog creates many harmful health effects to human beings, it can cause anything from minor pain to deadly diseases such as lung cancer. When an area becomes covered in smog, people feel the effects immediately. But there are many different kinds of pollution, some visible, some invisible – that contribute to global warming. Generally, any substance that people bring into the atmosphere that has damaging effects on living things and the environment is considered air pollution. Other greenhouse gases include methane—which comes from such sources as swamps and gas emitted by livestock—and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which were used in refrigerants and aerosol propellants such as hairspray, until they were banned because of their deteriorating effect on Earth’s ozone layer. Another pollutant associated with climate change is sulfur dioxide, a component of smog. Sulfur dioxide and closely related chemicals are known primarily as a cause of acid rain. But they also reflect light when released in the atmosphere, which keeps sunlight out and causes Earth to cool. Volcanic eruptions can spew massive amounts of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere, sometimes causing cooling that lasts for years. In fact, volcanoes used to be the main source of atmospheric sulfur dioxide; today people are. Indus trialized countries have worked to reduce levels of sulfur dioxide, smog, and smoke in order to improve people’s health. But a result, not predicted until recently, is that the lower sulfur dioxide levels may actually make global warming worse. Just as sulfur dioxide from volcanoes can cool the planet by blocking sunlight, cutting the amount of the compound in the atmosphere lets more sunlight through, warming the Earth. This effect is exaggerated when elevated levels of other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere trap the additional heat. Most people agree that to put a harness around global warming, a variety of measures will need to be taken. On a personal level, driving less, (carpooling when you can, using mass transit systems as much as possible) recycling, and conservation reduces a person’s â€Å"carbon footprint†: the amount of carbon dioxide a person is responsible for putting into the atmosphere. On a larger scale, governments are taking measures to limit emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. One way is through the Kyoto Protocol, an agreement between countries that they will cut back on carbon dioxide emissions. Another method is to put taxes on carbon emissions or higher taxes on gasoline, so that people and companies will have greater incentives to conserve energy and pollute less.

How to Be Old Poem Analysis

â€Å"How to Be Old† It is easy to be young, (Everybody is, at first.) It is not easy to be old. It takes time. Youth is given; age is achieved. One must work a magic to mix with time in order to become old. Youth is given. One must put it away like a doll in a closet, take it out and play with it only on holidays. One must have many dresses and dress the doll impeccably (but not to show the doll, to keep it hidden. ) It is necessary to adore the doll, to remember it in the dark on the ordinary days, and every day congratulate one's aging face in the mirror. In time one will be very old. In time, one's life will be accomplished.And in time, in time, the doll–– like new, though ancient––will be found. – May SwensonWho is the speaker? What is the point of view? What is the mood? What is the tone? What is the imagery? What is the form? What is the theme? What is the figurative language? The speaker in the poem â€Å" How to Be Old† by May Swenson is an elder teaching children about growing old. The poem is in third person point of view. The mood is kind of sad because your moving on from childhood and growing up. The theme is serious, the author is telling you to hide your inner child and only take it out on special occasions. While reading this poem I imagined a little girl putting her doll away and then growing up into adulthood. The theme of the poem is cherish the past, but embrace the future. In this poem the word doll is used to describe childhood, because childhood like a doll is fun and playful, but at some point in your life, you're going to have to put that doll in your closet and move on. You're growing up and maturing, you can still think about your childhood and even bring out the inner child in your heart but not often because there is a time and a place to release your inner child.

The following event is from Chicago's history. Explain in detail an Research Paper

The following event is from Chicago's history. Explain in detail an important effect the Pullman Strike produced in either local - Research Paper Example Gradually with time the demand for the Pullman cars decreased and the owner decided to lower the wages of the railroad employees. It was here that the role of Eugene Debs came into play to save the wrath that the employees had to face (Beik 2005). The workers of the railroad company were members of a renowned labor union known as the American Railway Union. Eugene Debs urged the employees to launch a strike against the company so that their wages could be increased and their demands met. The workers then launched a boycott against the Pullman cars and gained a lot of support by joining hands. Debs launched a peaceful strike urging Pullman and the authorities to take the aggravating conditions of the workers into notice. The Union was supported by a number of railroad employees and the number almost reached the mark of 200,000. The Pullman Car Company had the support of the government because of the capitalistic nature of the government. It was because of this reason that the federal government started intervening in the state affairs and an offensive against the labor union was launched. Debs was not successful enough to make the strike successful as the railroads used the government to cut down the strike. Richard Olney interfered and ordered federal intervention for the strike. Federal troops were given the permission to break up the strike as they believed that the delivery of the U.S mail was being affected by the strike. The strike was finally broken down on July 10, 1894 when Debs along with three members of the organization was arrested. Debs was sentenced for six months in the prison and the strike was called off so that the workers could resume their jobs. Although the strike was unsuccessful it proved to be a great event for the labor unions and federal agencies altogether. It had an effect on the national politics of the United States as it favored socialism over the capitalism that was already prevalent in the state. Capitalism and socialism were bo th affected through the strike. Socialism could not be revived for twenty years after the strike was made unsuccessful by the federal agencies and capitalism was brought down in the next elections. President Grover Cleveland was held responsible for the situation that occurred after the Pullman strike. This essay would further provide an overview of the effect that the Pullman strike had over the national politics of the United States of America (Beik 2005; Salvatore et al 1999). Effect of Pullman Strike The Pullman strike was an unsuccessful venture launched by the labor unions in a time of industrialization. The labor union in those times was not strong enough to fight the capitalist governments and hence they lost to the authoritative powers. The overall effect of the strike was to create a socialist environment in the United States. It brought forward the things that took place against the workers to the attention of people. The Supreme Court also decided against the Pullman Car Company as they violated the charter of companies by providing their workers with the wrong environment and conditions. The strike made the federal government stronger as they were able to launch an offensive against the labor unions. Antitrust laws against the labor

Critically discuss the use of low glycaemic index diets in the Literature review

Critically discuss the use of low glycaemic index diets in the treatment of diabetes mellitus - Literature review Example 2010). The number of individuals suffering from diabetes is increasing and by 2030, the number of patients suffering from the chronic condition is expected to increase to three hundred and sixty million patients worldwide (American Diabetes Association 2012, 64). It is a major world threat as the annual health care expenditures for patients with diabetes is 11.5 percent of all the health care expenditure (Drouin et al. 2013, 68). According to Drouin et al. (2009), the condition has been associated with significant mortality and morbidity accounting for 7 to 9 percent of all deaths resulting from all comorbidities thus; it has become a top health care priority. The literature review focuses on the use of low glycemic index diets in diabetes mellitus treatment. The main reason for diabetes control is normalizing and stabilizing the levels of blood glucose, as glucose control has been linked to a decline of complications associated with the disorder. Common treatment remedies for diabetes include diet and weight control as well as physical activity. If the blood glucose levels remain relatively, high diabetes tables can be administered and in other cases, insulin injections and islets cell transplants are required (Kashikar & Tejaswita 2011, 23). According to Zhang et al. (2010), nutritional factors are key in affecting the blood glucose levels. Despite of the research conducted, there is no any recommended way for optimal diabetes dietary strategy. According to Thomas & Elliott (2009), the improvement in glycemic control that can be achieved through dietary interventions is fundamental in decreasing the diabetic complications, improving life among the affected, minimizing the expenses associated with diabetic medications, as well as increa sing their life expectancy. There are different carbohydrates each with different effects on

Critically explore the legal and etihical context of delivering Essay

Critically explore the legal and etihical context of delivering healthcare to patients who do not speak English and issues around informed consent- look at the - Essay Example condition is with the care that can be provided and will thus have the option to freely consent to, or refuse treatment on the basis of complete information. The language barrier can be a significant detrimental factor for patients because it can decrease access to and adequacy of health care due to the inability to communicate symptoms effectively, especially when they are brought into the emergency department and the use of language interpreters can significantly reduce the obstacles that are created through the inability of provider-patient to communicate effectively (Woloshin et al 1995:724-28). A study conducted by Hampers et al (1999) in the United States specifically examined the barriers cast by language and the inability of patients and their families to speak English when receiving health care in the emergency department, in order to determine whether there was any difference in diagnostic testing and length of stay. As a result, the practitioners were required to assess health care and make clinical diagnoses without the facility of a full or complete history due to the language barrier between health providers and patients. M oreover, this study showed that such patients were also less likely to be insured when they arrived for emergency services and the hampering of diagnostic and testing resulted in higher costs per patient and longer lengths of stay in the emergency departments. Similarly, a research report was prepared by Shah and Priestley (2001) which examined the experiences of black and minority disabled patients in Leeds hospitals. This report highlighted some of the specific concerns of Asian and black disabled patients and the obstructions to their health care that resulted from the lack of sensitivity of health care providers to language, religious and cultural issues. This report also showed that most minority patients who were older did not know English and the function of interpretation when they arrived at the hospital was carried out

Event membership cshemes and whether thry promote customer loyalty Essay

Event membership cshemes and whether thry promote customer loyalty - Essay Example In many cases, the event is itself the product, such as cultural events and the like. The principle, however, is the same, that is, to trigger the curiosity of new customers as well as nurture a stronger relationship with the regular customers in order to court their loyalty. In trying to keep customers loyal, companies have come up with membership schemes by which a customer is â€Å"bound,† in a way, to keep coming back. By â€Å"bound† it is meant that the customer is given an incentive or reward for staying as a member and continuing to avail of the products and services of the company. In 2001, Hayes and Slater conducted a study of cultural organizations. Their aim was to arrive at a typology of the common-interest groups of people who have naturally gathered together and, after the passage of some time, became â€Å"clubs†, then â€Å"membership schemes†. (They are also known by other names like friends’ schemes, societies, and associations). The study of such typologies was considered by the authors to be useful to practitioners. It will help them in the design and evolution of membership schemes for many different purposes. This is especially for the hosting of events and exhibits, in order to make sure there is enough people in the audience. According to the authors, there are four general types of membership schemes: the friends’ scheme, the social club group, the public members’ scheme, and the integrated membership scheme. There are many factors that influence how membership schemes developed. The most important factor is the strong competition that grew between rival organizations, and a lessening of revenues available for funding. For these companies, management found out that the only way to ensure survival was by adopting an entrepreneurial style, which meant earning income in an

Journal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 69

Journal - Essay Example I forgot how to properly communicate with my friends, and in the sense, forgot to properly live in the community. Facebook and other forms of social media has influenced me to become less participative in the community. I have forgotten that laughing with friends is very different than just typing "LOL" or putting a smiley on the board. I did not realize this, until I read Kingsolvers speech. And as much as I hate to admit it, she was right. At this point, my reflection is beyond just the meaning of the speech. I believe I have to adjust my way of life and prevent myself from becoming one of those people who have forgotten to associate in the community. Now, Facebook or Skype I think, were designed to help us communicate with people who are thousand miles away from us, not those near us physically. I intend to keep that thinking in me. Maybe I should start trying to minimize chatting with my friends through SMS or over the phone, and be with them physically, to laugh with them and talk with them than working my fingers out typing in my laptops keyboard. Kingsolver spoke of hope, of building dreams with it, of putting it in ones life. I could not agree with her more, and I will try to live in that community that she portrayed. One that does not hesitate when asked at gunpoint, and I intent to be one who will always choose

I'll upload them later Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

I'll upload them later - Essay Example This paper will discuss the positives and negatives of internet education which eventually affect learning. The primary reason why people opt for internet education is convenience. Students can manage their schedules at their most convenient time which allows them to learn at the pace they want. In addition, they can study anytime and anywhere they want (Obringer). This also enables learners to choose their most comfortable place of learning such as their home. Consequently, â€Å"time efficiency is another strength brought by the online learning format† (ion.uillinois.edu). Students save time and energy for travel and gas. For instance, when a student goes home from work and needs to do his homework, he does not have to travel to school in order to get his lessons and assignments. Instead, he can simply look for those in his school’s database and in just a few moments, be able to acquire the necessary information thus, saving time, gas and money for his travel if he studies at a university. Another positive result of internet education is synergy. There is an interaction among the group that is simply different in distance learning. It is a combination of minds from entirely different familial backgrounds and perhaps even various cultural backgrounds who could make the learning more interesting. Although having this kind of conglomeration of students in traditional classrooms may be easy nowadays, the interaction in distance learning could perhaps be better because the students are all encouraged to participate. Oftentimes, those who are enrolling in such programs are those who want to study but do not have enough time to go to traditional schools. Therefore, their desire to study and level of active participation is quite different. In relation to synergy, high quality dialog also benefits students. They can learn from other students’ ideas about certain subject matters and they can also react to those ideas. Their analytical skills are honed

Examine the difference between the social and the medical Essay

Examine the difference between the social and the medical understanding of special educational needs. Provide examples of where - Essay Example If the policies of education for people with SEN in the beginning of the twentieth century began with segregation, or separating children with SEN from mainstream students by placing the former in special education facilities, the Warnock Report in the 1970s started the evolution of special education toward integration, and later on, to inclusion (Tassoni, 2003, p.14). Integration is differentiated from inclusion, because integration can refer to the mainstream system remaining the same, but with addition of facilities for SEN. Inclusion, on the contrary, is defined by Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) (2001, p.2) as the: ...process by which schools, local education authorities and others develop cultures, policies and practices to include pupils. With the right training, strategies and support nearly all children with special educational needs can be successfully included in mainstream education. (qtd. in Lloyd, 2008, p.222). Inclusion, however, has its conceptual and p ractical dilemmas. Terzi (2005) observes the â€Å"dilemma of difference†, which pertains to the conflict between treating children with SEN as the same as mainstream students and providing individualised education instruction to attend to their individual special education needs. This paper differentiates the social and the medical understanding of special educational needs. It gives examples of where each is demonstrated in policy and practice and personal experiences. It begins with a brief history of SEN and then a discussion of social and the medical understanding of special educational needs. The final sections are personal experiences and the conclusion. HISTORY OF SEN SEN evolved greatly for the past two centuries. It started from the medical model, followed by the social model of understanding special education needs. This section focuses on the Warnock Report and developments in policymaking and educational practices after 1981. Warnock Report In 1973, Margaret That cher, then Secretary of State for Education, commissioned the Warnock Enquiry. The Enquiry began the seminal review of the state of British special education, which was under pressure from worldwide calls of â€Å"integration† (Rayner, 2007, p.20). The Warnock Report was published in 1978 and formed the concept of special education needs (SEN). SEN refers to the whole extent of children experiencing learning difficulties and the Report indicated that 20 per cent of the school population would need â€Å"special help† during their school careers (Rayner, 2007, p.20). The Report stresses that a child with disability should be viewed as an individual with complete human rights and definite special education needs, instead of a patient with a medical illness or disorder (Rayner, 2007, p.20). It also stressed that professionals should work with parents, because the latter are partners in helping the child cope in school. This marked the departure from the medical model of s pecial needs toward the social model. The Report also made numerous recommendations. It referred to the importance of a â€Å"whole school policy† in making provisions for SEN and the need to adopt integration

From an economic perspective, why is Microsoft to successful Essay

From an economic perspective, why is Microsoft to successful - Essay Example Almost every computer is loaded with Microsoft operating system, without which a computer cannot function, or games. In the initial years, the company focused on creating computer language, but most of the financial success came after it embarked on producing operating systems. Today, Microsoft is one of the most popular and financially successful software companies in the world. Its products have penetrated into every household with a PC because of its easy-to-use and ground-breaking software. This paper explores the success story of Microsoft from the economic perspective. Like any other world famous companies, Microsoft is not without criticisms. It has often been criticized for its alleged bullying tactics rather than earning success through innovation. However, according to Harvard Business School professors Marco Iansiti and Alan MacCormack, the company’s success can be attributed to its capability to predict future technological developments and make maximum efficient use of the major software technologies. One remarkable fact is that Microsoft has seen huge financial successes during phases of technological revolutions because of its ability to adapt to changes. Usually, during such vulnerable phases many large businesses collapse for failing to deliver. Although it has been criticized that Microsoft Corporation’s success is largely due to its monopoly position in the global market which the company has taken full advantage of, Iansiti and MacCormack have a different perspective. They have asserted that â€Å"Microsoft wins throug h effective management of its intellectual property and an ability to spot and react to important trends before they take hold† (Silverthorne, 2002). From the early days of writing simple programming language for computers the company progressed to making operating systems based on the DOS system. In subsequent years, Microsoft grew to become Windows XP.

English Communicative Grammar Essay Example for Free

English Communicative Grammar Essay 1. The following passage has not been edited. There is one error in each line. Write the incorrect word and the correction in your answer sheet against the correct question number. Remember to underline the word you have supplied. Incorrect Correct Often these days we hear and speak of the conquered (eg.) conquered conquest in nature, ‘the taming of a river’, ‘the war against insects’ (a) _________ _________ and so on. Often these phrases being used without consciously (b) _________ _________ attaching any value to them, but they have an underlying attitude of hostile towards Nature and Nature’s (c) _________ _________ creatures, a viewpoint which seeming to assume (d) _________ _________ Nature as an enemy that needs to being vanquished. (e) _________ _________ Alternatively, Nature is seen merely as the ‘resource’ to be(f) _________ _________ ‘exploited’. 2. Read the following conversation and complete the paragraph. Write the answers in your answer sheet against the correct blank numbers. One morning while reading the paper, Raj told his wife (a). His wife, Rita, said that she thought (b).. . Raj replied that (c).. as the cashier had run away with Rs 5 million. 3. Complete the headlines by choosing the correct answers from the options given below: a) Drive against Liquor Mafia launched The police ______________________ engaged in smuggling of liquor to the state. b) China develops medical robot A polytechnic university in China ______________________ that can conduct surgeries. 4. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow by choosing the correct options. All pity choked with custom of fell deeds: And Caesar’s spirit, ranging for revenge, With Ate by his side come hot from hell Shall in these confines with a monarch’s voice Cry ‘Havoc’, and let slip the dogs of war; 1.Who is speaking these lines and when? a) Brutus at Caesar’s funeral b) Cassius at Caesar’s funeral c) Antony before Caesar’s body d) Antony to the Roman mob 2.How shall Caesar appear and what for? a) as a ghost to take revenge b) as a ghost with Ate to take revenge c) as a ghost to announce doomsday d) as a ghost to destroy humanity 3.Ate’ in Greek mythology is the a) goddess of revenge b) goddess of death c) goddess of destruction d) goddess of deception. 5. Answer the following questions briefly: ( 20-25 words)(1 Â ½ x 3 = 4 Â ½ Marks) i. Antony was indeed an excellent orator who ignited the spirit of revenge in the minds of the Roman people. Describe how he moulded the minds of the Roman people and turned them against the conspirators. ii. How is Brutus successful in taking Caesar to the Senate inspite of Calpurnia’s efforts to the contrary? iii. Write a note on the famous words ‘Et tu Brute!’ spoken by Caesar. 6. Though both Brutus and Antony address the public of Rome before Caesar’s funeral, there is a basic difference between the two. Bring out this contrast. Your answer should not exceed 75 words. (6 Marks)

The Catcher In The Rye English Language Essay

The Catcher In The Rye English Language Essay Considering an English novel as the source document and its Persian translations as the target text, we mean to answer this question. Extracting idioms and non-idioms from the first chapter of J. D. Salingers The Catcher in the Rye, is the first step to start. Then we made a comparison of gathered information with their Persian translations by Najafi and Karimi for the next stage. Following compensation strategy by adding target language idioms somewhere in the translated texts by the Persian translators, is an open door to manage the idiomatic loss in their translations. This indicates that, if in any case its not possible to translate a source language idiom as an idiom in target language, the translator can compensate the loss of the idiom by adding a target language idiom to places where there initially was a non-idiom. Key words: English Idiom, Persian Translation, Translation Strategies, Compensation Strategy, Source Text (ST), Target Text (TT), Source Language (SL), Target Language (TL). Introduction: Translation is generally explained as a process in which the translator transfers the meaning of a SL text into TL under the circumstances of preserving the content and accuracy of original text, as far as it is possible. Where there is no equivalent for a SL idiom in the TL, the translator gets throughout compensation strategy to fill this incurred gap. The more skilled the translator is, the better will be the translation. If you are enthusiastic to this issue as we are, this is the paper you can refer to and take your answer. Theoretical Background: Translation Bell (ibid.: 6) argues that a total equivalence between a source language text and its translation is something that can never be fully achieved. According to Bassnett-McGuire (1980: 2), the aim of translation is that the meaning of the target language text is similar to that of the source language text, and that the structures of the SL will be preserved as closely as possible, but not so closely that the TL structures will be seriously distorted. In other words, the source language structure must not be imitated to such an extent that the target language text becomes ungrammatical or sounds otherwise unnatural or clumsy. Idiom: Idioms are the major and natural part of all languages as well as a prominent part of our everyday discourse. Idioms are such a normal part of our language use that we hardly even notice how vastly we use them in our everyday speech and writing. English is a language full of idioms, so, learners of English should be aware of their nature, types, and use. Using many idioms in English language is one of the aspects that makes it somehow difficult to learn for a Persian learner. They can be used in formal style and in slang. Idiom is defined as a group of words which have different meaning when used together from the one they would have if you took the meaning of each word individually (Collins Cobuild dictionary, 1990 edition). Indeed, the meaning of idiom can only be inferred through its meaning and function in context, as shown in the examples below (from Fernando, 1996). bread and butter, as in `It was a simple bread and butter issue (see further below); bless you, which is usually used in the context of cordial expressions; go to hell, which indicates that there is a conflict among interlocutors in an interpersonal contact; In sum, which indicates relations among portions and components of a text. Idioms are a set of phrases have different meaning from its individual parts of the phrases. Sometimes it is hard to recognize the meaning of a phrase just by knowing the meaning of the words including in it e.g. paint the town red is a phrase which has a meaning other than the meaning of its words separately, it means having a good time! Some traditional theories of idiomaticity assumed that idioms are frozen, semantic units that are essentially non-compositional (Hambin Gibbs, 1999, p.26). However, there have been a number of semantic classification systems proposed since 1980 for rating the composition of idioms which basically give differing names to the same concepts (Grant Bauer, 2004). Translating Idioms: working with English, the translator may easily recognize if an idiom violates `truth conditions, as in `it is raining cats and dogs, `storm in a teacup, jump down someones throat, etc. It may be hard to recognize, if the idiom is not of this nature, and translators may just think of it as an ordinary expression, with the consequence of either losing its tone or losing its meaning. There are two sources which may cause misinterpretation: The first possible source is that there are idioms which can mislead readers/users; they do not sound idiomatic at all, but at a closer look, careful readers would find the hidden idioms. An example given by Salinger in The Catcher in the Rye is `got the axe in the following text: The manager warned me, but I didnt notice, so I got the axe. On the first look, readers may interpret it in terms of a person who took an axe and wanted to do something with it like cut a tree but at a closer look, a careful reader may find out that means to lose the job. The second source of misinterpretation occurs when the words in an idiom have equivalents in the target language (i.e. in Persian) but with totally different meaning. Another good example given by Salinger is the idiom: for the birds. Winter weather is for the birds. At first it may be understood that this sentence means winter weather is good for the birds but it makes no sense because the meaning is really different and it means worthless; undesirable. Strategies used translating idioms Idioms are culture bound and this is another challenge for the translator to transfer the exact meaning and content of SL idiom into TL idiom perfectly. For the sake of solving these difficulties the translator may apply a strategy. Using the appropriate method in this process, the translators can get over the difficulties easily and it is valuable and useful for their works. Mona Baker, in her book In Other Words (1992, pp. 72-78) ,defines the following strategies for translating idiomatic expressions: 1) Using an idiom of similar meaning and form, 2) Using an idiom of similar meaning but dissimilar form, 3) by paraphrase, 4) by omission. (1) Using an idiom of similar meaning and form: The first translation strategy by Mona Baker is translating TL idiom similar in its form and meaning to the SL idiom. For example: Tooth and nail ((Ø ¨ÃƒËœ Ú† Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬  ÃƒÅ¡Ã‚ ¯ Ùˆ Ø ¯Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬  ÃƒËœÃ‚ ¯ÃƒËœÃƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬   (2) Using an idiom of similar meaning but dissimilar form: Another strategy suggested by Mona Baker is translating a SL idiom into TL idiom the same meaning but different form. In this case, the translator does not preserve the lexical items and translate as a semantic equivalent. For example: Acid tongue in her head. (Ø ²ÃƒËœÃ‚ ¨ÃƒËœÃƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬   Ù† Ãƒâ€ºÃ…’Ø ´ÃƒËœÃ‚ ¯ÃƒËœÃƒËœÃ‚ ±Ãƒâ€ºÃ…’ Ø ¯ÃƒËœÃƒËœÃ‚ ´ÃƒËœÃ‚ ªÃƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬  ) (3) Translation by paraphrase: The most common strategy in translation of idioms is paraphrase. Translators often cannot translate a SL idioms as a TL idiom, therefore they use the paraphrase strategy by using a word or a group of words in TL exactly related to the meaning of that idiom in SL which may be a non-idiom. Newmark (1988, p.109) says that while using this strategy not only components of sense will be missing or added, but the emotive or pragmatic impact will be reduced or lost. Still, paraphrase is usually descriptive and explanatory; sometimes it preserves the style of the original idiom as well. For example: On tenterhooks. ((Ù†¦ÃƒËœÃ‚ «Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ ØÙÅ  Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬  ÃƒÅ¡Ã‚ ©Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¡ Ø ±Ãƒâ„¢Ã‹â€ Ãƒâ€ºÃ…’ Ø ªÃƒËœÃƒâ„¢Ã‹â€ Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¡ Ø ¢ÃƒËœÃ‚ ªÃƒËœÃ‚ ´ Ø ¨ÃƒËœÃƒËœÃ‚ ´Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ (4) Translation by omission: This strategy is not used very frequently. In fact, it is not approved by many scholars and some of them do not include it among other translation strategies (Veisbergs, 1989). However, sometimes its impossible to translate a SL idiom into TL, so the translator may use another strategy called compensation. In this strategy the translator omit an idiom and may put another idiom elsewhere in the TL text by preserving the effect of SL idiom. Compensation Strategy: Compensation is a strategy most definitely worth considering, while it can be used as one possible strategy for dealing with idioms and quite an effective one for compensating the loss caused by translating. Therefore, in order to preserve the idiomaticity of the original text and to avoid the mentioned loss, many translators resort to compensation in translating idioms as their final but workable strategy. That is when an idiom is not possible to be translated into TT, a translators last effort is to compensate an idiom by omitting that and putting an idiom in another place, by preserving the usage effect of idiom in the ST. Nida and Taber (1969) mention that, whereas one inevitably loses many idioms in the process of translation one also stands to gain a number of idioms (p. 106). Baker (1992) indicates that in compensation, a translator may leave out a feature such as idiomaticity where it arise in the ST and introduce it somewhere else in the TT (p. 78). In support of this idea, Newmark (1991) suggests that all puns, alliterations, rhyme, slang, metaphor and pregnant words can be compensated in translation. Though he further adds that, compensation is the procedure which in the last resort ensures that translation is possible (pp.143à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ 144). Theoretical framework We agree with Lorenzo, M. et al., in that the first step a translator must take is to clearly define his objective before producing a translation which is as true as possible to the original text. One of the aspects of Hans Vermeers concept of skopos (1989:227) is the establishment of a clearly defined objective or purpose for translation; Any form of translation, including translation itself, may be understood as an action, as the name implies. Any action has an aim, a purpose. The word skopos is a technical word for the aim or purpose of translation. Nidas Dynamic Equivalence In the process of translating idioms, the translator may face many difficulties which is not a simple task to overcome. The major problem is the lack of equivalence in the process of translation. It would be desirable if a translator could find a TL idiom which is the same as that in structure and content of SL idiom. Anyway every language, both source and target, has its own idioms and it may be hard to find the precise source equivalent in the target language. The definition of dynamic equivalence is initially given by Eugene A. Nida in his book Toward a Science of the Translation (Nida, E.A., 1964:161). Nida is an American translator, scholar, teacher, leader, influencer, conceptualizer, innovator, and influential theoretician. Nida argued that there are two different types of equivalence, namely formal equivalence-which in the second edition by Nida and Taber (1982) is referred to as formal correspondence-and dynamic equivalence. Formal correspondence focuses attention on the message itself, in both form and content, unlike dynamic equivalence which is based upon the principle of equivalent effect (1964:159). Dynamic equivalence connects the target language and culture in order to make messages comprehensible to target language receptors. For instance, if we translate a phrase like two hemorrhages apiece literally into Persian, it will produce a nonsensical meaning for the Persian receptor. Idiomatic expressions may not seem understandable when translated from one language to another. In such cases the equivalence counterpart Ø ®Ãƒâ„¢Ã‹â€ Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬  ÃƒËœÃ‚ ±Ãƒâ„¢Ã‹â€ ÃƒËœÃ‚ ´ Ø ¯Ãƒâ„¢Ã‹â€  قؠ¨ÃƒËœÃ‚ ¶Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¡ can be used to make it understandable to the receptor. In this view the translator has brought an equivalent which the original author most likely meant. Method: Corpus: The study is based on a contrastive comparison between the two Persian translations of The Catcher in the Rye by Muhammad Najafi and Ahmad Karimi. In this study we tried to achieve which of these translators has followed the compensation strategy in his own translation, and whether they have been successful in this process or not. Gathering the data: Collecting the data, of course, is as important as other stages (like conclusion) and even more important. Because the more accurate the gathered data is so, the more favorable the result will be. Focusing on the process in this study, we long to explain the steps in data collecting, respectively. At the earliest step, we extracted English idioms and non-idioms from the first chapter of the novel, then found their Persian equivalents from two Persian translations by Najafi and Karimi of the same novel. We aimed to know whether English idioms are translated into Persian idioms or not and whether English non-idioms are translated into Persian idioms or not. Then we read the aforementioned translated chapter by two translators several times to clarify if they may be idioms. We looked up English idioms in Idioms Oxford Dictionary, although we had difficulty in recognizing the exact idiom at first. On the other hand, as we are Persian students, it was not hard to find Persian idioms as difficult as English idioms, anyway. But on non-idioms, we considered the most English phrases or sentences which translated as idioms in TL. Maybe you ask why we chose this novel. As you know, of course, this novel is rich in idioms and it makes the work for researcher to access the idealistic results easier. Then we counted the idioms and non-idioms in both original text and its Persian translations by two translators. Table 1. Total Number of Idiomatic and Non-Idiomatic Translations of the Salingers Idioms J.D. Salingers Idioms Total Translation Najafi Karimi 44 Idiomatic 22 18 Non- Idiomatic 22 26 In this table, we calculated the total numbers of English idioms (N=44) which is translated by translators, either idiomatic or non-idiomatic. As you can see, here, Najafi translated more English idioms (N=44) into Persian idioms (N=22) than Karimi. We guess, this table will confirm our claim that Najafi has translated much more skilful than Karimi, because he got use of compensation strategy by adding more Persian idioms than Karimi. Anyway, our purpose is not to compare persons and is just to determine if there is any use of compensation strategy in each of these translations. Table 2. Total Number of Idiomatic and Non-Idiomatic Translations of the Salingers Non-idioms J.D. Salingers Non-Idioms Total Translation Najafi Karimi 42 Idiomatic 42 26 Non-Idiomatic 0 16 This table also illustrated that Najafi translated 42 English non-idioms out of 42 as idiomatic. On the other hand, Karimi translated 26 English non-idioms out of 42 as idiomatic. This table shows how Najafi and Karimi have functioned in translating non-idioms into idioms. By total non-idioms, we mean those which translated as idioms by Najafi and it will be our criteria for counting Karimis idioms and non-idioms. Table 3. Total Number of Different Data Extracted from Both Translations and the Original Text Data J.D. Salinger Najafi Karimi Idiom 44 64 44 Non-idiom 42 22 42 Total 86 86 86 This table confirms that Najafi has translated the novel more idiomatic (N=64) than Karimi (N=44). Classifying the Data: After extracting and counting the total idioms in both original text and its translations, it revealed that translators had applied 3 different translation strategies for idioms. These strategies were: Translating English Idioms into Persian Idioms Translating English Idioms into Persian Non-idioms Translating English Non-idioms into Persian Idioms Analyzing the Data: In this stage, we analyzed the whole collected data and calculated frequency and the percentage proportion of each strategy in the same translations. The results are shown in the tables below; Table 4. Frequency and Percentage of Idioms Translation Strategies Applied by Najafi Strategy Frequency Percentage Translation of idiom with idiom 22 50 Translation of idiom with non-idiom 22 50 Total 44 100 Table 5. Frequency and Percentage of Idioms Translation Strategies Applied by Karimi Strategy Frequency Percentage Translation of idiom with idiom 18 40.90 Translation of idiom with non-idiom 26 59.10 Total 44 100 Table 6. Frequency and Percentage of Non-Idioms Translation Strategies Applied by Najafi Strategy Frequency Percentage Translation of non-idiom with idiom 42 100 Translation of non-idiom with non-idiom 0 0 Total 42 100 Table 7. Frequency and Percentage of Non-Idioms Translation Strategies Applied by Karimi Strategy Frequency Percentage Translation of non-idiom with idiom 26 61.90 Translation of non-idiom with non-idiom 16 38.10 Total 42 100 Table 8. Percentage of each Applied Strategies in both Translations Strategy Najafi Karimi Translation of non-idiom with idiom 100 61.90 Translation of non-idiom with non-idiom 0 38.10 Total 100 100 Results: The results show that both translators, Najafi and Karimi, have applied three strategies in translating idioms: translating English idioms with Persian idioms, translating English idioms with Persian non-idioms, translating English non-idioms with Persian idioms, and translating English non-idioms with Persian non-idioms. One of the translators, Najafi, used more frequently the first and the third (translating English idioms and non-idioms as Persian idioms) strategy in his translation, on the other hand, the latter translator, Karimi, used the second and the last (translating English idioms and non-idioms as Persian non-idioms) strategy more often. Discussion and Conclusion: As mentioned before, its hard to translate a SL idiom into TL idiom regarding the accurateness and the faithfulness of SL into TL. In this stud, out of 44 extracted idioms from J.D. Salingers novel, 22 (50%) of the expressions have not been translated as idioms by Najafi. In the same case, Karimi has translated 18 (40.90%) of the idioms with Persian idioms and the remaining 26(59.10%) idioms have been translated non-idiomatically. This imbalance between the total number of idioms and their non-idiomatic translations causes a loss of idiomaticity in the Persian translated texts. Some of these idiomatic losses have been compensated for elsewhere in the text, since the translators have replaced some English language non-idioms with Persian idioms. By this strategy, Najafi has added 42 idioms and Karimi has added 26 idioms to their translations. We recognized that theres not the exact contrast in numbers of idioms in two languages(SL,TL), but its very common in translation. The translators were somehow successful here in compensating idiom gaps in the TL. Furthermore, they compensated those non-idiom expressions in the original context to function better on their translations. Compensation strategy is considered here as the best to translate idioms, non-idioms and figure of speech as well.

How to Give a Good Presentation

How to Give a Good Presentation INTRODUCTION Oral presentation is a short talk where you show your knowledge on a particular subject and deliver an address to an audience. It is also the process of speaking to a group a people. Oral presentation skills can be learnt by anyone and these skills can help you deeply if you wish to perform well in the future. Most importantly, oral presentation can really help you to improve your social skills where you can enhance your self confidence and deal with any situation. Oral presentation also can heighten your academic and professional skills because it can be used in different ways and different stages or contexts especially in academic and business context. Furthermore, oral presentation will help to improve your leadership skills as you need to learn how to present yourself to audience. In a university or college, students are always required to give oral presentations in the classroom and during seminars. The ability to demonstrate effective oral presentations is very important to their further academic success. In order to become professional presenters, they need to enhance their academic and oral skills when preparing presentations. Ferris (1998) surveyed 683 foreigner English speaking undergraduates and postgraduates in an American university and the results show that 70% always, often or sometimes had problems in formal speech. Most students lack self-confidence to give oral academic presentations, especially for learner presenters. Therefore, the strategy students use in preparing presentations is very important. Oral presentation skills include topic choosing, effective visual aid, an appropriate speech opening and organization of presentation among other things. As graduate students need to give an oral presentation in the classroom and seminars, it is impo rtant to know that successful presentations depend on skills and strategies they use. In recent years, the English language has become the most important mode of communication in the world because English is spoken by more people than any other language. In order to sound educated and literate, people need to thoroughly study English. English is also usually used for communication in universities and colleges. Most lectures are conducted in English and the students need to be more involved in understanding English so that the learning process more effective. Therefore, with having proper English, the student can focus on their learning without being hindered by lack of communication skills. Nowadays, we must use proper English and good speech if we want to advance in the professional world. While working in any field, one has to be professional and studying English is important in order to gain a good career in your life. One has to attend training classes for English where one can learn more words to expand ones vocabulary. Having to learn more words makes you able to pronounce them with ease and that can make your communication and speech skills better. While studying English at school, college or university, it is impossible to get an A grade in English, in terms of communication, if you cannot speak the language. Spoken English is used in the best careers, the best universities, and is increasingly being used at job interviews. SPEAKING IN A FORMAL ACADEMIC CONTEXT Speaking within the academic context is becoming an important as teaching methods change to involve more joint projects and group marks. It is therefore important to try to be more aware of what is involved in seminar or group activity and to learn some of the interactional language that is used there. It is important to practice making presentations, taking part in discussions on academic topics and so on. As a university or college student, you are learning how to speak formally with your lecturers in the classroom. Learning how to speak in formal term can avoid miscommunication or misunderstanding. Moreover, understanding the characteristics of communication may also help you to become a better communicator in your college, personal life and professional career. Below are the dos and donts in a speaking in a formal academic context; Dos: Speak in a proper English Speak loudly and clearly. Sound confident. Speak slowly to get understanding and respect for what you are saying To make your audience feel involved, use your eye contact and body language Donts: Dont speak in broken English Dont mumble and sound not confident Dont read word by word from your text Dont waste your audiences time by speaking about something which is not relevant to the topic Dont hide behind something and cause the audience not to be able to see you clearly As we understand, there are many definitions of communication. Carl Rogers (1952) defined communication as listening, understanding and interpreting the message; Elizabeth Tierney (1998) defined it as you deliver the message, audience receives, reacts and responds to your message; Julia Wood (2009) defined it as delivering a message through symbols to create and interpret data and Joseph Devito (2009) said that communication is a process where one person or more sends and receives message, distorted by noise, occur within a context, have some effect and provides for feedback. In summary, the definition of communication is the process by which information is exchanged between senders and receivers with the aim of achieving mutual understanding. In communication, there are three models which are; Linear Model Views communication as a straight line where communication process is only in one direction. Laswells (1948) designed communication using the one way process; Shannon and Weavers (1949) added noise as a component between senders and receivers. Interactive Model Schramm (1955) shows that there is still a sender, receiver, message and noise but receiver providing feedback to sender. Both take turns to speak and listen to each other especially in their field experiences. The third model communication however is the one that is most often used; Transactional Model Wood (2001), shows that the elements in communication are interdependent. When we look at people talking to each other, it is easy to see that while we do take turns, sometimes we talk simultaneously or we may talk to one another. David Worley (2008) said there is no time laps sending and receiving message in transactional model. People send and receive message simultaneously, act as senders and receivers at the same time at least two places at once. In the transactional model, two people communicate with multiple messages through what may be multiple channels and with parallel messages. As with other models, the messages may be distorted and the people may be distracted, resulting in misunderstanding that fuels and hinders the model. We often speak in a transactional way, where we exchange messages. In doing so we may also be exchanging values to one another, for example in a greeting where each person gives the other a sense of comfort through a defined transac tional ritual. The actual transaction can be highly dependent on context. For example the transactions between people at home is often quite different between those at work or on the street. The transactional character between teacher and student is worth noting. They influence each other. We have all had teachers that seem to treat us with disfavor. The result is that we may react negatively to being treated as such. Ironically, the negative responses reinforce the teachers original attitudes and expectation. This is also quite evident in children/parent relationships. Parenting is not based just on what parents think they should do. Children influence parents just as much as parents influence their children. Public speaking is the way of delivering a speech in front of an audience. Speaking in front of a group of people takes a lot of bravery and detailed preparation. To be a good public speaker one needs skills and strategies. Public speaking skills are the key to success in almost any profession. Public speaking skills are important not only in making professional presentations but also to build professional network. Whether it is small talk or academic presentation, the ability to present oneself effectively is a deciding factor of career related success in academics. With a few strategies, it is possible to reach the set goals respectively. To make the presentation effective, the presenter must consider a few elements and the most important element is the audience. You need to know your audiences characteristic and the diversity of the audience. It is very important to know your audience in delivering your speech. Before the speech, you will analyze your audience more than while you are actually presenting the speech (Grice Skinner, 2007). The types of information needed in audience analysis are stated as below; Age to consider the age range because there is a need to use information that is familiar to the listeners; Gender men and women share a broad range of experiences and different socialization, topic can be made relevant to both genders; Education the audience has a variety of educational backgrounds and it is can affect the topic chosen to spoken about and how to approach the topic; Professional the audience has a variety of professional backgrounds. Needs to know the job requirement for each employee and not confuse a topic with a professional function; Level of Knowledge and Experience the presenter must know the knowledge and experience level of the audience so that the presenter can better focus on the presentation and deliver information using the right level of detail. Languages It is an important medium of exchange between presenter and audience. Do not talk down to the audience and avoid oversimplifying the examples. The choice of language will either benefit or interrupt learning. If the latter occurs it could obstruct the interaction between you and an audience (Garmston Wellman, 1992). PREPARING AN ORAL PRESENTATION Delivering an effective oral presentation needs good preparation. Preparing for an oral presentation is as important as delivering the presentation. If your preparation is not good enough, your goal for your message to be clear, organized and well thought out cannot be achieved. In order to prepare an oral presentation, you need to; Choose a topic that you are understand and are familiar with and your audience can easily understand. Study your topic and use other sources such as internet, books, articles and experts to enhance your presentation. The topic should be interesting, easy to search and locate reliable sources. Verify the purpose of presentation because oral presentation has so many topics and varies. It is depends on the message that you will deliver. Analyze the audience and know their expectations. Think about their age, values, gender, education and knowledge level. Structuring your presentation structure your presentation by giving an introduction, main ideas and conclusion. Structuring your presentation can avoid confusion and frustration to the audience. Introduction inform your topic and explain to the audience what your presentation will cover. Provide an outline of the main points. You also can provide any necessary background to make your presentation more interesting. A good introduction will capture an audience attention. Main ideas/content develop your main points and give an example and evidence. Make sure that your information is well-structured and provide clear connections between main points, explanations and examples. Conclusion summarise your main points and do not give any new information in the conclusion. Restate the main points to show that you have covered all the points and achieved your aim to deliver the message effectively. Invite the audience to questions and re-answer the question. Organize the topics information and your material, write a draft and summarise it in card notes. You must be able to understand your card notes in order to deliver them to an audience. Make your card notes easy to see and read. Use your card notes as a guide to help you remember what needs to be said. Think about the length of time you have to speak and the amount of information you can include. Plan and prepare your visual aids. Learn the use of Powerpoint well before your presentation. Do the simple visual aids and do not confuse your audience with unnecessary use of animation, sound clips or colors which are not connected to your topic. Examples; Your visual aids should help the audience understand the topic better. Rehearse your presentation in an environment that is similar to where you will be giving your presentation and get its length right. Practice in front of your friends or family and use your visual aids. You also can tape yourself so that you can identify your areas of weakness and improve on it. Practice and time your presentation by using a stopwatch in order to make sure that your presentation does not exceed the time limit or is too short. MAKING AN EFFECTIVE ORAL PRESENTATION Making an effective oral presentation involves focusing on the needs of your audience, careful planning and good delivery of your speech. An important step when you give your presentation is how you introduce or begin your topic of presentation. The introduction is important because it is used to lure audience to listening to what you have to say. The purpose is to catch the attention of your audience. Make your introduction as brief as possible because long introductions tend to bore the audience. The main aim of speech introduction is to introducing speech topic and its purpose. Begin your introduction speech with the following; Greet your audience with a sincere smile. It should start with a courtesy greeting such as good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Introduce your name again even though you are already been introduced. Saying your name personalizes things and affords you some time to focus your thoughts on your speech. The first line must contain information about you. Ask the audience a rhetorical question. Do not expect it to be answered by your audience. Actually you use the question to set the outline for your speech. You give an answer and then build the interest. Make a very controversial statement. Start your speech by telling the audience something that they do not know. It can be an interesting statistic or a controversial idea. Provoking the thoughts of the audience will keep them interested to hear your upcoming speech. Give a definition of an expert to enhance your credibility. You also can use definitions from dictionaries or other authoritative sources. If you use this technique make sure you find an interesting definition and deliver it with impact. Ask a proactive question which allows the audience to become part of the speech. You are sure of grabbing their attention with a question especially if it is related to the subject matter of the presentation. Starting your speech with a question helps to engage your audience mentally as they will seek to find answers to the question you asked even if you do not specifically request a response from them. In your presentation, when presenting the content or the middle of your speech, you need to respect your audiences aptitude for facts, figures and data without patronizing the audience with gimmicks. You need to deliver the information they want to hear such as the definition of terms, describing the situation, facts, figure, references or examples. Concluding speeches are also very important in your oral presentation. A good conclusion sensibly reinforces your ideas and enhances your speech. You can conclude your speech by a restatement of your speech, summarize main points in a brief and concise manner and use references but do not use the same device in the conclusion. When you are presenting in front of your audience, it is very important to know how you are being perceived. Below are the tips on how to make your presentation more effective; Body Language adopt a confident posture. Walk confidently to the stage for your speech. Standing, walking or moving around with arms relaxed at the side Appearance Dress professionally depending on where you are presenting. Be aware of your dress according to the dress code of society who will be your audience. Dress nicely and groom yourself before make the presentation Voice speak in a loud, clear voice with correct pronunciation. Use standard language to make sure that your audience will understand clearly and deliver the message effectively. Adjust your voice accordingly to make sure that everyone can hear your speech. Avoid speaking too fast or continuously without pause. The pause can allow yourself and the audience time to reflect and think. CONCLUSION Oral presentation plays an important part in the assessment especially in the academic context. It is an effective tool to support your success in your future career. Oral presentation skills can enhance your confidence level to become a better communicator in college, personal life and professional career. To make sure that your oral presentation is effective, it is so important to plan the presentation with good preparation. Be well organized and confident of the content. Be aware of your body language when presenting your speech. Be an effective presenter by planning your speech, preparing good visual aids and understanding clearly all areas of the presentation.

Merchant Of Venice :: Free Merchant of Venice Essays

The Storytellers in The Merchant of Venice In this play two characters have a bigger role than one might imagine. Salerio and Solanio are the storytellers in The Merchant of Venice. They fill in important information that the audience needs to full understand the play. First, the two names differ by only a few letters, they are so close that one might confuse the two and think that they are the same person. I feel that this is Shakespeare's intention in this play. He makes the two similar so that they are not very important to the plot of the play. At the same time they are two different people, not just a narrator. I feel that Shakespeare does this so that he can have the two characters speaking to each other. It is through their, Salerio and Solanio, interactions that the audience learns important information to the plot of the play. At the opening of the play three characters are on stage, Antonio, Salerio, and Solanio. Through the dialogue, Salerio informs the audience of Antonio's ships: "Your mind is tossing on the ocean/There where your argosies [ i.e., great merchant ships] with portly [i.e., stately] sail (I.i. 8-9). While in the same scene Solanio helps the audience establish that Antonio has no major love interest: "Why then you are in love," to which Antonio replies, "Fie, fie!" (I.i. 46-47). Through their conversations, the two have given the audience a basis for the play: that Antonio is a merchant and that he is not concerned about being in love. An entire scene (viii) in Act II is given completely to a conversation between Solanio and Salerio. Here they tell of many events that have happened: Bassanio's ship setting off and Gratiano going with him; Shylock's reaction to Jessica and his ducats being gone; a Venetian ship that is wrecked in the English Channel; and also the parting between Antonio and Bassanio. Here, through the conversation of Solanio and Salerio the audience is told what has happened. Thus they have only one way to obtain the information. They all have the same thoughts about what has happened since they did not see the scenes and were only told about them. Solanio and Salerio are the storytellers in the play but they are only used for about two thirds of the play. The scene that either one of them is in is scene ii of Act III.

Focus Essay -- Biology Essays Research Papers

Focus Everyone has problems concentrating once in a while, moments when the words on the page don't seem nearly as interesting as one's own thoughts. Most everyone has days when they feel an unexplained burst of exuberance or restlessness . Maybe it was a promotion or a messy break up, but the work just wouldn't get done and not for lack of trying. Now imagine everyday like this, every day filled with frenetic energy that cannot seem to be channeled into anything productive. Sure it might be fun for a while, but what about when you really need to get something done and it doesn't happen. You go to clean your room, and six hours later there are still piles of clothing on the floor. You can't recall what it is that you've been doing all afternoon. All you know is that nothing got done. You go to read a book, but the words dissolve into marks on the page, patterns which make no logical sense, providing only the background for another means of staring off into space. You go to visit a friend, but she quickly tires of the way you seem to constantly interrupt her. You were listening to what she said, but you just got ahead of her somehow and started talking over her. You find yourself depressed and isolated. This is the world of someone who suffers from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. (1,2) According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental disorders, published by the American Psychiatric Association as the main set of guidelines for diagnosing mental disorders in the USA, there are four main subtypes of ADHD: inattentive, hyperactive/impulsive, combined, and not otherwise specified. The symptomology of each include: 1. ADHD-Inattentive* : a. Fails to give close attention to details or makes careless mi... ...s not necessarily all bad. By entertaining a greater range of stimuli, ADHD can make the person seem more creative and free thinking. Nevertheless, lacking the ability to properly focus one's attention, the sufferer will also find him or herself at a serious disadvantage on a very fundamental level, which can effect his or her social, scholastic, and emotional life. Thus drug and behavioral therapies are a god-send to many families. Ritalin, as well as Dexedrine and Cylert, etc., should be carefully considered, then carefully monitored if the decision is made to try them. Attention deficit is not an easy thing with which to live, but if found and treated, the person can lead an entirely normal and happy life. Sources Consulted: http://www.mentalhealth.com/drug/p30-r03.html http://www.newideas.net/p0000409.htm http://www.breggin.com/ritalinbkexcerpt.html

Causes and Effects of Child Labor Essay

​Child labor is the act of the employment of children that harms them or prevents them from attending school. An innumerable amount of children from all around the world lose their innocence to being employed in dreadful occupations. Have you ever wondered when did this inhumane act start? The history of child labor can be dated back to the Industrial Revolution. During that era, children were forced to work in hazardous conditions with insufficient pay. They would suffer for countless hours in dangerous environments for the sake of overcoming financial difficulties. This essay will discuss the causes and effects of child labor during and after the Industrial Revolution. ​There are many causes of child labor. To begin with, the main reason why children were employed is because of the extreme poverty and overpopulation. Poverty-stricken families tend to have a lot of children, thus their progeny become a burden. The children cause more financial distress to their parents; so having them work would alleviate the troubles they are going through even though it might still be inadequate to support the indigent family. Moreover, another cause is migration of families from the rural areas to the urban areas with the optimism of having a better life. Sadly, their expectations of having good jobs were not met, however; a more exasperating life struck them in their new area. In most cases, all of the family members ended up working to avoid being impoverished. Furthermore, another cause is the lack of education. The ignorance of the parents prevents the children from having a normal childhood, they make them sweep chimneys and work in factories that have toxic materials and dangerous machinery. The children go through these obstacles while their parents stay at home, unemployed. Also, those uneducated parents do not understand the significance of learning is in the children’s life, and working prevents them from getting the essential education they need. Since working at a very young age has many causes, it must also have many severe consequences that affect both the children and their society. ​The effects of child labor are countless. First of all, the children who find difficulties in working or make a very small amount of money usually end up begging on the streets. They would give up their dignity just to earn a little amount of money. Also, in many situations, they fall into the dark side of life and become thieves just to earn cash  the rapid way. Additionally, many children face many health problems, both physical and mental, as a result of being exposed to hazardous materials and working for countless hours in a harsh workplace. Their physical health will be damaged due to being surrounded by harmful materials in their workplace, for the child might accidentally inhale or ingest the chemicals. The children’s mental health can also be damaged by the employers who do not care about them. The employer thinks that he/she can get away with mistreating the children because they are young and unaware of their rights by constantly threatening and verbally abusing them. However, this will severely affect the child as they approach adulthood. ​In conclusion, child labor is an inhumane act that makes children, no matter how old, work in the toughest situations, which started in the Industrial Revolution. The causes of child labor contain being poor, moving from one area to another, and their parents being unschooled. The result of child labor includes turning children into beggars and thieves, and causing severe health problems.

The Riz-Carlton Applicaiton Summary

1999 Application Summary THE RITZ-CARLTON ® HOTEL COMPANY, L. L. C. Copyright  © 2000 by THE RITZ-CARLTON ® HOTEL COMPANY, L. L. C. – All Rights Reserved THE RITZ-CARLTON ® HOTEL COMPANY, L. L. C. at a Glance Products and Services: The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L. L. C. develops and operates luxury hotels for others. The hotels are designed and identified to appeal to and suit the requirements of its principal customers who consist of: (1) Meeting Event Planners and (2) Independent Business and Leisure Travelers. President & COO: Horst Schulze Headquarters: 3414 Peachtree Road, N. E. Suite 300 Atlanta, Georgia 30326Operations: One Central Reservations Office Seven International Sales Offices (ISO’s) 24 Hotels and Resorts in North America Two Hotels in Europe Eight Hotels and Resorts in Asia Two Hotels in Australia 30 Hotels under Development Customer Base: Over 800,000 Customers World-wide 1999 Revenue: $1. 5 Billion. A 40% increase over the previous five year s. Employees: 17,000 World-wide, known as The Ladies and Gentlemen of The Ritz-Carlton History: Established in 1983, the former owner, W. B. Johnson Properties, acquired the exclusive North American rights to the Ritz-Carlton trademark, the foremost ame in luxury hotels. This status was largely due to the legendary Caesar Ritz who developed and operated two of the world’s best hotels in Paris and London. The hotels achieved such fame in the marketplace that they attained what is often referred to as â€Å"The Ritz Mystique†. In 1995, The Ritz-Carlton was jointly acquired by Marriott International Inc. to achieve their strategy of entering the luxury hotel segment of the industry; the takeover/merger occurred in 1997. Copyright  © 2000 by THE RITZ-CARLTON ® HOTEL COMPANY, L. L. C. – All Rights Reserved The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L. L. C. 999 Application Summary Overview A History of Managing for Performance Excellence in the Hotel Industry Most hotels re mained profitable despite these quality deficiencies because competitors had similar problems. Previously, in tiny hotels and inns, the innkeeper directed activities in the organization personally, including â€Å"managing for quality†. As hotels grew in size, the volume of activity outgrew the capacity of the innkeeper to manage by personal direction – it became necessary to delegate. Ritz-Carlton Returns to the Fundamentals: Upper Management Participation Then came 1983 and Horst Schulze. More Summary of Devil at My HeelsThe pace quickened with a lengthy procession of new Ritz-Carlton Hotels under development. Faced with this challenge, Horst Schulze and his team decided to personally take charge of managing for quality because they realized managing for quality could not be delegated! Apprentices were trained in the craft and qualified by examination to become craftsmen. The innkeeper – the master – then delegated much of the managing for quality to the craftsmen, subject to inspection and audit by the master. Many of our standards go back 100 years to this era of Caesar Ritz and the legendary Chef August Escoffier.The upper management participation of Horst Schulze and his team ranged across a broad spectrum, but most significant activities consisted of: As we entered the 20th century, the size of a hotel and its organization sharply increased. The resulting large hotels required functional departments. The innkeeper – now a general manager â₠¬â€œ delegated to each functional department head the responsibility for quality, for performing the function correctly. †¢ Defining the traits of all company products which are set out in The Credo. For a full explanation of The Credo, see Figure 1 on page 2. With the emergence and growth of technology, hotel roducts and processes became increasingly complex. To deal with these new complexities the hotel industry adopted the principle of separating planning from doing. Planning of the various departments was delegated to division and department heads (e. g. Food & Beverage managers, Rooms Executives, Purchasing Directors, etc. ). This left the job of executing the plans to the first-line supervisors and the workforce. The separation of planning from execution had four major consequences. †¢ Translating The Credo into basic standards to clarify the quality responsibilities for our Ladies and Gentlemen; the ost important of which include: (1) anticipating the wishes and nee ds of the guests (2) resolving their problems and (3) genuinely caring conduct towards guests and each other. 1. A factory concept emerged in which people were assigned one task rather than a single craftsman performing the entire sequence of tasks. In this factory approach, if task #11 was causing a problem for task #24, it wasn’t identified until it reached the customer, and even then the problem likely continued. 2. A dramatic rise in productivity. 3. The segregation of divisions and departments. 4. A further distancing of upper managers from the job of anaging for quality. †¢ Aggressively instilling a passion for excellence. †¢ Personally training the Ladies and Gentlemen of a new Ritz-Carlton on The Credo and Basic Standards, commonly referred to as The Gold Standards, which are shown on page 2 as Figure 1. Another Major Change, A Comprehensive Structure By 1989 Horst Schulze realized that a more comprehensive structure was necessary for the Ritz-Carlton to opt imize its performance. He selected the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Criteria. Through the use of this assessment tool and the resulting feedback reports,The Ritz-Carlton developed a â€Å"Roadmap† to business excellence (see pages 3-4) which has attained significantly higher performance levels. A major ingredient of this approach was involving people in the planning of the work that affects them. The progressive removal of upper management from managing for quality produced negative effects on quality. Typically, performance either fell short of customer need or the cost to meet the need became excessive. In addition, the hotels accumulated huge chronic costs as a result of poor quality. 1 THREE STEPS OF SERVICE 1 A warm and sincere greeting. Use the guest name, if nd when possible. 2 Anticipation and compliance with guest needs. â€Å"We Are At The Ritz-Carlton, our Ladies and Gentlemen are the most important resource in our service commitment to our guests. Ladi es and By applying the principles of trust, honesty, respect, integrity and commitment, we nurture and maximize talent to the benefit of each individual and the company. Gentlemen Serving Ladies and The Ritz-Carlton fosters a work environment where diversity is valued, quality of life is enhanced, individual aspirations are fulfilled, and The Ritz-Carlton mystique is strengthened. Gentlemen† THE RITZ-CARLTON ® CREDOThe Ritz-Carlton Hotel is a place where the genuine care and comfort of our guests is our highest mission. We pledge to provide the finest personal service and facilities for our guests who will always enjoy a warm, relaxed yet refined ambience. The Ritz-Carlton experience enlivens the senses, instills well-being, and fulfills even the unexpressed wishes and needs of our guests.  © 2000, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L. L. C. All Rights Reserved 2 The Ritz-Carlton ® Basics 1. The Credo is the principal belief of our Company. It must be known, owned and energ ized by all. 2. Our Motto is: â€Å"We are Ladies andGentlemen serving Ladies and Gentlemen. † As service professionals, we treat our guests and each other with respect and dignity. 3. The Three Steps of Service are the foundation of Ritz-Carlton hospitality. These steps must be used in every interaction to ensure satisfaction, retention and loyalty. 4. The Employee Promise is the basis for our Ritz-Carlton work environment. It will be honored by all employees. 5. All employees will successfully complete annual training certification for their position. 6. Company Objectives are communicated to all employees. It is everyone’s responsibility to support them. 7.To create pride and joy in the workplace, all employees have the right to be involved in the planning of the work that affects them. 8. Each employee will continuously identify defects (M. R. B. I. V. ) throughout the Hotel. 9. It is the responsibility of each employee to create a work environment of teamwork and lateral service so that the needs of our guests and each other are met. 10. Each employee is empowered. For example, when a guest has a problem or needs something special, you should break away from your regular duties to address and resolve the issue. 11. Uncompromising levels of cleanliness are the responsibility of every employee. 2. To provide the finest personal service for our guests, each employee is responsible for identifying and recording individual guest preferences. 13. Never lose a guest. Instant guest pacif ication is the responsibility of each employee. Whoever receives a complaint will own it, resolve it to the guest’s satisfaction and record it. 14. â€Å"Smile – We are on stage. † Always maintain positive eye contact. Use the proper vocabulary with our guests and each other. (Use words like – â€Å"Good Morning,† â€Å"Certainly,† â€Å"I’ll be happy to† and â€Å"My pleasure. †) 15. Be an ambassador of your Hotel in a n d o u t s i d e o f t h e wo r k p l a c e .Always speak positively. Communicate any concerns to the appropriate person. 16. Escort guests rather than pointing out directions to another area of the Hotel. 17. Use Ritz-Carlton telephone etiquette. Answer within three rings with a â€Å"smile. † Use the guest’s name when possible. When necessary, ask the caller â€Å"May I place you on hold? † Do not screen calls. Eliminate call transfers whenever possible. Adhere to voice mail standards. 18. Take pride in and care of your pers o n a l a p p e a r a n c e . E v e r yo n e i s responsible for conveying a professional image by adhering to RitzCarlton clothing and grooming standards. 19.Think safety first. Each employee is responsible for creating a safe, secure and accident free environment for all guests and each other. Be aware of all fire and safety emergency procedures and report any security risks immediately. 20. P r o t e c t i n g t h e a s s e t s o f a R i t z Carlton hotel is the responsibility of every employee. Conserve energy, properly maintain our Hotels and protect the environment.  © 2000, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L. L. C. All Rights Reserved Figure 1 The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L. L. C. 1999 Application Summary 3 Fond farewell. Give them a warm good-bye and use their names, if and when possible.THE EMPLOYEE PROMISE The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L. L. C. 1999 Application Summary The Ritz-Carlton Chronology of Performance Excellence Genesis 1890’s Caesar Ritz defines Standards for a Luxury Hotel Apprentice Programs, Inspection/Audit by the Master 1900 General Manager Concept Delegation of Quality to Functional Managers Managers Plan / Workers Do 1980 1983 Extensive Participation of Horst Schulze in the Management of Quality †¢ The Credo †¢ Basic Standards for The Ladies and Gentlemen †¢ A Passion for Excellence 1988 1989 MBNQA Audits and Feedback Business Excellence Roadma p (Figure 3) Involving People in the Planning f the Work that Affects Them 1999 100% Employee Pride & Joy Zero Customer Difficulties 100% Customer Loyalty Figure 2 2003 3 The Ritz-Carlton Business Excellence Roadmap Deployment â€Å"Do† Results â€Å"Check† Improvement â€Å"Act† A Passion for Excellence Senior Leaders â€Å"Start-Up† new hotels Performance Evaluations Development / Training Plans Distribution of â€Å"The Pyramid† Leadership Center Daily Reinforcement of The Gold Standards 1. Leadership Approach â€Å"Plan† The Seven Pyramid Decisions MBNQA Developmental Job Assignments Basic Empowerment Process Divide/Subdivide Objectives Select Process Owners Actual versus Planned performance comparedQuarterly by Upper Managers at the corporate and hotel level Act on the Differences Evaluate / Improve Planning Process Develop Processes Provide Necessary Resources Daily Operations review by the workforce 4 3. Customer and Market Focus Mark et Research that concentrates on the quality of the hotel facility and operations 6P’s Concept Operation of the â€Å"CLASS† Database Daily Hotel Measurement †¢ SQI †¢ RevPAR by Market Segment Evaluate / Improve Annually Standard Performance Measurement Monthly Measurement †¢ Advance Bookings †¢ Customer Satisfaction †¢ RevPAR †¢ P&L 4. Information and Analysis Selecting Performance Measurements for: Upper Managers †¢ Daily Operations Individual Process Owners select Performance Measurements for: †¢ Upper Managers †¢ Daily Operations Comparative Benchmarking Share/Replicate Best Practice Performance, On-Going Figure 3 Statistically Trained Employees, Consulting Specialists Continuous Improvement The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L. L. C. 1999 Application Summary Fact-based Strategic Objectives Fact-based Key Process Identification 2. Strategic Planning The Ritz-Carlton Business Excellence Roadmap MBNQA 5. Human Resources Devel opment and Management Approach â€Å"Plan† Results â€Å"Check† Improvement â€Å"Act† Employee Education, Training andDevelopment Q. S. P. Site Visits by Senior H. R. Leaders Day 21/365 Training Certification Review Performance Appraisal Evaluations Analysis of Employee Surveys Analysis of Employee Surveys 6. Process Management Manage Key Production and Support Processes Incorporate changing Customer requirements P. Q. I. 5 S. Q. I. Major changes that require project management The GreenBook Process Audits Incremental Day-to-Day Improvements Actual versus Planned Performance compared quarterly by Senior Leaders at the corporate and hotel level Continuously and Forever Improve Process Owners Modify Processes for each new hotel 7. BusinessResults Strategic Objectives define long-term targets Lead People Manage Processes Tactical Processes set annual targets Standard Performance Measures Daily Operations Review by the workforce Figure 3 (continued) The Ritz-Carlto n Hotel Company, L. L. C. 1999 Application Summary Jobs are designed so our people: †¢ Know what to do †¢ Know how well they are doing †¢ Can regulate the process or their own personal conduct Deployment â€Å"Do† The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L. L. C. 1999 Application Summary Leadership as The Gold Standards, Figure 1, page 2. These standards consist of: (1) The Credo (2) The Basics (3) Three Steps ofService (4) Motto and most recently, (5) The Employee Promise. These standards have had a long life with only The Basics changing with business conditions. Our Senior Leaders continue the strong excellencedriven leadership that began in 1983 and resulted in us becoming a recipient of the 1992 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. In the years following the award they actually increased their involvement in both the improvement and operation of our structured approach to business excellence. A summary of this business excellence roadmap is shown in Figure 3, p age 4. Collectively, these standards have an incredible empowering effect on TheRitz-Carlton Ladies and Gentlemen to think and act independently with innovation for both the benefit of the customer and our organization. Approach â€Å"Plan† Since The Credo stresses â€Å"providing the f inest and anticipating the unfulf illed wishes of our guests,† The Ritz-Carlton Ladies and Gentlemen continually learn and innovate. The Three Steps of Service, combined with our basic empowerment process shown below in Figure 1. 2 promotes innovative, quick personal service. Our Senior Leaders have a passion for excellence, largely because of: (1) the performance expectations of Horst Schulze (2) our Gold Standards and (3) the Pride and Joy of chieving excellence. The seven specific decisions made by our Senior Leaders, collectively, to set direction for business excellence are shown below: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Deployment â€Å"DO† The specific actions taken by our Senior Leader s to deploy our leadership approach consist of three major processes: 10 Year Vision 5 Year Mission 3 Year Objectives 1 Year Tactics Strategy Methods Foundation 1. Since 1984, all members of Senior Leadership have personally ensured that each new hotel’s goods and services are characteristic of The Ritz-Carlton on opening day. Since six to seven hotels open each year, our leaders pend at least six to seven weeks working with our Ladies and Gentlemen (using a combination of hands-on behavior modeling and reinforcement) during the seven day countdown to opening. This includes the President and COO who personally demonstrates the guest/employee interface image and facilitates the first vision statement The process for providing our Senior Leaders with the necessary data and analysis to make these key decisions is explained fully in the Strategic Planning section. It is worth mentioning that our Senior Leaders personally established our foundation, which is now referred toThe Bas ic Empowerment Process Three Steps of Service 1 Warm Welcome 2 Anticipation and Compliance with Guest Needs Employee Senses Guest Wish or Need Employee Breaks Away from Routine Duties Employee Applies Immediate Positive Action Determine Guest Reaction If Satisfied If Dissatisfied 3 Fond Farewell Document the Incident Employee Returns to Routine Duties Figure 1. 2 6 Guest Memory System Escalate the Complaint The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L. L. C. 1999 Application Summary Results â€Å"Check† session for each newly formed department. During these formative sessions which all employees must attend, thePresident and COO personally interacts with every new employee both individually and in a group setting. His in-depth knowledge of hotel operations and enthusiasm for The Gold Standards are an inspiration for all concerned. Leadership effectiveness is evaluated (1) On key questions of our semi-annual employee satisfaction results (these questions reveal if the respective leader h as gained the full support of the Ladies and Gentlemen regarding our Gold Standards). (2) Through audits on public responsibility (i. e. Life Safety Systems, Security Systems, Food Preparation and Alcoholic Beverage Service, Environmental Stewardship). . The results of the seven specific decisions from the annual strategic planning process are arranged in a â€Å"Pyramid Concept† and distributed throughout the organization. The 2000 Pyramid is shown in Figure 1. 3. Improvement â€Å"Act† Gaps in leadership effectiveness are ad3. The Gold Standards are reinforced daily dressed with development/training plans. For in a variety of forums which include: (1) widespread deficiencies, the corporate human lectures at new employee orientation (2) resource function develops/improves courses, developmental training (3) daily line-up processes or facilities.As a result, we have 10 YEAR VISION meeting (4) administration of both posdeveloped a leadership center at Corporate To be Th e itive and negative reinforcement (5) Headquarters. In addition, we make exPremier Worldwide mission statements displayed (6) distensive use of developmental job assignProvider of Luxury tribution of Credo Cards (7) The ments. Credo as first topic of internal Travel and Hospitality Prodmeetings and (8) peer pressure. ucts and Services 5 YEAR MISSION Product and Profit Dominance OBJECTIVES T h e V i t a l – Fe w O b j e c t i v e s TACTICS Key Production and Business ProcessesSTRATEGY C u s t o m e r a n d M a r k e t Fo c u s S t r a t e g y w i t h Action Plans METHOD TQM – Application of Quality Sciences  · M a l c o l m B a l d r i g e N a t i o n a l Q u a l i t y Aw a r d C r i t e r i a  · T h e G r e e n B o o k – 2 nd E d i t i o n FOUNDATION Va l u e s a n d P h i l o s o p h y – T h e G o l d S t a n d a r d s Credo  · Motto Three Steps of Service  · Basics  · Employee Promise Copyright  © 2000 by THE RITZ-CARLTON HOTEL COMPANY, L. L. C. – All Rights Reserved Figure 1. 3 7 The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L. L. C. 1999 Application Summary Strategic Planning Planning ProcessAt The Ritz-Carlton, Strategic Development is the process that enables Senior Leaders to make specific decisions that set direction for Business Excellence. 1 Macro Environment Analysis Confirm/Modify Vision, Mission, Strategy, Methods, Foundation Approach â€Å"Plan† A description of the three major components of our planning process, including the pre-work known as the Macro Environment Analysis, is show in Figure 2. 1. Macro-Environment Analysis This extensive analysis is done to understand the current state (and expected future state) of the Macro Environment in which we operate our company.The key result of the analysis is a projection of the future state of The Ritz-Carlton relative to competitors and the expectations of hotel owners in primary performance areas. Subsequently, gaps are identified. 2 Select RITZ-CARLTON Str ategic Mandates 3 Develop RITZ-CARLTON â€Å"VitalFew† Objectives and Targets March—June Figure 2. 1 Step 1 March – June Using the Macro Environment Analysis, Senior Leaders confirm the 10 Year Vision, 5 Year Mission, Strategy, Methods and Foundation or make changes. Step 2 March – June Deployment Process 5 1 Reinforce Pyramid Concept/ Plans/Budget Develop Production Processes 6Using the Macro Environment Analysis, strategic mandates are identified along with gaps in performance. Step 3 March – June The strategic mandates and the gaps identified in the Macro Environment Analysis are used to create the Vital-Few Objectives for the next three years. The Objectives are designed to address the projected gaps identified in the Macro Environment Analysis and to maintain or enlarge The Ritz-Carlton advantage over competitors where these advantages exist. VitalFew Objectives are separated into multiple categories for two purposes: (1) respond to the Strate gic Mandates and (2) represent all who are ffected by The Ritz-Carlton. The output of this step becomes our Pyramid (Figure 1. 3, page 7). Communicate Pyramid Concept to the Ladies and Gentlemen 2 Deploy Support Processes 7 Execute Plans 8 3 Develop Preliminary Plans / Budgets for L. L. C. and Hotels Daily Line-Up Reinforcement on-going throughout the year 9 Evaluate/Improve Planning Process 4 Finalize RITZ-CARLTON Pyramid Plan, Budgets for L. L. C. and Hotels Conduct Monthly Reviews of Plan at all levels. Collect information for the next cycle. October—February July—September Figure 2. 2 8 The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L. L. C. 999 Application Summary Deployment â€Å"DO† Activities that have been agreed upon are then tied into our financial planning and budget process. The specific actions by Senior Leaders to deploy the Vital-Few Objectives are shown in Figure 2. 2. Steps 5 – 7 October – February Step 5 occurs during our semi-annual General Ma nagers meeting which sets in motion steps 6 and 7. Step 1 July – September Key Production processes are identified by three criteria: (1) work that ranks very important to customers (2) work that is rising in importance to customers and (3) work that is poor in comparison to competitors.These processes must then be developed and deployed. This is done by process owners at the corporate level. For a discussion of these processes and how they are developed see Section 6, Process Management. Step 8 On-Going Throughout the Year Every day, in every work area, on every shift, a brief line-up meeting is held. During these formative sessions, the Pyramid Concept is deployed, The Gold Standards are reinforced and good ideas are shared. Step 9 Annually Step 2 July – September Each year the Vice-President of Quality is responsible for evaluating and improving the Strategic Planning Process.Benchmarking other Baldrige recipients is used extensively for continuous improvement. Supp ort processes are deployed to the support functions of the organization. These processes indirectly affect our products and enable us to reach our Vital-Few Objectives. These processes are also developed/deployed by corporate process owners at the corporate office. Results â€Å"Checks† Monthly performance reviews of the the Strategic Plan are conducted by the upper managers at the corporate and hotel level. The framework of a typical review is shown in Figure 2. , which focuses on the pre-established performance indicators of the Vital-Few Objectives as well as key processes. This information allows us to easily make improvements and benchmarking comparisons which are discussed in Category 4. Steps 3 – 4 July – September To bring out into the open the resources required to reach our Vital-Few Objectives, we involve the Ladies and Gentlemen of The Ritz-Carlton. First, we communicate the measures and targets of our Vital-Few Objectives to lower levels of the orga nization. The lower levels then identify the deeds, that if done, will collectively meet the objectives.The lower levels also â€Å"submit the bill† to perform these deeds. Focus Indicators What’s Reviewed Employee Pride & Joy †¢ Key Survey Questions †¢ Turnover Actual versus Plan / Trends Customer Loyalty †¢ Overall Customer Satisfaction †¢ Customer Difficulties Revpar / P&L †¢ Advance Bookings †¢ Market / Business Performance Actual versus Plan / Foremost Competitor, Trends Actual versus Plan / Industry Trends Key Processes †¢ Key Production and Actual versus Support Processes Plan / Trends Figure 2. 3 Process Owner †¢ Human Resource Director †¢ Operations Director †¢ Quality Director †¢ Marketing Director †¢ Finance Director Functional Leaders 9 The quarterly performance reviews are translated into opportunities for improvement and innovation. These decisions are determined by process owners with assistance from the special organization of Directors of Quality. Widespread understanding and involvement of findings and actions are deployed to lower levels through: (1) the traditional hierarchy (2) process owners and teams and (3) Commitment to Quality newsletters. Another form of improvement is the evaluation of the Strategic Planning Process. The Vice-President of Quality is responsible for developing, benchmarking and improving his process. The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L. L. C. 1999 Application Summary Customer and Market Focus A particularly noteworthy tool that we use is CLASS (an automated â€Å"memory system† that links returning guests to their preferences). The practice of remembering regular guests creates lasting relationships, which is a major competitive advantage for us. The types of information stored in the CLASS database are given in Figure 3. 2 . At The Ritz-Carlton, customer and market focus concentrates on the information needed for hotel development and ope ration explained in Section 6, Process Management.Approach â€Å"Plan† In addition, we utilize other information technology: (1) DFS (2) Product Quality Indicators (PQI) and (3) Service Quality Indicators (SQI), explained in the next Section, Information and Analysis. The many needs and sources of this information (i. e. market research) are summarized in Figure 3. 1. Needs and Sources of Market Research at The Ritz-Carlton Needs for Market / Customer Information Brought to our Attention Readily Available but Requires Analysis Determination of Market Segments †¢ Sales and Marketing function ranks potential and current customers by volume, geography and profit Analysis of â€Å"CLASS† database Identifying Potential Customers Relative Priorities of Customers †¢ â€Å"Automated Memory System† that links returning guests to their preferences Widespread Customer Dissatisfaction Competitive Quality Status Opportunities for Improving RevPAR through Quality â € ¢ Alliances with Travel Partners (Airlines, Credit Card Companies, Convention Bureaus, etc. ) †¢ Same as above †¢ Focus Groups †¢ Customer Satisfaction results †¢ Use of Information Technology †¢ DFS Demand Forecast Individual Dissatisfaction of Customers Must be created by a Special Study †¢ Complaints, Claims, ClientAlerts, Feedback from the Salesforce, Summarized in the SQI/PQI †¢ Pareto analysis of the SQI and PQI †¢ Ratings from Customers, Star Report, Salesforce reports †¢ Summary of above analysis †¢ Summary of above †¢ Criteria, Rating and Awards from Travel Industry publications †¢ Pareto analysis to identify major causes of customer dissatisfaction Figure 3. 1 10 †¢ Interviews with customers †¢ World-Class customer and employee satisfaction data †¢ Special psychological studies to understand: 1. What Customers mean, not what they say 2. How to appeal to the customer in the language they most und erstandThe Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L. L. C. 1999 Application Summary Deployment â€Å"DO† to remember returning guests and generate essential preference and schedule information to all concerned. In this way, the Ladies and Gentlemen of The Ritz-Carlton and our suppliers understand what is â€Å"new or different† about each individual customer or event. The specific actions taken by our Sales and Marketing Leaders to deploy our Market Research conclusions consist of four major processes: (1) The 6 P’s Concept (2) Operation of the CLASS database (3) Complaint Resolution Process and (4) Standard Performance Measurements.Standard Measurements The Six P’s Concept The major components of our Sales and Marketing Performance Management System are shown in Figure 3. 3. Since these measures both precede and lag the operation they are both forward-looking and reaction based. After we gain a full understanding of our market segments, customers and their relative priorities, we develop and distribute, internally, a 6P’s Concept. The concept consists of: (1) Problem or need of the Customer (2) Product (what is it) (3) Promises (what it can do for the customer) (4) Personal Advantage (what can the customer do because of it) 5) Positioning (the benefit of it versus the competition) and (6) Price/Value (what customers must give up in time or money to get it). These concepts lay the groundwork for process design. Subject Advance Bookings The 6P’s concept typically creates a vision of wellbeing, which results from the purchase of Ritz-Carlton products – genuine care, comfort and prestige. By disseminating this information into the marketplace, we reinforce an aura of competence. Service Quality Indicators (SQI) measure The Gold Standards Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) Customer Satisfaction Determination The P&L StatementFigure 3. 3 Operation of the CLASS Database Precede / Lag Operations Precedes up to several years Lags by One Day Results â€Å"Check† A major challenge faced by The Ritz-Carlton is to remember each of its 800,000 plus customers. In response, a special organization exists in each of our hotels called Guest Recognition. This special function uses the CLASS database Lags by One Day Lags by 45 Days Lags by 40 Days The effectiveness of our Customer and Market Focus is evaluated through reviews of our standard performance measures daily, monthly and annually. Daily reviews at hotels consist of SQI and RevPAR y market segment and performance. †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Likes/Dislikes Previous Difficulties Family Interests Personal Interests Preferred Credit Cards Recency/ Frequency of Use †¢ By Hotel †¢ All Hotels Lifetime †¢ Usage †¢ Amount of Purchase Monthly reviews at all levels consist of Advance Books, Customer Satisfaction, RevPAR by Market Segment and the P&L Statement. Knowledge of Individual Customers, Stored in CLASS Database Annual revie ws at the corporate level are contained in our Strategic Planning Pre-Work, Macro Environment Analysis. Improvement â€Å"Act† The daily and monthly reviews identify performance gaps to be corrected.The extensive analysis of the Macro Environment Analysis drives confirmation or changes in marketing strategy, objectives and plans. Figure 3. 2 11 The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L. L. C. 1999 Application Summary Information and Analysis The PQI are our Product Quality Indicators, which consist of the 10 most serious defects that can occur in the development phase of a new Ritz-Carlton Hotel, listed in Figure 4. 4. Approach â€Å"Plan† Two basic types of measurements are used at The Ritz-Carlton: (1) organizational measurements for upper managers at both the corporate and hotel levels and (2) operational (i. . process) measurements for planning, assessing and improving daily operations. A further distinction in our measurement is whether it provides information before, dur ing or after operations (Figure 4. 1–4. 3). PQI Defects 1. Sub-Standard Management Contract 2. Missing / Wrong Concepts 3. Late Feasibility Study 4. Wrong / Late Schematic Design 5. Detailed Design Changes 6. High-Risk Facility Suppliers 7. Late Construction Days 8. Missing / Inadequate Key Production and Support Processes 9. Inadequate Pre-Sales Results 10. Inadequate Caring Mindset of Employees Figure 4. 4Before Operations Measures Subject MacroEnvironment Analysis Unit of Measure Summaries of Performance, Money, Ratios, Indexes New Hotel Development Defect Points (i. e. PQI) Daily Variable Demand Production/Hours worked ratio Use Annual Input for Senior Leaders to reset organizational and operational measures Measures for Senior Leaders to plan, assess and improve each new hotel development Plan daily operations and pricing Since our customer requirements extend beyond the functional to the sensory (which are difficult to measure), we rely on The Gold Standards to measure quality during operations.Most of these measures are used by line level employees. We can do this effectively since the workforce is selected, trained, certified, reinforced and rewarded through our Gold Standards, This qualifies them to design the appropriate sensory measurements that allow them to assess their work and take appropriate actions. Figure 4. 1 The SQI are our Service Quality Indicators, which consist of the 10 most serious defects that can occur during the regular operation of a Ritz-Carlton hotel. The seriousness of each defect is weighted by a point value listed in Figure 4. 5. During Operations Measures SubjectThe Gold Standards Unit of Measure Taste, Sight, Smell, Sound, Touch Use Operational measures for the individual Employee to Plan, Assess and Improve their Work SQI Defects 1. Missing Guest Preferences 2. Unresolved Difficulties 3. Inadequate Guestroom Housekeeping 4. Abandoned Reservation Calls 5. Guestroom Changes 6. Inoperable Guestroom Equipment 7. Unread y Guestroom 8. Inappropriate Hotel Appearance 9. Meeting Event Difficulties 10. Inadequate Food/Beverage 11. Missing/Damaged Guest Property / Accidents 12. Invoice Adjustment Figure 4. 5 Figure 4. 2 After Operations Measures Unit of Measure OrganizationalPerformance Indicators, Money, 1–5 Scale, Percentages Key Production Weighted Defect Points (SQI) and Support Production/Hours Processes worked ratio Revenue per Available Room Figure 4. 3 Subject Vital-Few Objectives Use Improve Organizational Performance Improve Daily Operations Points 10 50 1 5 5 5 10 5 5 1 50 3 The total number of occurrences is multiplied by the weight, totaled and divided by the number of working days applicable to obtain an average daily point value. The average daily point value is disseminated to the workforce daily. Improve Pricing Policies 12 The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L. L.C. 1999 Application Summary Comparative Benchmarking process owners to each metric associated with key production and sup port processes. There are three types of comparative data at The Ritz-Carlton: (1) comparisons to industry and our foremost competitor (2) benchmarks outside our industry and (3) benchmarks inside our company. Since we began formal benchmarking in the 1980’s, we have found this highly useful as it has pushed us over the years to even higher target levels of performance and roadmaps to get there. Figure 4. 6 details the sources of this data and the types of information that are analyzed.Since these process owners are heavily involved in designing the architecture of the data and information that they review, rarely do they see a fact or figure presented in a way they don’t understand. Results â€Å"Check† Since we place such a strong emphasis on fact-based decision making, reliability of the data is critical. We rely on our highly trained Ladies and Gentlemen (including statistically trained at all levels) to insure data and information reliability. At the corpor ate level, we assign individual process owners to assure data can withstand scrutiny and provide background information.We also retain third-party specialists to provide independent reviews of information analysis and processes. Deployment â€Å"DO† The specific actions taken by Senior Leaders to deploy the information and analysis approach is based on the concept of individual process owners. Individual Process Owners Improvement â€Å"Act† Our Senior Leaders and Hotel Guidance Teams have the high level organizational performance data they need because we assign individual owners to each metric associated with the Vital-Few Objectives. In addition, our Vice-President of Quality keeps our performance measurements current with business needs.Whenever our process owners and consulting specialists indicate a change of plan is needed, the plans are rewritten, rebudgeted and reapproved. Our Ladies and Gentlemen, on a daily basis, identify and implement improvements in perfo rmance measurement as expected in our culture and facilitated through the training and performance management programs outlined in Category 5. Our Ladies and Gentlemen have the operational performance data they need daily because we assign individual Sources of Comparative Data Internal Source External Information Source Each Hotel’s measurements in the areas RCHC of employee satisfaction, customerInformation, Analysis System satisfaction, RevPAR and operational performance are compared Information Ritz-Carlton Marketing and Finance RCHC functions compare us against our Information, Analysis System competitors in the area of market and business performance Process Champions Operations, Human Resources, Baldrige Award Marketing and Finance leaders drive Winners best practices and processes both up and down the organization Annually, the VP of Quality studies comparative data and best practices Regional VP Meeting These periodic meetings focus on review Kaznova of performance t o plan ConsultantsWorld-class benchmarks New Hotel Start-Up When Ritz-Carlton managers are assigned as trainers in a new hotel, they learn and share best practices Travel Publications, AAA, Mobil Criteria to identify industry trends and performance Best Practice Sharing Any â€Å"new idea† implemented is shared Mayflower company-wide via E-mail. Results and Group Improvements are communicated in the daily Commitment to Quality newsletter Travel Industry Criteria and Publications Figure 4. 6 13 The VP of Human Resources compares us to America’s most-admired companies (i. e. Fortune 500 and Baldrige winners) in the area of Employee SatisfactionThe Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L. L. C. 1999 Application Summary Human Resource Approach Human Resource Focus Skilled and Empowered Work Force Operating with Pride and Joy Our human resource approach is summarized in Figure 5. 1, which is the well-established model that underpins and aligns our various human resource philosophies and programs. Ritz-Carlton Work Environment Approach â€Å"Plan† Ritz-Carlton Human Resources Fundamentals Our Senior Leaders decided to increase both the meaning and satisfaction our people derive from their work. This approach consists of three basic components: (1) ourLadies and Gentlemen know what they are supposed to do (2) they know how well they are doing and (3) they have the authority to make changes in the process under their authority or their own personal conduct. †¢ Quality Selection Process †¢ Orientation †¢ Training Certification †¢ Line-up and daily training †¢ Communication †¢ Personal and professional development †¢ Work/life issue management †¢ Job Enlargement †¢ Career progression †¢ Performance measurement †¢ Legal compliance †¢ Employee Rights †¢ Issue Resolution Process †¢ Reward and Recognition Know What They are Supposed To Do At Ritz-Carlton our Ladies and Gentlemen know hat they are supposed to: (1) learn and use The Gold Standards (2) master the procedures of their job (i. e. Training Certification) and (3) generate ideas to improve products, services and processes. Know How Well They Are Doing Figure 5. 1 We keep our Ladies and Gentlemen informed on how well they are doing in many forms. They receive coaching from managers and peers on individual tasks throughout the day. Our education and training is designed to keep individuals up to date with business needs. The Corporate Director of Training and Development and the Hotel Directors of Training and Development have the responsibility to make ure that training stays current with business needs. To do this, they work with Human Resource and Quality Executives who input organization and job performance training requirements or revise existing ones. The flow of this process is shown in Figure 5. 2. Key developmental training needs are addressed through a core of courses that all employees receive. Daily, th ey receive information from the SQI report. Finally, they receive semi-annual performance appraisals on their general performance. The Authority to Make Changes The ability of our Ladies and Gentlemen to regulate ow work gets done is assured through Basic Standards set out in The Credo Card, â€Å"People have the right to be involved in the planning of the work that affects them†. All employees (regardless of their level in the company) receive the same mandatory two day orientation process, which includes classroom type training on The Gold Standards and The GreenBook (page 16). Deployment â€Å"DO† As shown in Figure 5. 2, we use input from employees and their supervisors in determining educational needs primarily via a review and analysis of our performance appraisal documents.The Hotel Director of Training and Development and the Quality Trainers also receive and consider direct feedback from Ritz-Carlton personnel. When training is designed, it is piloted and appr oved in a fashion similar to the new product and service development process described in Category 3. Participants in the pilot provide direct, candid feedback to the designers and instructors. The specific actions taken to deploy our approach range across a broad spectrum, but most significant activities consist of: (1) The Quality Selection process and (2) Employee Education, Training and Development.Our President and COO started as a waiter’s apprentice in Europe, and many of our executives started as front line personnel in Ritz-Carlton Hotels and were promoted as they rotated jobs. Therefore, training receives the highest attention in our company. 14 The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L. L. C. 1999 Application Summary Departmental Trainer Evaluate Student Reaction/Needs Managers/Training Director Evaluate Performance appraisals/training results Vice-President, Quality Determine Organizational Performance Excellence Requirements Vice President, Human Resources Determine Orga nizationalDevelopmental Training Requirements Corp Director of Training and Development The Ritz-Carlton Design of Courses Confirm/Modify existing processes/Facilities Develop/Improve Courses/Processes/Facilities Project Team Codeveloped with supplier of new equipment/ Technology Outsource Figure 5. 2 â€Å"themes† of each job. The graph also contains comparative data which consists of industry and Ritz-Carlton norms. Although job induction training is classroom delivered by the Director of Training and Development and the General Manager, most training delivery is on-the-job. This onsists of: (1) daily line-up (2) self-study documents (3) developmental assignments and (4) training certification. Most training is evaluated through examinations, while other methods include audits, performance reviews and appraisals. Day 21 21 days after orientation, each orientation class reunites for a day of evaluation and debriefing. A similar session occurs on or near day 365. Approximatel y 80% of the training received by The Ritz-Carlton Ladies and Gentlemen is from in-house sources which allows us to have direct control over the method of training delivery and evaluation.