Never Scared: The Cultural Significance of Chris Rock

Standup comedians exemplify the trans-generational nature of our culture. With their ability to fully embody all of societies diverging values, while still always grazing the edge of change, they serve as the conscience of the people.   As Lawrence Mintz argues, comics are licensed to say the unspeakable because they have the pity of the audience; they use the power of laughter to unite communities and tread societies shade of gray, and the most successful of them exercise a full awareness in the art of rhetoric.   Mintz points out that comedians use these weak pity warranting social positions to actually empower themselves.iOne of the top standup comedians known for this today is Chris Rock; he uses rhetoric to persuade his audience into finding humor in some of the darkest aspects of our society.   Chris Rock uses rhetoric in his standup Never Scared to persuade his audience to adopt his views, while at the same time reversing the pity warranting image that Mintz’s cla ims gives a comic his license to speak freely.   Both of these personal intentions of Rock’s in his stand up are dependent solely on how well he connects to the core values of his audience. Rock is credited for being best able at connecting the disintegration of family and relationship values of Blacks.In Never Scared, Chris Rock discusses the deteriorating values of Black America and how these values are affecting black culture in America. He utilizes theories in social family structure with the African American family today and establishes himself as a role model for the black culture. He also sarcastically undermines the institution of marriage and the battle of the sexes in an intelligent and witty manner. Not only is he socially aware of all of these things that I have mentioned, he is also aware of the embarrassing acts from his race whom he spitefully labels â€Å"niggas.† Allow me to expand on the issues Chris Rock brings up in his comedy routines.The days of funny schtick and prat falls are basically over. Through the years, much more substance has come to the attention of America when it comes to stand-up comedy. Lawrence Mintz states the following concerning this phenomena on page 72;â€Å" Clearly it is a popular art that is central to American entertainment, but in the universal tradition of public joking rituals it is more than that as well; it is an important part of the nation’s cultural life.†iChris Rock is an excellent example of this statement.In Never Scared, Rock opens his routine with confidence and mentions his daughter, alluding to the reason why he hasn’t been on the road in so long.â€Å"It’s amazing when you have a girl†¦ It’s eye opening, because I realize, I’m the man in her life.   My relationship with my daughter is going to affect her relationship with men for the rest of her life.   Every man in here has dated a woman with some daddy issues.   That [email   protected]%$# ain’t fun ok.   She’s giving you a hard time for some [email  protected]%$# her daddy did in 1969.† (Chris Rock, 2006)Ever the sarcastic encourager, Rock sets up an example that needs to be revisited in the black community. He’s sensible and funny here but he is also alluding to something important. The black man in today’s culture needs to understand the importance of bringing up baby girls. He states that sometimes he picks her up out of her stroller, looks at her and that’s when it hits him;  Ã¢â‚¬Å"My job in this life now is to keep my baby off the pole!†Of course he is referring to the ever-ominous pole found in every strip club in the world. This is profound wisdom for the deadbeat dads out there who aren’t with their daughters. Some fathers are right in the room but to busy watching the game to pay any attention to the direction she might be headed if he doesn’t start to get to know his little gi rl who is growing up.It’s interesting to note that an article by Kathryn Edin and Laura Lein almost discuss the same issue.ii With the rise of single mothers in urban areas and their struggle to make ends meet, we have to wonder what the sociological and psychological implications for the child are growing up in an environment without a father. Many of these children will grow up to be drug dealers, strippers and prostitutes in their struggle to get away from the economic prison they were unwillingly placed in at birth.Speaking of birth, let’s examine Rock’s use of abortion and marriage. Nilsen discusses the important element of sexism in comedy routines in his article;â€Å"Sexist humor, which makes fun of the real or imagined characteristics of males and females, is seen in the oldest myths, fairy tales, folk tales, nursery rhymes, and sacred writings. Because jokes are a kind of shorthand, creators do not start with a whole new cast of characters for each jo ke; instead they rely on familiar scripts that include exaggerations and stereotypes. This enables listeners to fill in the details from the material that their minds have already absorbed from the popular culture.†ivThroughout Rock’s comedy routines, he brings to light the battle of the sexes concerning abortion and marriage. He discusses the two options that a man has when he finds out his girlfriend is pregnant;â€Å"Wow! I’m so happy! I love you so much.† Or the ill-fated; â€Å"So, whatcha gonna do?† Once again he silently stabs at the lack of responsibility concerning the man in this issue. He goes on to discuss the fact that the decision for abortion is made between the woman and her girlfriends. It is a sad but true commentary on the disintegration of society in general but Chris seems to be directing it toward black culture specifically.There are strong arguments for the fact that married couples experience less stress and live a healthier life(Waite).iii Rock equates marriage to simple transference;â€Å"When you’re single, you wanna kill yourself. When you’re married, you wanna kill your spouse!†He discusses the problem of unhappily married men and their addiction to strip clubs. He adds that reasons for this are that women are domineering. In a funny little clip, Chris talks about the ho convention and glass heels. Then he brings up the fact that a wife is there to provide for you and be there for you but if you bring a pair of glass heels in the house, it will cause all sorts of problems.As you can see, he strengthens his views of the black man being the wife’s pet or the one that’s supposed to do everything for her by using these jokes. He also portrays the man in the abortion bit as not having a say in anything that happens with the child. He portrays the woman’s friends at a higher level than her own boyfriend and the father of her child.He jokes about strip clubs and i nfidelity but he still holds to the role model persona. He stands by his conviction of not cheating on your spouse and once again cements his position in black culture. Voicing his family values opens the audience up for his personal opinions about society.   Rock’s humorous perspective on life and his personal opinions about society mark the defining line between him as an individual and the family values he has affirmed to gain the audience’s trust.In his essay, Standup Comedy as Social and Cultural Mediation, Mintz explains the justification behind the stand up comedian’s license to speak freely. Considering the fact that Chris Rock is an African American, he has free reign to speak out on the problems with African- Americans.   As he displays his disgust with black stars like the child molesting, wanna-be- white Michael Jackson, he flows freely into the R-Kelly incident with the young girl on video.We all know that he is using these incidents as well as the Kobe Bryant rape case and the OJ Simpson case because they are excellent material for comedy. But, it’s also obvious that he uses these men as examples for negative black role models in America as well. It makes one wonder if he is warning his black audience of the path of self-destruction they may be on together. After all, great men like Sydney Poitier or James Earl Jones didn’t do things like this to embarrass the black community.Personally, I believe that his most compelling routine is the â€Å"I hate Niggas† routine. The courage that it takes for a black man to stand up and say â€Å"Everything white people don’t like about black people, black people hate even more. I love black people but I hate niggas.† He jokes about the fact that every time black people try to get together and have some fun like going to a movie, some â€Å"nigga† pulls out a gun and shoots at the screen. It is most powerful when he utilizes this rhetoric in th e presence of a more affluent black community.By performing in D.C., Rock intentionally markets himself towards the wealthiest blacks in the United States, giving him all the more power once he is able to form a community within the room.   But, this community Rock creates must be structured on some form of values with which he knows everyone can basically agree, and that will create an atmosphere of familial comfort.   Rock does this perfectly in his stand up, and the structure can be noted from start to finish.We can also observe the moral erosion of rap music. It used to be a positive influence in the black community. Chris Rock has played an important role in promoting rap music. Although, in Never Scared, He mentions the fact that it keeps getting harder to defend this popular urban genre. He states that it used to be easy to defend groups like Grand Master Flash because they represented the black urban culture as a whole. Then he goes on to state that he hates to defend it now because of lines such as the famous line from Li’l Jon;â€Å"To the windows, to the walls, ‘til the sweat drips from my balls.†These lyrics can’t be defended. They do not spell anything positive for black society and the song certainly shows no respect for black women whatsoever. Granted, there were some pretty vulgar lyrics in the early days of rap also but not to the extent of today.If we observe the work of Chris Rock, a strong argument can be made that he has created some of the most powerful rhetoric concerning the degradation of his own race in America. He stands by his values and doesn’t squirm under the microscope like some stars. He has used his influence to create a teachable understanding of the social inequalities that occur in America. But, more than this he has made it simple for the average black family, or any family, to understand the major social issues surrounding black culture today. I think the most important thing that Chr is Rock has done for the black culture and every culture in America is created a vital understanding for accountability within our own cultural social dynamic.I have heard many people say that Chris Rock is a comedian, but he is an activist as well. Others say that his comedy is racially motivated against the white population of America. Still, some just won’t watch him or listen to him because of his language usage. There are a number of labels we can put on this man and he allows us to do so liberally. Chris Rock may have missed his true calling as a social scientist. Maybe one-day comedians like Rock will receive honorary PhDs for their body of work in stand up comedy but for now, he’s just a great comedian.iv Nilsen A.P and Nilsen D.L.B (2000) Encyclopedia of the 20th century American Humor.Gender Humor. Phoenix, AZ: Oryz Press, pp.170-174.i Standup Comedy as Social and Cultural Mediation. Lawrence E. Mintz.American Quarterly, Vol. 37, No. 1, Special Issue: America n Humor. (Spring, 1985), pp. 71-80.ii Work, Welfare, and the Single Mothers’ Economic Survival Strategies. Kathryn Edin and Laura Lein. American Sociological Review.iii Does Marriage Matter?. Waite, Linda J. Demography. Vol. 32, No. 4, November 1995.iv Nilsen A.P and Nilsen D.L.B (2000) Encyclopedia of the 20th century American Humor.Gender Humor. Phoenix, AZ: Oryz Press, pp.170-174.Quotes from Chris Rock came from his stand up routine Never Scared. 2006.

History of the Automobile Essay

Starting in the late 1700’s, European engineers began tinkering with motor powered vehicles. Steam, combustion, and electrical motors had all been attempted by the mid 1800’s. By the 1900’s, it was uncertain which type of engine would power the automobile. At first, the electric car was the most popular, but at the time a battery did not exist that would allow a car to move with much speed or over a long distance. Even though some of the earlier speed records were set by electric cars, they did not stay in production past the first decade of the 20th century. The steam-driven automobile lasted into 1920’s. However, the price on steam powered engines, either to build or maintain was incomparable to the gas powered engines. Not only was the price a problem, but the risk of a boiler explosion also kept the steam engine from becoming popular. The combustion engine continually beat out the competition, and the early American automobile pioneers like Ransom E. Olds and Henry Ford built reliable combustion engines, rejecting the ideas of steam or electrical power from the start. Automotive production on a commercial scale started in France in 1890. Commercial production in the United States began at the beginning of the 1900’s and was equal to that of Europe’s. In those days, the European industry consisted of small independent firms that would turn out a few cars by means of precise engineering and handicraft methods. The American automobile plants were assembly line operations, which meant using parts made by independent suppliers and putting them together at the plant. In the early 1900’s, the United States had about 2,000 firms producing one or more cars. By 1920 the number of firms had decreased to about 100 and by 1929 to 44. In 1976 the Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Association had only 11 members. The same situation occurred in Europe and Japan. The first automobile produced for the masses in the US was the three-horsepower, curved-dash Oldsmobile; 425 of them were sold in 1901 and 5,000 in 1904–this model is still prized by collectors. The firm prospered, and it was noted by others, and, from 1904 to 1908, 241 automobile-manufacturing firms went into business in the United States. One of these was the Ford Motor Company which was organized in June 1903, and sold its first car on the following July 23. The company produced 1,700 cars during its first full year of business. Henry Ford produced the Model T to be an economical car for the average American. By 1920 Ford sold over a million cars. At the beginning of the century the automobile entered the transportation market as a toy for the rich. However, it became increasingly popular among the general population because it gave travelers the freedom to travel when they wanted to and where they wanted. As a result, in North America and Europe the automobile became cheaper and more accessible to the middle class. This was facilitated by Henry Ford who did two important things. First he priced his car to be as affordable as possible and second, he paid his workers enough to be able to purchase the cars they were manufacturing. This helped push wages and auto sales upward. The convenience of the automobile freed people from the need to live near rail lines or stations; they could choose locations almost anywhere in an urban area, as long as roads were available to connect them to other places. Many states in the US established motor fuel taxes that were used only to build and maintain highways helping the auto highway system become self-supporting. Popularity of the automobile has consistently moved with the state of the economy, growing during the boom period after World War I and dropping abruptly during the Great Depression, when unemployment was high. World War II saw a large increase in mass transit because employment was high and automobiles were scarce. The rapid growth of car owners after World War II, particularly in the United States and Western Europe demonstrated the population’s favor towards automobiles. During the war, automobile motors, fuel, and tires were in short supply. There was an unsatisfied demand when the war ended and plenty of production capacity as factories turned off the war machine. Many people had saved money because there was little to buy, beyond necessities, in the war years. Workers relied heavily on mass transportation during the war and longed for the freedom and flexibility of the automobile. A historian has said that Henry Ford freed common people from the limitations of their geography. The automobile created mobility on a scale never known before, and the total effect on living habits and social customs is endless. In the days of horse-drawn transportation, the practical limit of wagon travel was 10 to 15 miles, so that meant any community or individual farm more than 15 miles from a city, a railroad, or a navigable waterway was isolated from the mainstream of economic and social life. Motor vehicles and paved roads have narrowed the gap between rural and urban life. Farmers can ship easily and economically by truck and can drive to town when it is convenient. In addition, such institutions as regional schools and hospitals are now accessible by bus and car. Yet, the effect on city life has been, if anything, more prominent than the effect on the farms. The automobile has radically changed city life by accelerating the outward expansion of population into the suburbs. The suburban trend is emphasized by the fact that highway transportation encourages business and industry to move outward to sites where land is cheaper, where access by car and truck is easier than in crowded cities, and where space is available for their one or two story structures. Better roads were constructed, which further increased travel throughout the nation. As with other automobile-related phenomena, the trend is most noticeable in the United States but is rapidly appearing elsewhere in the world. Before the automobile, people both lived in the city and worked in the city, or lived in the country and worked on a farm. Because of the automobile, the growth of suburbs has allowed people to live on the outskirts of the city and be able to work in the city by commuting. New jobs due to the impact of the automobile such as fast food, city/highway construction, state patrol/police, convenience stores, gas stations, auto repair shops, auto shops, etc. allow more employment for the world’s growing population.

Black holes Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Black holes - Research Paper Example 1). The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has explicitly disclosed that black holes happen when stars die and create a void or place in space where gravity allegedly is so strong that everything it comes into contact with is pulled in – even light (NASA, 2008). The current discourse hereby aims to present crucial information about black holes and the scientific theories behind them. The term black hole was reportedly coined by John Wheeler, noted to be a Princeton physicist, in 1967 (NASA, 2013). It was commendable for Hawking to aver that the theory behind black holes had originated way back 200 years ago through a paper allegedly written in 1783 by John Michelle from Cambridge who documented ‘black stars’ in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London (Hawking, n.d.). The description of the observation was analogous to how black holes are described in contemporary times, to wit: â€Å"a star that was sufficiently massive and compact, would have such a strong gravitational field that light could not escape. Any light emitted from the surface of the star, would be dragged back by the stars gravitational attraction, before it could get very far. Michell suggested that there might be a large number of stars like this† (Hawking, n.d., par. 3). Another scientist whose name emerged as one of the pioneers in the study of black holes was a French scientist who was identified by Hawkin as Marquis de La~plass (Hawking, n.d.). However, only when Einstein allegedly came out with his famous General Theory of Relativity was the possibility of black holes actually confirmed. As expressly indicated, according to Einstein’s theory, â€Å"when a massive star dies, it leaves behind a small, dense remnant core. If the cores mass is more than about three times the mass of the Sun, the equations showed, the force of gravity overwhelms all other forces and produces a black hole† (NASA, 2013,

Genetic Pedigree Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Genetic Pedigree - Essay Example 1 Extensive study of the concept of family health Detailed study of families theories of family health Determinants of family health Trends in family health Hereditary diseases 2 Preparation of family assessment model Structural dimension 3 Family assessment model Functional dimension 4 Study of the genogram Practical development of genograms 5 Construction of a genogram( select a given family and extensively studies the family traits and constructs a genogram) Assignment(genogram assignment ) 6 Select a patient and study his/her genogram Patient education (introduction) 7 Select a patient and study his/her genogram Patient education (detailed study) 8 Study of family economics and how it affects the health of members. Study of violence and wants leads to family violence. Study of divorce and factors leading to divorce and separation. Study of major influences family health Economics Violence on family members Divorce and separation 9 Study of the relation of mental illness, depression, stress and how they are affect family members. Study of how these diseases are hereditary. Study of major influences family health ( Continuation) Drug and abuse of other substances Mental illness Depression Low esteem 10 Study of the relation of the major acute and chronic illness and how these diseases are hereditary.( Wright, 2005) Study of major influences of family health Acute illness Chronic illness Stress Loss of a loved one leading to depression 11 Look at ways of promoting different safe and medically sound techniques of preventing the occurrence of the hereditable diseases especially where the genogram shows the possibility of these diseases occurring Ways of preventing occurrence of diseases affecting the family... Diabetes is a disease characterized by the disordered metabolism resulting from a combination of environment and hereditary causes. Due to these factors, the patient suffers from an abnormally high blood sugar. This is referred to as hyperglycemia. The control of blood sugar in the body is controlled by the insulin hormone and other chemicals. Diabetes results when the body produces less insulin. The common symptoms of diabetes include excessive production of urine, excessive fluid intake, weight loss, blurred vision and lethargy. One common treatment of diabetes is the administration of insulin to the patient; this method has been used since 1921. However, this treatment results to very many and acute complication such as ketoacidosis, coma, hypoglycemia, cardiovascular disease, renal and retinal failure. Due to these complication alternative methods of curing and suppressing the effects of diabetes have been developed; these include;1) Removing carbohydrates from the dietCarbohydra tes when digested are converted into sugars, excessive sugar resulting from these carbohydrates will require insulin to regulate the blood sugar, elimination of blood sugars thus reduce the effects of insulin lack for a diabetic person.2) ExercisesPerforming physical exercises such as walking reduces the effects of diabetes on the patient. 3) Increasing water intake and eliminating the sugars Eliminating of foods containing sugars and sweeteners also reduce the effects of diabetes on the patient.

Discuss the relevance of actor network theory and systems thinking for Essay

Discuss the relevance of actor network theory and systems thinking for design and implementation of infrastructure systems - Essay Example Actor network theory outlines the underlying attributes of an information system that are sensitive. It offers a language to describe an information infrastructure. This language describes where, how and the extent to which technology influences the society and human behavior. The process is important during the identification of the technical components that are installed in the system’s modules. Actor network theory is a strategic approach to system thinking because it questions categories of an information system (Onsrud 2007 p. 17). This theory targets the performing order by establishing effects, facts, technological solutions and beliefs. The relationship between society and technology can be conceptualized in different ways. Information technology is a critical factor in the development of a society because it simultaneously enables the amplification of dominating trends that are important for the restructuring of societies. Information technology figures and constrains changes in a society. Members of a society develop the technologies that they want, and they use these technologies for the sustainability of the society (Calderà ³n & Servà ©n, 2004, p. 3). Information technology aids societies to promote the interests of different members, particularly in the control of labor. Information systems comprise large numbers of inter connections and modules. Actor network theory presents a framework that is relevant concerning the design and implementation of information infrastructures. Actor network theory is relevant in the design and implementation of an infrastructure system because it is grounded on simple observations. This theory is concerned with the ways in which design and implementation are done, rather than the ways in which these processes are normatively supposed to be approached. Actor network theory explains how technological artifacts are designed. In addition, the theory explains the processes that are performed during the design of a

Answer questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Answer questions - Essay Example practice insurance does not mean that a professional can use the same when he conducts an act of negligence; the insurance is simply for protecting him against some malpractice committed while being ordinarily prudent in his affairs of conducting his activities, yet causing some damage to the patient, in an unknowingly negligent manner. It thus should not ideally lessen the care that is taken by a professional in his work. 29. The role of the insurance industry is to reiterate the fact that despite any professional possessing liability insurance, he must not fall short of being competent or prudent while conducting his daily affairs. The insurance should not be treated like a ticket to being negligent, but merely used during a time of crisis. 30. Churning amounts to a breach of securities law; when a broker conducts an excessive transaction and sells the securities that have increased in their value while keeping the securities that have lost out on their value, misrepresentation or fraud may be committed by the broker and the company that he represents. Thus, the line should be drawn when one steps onto fraudulent methods to earn a higher commission. 31. It is ethical for an insurance company to base the commission of an agent on the basis of a buyer’s needs because at the end of the company is carrying out a business transaction and every agent acting on behalf of the company should be entitled to receive that which he is able to get; regardless of the buyer’s needs, the agent will only be entitled to the amount of commission equal to that of the policy that he has been able to sell to the client. 32. It is important and pertinent for a state to respect and enforce the judgments that are awarded by courts in other states as well as the statutes and case laws of other states because when a certain judgment has been passed for a particular case in a state, it may act as a precedent for a similar case taking place elsewhere. The state thus must foster

Project about History of photography Research Paper

Project about History of photography - Research Paper Example Photography is thus drawing with light. The principle of how to capture light falling on an object was known before 1800 but it wasnt until 1827 that it was practically achieved (Ingledew, 2005). The first camera was the pinhole camera (camera Obscura). The pinhole camera was used to draw images until innovates began to experiment with photosensitive material to capture images. Thomas Wedgwood treated his background with silver nitrate but the images captured were faint and could not be captured. Joseph Nicephore treated his paper with silver chloride and was able to capture negatives. The negatives took around eight hours to capture and could not be stored for a long time. Exposure to light caused the images to disappear. Louis Daguerre worked with Niece and was able to make improvements in the process of photography. Louis Daguerre reduced the exposure time to under thirty minutes and make lasting images. Louis was able to capture images on a silver plated copper sheet. The silver was polished and coated with photosensitive iodide. Images captured when this sheet was exposed to light were bathed in silver chloride to produce durable images. This process was the origin of modern photography. Over time, other media, notably Henry Fox Calotype, The Tintype by Hamilton smith, wet plate negatives invented Fredrick Scoff and dry plates all contributed largely to the evolution of photography. The invention of the flexible roll film by George Eastman revolutionized photography. The film allowed photographers to carry less equipment, allowing flexibility. The film also allowed mass production of cameras, allowing more people to own the product. The need to travel with a dark room reduced, allowing specialization in production, taking photographs and reproduction of images (Wilson, 1994). Image produced during this time were black and white. In 1935, a commercial colour film was introduced to allow users to produce color

Recruitment, management, leadership, team work and individual Essay

Recruitment, management, leadership, team work and individual motivation - Essay Example Leaders and managers are assigned for the purpose of monitoring, controlling, judging and organizing the workforce using specific techniques. The most popular and effective technique to control and manage the workforce is to motivate them using motivational techniques. Motivating a team of workers and individuals in an organization would encourage them to work efficiently and enthusiastically. The overall objective of this paper is to assess the different methods of recruiting, selecting, managing, leading and motivating the workforce of any business (Sharma, 2000, pp. 76). Section 1 Recruitment of new staff members: An advertisement is given by a company to fill a vacancy for a floor supervisor in a factory of canned foods. The company will give an advertisement which would include the job description, requirements, person specifications and all the relevant information which is needed for an applicant to chose, apply and qualify for the job. The advertisement will be like the docum entation prepared below. Job Advertisement: Floor Supervisor-Production Floor Manufacturing Company Salary: $20,000 per annum, negotiable as per experience and qualifications. Date posted: 1-05-13 Closing date: 15-05-13 Contact: Steve Jones (Branch Manager) A manufacturing company is looking for a supervisor for their production floor. The supervisor will be the team leader, and will have a respectable position in the factory. The supervisor will be responsible for the work performance of the workers working under him on that floor. The workers with him will be a part of his team. The purpose of this job is to have a team leader that will guide and monitor the performance of the workers working in the production department, the supervisor will be answerable for the faults and errors seen in the production floor and will be given the authority to direct the workers in the best possible way. The person specification for this job is that the applicant must be a graduate because all the work with the machinery is technical and requires great skill. The applicant must have at least one year experience of working in a factory with machinery. The skills and attributes must be that of a good leader, must have good communication skills, and must be able to supervise effectively. The applicant must be physically active and need to be on feet during working hours. Overall the applicant must be friendly, honest, patient and responsible. Job Description: Description: Floor Supervisor Job Purpose: The purpose of this job is to have a team leader that will guide and monitor the performance of the workers working in the production department, the supervisor will be answerable for the faults and errors seen in the production floor and will be given the authority to direct the workers in the best possible way. Main duties: Monitoring the production process Responsible for labor attendants Allocation of the duties amongst the workers Job rotation of the workers Solving conflicts if any arise between workers Responsible for the individual development needs of the workers Reporting to the manager for any maintenance and repairs needed in the machinery Managing discipline on the production floor Training new workers Suitable applicants will be short listed for the interview. The candidate will be introduced to the managers and will be assessed on his confidence and body language. Impact of legal, regulatory and ethical considerations on recruitment and selection: The recruitment process

Ultimate Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Ultimate Project - Essay Example Civil projects, on the other hand, are concerned with the study of public infrastructure such as roads, bridges and ports. In a construction project, members of a group subdivide themselves into design, financial advisors and legal teams. The three groups must work together to achieve results in the construction projects. When a construction project is taken seriously, and all its recommendations followed, it can lead to substantial achievements. A construction project is, therefore, a strong basis in the foundation of building construction. The following sessions were assistive in the course, and they are listed in line with their importance. In the above classifications, session one to eight had greater impacts on the construction project than the others. Introduction to Project Management The main topics, to begin with section four, are co-operation and togetherness. Co-operation entails offering assistance and having the willingness to assist in situations where possible (Taylor 45). When people work together, their productivity is increased. This is due to the belief that there is strength in numbers. Togetherness refers to the act of keeping closeness towards each other (Muller 43). Togetherness entails being united and acting as a group to boost levels of understanding. Some of the most essential aspects of this quality are in unlocking barriers that hinder teamwork. The importance of cooperation and togetherness cannot be underestimated under any circumstance. This session’s topic bears great relevance to the construction project. In a construction project, a lot of concentration is demanded. The group members need to come up with new techniques that are transformative in the construction sector. Members’ need should have a clear mind so as to note minor sensitive issue and discuss them effectively. This requires full concentration and cooperation. In these types of projects, every member’s contribution counts. Introduction to Finan ce In session five, focus and patience are the main topics. Patience refers to a virtue that enables people to wait for something to happen without hesitation. When a group is working on a project, they expect quality results out of the project. An excellent project requires a lot of time since the members have to execute conclusive and elusive research to determine facts. The members need to be patient in order to discover good results. Patience plays a substantial role in determining the success of any activity. Patience must be advocated every time since it carries the secret to success (Taylor 24). In our day-to-day lives, we encounter a lot. Sometimes we are faced with situations that are hard to manage, but we still make the right choices. When a person encounters something that is not clear to them, how they react to it matters a lot. When they analyze the situation, they can find ways of solving the problem (Taylor 4). The same scenario is faced by people who are handling a project. Construction project relates deeply to these virtues. When members are conducting research and trying to come up with meaningful ideas, they are faced with a lot of challenges that might makethem lose their patience. Members have to search deep into books to find hidden information that will assist then in perfecting their projects. Patience and focus, in this case, will give them perseverance. Business Development Business Developm

Political Influence Essay Example for Free

Political Influence Essay A person is fed information throughout their life from various outside influences; this is how one forms values, views and opinions. From this, one is able to shape their political views based on what they believe or have been taught to believe. There are many factors that come into play when these views are formed, such as historical events. Others while apparent have a latent effect, such as gender, race, socio-economic status etc. The way a person is brought up has a fairly large impact on political socialization. Children come to know their parents value systems and beliefs. The children are brought up around these beliefs and these beliefs are instilled upon them in both unconscious and conscious ways. This is the beginning. As a person is introduced to more situations and experiences their views are molded further but the foundations are always there. Most Americans do not look thorough the inner workings of our government and the general idea of politics. Instead they look at what politics has to offer for them. It is far easier to just look at politics based on your opinions rather than through the policies and procedures. With the innovations of modern technology and the mass media, people dont have to look that hard for issues surrounding politics. All they have to do is turn on their T. V. or read the news on their favorite search engine web site. I think that this has had a negative effect on peoples political views. Instead of reading articles and forming opinions on their own, they are shown the sensationalized view of politics and a fairly biased/limited perspective. My own political views were formed the same way everyone elses were. My parents taught me about the differences between democrats and republicans, what the president does and even about the legislative branch. These teachings were mainly based around their own views but always with quite a bit of objectivity. I grew up in a fairly free household; my parents encouraged individuality and self-reliance. This gave me the ability to learn and think about things on my own, being able figure out how I felt about them. Another interesting thing about my upbringing is that I grew up without a computer, so when I wanted to know what was going on I had to watch the news on T. V. The school that I went to was fairly progressive and the teacher that I had for Social Studies taught us a lot about both our local and federal governments, all of which have helped me from my political views. I am a very open-minded person and this carries over heavily into how I view politics. I tend to focus on the single issues at hand and not on which party is proposing them. I feel strongly on many issues, to include abortion, education, foreign/domestic policy, welfare and most recently civil unions; however I try to understand both sides; not to agree but to understand. I do feel that I could be far more educated in politics, but I believe I am off to a good start.

A History Of The Netflix Strategy

A History Of The Netflix Strategy In 1997, Reed Hastings, along with partners Marc Randolph and Mitch Lowe, was inspired to develop one of the most successful bricks and mortar businesses to date, when a frustrating situation exposed the need to create a lucrative e-commerce business, requiring many of the same basic components as a traditional business, including a cohesive business model, compelling marketing plan, and strong implementation strategy. It was the video rental late fee that motivated Reed Hastings to develop Netflix.com.  [1]  Advances in technology, adaptation of DVD media over VHS, and an unmet consumer demand is responsible for the successful launch of Hastings vision, which has undergone several strategy shifts similar to other innovative start-up companies that begin with a simple vision. Changes in focus or direction have continued to assure that the company remains dominant in the movie rental industry, using a strong business strategy and a cohesive implementation plan that have increased the odds of their success in the market. Hastings began his business by declaring a simple yet effective mission statement, our appeal and success are built on the most expansive selection of DVDs; an easy way to choose movies; and fast, free delivery.  [2]  The business strategy for Netflix has evolved to satisfy new market opportunities, although the original concept has remained the same, making the companys business model the perfect business model from which all eBusinesses could learn, regardless of the slow adoption by the internet user community. To translate market opportunity to business opportunity, Hastings follows the seven-step framework to create the original company and continued to leverage the individual steps to re-evaluate the companys position in a changing market. . There are four key environments to consider when analyzing a market opportunity-customers, company, technology, and competition.  [3]  The overlapping areas of these key environments would represent the market opportunity area for a business. The first of the seven step process identified the unmet or underserved customer needs by Reed Hastings, being a customer himself. He was able to draw upon his personal experience to establish the opportunity nucleus of the company that stemmed mostly from processes dictated by traditional video rental businesses. The bricks and mortar movie rental companies had generally established methods and policies regarding video rentals, late fees, and membership rules that, according to Hastings, would have no reason to change without external competition. Following the problem recognition step, Netflix identified its target market by grouping customers into segments, referred to as the distinction between must-have and nice-to-have customers.  [4]  For Netflix, this includes identifying customers using geographic, demographic, and behavioural segmentation approaches, with the target audience expanding beyond the regions and primary market areas that typically define traditional brick-and-mortar businesses. In this type of business, the target audience is bound by technology rather than geography, giving Netflix the competitive advantage it needed to begin as a business by utilizing an Internet-based system that allowed a user to find movie titles, making it easier than strolling the aisles of a video rental store. The entire supply-chain of the Netflix mail-order fulfillment system is more desirable than issues surrounding weather, store hours, and drop boxes common to most bricks and mortar movie rental businesses. Step four of the seven-step process involved assessing the resources necessary to deliver the benefits of the product to the consumer for Netflix as a company, and step five required an in-depth assessment of the technology required to deliver the product to the end-user, and the impact of these new technologies externally as the technologies used in 1997 were primitive to present-day technologies. As a positioning strategy for the future, Netflix was able to incorporate Broadband technology as a part of its product delivery system and distribution strategy as it is commonplace today, making the online users experience many times better than before. Step six of the market opportunity framework involved distilling the opportunity into concrete terms, before the final step of justifying the companys position in the market and identifying the overlapping areas of the four key environments mentioned earlier that represent the market opportunity area for Netflix. The online experience that Netflix provides to its consumer rivals the competition and is a part of its differentiation strategy in the market. The Netflix market position boasts an easier way to choose movies, fast and free shipping, and no late fees or due dates  [5]  , unique to the company in terms of its product and delivery. In addition to following the movie rental membership models of other businesses, Netflix expanded the scope of their offering to include several levels of membership and created an online community where member could contribute by offering and sharing reviews as a part of its promotion strategy. Today, this online business model that differentiates the product by creating an experience for the user has become a beacon for other businesses to follow.  [6]   Netflix follows best practices across 7Cs-context, commerce, connection, communication, content, community, and customization as its product, promotion and distribution strategy.  [7]  The context of Netflix site follows basic rules for ease of use and navigation standards for the web, and uses a clean, uncluttered design to present an online movie rental experience that is unique for its users. The color scheme and graphic elements also remain true to the corporate brand image of the company. Its commerce capability is limited only by its business model, where members spend the majority of their time within the areas of the Netflix website that offers movie reviews and search capabilities, as the only transactions are one-time enrolments and subscriptions to the monthly service. Members only revisit the commerce section if a subscription needs to be changed since all other transactions are automatic and recurring. The connection design element is not used on the Netflix member s ite as the Netflix website does not offer any external links. However, in the non-member and public areas within the website, Netflix offers external links to the websites of major publications, well-known critics, and other movie review sites. Netflix banner ads that are found on many popular sites, link each banner ad to the Netflix main page. Netflix has also mastered the challenges associated with integrating their website and other communication channels. As an example, each time a movie is returned, the member receives an email, asking them to review the movie and offer additional comments if desired. Periodically, the member receives an email asking for information regarding the timing and condition of a DVD once it is delivered. This information is then used to monitor the quality of service of the fulfillment centers. The Netflix website content consists mostly of movie imagery, descriptions and storylines, and member posted reviews. A non-member is presented with content d esigned to encourage enrolment, whereas the member community enjoys a user-specific experience, where movie titles are presented to each member that are relevant to his or her likes and dislikes, based on individual movie reviews. The content also includes static information regarding the Netflix organization, its affiliates, career listings, and social networking links. Additionally, Netflix provides a robust community design element to their site, where members are invited to participate in reviews, forums, and blogs. The tell-a-friend option creates a viral element useful in word-of-mouse marketing, but falls short of providing functionality that allows member-to-member communication. Movie ratings provided by the users are real-time, whereas the written reviews are moderated before posting live to the site. Lastly, customization features include allowing every member to manage his or her own personal movie queue. Much like a playlist, the Netflix queue is used to control and man age the titles and order that the movies should be delivered to the member. The site uses this customization element to provide a member-specific experience to the user. Every member also receives an interactive list of movie titles that can be added to their playlist as another customization feature, after analyzing the members previously watched movies and the associated ratings provide enough information to create a suggested playlist. Netflix uses several communication strategies as its promotion strategy for prospecting and acquiring new members. Of the four categories of communication which are direct, personalized, mass marketing, and general approaches, the company relies mostly on the general approach of banner ads, email, and viral marketing. Members opt-in to receive special notices, offers, and incentives.  [8]  Netflix also uses banner advertising to direct traffic from sites with a similar audience demographic as their current target market. As its new pricing strategy, Netflix split its pricing model into two options. The first one continued with the old model where customers get unlimited streaming along with DVD-rentals, and also added a new option where customers get unlimited movie streaming without the option of DVD-rental. The unlimited streaming only option, which is clearly Netflixs preferred method of delivering TV shows and movies, costs $7.99 per month. The unlimited streaming with DVD-rental costs between $9.99 to $41.99 per month, depending on the number of DVDs rented. The old pricing model started at $9.99 per month, so the new streaming only option represents a $2.00 monthly decrease.