Thursday, December 26, 2019

How to Play Beach Ball Buzz, an Icebreaker Game

Have a little beach fun without leaving your classroom! The game of Beach Ball Buzz can be as exciting as you choose, depending on the questions you write on the ball. Its a perfect game to use as an ice-breaker to get to know new people and a fun way to pass the hot summer months. The questions are all up to you, so you can make them related to a specific topic or make them completely frivolous and fun. Group Size Large or small groups can play Beach Ball Buzz, which only requires a minimum of two people. Applications The game can be used as part of the process of making introductions with a new class or at a meeting, it can be used as an energizer after lunch or a long discussion, or as stress relief during test prep. Time Needed Plan for the game to last about 30 minutes. Materials Needed You’ll need a permanent marker and a large blow-up beach ball—the classic type with the colored sections that you can find at most stores, especially in the summer. Instructions Make a list of questions you’d like your participants to answer. Blow up the beach ball and write a question or two on each section of the ball. To play the game, toss the ball around the room. Whoever catches it gives their name and answers the question in the section under their left thumb. Sample Personal Questions What is the funniest movie you’ve ever seen?If you were a cartoon or comic character, who would you be?What is the worst thing you’ve ever tasted? Did you swallow it or spit it out?What one thing have you kept forever that you really should throw away?What’s your greatest pet peeve?If you were stranded on a desert island, what three things would you want to have with you?Who is your favorite person and why?If you were a superhero, what powers would you have?What was your first car and did you love it or hate it?Who is the most famous person you’ve met?Describe your fantasy vacation.If you could meet any historical figure, who would it be and why?What is your song and why?How do you celebrate your birthday?What is the most embarrassing thing you’ve ever done?If you could be any animal, which would you choose and why?What was the worst day of your life? Why?Create a slogan for your life. Sample Questions for Professional Settings Who was your favorite teacher and why?What was the most memorable thing you experienced in college?What gets you up in the morning?Share three things about you that you think no one here knows.Share something you love to do that you get to do nearly every day.Whats your most important challenge currently?How much money would you need to walk away from your job?If you could go back in time, would you have chosen a different path?What would you like to accomplish this year?What is the most important goal that you want to accomplish during your lifetime?What worries you most about work?What excites you most about work?What is your most underutilized talent?Whats the single most important word that youd like to hear from your boss?What would you like to be remembered for? Debriefing No debriefing is necessary unless the exercise is part of a lesson or the questions are related to a discussion topic in some way.

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Wakefulness Thoreau, Whitman, and Emerson - 1532 Words

â€Å"To be awake means to be alive†, and to be awake during the time of Romanticism meant one could witness literature as an intellectual achievement. Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Walt Whitman were three authors during this time that wrote about an idea that would later become the theme of many papers, discussions and lectures, Wakefulness. Though some may not have recognized the significance of these authors’ work at the time, their ideas and beliefs have captivated the minds of many people. Wakefulness, the idea of intellectual exertion throughout everyday life is essential to becoming self-reliant, creating a more intellectual and better community, and becoming closer to god. Being self-reliant is brought up in many of†¦show more content†¦However, it has enough support to be considered its own aspect of Wakefulness. Thoreau had much to say about society that he wrote an essay entitled, Civil Disobedience, in which he says, â€Å"I think t hat we should be men first, and subjects afterward. It is not so desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right† (Thoreau, Civil Disobedience). Here Thoreau is saying, as a society many should think for themselves first, and then answer to the government or an authoritative figure after. He also says is hard to appreciate the law compared to what is actually right. He is right to an extent, although government is very important to this country. If more people thought for themselves instead of being subdued by the government, then the US would have a much more intellectual society that would give more freedom to the people. This allows Thoreau to become awake because he believes the world needs to live this way in order to be great. Emerson believes that creating a better society will stem from self-reliance as he writes in his essay; â€Å"Society is a joint-stock company, in which the members agree, for the better securing of his bread to each shareho lder, to surrender the liberty and culture of the eater. The virtue in most request is conformity. Self-reliance is its aversion. It loves not realities and creators, but names and customs† (Emerson, Self-Reliance). Emerson means that society may seem

Monday, December 9, 2019

Management of a Business Product-Free-Samples-Myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about the Management of a Business Product. Answer: Introduction The company Singapore Technologies Kinetics ltd also referred to, as ST Kinetics is a business of the reputed ST engineering that handles the land systems and specialty vehicles. The Company is a global defense and engineering company and the ST Engineering takes innovation liveliness and creativeness that exists in their engineering capabilities to achieve the challenges in near future. The Company started in the year 1967. They transformed into a global defense and engineering group in the year 1997 (About ST Engineering, 2017). They manufacture small arms and ammunitions, which are the most important military products. They have turned the innovations in engineering to real world solutions in the defense and commercial sectors. The Company promotes with a catchy hook that helps the company to perform better. The hook is involved in the company marketing strategy to attract the customers. The company promotes by the tagline of Engineering with Passion. The ST Group promises to bring value to their customers and the partners by delivering quality solutions and support. The company is a global entity with more than hundred subsidiaries, joint ventures and associated companies (O'guinn et al., 2014). Globalization is their most important strategy and they aim to deliver sustainable growth by venturing into new markets around the world. PESTEL Analysis The products of the Company are in the fields of aerospace, electronics, land systems and marine. The vision of The ST Engineering is to be a global defense and engineering group (Srivastava, Franklin Martinette, 2013). They are determined to attain their vision, mission and the planned objectives. The company is dedicated to a particular purpose of their commitment towards the customers, business partners and stakeholders (Valencia, Person, Snelders, 2013). The PESTEL includes the factors of the political, economic, social, technological, environment and law of the company. Political The imposition of a new tax or duty may lead to the change in the revenue of the company. The political factors involve the tax policies, fiscal policy and trade tariffs that may affect the business and economic environment largely (Christen Schmidt, 2012). The political issues, which intervene in the country, affect the business of the company and its business with their partners. A rise in corporationtax(on the businessprofits) has the sameeffectas an increase in costs.Businessescan pass some of thistaxon to consumers in higher prices, but it will alsoaffectthe bottom line. The company to protect the industry and economy creates tariffs. ST Kinetics is a world leader in 40mm payload and delivery systems. The changes in the fiscal polity affect the production of the company. Economic ST Kinetics motivates their employees through the development of a workforce that promotes innovation that is guided by the companys core values. The rate of inflation, interest rates, growth patterns and foreign exchanging rate are the factors, which may affect the revenue of the company (Saunders Lewis, 2012). The Foreign direct Investment is also accounted for in the economic analysis of the environment. The economic factors determine the economys performance, which directly affects the Company and has long-term effects. This would also in turn affect the purchasing power of the customer and bring a change in the demand and supply model of the respective economy. The ST Kinetics is a globally renowned company and has national and internal conditions, which are affected by the economic factors. Social The firm will succeed more if the adaptation of the products and the services provided by the engineering group are prevalent to the socio-cultural conditions (Srdjevic, Bajcetic Srdjevic, 2012). The population size along with the ethnic mixture may tend to have a direct impact on the current and future business of the company. The Company has the capability for the provision of the product reliability testing, environmental testing and providing hallmark to the precious metals. An inspection for the vehicles is done by the Inspection subsidiary of the Company. The social factors help to examine the social environment of the market, which the Company works in. The demography and population analytics are also an important part of the socio-cultural environmental factors. Technology The firm has to stay at the top when changes in technology take place, so that they remain competitive in the products and services they provide. Technology and innovation are one of the most important factors, which maintain the position of ST Engineering, making them the leading provider of engineering solutions globally. The company develops through Innosparks, industry partnerships and their advanced engineering centre. The company has left its marks throughout the world providing solutions for shaping a better future. There is research and development involved with an awareness of the technology that is available in the target market (Peteraf, Gamble Thompson, 2014). Technology and innovation are vital to maintain ST Engineering'sposition as the leading global provider of engineering solutions. By challenging conventions, embracing new paradigms and redefining perspectives, the company aspires to do better each time through engendering concepts and ideas that transcend the ordi nary. Legal Some laws affect the business environment and some policies are to be maintained by the company for themselves. Consumer laws, safety laws and labor laws are some of the examples. The company has good corporate governance. The annual report for the year 2016 shows the corporate governance processes, activities according to the guidelines of the Singapore Corporate Governance Code of 2012. The code reflects the expectation for responsible behavior towards the material sustainability issues. There are guiding principles for behavior with the people they work with. The standards that are set out in the code are embedded in the policies and procedures of the company. The violation of the Code, laws and regulations are to be reported with the help of the whistle blowing channel (About ST Engineering, 2017). Porters five forces Analysis Porter developed the five forces analysis as a reaction to the SWOT analysis. Competitive rivalry The intensity of rivalry among the competitors increases with the rise in number of the competitors. The time when the industry growth is slow, there is unused capacity and high exit barriers there is a threat. Some of the competitors of ST Engineering are the Evergreen Marine Corporation Ltd., Aviall.Inc and Panasonic Avionics Corporation. Threat from New Entrants There are barriers faced due to the threat of new entries of competitors in the market, which can be resolved by the new high capital requirements, Government regulations and strong brand identification. Technological advancements lead to the development of new products. The company uses Innosparks and has an advanced engineering centre and partnerships for this (Lee, Kim Park, 2012). ST Kinetics invests in high performing teams through provision of continuous development for their people by nurturing and grooming the leaders. Threat of Substitutes products and services The company has a particular vision and uses innovation to maintain its position as a leading global provider of solutions for engineering. New engendering concepts and ideas are used for innovation of substitutes of products and services. There are systems designed by the company for communication networks enabling them to forge in new business areas. They have processing algorithms, which enable to overcome the threat from new products and do not supplant existing ones. The employees are challenged by the company to push themselves to provide their best to the company. ST Kinetics provides continuous learning and development opportunities to strengthen the technical competencies. The companys total 40mm solutions is adopted by many armed forces and are battle proven that fully meet the war fighters needs across diverse operations. They offer a wide range of capabilities to overcome a spectrum of challenges, ranging from engagements in urban settings to battles without fire support, with a family of 40mm munitions ranging from low and high velocity rounds to less than lethal rounds. Bargaining power of suppliers The power of the supplier increases when there is availability of few other sources of supply, when the supplier has other buyers, when there are no satisfactory substitutes and the cost of switching suppliers is high. The bargaining power of customers increase when there is purchasing of the large share of the output, the product is important, close substitutes are easily available and the product generated is standardized. The customers of the ST Engineering rely on the products and services of the company, which perform their intended functions effectively and efficiently (Dobbs, 2014). As the integrated defense and engineering group of companies, they bring innovation and technology together to create smart solutions for their customers in defense, government and commercial segments. Bargaining power of customers The company strives to minimize and reduce the environmental impact that is from the manufacturing and use of their products and services. The company recognizes the influences and risks in the supply chain. They are committed to work with their suppliers that is embedded is the principles of sustainability of the company in the process. This ensures a balanced consideration of social, environmental and economic impacts that are undertaken throughout the procurement process. For embracing of sustainable procurement, the company adopts five principles for sustainable procurement. They practice the value for money procurement, not compromising on quality and safety of products and services, practicising ethical procurement, protecting the the health and safety of their workers and the environment. According to sustainability, report of the company the year 2016 was a year of continued technological advances that brought more digitization and business disruptions. Despite the challenges , the company has achieved a commendable performance in the difficult environment. The technological advancements open up the new sustainability development opportunities and bring about new risks. The solutions of the company depend on creativity and the ingenuity of the employees of the company across the world. The well-being of their employees and contractors is the primary responsibility and focus of The ST Engineering group. The new products support energy efficient initiatives that they have developed and launched. The most important commitment is to embrace the principles of sustainable procurement by integrating ethical, environmental, social and economic values into their procurement processes. Management Recommendations The four management recommendations are differentiation, cost leadership, vertical integration and strategic planning. These have been discussed below: Differentiation The approach of the company is to develop and market its unique products for the companys different customers of defense, government and commercial segments. The company applies the differentiation method to clear the competitive advantages and sustain an expensive advertising campaign (Banker, Mashruwala Tripathy, 2014). Differentiation marketing strategy acts as insulation against competitive rivalry and tends to increase margins. The firm is better positioned by the substitutes than its competitors are by differentiation. It acts as a barrier for the competitors due to customer loyalty and the need to overcome the competitor. There is mitigation of buyer owe as there are no alternatives. Cost Leadership The consumers constantly look to increase the purchasing power and buy more at a less price if the desired profit is not received. The modern business environment is complex and the customers are aware of the choices available to them (Valipour, Birjandi Honarbakhsh, 2012). Competitive pricing differentiates one company from the other. The business, which has the least production cost offers the same level of quality compared to their competitor at a lower price. Vertical Integration ST Kinetics takes complete control over the stages in the production and distribution of the product and services provided by the company (Joskow, 2012). The company uses vertical integration to have a full control over the supply of raw materials to manufacture its products. This can also be used for the distribution of the products manufactured by the company (Michelini Fiorentino, 2012). The company may use forward, backward and balanced integration to achieve a gain in the results. Each member of the supply chain produces a different product specifically for its market, which satisfies the need of the customer. Strategic Planning ST Kinetics uses strategic planning, which, involves the use of strategic management. The company formulates and implements major goals and initiatives. This includes specifying the objectives of the organization (Bryson, 2012). ST Engineering uses the strategic planning to administer the formulation and implementation of strategy. This is analytical in nature and there is production of data and inputs, which result in synthesizing of the data. The company uses control mechanisms to implement the process through environment analysis, scenario planning, measuring of the implementation and evaluation (Hill, Jones Schilling, 2014). A responsive evaluation provides for the humanistic approach to the program evaluation. Conclusion Thereby, this report discusses the management of the ST Kinetics and The ST Engineering group. The Company has sharpened their focus in the creation of innovation solutions, building of positive impacts across their operations and developing efficient internal management structures. The Company ensures that the core segment will remain fundamentally strong while they invest in exciting new growth areas. The factors of PESTEL have been discussed along with Porters five forces analysis. The company being a military technology manufacturer that is responsible does not design, produce or sell anti-personal mines, cluster ammunitions, and key components. The Company believes the foundation of their business success rests on the unyielding honesty, trust and responsibility of their actions, striving to do the correct thing and fulfill the promises made to their customers, partners and stakeholders. Various political issues affect the companys manufacturing process regarding the production of the small arms and ammunitions. They practice the value for money procurement, do not compromise on the quality and safety of the products and services, practice ethical procurement, protect the health and safety of their workers and protect the environment. The report also highlights the marketing recommendations. A responsive evaluation provides for the humanistic approach to the program evaluation. References Bryson, J. M. (2012). Strategic Planning and.The SAGE Handbook of Public Administration, 50. Christen, M., Schmidt, S. (2012). A formal framework for conceptions of sustainabilitya theoretical contribution to the discourse in sustainable development.Sustainable Development,20(6), 400-410. Banker, R., Mashruwala, R., Tripathy, A. (2014). Does a differentiation strategy lead to more sustainable financial performance than a cost leadership strategy?. Management Decision,52(5), 872-896. Dobbs, M. (2014). Guidelines for applying Porter's five forces framework: a set of industry analysis templates.Competitiveness Review,24(1), 32-45. Hill, C. W., Jones, G. R., Schilling, M. A. (2014).Strategic management: theory: an integrated approach. Cengage Learning. Joskow, P. L. (2012). Vertical integration.The Antitrust Bulletin,57(3), 545-586. Lee, H., Kim, M. S., Park, Y. (2012). An analytic network process approach to operationalization of five forces model.Applied Mathematical Modelling,36(4), 1783-1795. Michelini, L., Fiorentino, D. (2012). New business models for creating shared value.Social Responsibility Journal,8(4), 561-577. O'guinn, T., Allen, C., Semenik, R., Scheinbaum, A. C. (2014).Advertising and integrated brand promotion. Nelson Education. Peteraf, M., Gamble, J., Thompson Jr, A. (2014).Essentials of strategic management: The quest for competitive advantage. McGraw-Hill Education. Saunders, M. N., Lewis, P. (2012).Doing research in business management: An essential guide to planning your project. Pearson. Srdjevic, Z., Bajcetic, R., Srdjevic, B. (2012). Identifying the criteria set for multicriteria decision making based on SWOT/PESTLE analysis: a case study of reconstructing a water intake structure.Water resources management,26(12), 3379-3393. Srivastava, M., Franklin, A., Martinette, L. (2013). Building a sustainable competitive advantage.Journal of technology management innovation,8(2), 47-60. ST Engineering. (2017).Stengg.com. Retrieved 21 July 2017, from https://www.stengg.com/en/about/ Valencia, A., Person, O., Snelders, D. (2013). An in-depth case study on the role of industrial design in a business-to-business company.Journal of Engineering and Technology Management,30(4), 363-383. Valipour, H., Birjandi, H., Honarbakhsh, S. (2012). The effects of cost leadership strategy and product differentiation strategy on the performance of firms.Journal of Asian Business Strategy,2(1), 14.

Monday, December 2, 2019

My search for Austrias Jewish past with its last wandering shepherd

Sam Apple’s fascination about the story of Hans Breuer emanates from the fact that the author is fascinated with history and politics. The history of the Jews in Europe and their scattering into other counties across the world has always triggered a great interest for writers and historians.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on ‘My search for Austria’s Jewish past with its last wandering shepherd’ specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Apple is one of the writers, who have always felt an urge to write about the Jewish history. In addition, the interest and fascination of the Jewish history is trigged by Hans Breuer. Breuer gives an interesting account of the Jewish history in New York (Apple, 2009). More interesting, is that Breuer narrated the Jewish history through a Yiddish narrative of songs. The style, through which Breuer accounts the historical events, is fascinating to the writer. Ano ther interesting twist is that Breuer is an Austrian shepherd. Considering that shepherds are usually confined in rural set-ups, Breuer sings Yiddish ditties to his flock of sheep (Apple, 2009). The writer acknowledged that Breuer historical narratives are done in a more bizarre nature. For example, the writer implies that Breuer carries his sheep through the Alps Mountains. The Jewish people are known to be shepherds by their traditions. An insight into the Jewish culture indicates that shepherds wander along mountains to seek greener pastures for their flocks. In this case, the writer views Breuer as the last wandering shepherd (Apple, 2009). Nonetheless, the real activities by Breuer only exist to the writer as mere imagination. In this respect, the writer is more interested to oversee these activities in person, and so travels from the United States to Austria to meet Breuer. Moreover, Breuer seems to be an interesting representative of the Jewish history. The man lives in Austr ia and actually grew in Vienna, unlike other traditional Jews. He has been in Europe in his entire life and actually is born of a Jewish father and a gentile mother. The author seems to be an anti-Semites sympathizer and his follow-up on this philosophy is fascinating, especially when it is told by a shepherd in Austria (Apple, 2009). In fact, the more outrageous the ant-Semites grew in Austria, the more the author gets fascinated. The author’s concern of the Jewish past implies the idea that he might actually be Jewish by origin. However, the author lives in the United States, and so his nationality is American. This becomes more factual, when the author becomes fascinated when he learns that people in Austria are more anti-Semites. He is encouraged by the enlightenment that the Austrians, especially the Jews are getting from Bauer. In fact, at one point the author wants his interviewees to express their ant-Semitic ideologies. This prompts the author to get even closer to a n Austrian girl, with a quest that he will fall in love with a Jewish woman (Apple, 2009).Advertising Looking for term paper on american literature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The author’s desire to be enlightened and learn the Jewish past is an aspect of his guilt complex, of a descendant trying to trace his origin. On the other hand, the author is not socially and culturally accustomed to the Jewish cultures. This can be edified by the fact that he is a journalist in one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world; New York. Breuer on the other hand, is a Jew with an Austrian nationality. This can be edified by the fat that he uses Yiddish language in his songs. His immediate social context reveals that he is living amongst other Jews in Austria. His quest to enlighten other Jews across Europe is an indication that he is closely associated with the Jews. Breuer cultural practices as a wandering shepherd are a me re indication that he is still accustomed to Jewish cultures. Interestingly, the social set-up in Austria supports such practices. The single aspect that brings both the author and Breuer together is that they are Jewish. Moreover, they are entangled together in their quest for their Jewish identity and the enlightenment of the Jewish community across Europe. It is important to understand that the development of the Yiddish language emanated from a fusion of German dialects with that of the Hebrews and Aramaic dialects. Of course, Hebrew is Jewish in origin. Breuer lived in the era of the holocaust and this can be attested by his biography as indicated by the author. In fact, Bauer father was part of the rebellion against Nazism in Austria. The only way the Jews in Austria could communicate with the Jews in German and other European countries dominated by the Nazis, was through the Yiddish language. In this manner, the Yiddish language was primarily musical wordings that symbolized the victimization of the Jews by the Germans. From this context, an uprising against the Nazis in German and in Austria was communicated through the Yiddish music. In this respect, the use of the Yiddish language by Breuer is an indication that the enlightenment of the Jews in Austria could only be understood well in the context of the Yiddish songs. The author uses the Yiddish language in the context t of the ant-Semitics in Austria. Reference Apple, S. (2009). Schlepping through the Alps: My search for Austria’s Jewish past with its last wandering shepherd. New York, NY: Random House Publishing Group.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on ‘My search for Austria’s Jewish past with its last wandering shepherd’ specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This term paper on ‘My search for Austria’s Jewish past with its last wandering shepherd’ was written and submitted by user B1sh0p to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.