The Dreamland Battle Miss Saigon, Representation And...

The Dreamland Battle: Miss Saigon, Representation and Opportunity On March 23, 2017, Miss Saigon, one of the most beloved and most protested musical, returned to New York at the Broadway Theatre, the same venue the show debuted and played for 10 years from 1991 to 2001. Both productions moved from West End to Broadway, creating numerous casting opportunities for Asian-American actors in New York, where Asian productions are rarely produced. The last Asian Broadway production, Allegiance, ended its run February 2016, starring Lea Salonga, the first Asian actor to win a Tony Award for her groundbreaking performance as Kim in Miss Saigon in 1991 — twenty-six years ago. Not until 2015 had Ruthie Ann Miles won a Tony for The King and I and†¦show more content†¦When the show was announced to move to Broadway, the yellowface was strongly protested by the Asian-American community. The show’s critic initiated the protest, saying that the production had created â€Å"an unwelcome view of Asians.† However, Pryce was so greatly praised by the West End audience, who seemed not to be bothered at all about his yellowface, that the producer was not willing to give in, claiming Pryce is the star of the show, as one of the British stage’s most admired actors. The yellowface performance was not even considered to be abandoned until the Actors’ Equity refused to approve Pryce’s Visa â€Å"as they cannot condone the casting of a Caucasian actor in the role of [an] Eurasian† that was going to destroy the fabric of the country. This angered the producer who even threatened with a cancelation on the Broadway production. It took a turn when Equity backed down and rescinded its decision and Pryce brought his â€Å"The American Dream† to New York and won a Tony Award for his brilliant performance — the yellowface was later removed. The audience was mesmerized by the glorious music and stagecraft as nobody had seen a helicopter landing on Broadway. The audience also discovered that, Jonathan Pryce was not the only one dictating the spotlight: Lea Salonga, who came form Philippine, was the rising star. Salonga, with her magnificent

America s Moral Codes Of The United States - 1931 Words

Ever since the early 17th century, the Jews in Philadelphia have been striving to become an important part of the American society, while staying true to their roots. Although the Jews faced exile from their homelands of Portugal and Spain, they were able to build and sustain a strong Jewish community within Philadelphia and pave the way for future generations through extensive actions throughout the community. They built hundreds of Jewish schools, Community Centres, synagogues and established many congregations. They became strongly involved in the American society and paved the way for many of America’s moral codes (Telushkin). There are currently 275, 850 Jews in Philadelphia, making it one of the strongest Jewish communities in the United States (Levine). By the 15th century, there were many Jews living in Spain and Portugal. They were well employed and were positively involved with the Spanish government. However, their prosperity soon came to an end on July 30th, 14 92, as the King of Spain ordered the Jews to leave the land, and â€Å"the entire Jewish community, some 200,000 people, were expelled from Spain† (Telushkin). The Jews split up almost equally, some travelling to Italy and the others travelled Mexico and Brazil by boat (Morais 7). After spending hundreds of years in South America, Jewish explorers found an opportunity to leave these countries and travel to the United States for trade. 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Puritan Women’s Value of Piety Contradictory in the Crucible free essay sample

The Crucible presents women on a narrow spectrum reflecting the culture of the Puritan New England and the â€Å"cult of true womanhood. † Many of the play’s central conflicts exist because of limitations on the rights of women, and their low status in society. The status of the Puritan white male allows the infringement of women’s fundamental human rights to be overlooked by the public. The role of women and the theme of misogyny or distrust of women is an undercurrent theme in The Crucible. According to the ideals of the â€Å"cult of true womanhood†, women were supposed to embody perfect virtue in four cardinal aspects: piety, purity, submission, and domesticity. Piety maintained that a woman is more religious and spiritual than a man. Yet, in Miller’s play women were more susceptible to sin. Eve’s corruption, in Puritan eyes, extended to all women, and justified marginalization them within social avenues. In The Crucible, the ideal of femininity is presented within the traditional role of subservience, lack of voice, and suffering. The two female characters, Elizabeth Proctor and Tituba, both subordinate to their husbands and master, respectively, and in the religious life of both home and church. The fate of both characters; Elizabeth Proctor’s loss of her husband, and Tituba’s execution as a witch, provides a standing critique of the Puritan ideal of women being superior in embodying the Puritan religiosity juxtaposing the subordination of their gender. The virtue of piety affirms that a woman is naturally religious. Consequently, it is a woman’s job to raise her children to be good Christians and keep her husband on a strait and narrow path. Wives are fully responsible if their husbands disobey the commandments, especially adultery. In The Crucible, this idea is reaffirmed with the character Elizabeth Proctor. Elizabeth is the ideal Puritan woman as she exemplified the principles of the piety, submissiveness, and purity. Throughout the play, she proves to be moral, cold, and determined. As John states in Act 2, â€Å"Oh, Elizabeth, your justice would freeze beer! † (Miller 53) Yet, the â€Å"cult of true womanhood† requires her to be predisposed to conceal the gentler emotions, while her manners are calm and cold, rather than free and impulsive. Abigail, the mistress, represents the opposite. She is young, attractive and brings forth a zest of life. A zest that Elizabeth lacks. John Proctor conveys this when he seasons the pot of stew Elizabeth is cooking. Within Act II, scene one opens with John Proctor walking into the kitchen. His wife is absent but there is stew cooking. He lifts the ladle from the pot, tastes it, and adds a pinch of salt. The significance of this short scene may justify his affair with Abigail and a contradiction of Puritan society. Elizabeth embodies the ideal of a Puritan woman, but her Puritan husband does not desire it. After she has spent a few months alone in prison, Elizabeth comes to this realization: she was a cold wife, and it was because she did not show love to her husband that her marriage suffered. She comes to believe that it is her coldness that led to his affair with Abigail. Additionally, it is with this situation that builds up to her telling a lie to save her husbands reputation. â€Å"In her life, sir, she have never lied. There are them that cannot sing, and them that cannot weep my wife cannot lie. I have paid much to learn it† (Miller 103). John Proctor states that his wife, Elizabeth wont tell a lie. However, she lies in an attempt to save his life. And as such, lying to save a family member’s life or reputation is justified. Throughout the play, Elizabeth is depicted as being one without sin. It is a scene in Act 3 she lies in court, saying that John and Abigails affair never happened. This is supposedly the only time she has ever lied in her life. Though she lies in an attempt to protect her husband, it actually results in his death. She is accosted in Act 4 to persuade her husband in giving the false confession of being a witch. But she refuses. Hale disagrees with this. He says It is mistaken law that leads you to sacrifice. Life, woman, life is Gods most precious gift; no principle, however glorious, may justify the taking of it . . . it may well be God damns a liar less than he that throws his life away for pride' (Miller 122). Hale implies that John’s death is a waste of life and God’s most precious gift. Thus Hale’s reasoning with Elizabeth is to let her come to terms with her responsibility with her husbands sin and let her be accountable for the affects of her decision in not lying again to protect him from the gallows. Besides gender inequality, racism was extremely prevalent in Puritan society. As such, the character Tituba is not only limited by her race, but also by her gender. She was the first person to be accused and confess to witchcraft in the village. At first she denied that she had any involvement with witchcraft, but was then quickly coerced into confessing to having spoken with the Devil. Tituba provides the following confession: â€Å"He say Mr. Parris must be kill! Mr. Parris no goodly man, Mr. Parris mean man and no gentle man, and he bid me rise out of my bed and cut your throat! They gasp. But I tell him â€Å"No! I don’t hate that man. I dont want kill that man. † But he say, â€Å"You work for me, Tituba, and I make you free! I give you pretty dress to wear, and put you way up in the air, and you gone fly back to Barbados! † And I say, â€Å" You lie, Devil, you lie! † And then he come one stormy night to me and he say, â€Å"Look! I have white people belong to me. † And I look and there was Goody Good† (Miller 44). In the selected quote she lies and provides a false confession of witchcraft as well as the name of another witch in town to hopefully save herself from being subjected to the gallows. Though Tituba admits her supposed sin, she is not given a free pass like the others who confessed. Instead, she is condemned to death. The fact that she was convicted at all shows that the Puritan society is inherently prejudice. In The Crucible, Titibua is depicted as an indirect object within an elite discourse of religious freedom and slavery. The Puritan society was obsessed with keeping up a veneer of religious piety and proper moral conduct. The play’s setting of the woods in the opening scene represents the epitome of an uncontrollable wildness. It is there where she held power and peril while she engages in incantations in the woods. Being an outsider makes her more likely to be in cohorts with the Christian Devil. Before being brought to Massachusetts, Tituba never considered her singing, dancing, and spell casting as evil. Such practices were spiritual and descended from her African roots. Her spirituality had no connections to ideals of absolute good or evil. This is shown in Act Four, when Tituba tells to her jailer mockingly: â€Å"Oh, it be no Hell in Barbados. Devil, him be pleasure-man in Barbados, him be singin’ and dancin’ in Barbados. Its you folks – you riles him up round here; it be too cold ‘round here for that Old Boy. He freeze his soul in Massachusetts, but in Barbados he just as sweet â€Å" (Miller 113). The irony of the ill treatment of Tituba’s religious outsider status is the fact Puritans migrated to the New World to flee religious persecution. They sought to express their faith freely, yet equally boasted great suspicion to others who were different. And as such, it can be inferred that Miller’s belief is that despite the Puritans’ self-proclamation of individualism, they exude as much intolerance as the European powers that set out to control them. The Puritans failed to learn from the persecution of their ancestors. The persecution of Tituba and her â€Å"heathen† religious practices reflect this conflict. In The Crucible, it was viewed that women were more likely to enlist in the Devils service than was a man, and women were considered lustful by nature as seen with the character Abigail. Ironically, Puritan women are prized for having a higher sense of religiosity. Almost all the accused who were imprisoned and executed for the crime of witchcraft were women who were social outcasts or predominant in the community. Tituba was a social outcast as she was a slave and Black woman. Elizabeth Proctor was a virtuous woman but was marred by her husband’s affair with their house servant. The villages problem with Tituba’s different religious beliefs and expressions reflects the hypocrisy of Puritan intolerance, and John Proctor’s engagement in adultery highlights an inconsistency with the Puritan ideal of its women.

Success of Singapore Airlines Essay Example

Success of Singapore Airlines Essay Since its official formation dating back to 1947, Singapore Airlines have founded its business on world-class service quality in the airline industry. Such a reputation is built on core aspects of the airlines service delivery which includes features like the friendly service, prompt flights and in-flight entertainment system. As consumers, we only see these final outcomes and therefore, often forget that these qualities are a product of much planning, trial and of course teamwork. The efficient, continuous use of teams throughout the business is a fundamental tool in which Singapore airlines is able to deliver `quality to its customers. More specifically it is the way that the team operates and the values instilled within those teams that make them so effective. By designing and training these teams to be highly motivated, creative, able to communicate and equipped with comprehensive decision making skills, Singapore Airlines are able to achieve high performance. Team Design First and foremost lets examine how SIAs team is designed. Firstly, the issue of task interdependence can be applied. Task interdependence is the degree which a task requires employees to share common inputs or outcomes, or requires them to interact in the process of executing their work. We will write a custom essay sample on Success of Singapore Airlines specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Success of Singapore Airlines specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Success of Singapore Airlines specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer In relation to how SIA operates we can certainly see a high level of interdependence. For example, when customers arrive at the airport they have to check-in through the counter. If there are delays at this stage, personnel in customs and onboard the plane may have to deal with agitated customers and subsequently run into difficulties. The check-in staff sets the foundation for the service provision to begin and therefore employees from that point onwards are dependant on its efficiency. It is also important to note that Singapore airlines staff have aligned goals of providing top quality customer service. Such an outcome is made possible by the utislisation of various training centers within the company which unifies employee direction and motivation (Cabin Crew, Flight Operations, Commercial and Management Development). Team Size and Composition is also relevant. IN terms of team size SIA is able to achieve efficiency by appropriately building `right size teams. What this implies is that the team size is optimal for efficiency in that they are large enough to perform the necessary tasks and small enough to maintain efficient coordination. An example of this is the 15-20 onboard hosts/hostesses who are onboard the B777-200 aircraft. This allocated team size is appropriate for the environment in that it allows for the employees to be able to communicate with each other effectively and also perform all the tasks needed. Singapore Airlines also promotes team diversity. One of their most notable team design characteristics is how they effectively use both homogenous and heterogeneous teams. For example, heterogeneous teams are utilised in their Product Innovation Department which requires more complex decision making whereas homogenous teams are used more on the operational level (onboard) as they tend to be more effective in the response time and emergency problems. COMMUNICATION Singapore Airlines attaches a very high priority to the concept of communication in their operating activities. This stance predominates because they view their employees, contractors and agents as critical components of their success. The application of communication in regards to this company can be broken into two parts, external and internal. External communication refers to the airlines ability to influence its reputation and its portrayal to customers. It also refers to improving customer relations with innovations in physical communication. External communication has been as integral to Singapore Airlines success, if not more, than internal communication. Singapore Airlines prioritised in consistent brand image to the public. This strategy has been used by the company in all its communication vehicles to the public. They achieved this through the iconic `Singapore Girl. The primary message Singapore Airlines A Great Way to Fly has been consistently conveyed in exclusive print media and also in selected TV-commercials of very high production value to underline the quality aspirations of brand. But all these messages are featured through the iconic Singapore Girl in different themes and settings. The result of this is reduced information overload. By simplifying their message, and introducing non-verbal cues like the smiling Singapore girl, the message has less chance to be affected by noise, and becomes universal, transcending cultures. Everyone understands a smile. The Girl is the personification of the great service, and is the brand identity. The Airline also makes a concerted effort to stay in touch with customers through in-flight surveys, customer focus groups and rapid replies to every compliment or complaint they receive. The company then consolidates this input with other key data to create a quarterly `Service Performance Index that is very closely watched throughout the airline. This increased communication with the passengers increases relation, in the sense that passengers identify more with the company. Frequent flyers are also distributed, connected with special messages, attractive offers and publications sent regularly to Priority Passenger Service members. Overall, the airline makes an effort to always communicate with passengers, to ensure the right message is conveyed, and that any feedback received is clearly understood and worked on. Internal communication refers to Singapore Airlines ability to facilitate effective feedback and integration between employees and management. They do this by exploring various channels and mediums in which to communicate, and making an effort to raise stakeholders awareness of the workings of the company. The company itself, subsidiaries included, is a large organization, with more than 28,000 staff located around the world. To facilitate communication between employees, regular dialogue sessions between management and staff keeps communication flowing. They rely on both verbal and non-verbal communication. These sessions take the form of regular meetings and briefings. They also actively encourage the use of intranet to communicate regularly. The company holds semi-annual business meetings, as well as end of year meetings. This means that situations concerning rich medium, non-routine, ambiguous information can be transmitted and discussed through the regular meetings, whereas the routine, clear information can be sent as documents through email. Employees have direct access to management through the intranet, making it easier for information to circulate around the organisation. The intranet also erases the social status of employees relative to management, which has the effect of empowering them. Management also seems very responsive and attentive to issues relating to employees, becoming in effect, very active listeners. This ensures that whatever message is being debated between persons is clarified and understood, minimising conflicts and negative issues. Of the things discussed between management and employees include sharing and evaluating results in sales, marketing, yields and customer satisfaction levels. The company also initiates a program called `Staff Ideas in Action. This scheme ensures that new suggestions for improvement are constantly put forward by employees, for management to review. Singapore Airlines recognises that its employees are the `sensors of the organisation, and that they are the ones who are on the ground floor who know how things work, and how to improve it. The company pays a particular interest in maintaining effective internal management because they recognise that it is a key organisational concept, integral for success. Because of the size of the company, and the reaches it has over the globe, the airline is immensely rich in cultural terms. For example, the company currently has pilots from 25 different countries. Although the cross cultural diversity may hamper communication in normal circumstances, Singapore Airlines have countered the problem with by creating more opportunities for employees to communicate. To keep everyone on the same wavelength, the company publishes a variety of department newsletters, websites and a monthly company-wide magazine. These publications ensure that employees from different cultures all understand how the company is run, its outtake on the future, and how to further work together to produce a seamless and consistently positive customer experience. DECISION MAKING Effective decision-making is integral in achieving organisational success. Singapore Airlines demonstrates how a coherent team environment fosters innovation and ultimately maximises the effectiveness of decision-making. The key to SIAs success is their high level of employee involvement despite the size of the organisation. Employee involvement in decision-making is beneficial in that it enables better problem identification, diverse choice generation, increases probability of selecting the best alternative and increases commitment to the decision. In regard to the `model of employee involvement in decision-making, the contingencies of employee involvement in SIA facilitate participative management thus SIA is able to reap the benefits of employee involvement. Due to the often-unpredictable nature of the airline industry, many decisions that need to be made are non-programmed. The Senior Vice President responsible for cabin crew, Mr. Sim Kay Wee, emphasises the importance of individual employees decisions in optimising customer satisfaction and encourages employees to make innovative decisions, as opposed to following guidelines regimentally, in order to overcome unforeseen problems. The `Deputy Chairmans Award has been introduced as a prestigious annual reward for outstanding individual or team response to a `unique customer situation. This emphasis on the importance of employee involvement in decision-making motivates employees to continuously strive for excellence. As SIA is operating within a service industry, the source of decision knowledge is often subordinates who have more intimate contact with customers, rather than those in management positions. Mr. Yap Kim Wah, Senior Vice President responsible for product and service asserts that employee feedback is one of the most valuable inputs to decision-making as they have the most direct interaction with customers and can help identify problems that may otherwise be overlooked. It is this willingness to address problems at all levels that has enabled SIA to achieve seamless consumer satisfaction. SIA has also acknowledged that decision commitment is improved by participation. Accordingly, they encourage employee participation through corporate newsletters, regular staff meetings and recognising staff members who have actively contributed in decision-making processes. Employee involvement also reduces the risk of conflict over a decision made. A common issue that arises in organisations is that employee goals conflict with organisational goals. SIA have worked to ensure that this is not a risk factor within their organisation as they constantly strive to align employees with the organisation as a whole. This can be seen in the values underpinning SIAs mission statement whereby staff are described as valuable and there is a focus on providing them with fulfilling careers, there is also an emphasis on viewing the organisation as a `worldwide team. Such a corporate culture reduces the likelihood of conflict when decisions are made. As already mentioned, SIA succeeds in promoting a high level of creativity in their organisation. Such a creative work environment is made possible through various initiatives from upper management which is filtered down through the business. Firstly, SIA has achieved organisational support through tolerating mistakes. The corporate culture encourages giving new ideas a try and if they dont work out they are removed from service. They place more value on amending mistakes made than not taking any risks at all for example the introduction of fax machines was unsuccessful. Additionally, the aforementioned emphasis on communication within the organisation and job security (through performance appraisal, training and development, and promotional opportunities) also enhance organisational support. Another factor in achieving a creative work environment is providing intrinsically motivating work. The `team concept was developed in order to achieve this. The concept is concerned with viewing each cabin crew as a team unit in order to develop camaraderie between members. This also enables more individual evaluation and means good performance can be rewarded with ease. The concept aims to increase empowerment and a sense of belonging to the organisation. SIA also encourages informal pressure, which has resulted in increased levels of discussion between various levels within the organisation leading to new ways of approaching problems and ideas. Evidently, Singapore Airlines is a prime example of how the encouragement of a team environment facilitates decision-making within an organisation. Employee involvement in decision-making has been a major contributing factor in SIAs success. Additionally, such involvement also serves to foster innovation and divergent thinking thus enabling SIA to continuously meet and exceed consumer expectations and maintain a competitive advantage. CREATIVITY Singapore airline is successful in Asians fiercely competitive airplane service industry because it relies on creativity for innovative new services. Creativity is the development of original ideas that make a socially recognized contribution. Such a concept is integrated into the company through its Product Innovation Department which focuses on anticipating needs consumers didnt even know they had. An example of this is SIAs have pioneering of the in-flight experiential and entertainment systems. Their in-flight entertainment system (IFEs) `Krisworld was developed in 1997 and significantly raised the standard in that department. Prior to that, only Emirates and Virgin airlines had IFEs and they were expensive and had limited options. Singapores Krisworld offered a significantly broader entertainment experience including Krisvision which offered over 50 different viewing options SIA was also the first to introduce hot meals, free alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, hot towels with a unique and patented scent, fax machines on board, telephones in every seat, personal entertainment systems, and video-on-demand in all cabins. Furthermore, they were the first to introduce the alert service, which sends short text message informing the customer of flight arrivals and delays. In addition, Singapore Airlines introduced its Suites in a class beyond First, together with cabin improvements in all other classes while still providing excellent service. The company keeps driving innovation as an important part of the brand, and the cabin ambience and combined experience are key factors of SIA success. Organizational conditions supporting creativity SIA leaders also maintain a work environment that supports the creative rocess for everyone. SIA has the task of trying to create esprit de corps among its cabin crew, cabin crews, as a unit, flying and working together, allows them to build camaraderie, and crew members feel like they are part of team, not just a number, they tend to be more creative when they believe that their work has a substantial impact on the organization. Cabin crew can directly gather information from customer to know what their needs and wants. They pursue novel ideas, which can improve and sustain service excellence through understanding customers and anticipating their needs, In addition, the team leader will get to know cabin crews strengths and weaknesses well, and will become their mentor and their counsel, when team member get new idea about improving services. The team leader support authority and encourages team members to take initiative and â€Å"have a go†. They encourage team members to try-it-out, make-it-work and see-it-through. Not every innovation succeeds, and some are eventually removed from service (the fax machines are long gone), team leader tolerate mistakes and recognize the reasonable mistakes as part of creativity process. Even if unsuccessful, the leader insists no one should be punished for taking initiative and trying new services. Singapore Airlines recognizes that each innovation has a relatively short life span. Once other airlines adopt it, it is no longer considered innovative. Therefore, the airline continues to invest heavily in R, innovation and technology as an integrated part of the business strategy to further differentiate itself. MOTIVATION Based on MARS model, motivation is one of the four important elements that contribute or influence individual behavior. Motivation is the cognitive, decision making process through which goal-directed behavior is initiated, energized and maintained. It will determine direction, intensity as well as persistence. How SIA staffs can achieve such a high motivation? These can be explained by a number of motivation theories. If we look at historical approaches, SIA does not follow the traditional approach such as scientific management which only emphasizes on wage incentive and management control. Instead, it uses the human relation approach in motivating its staffs. It believes that fulfillment of individuals needs and making them feel useful and important are more important than giving out monetary incentive. It belief, the illusion of involvement and importance will motivate its staffs more in performing their jobs. In SIA, staffs are regularly appraised for their performance and potential. Furthermore, high- flyers are identified and given opportunity to learn and grow. This make them to feel valued, thus, motivated to work harder. Basically, theory of motivation can be divided into two parts. First, the content theories of motivation which identify the motives for our behavior and second is the process theories of motivation which explain the reasons why we are motivated to act in certain way. For the content theories of motivation, by referring to the four drive theory, SIA staffs are motivated to join SIA, to perform their job very well and to achieve the company goals due to their drive to acquire, drive to learn and drive to bond. SIA lets its staffs to deal with customers on a one-to-one basis. By dealing with different type of customers in different circumstances, they will be able to gain a lot of experiences, thus, meet their drive to acquire. They will also be able to satisfy their drive to learn in SIA since in SIA, training is not a `one time affair. In meeting customers increasing expectation, SIA provides four training centers within the organization. These centers offer a wide range of educational programs whether in classroom, on the job or through full scale simulations. On top of that, SIA also could meet ones drive to bond that is form relationship and social commitment. SIA is a large company with more than 28000 staffs which located all over the world and comes from different background. This enables its staffs to mix around and work together in giving their best service to customers. All these drive motivate them to remain in SIA and perform well. For the process theories of motivation, expectancy theory can be applied in SIA context in explaining the reason why its staffs are motivated to do their job very well. This theory says that motivation depends on how much you like or want something and how likely you think you are able to get it. In SIA, its staffs believe their efforts will increase their performance which then will be recognized and rewarded by SIA. And most of the rewards are valued and liked by these staffs which include increased pay, increased position and the annual `Deputy Chairmans Award. Therefore, they are always motivated to work towards SIA goal. Apart from that, referring to goal-setting theory, specific goal lead to higher level of motivation and performance. SIA fundamental mission or goal is clear to its entire staff which is to provide high quality service to their customers. This is why its staffs are always on the right track. Apart from that, SIA also motivate its staffs through job design. According to Herzbergs motivator-hygiene theory, job design can affect staffs satisfaction or dissatisfaction and in turn affect their motivation. SIA does job rotation whereby there is frequent rotation amongst top positions in the organization. As a result, there is management team with great and shared understanding of the `big picture of the organization and with the commitment to do what is best for customers and the business as a whole. It also uses the job enrichment strategy where it establishes client relationship and put the staffs in direct contact with clients. Last but not least, SIA motivates its staffs through training and investment. For example, SIA undertakes a teamwork project. The objective of this project is to develop specific skills associated with effective cross-functional working across the airlines Flight Operation, Cabin Crew, Engineering and Airport Management department and to avoid `silo mentality within the organization which personnel in one department take little consideration for the requirement of other departments. PERFORMANCE/CONCLUSION Now, I am going to talk about applied motivational practices used by SIA. As mentioned before, SIA has a financial rewards system as one means of motivating its staff. Bonuses are paid according to the profitability of the company, which is employed throughout the entire company, no matter the level of seniority. As a result there is a lot of informal pressure for each other to perform from everybody. SIA has also adopted a Performance-based Reward system in the form of recognition, which is used to encourage good service. The â€Å"Deputy Chairmans Award† is given yearly to teams or individuals for responding to unique customer situations with an exceptionally positive, innovative or selfless act of service. This award carries no financial benefit, but is considered as the most prestigious of all awards in the airline. Winners and their families are flown to Singapore for a special dinner celebration, the story of their unique efforts is published in the monthly Outlook magazine, and their personal status as a Deputy Chairmans Award Winner remains a badge of distinction for life. The company considers recognition as being essential to functioning of a successful company, believing â€Å"a good pat on the back, a good ceremony, photographs and write-ups in the newsletters. They also award a special badge for those individuals who have received a lot of passenger compliments. They recognise our heroes and heroines. † The performing stage of team development is critical to the accomplishment of tasks. Singapore airlines is an example of a high-performance team, and this is exemplified by the airline being named as winner of the prestigious â€Å"Airline of the Year† title not once but twice, and most recently last year. A high performance team is one where members are highly co-operative, have a high-level of trust in each other, are committed to the group objectives and identify with the team, all of which are demonstrated by SIA. Their successes may be attributed to their team concept a workforce of 6,600 members is divided into small units of 13 people, with a team leader placed in charge. These teams can be thought of as Self-Directed Work Teams. The teams are rostered to fly together as often as possible which creates camaraderie The team leader plays an important role in establishing the Self-directed work team structure they get to know all team members well, including their strengths and weaknesses. This assists in the assignment of tasks whilst on board a flight. For example a team member with stronger speaking skills or more experience will be given the duty of announcing the in-flight emergency procedures at the beginning of the flight. The team leader is also a mentor and counsel to the members of the team, and, someone to whom they can turn if they need help or advice. A team leader is also essential in providing team-level feedback and rewards their staff appraisals are meticulous and detailed of each staff member. This is important in identifying the need for re-training in some areas and if a member has performed particularly well, the possibility of a promotion. As discussed before, Singapore Airlines has been internationally recognized as one of worlds leading carriers. Not only making profit every year (the group made $675 million in the third quarter of the financial year 2007-2008), SIA also frequently wins international awards for top flight quality and service including the 2007 Skytrax Airline of the Year Award voted by over 14 million travelers. Basically, there are many different factors that lead to their success today as a high-performance team, including sound team design, a high priority towards both external and internal communications, cohesive team decision making processes, creative innovations, and most importantly a high motivation among SIA staff.

Christian Elements in Beowulf Essays

Christian Elements in Beowulf Essays Christian Elements in Beowulf Paper Christian Elements in Beowulf Paper Essay Topic: Beowulf The epic poem Beowulf which was written in pagan times, it is complete with many allusions to topics relating to the Christian faith that can be used as evidence of a Christian influence. For instance passages containing biblical history, displeasure with heathen ideas, and the mention of doctrines typically Christian can be found in the text of Beowulf. This is important because it will prove that a Beowulf was written by a Christian author to inform and entertain a Christian audience and also spread the beliefs and ideas of the religion. One of the first Christian influences noticed were the passages that contained biblical history or allusions to some parables in the bible. These include references to Cain the first murderer, Abel the first victim of murder, and the flood. The following quote describes Cain’s evil lineage with an example from the bible. Grendel was the name of this grim demon haunting the marches, marauding round the heath and the desolate fens; he had dwelt for a time in misery among the banished monsters, Cains clan, whom the creator had outlawed and condemned as outcasts. For the killing of Abel the Eternal Lord had exacted a price: Cain got no good from committing that murder because the Almighty made him anathema and out of the curse of his exile there sprang ogres and elves and evil phantoms and the giants too who strove with God time and again until He gave them their reward. (102-114) (Heaney) This quote illustrates why Grendel was evil. It describes him as being a descendant of Cain and banished from the grace of God In addition, there are passages containing expressions in disapproval of heathen worship. There is one of these in the introduction to the Danes near the beginning of the poem. Sometimes at pagan shrines they vowed fferings to idols, swore oaths that the killer of souls might come to their aid and save the people. That was their way, their heathenish hope; deep in their hearts they remembered hell. (175-180) (Heaney) The author shows some discomfort at the fact that they worshiped at pagan shrines and made offerings to idol by saying that they would soon remember hell because they were doing s omething prohibited in Christianity. Lastly, proof for the Christian influences in Beowulf is also in the passages containing references to doctrines in the Christian faith like references to heaven, hell, fate, blessings from the Lord and God Almighty. Some examples of these can be found in this quote. The monster wrenched and wrestled with him but Beowulf was mindful of his mighty strength, the wondrous gifts God had showered on him: He relied for help on the Lord of All, on His care and favour. So he overcame the foe, brought down the hell-brute. (1269-1274) (Heaney) Beowulf was conscious of the fact that his strength came from God, and the author also praises God in this passage by calling Him the Lord of All. He also calls attention to the fact that the monsters are hell spawns. There were many passages in the text of Beowulf that contained allusions to biblical history, displeasure with heathen ideas, and the mention of doctrines typically Christian can be found in the text and be used as evidence of a Christian influence. This is important because provided evidence that the epic poem, Beowulf, was written by a Christian author to inform and entertain a Christian audience and also spread the values and ideas of the religion. Bibliography Heaney, Seamus. Seamus Heaneys Beowulf: A New Verse Translation. Farrar,Straus, and Giroux, 2000.

The Eastern Tent Caterpillar (Malacosoma americanum)

The Eastern Tent Caterpillar (Malacosoma americanum) Eastern tent caterpillars (Malacosoma americanum) may be the only insects recognized by their homes rather than their appearance. These sociable caterpillars live together in silk nests, which they build in the crotches of cherry and apple trees. Eastern tent caterpillars may be confused with gypsy moths or even fall webworm. What Do They Look Like? Eastern tent caterpillars feed on the leaves of some favorite ornamental landscape trees, making their presence a concern to most homeowners. In truth, they rarely do enough damage to kill a healthy plant, and if you want an interesting insect to observe, this is one to watch. Several hundred caterpillars reside communally in their silken tent, built in the crotch of tree branches. Models of cooperation, the eastern tent caterpillars live and work in harmony until they are ready to pupate. The caterpillars emerge in early spring. In their final instar, they reach over 2 inches long and sport visible hairs down the sides of their bodies. The dark larvae are marked with a white stripe down their backs. Broken lines of brown and yellow run along the sides, punctuated by oval spots of blue. Malacosoma americanum moths break free of their cocoons after three weeks. Like many moths, they lack bright colors and appear almost drab. A close look reveals two parallel lines of cream across wings of tan or reddish brown. Classification Kingdom - AnimaliaPhylum - ArthropodaClass - InsectaOrder - LepidopteraFamily - LasiocampidaeGenus - MalacosomaSpecies - Malacosoma americanum What DoThey Eat? Eastern tent caterpillars feed on the foliage of cherry, apple, plum, peach, and hawthorn trees. In years when Malacosoma americanum is abundant, the large number of caterpillars may defoliate their host trees entirely and then wander to less preferable plants to feed. The adult moths live just a few days and do not feed. Life Cycle Like all butterflies and moths, eastern tent caterpillars undergo complete metamorphosis with four stages: Egg - The female oviposits 200–300 eggs in late spring.Larva - Caterpillars develop in just a few weeks, but remain quiescent in the egg mass until the following spring, when new leaves appear.Pupa - The sixth instar larva spins a silken cocoon in a sheltered location, and pupates within. The pupal case is brown.Adult - Moths fly in search of mates in May and June, and live just long enough to reproduce. Special Adaptations and Defenses Larvae emerge in early spring when temperatures tend to fluctuate. The caterpillars live communally in silken tents designed to keep them warm during cool spells. The broad side of the tent faces the sun, and caterpillars may huddle together on cold or rainy days. Before each of three daily feeding excursions, the caterpillars tend to their tent, adding silk as needed. As the caterpillars grow, they add new layers to accommodate their larger size and to move away from the accumulating waste of frass.​ Eastern tent caterpillars exit en masse three times each day: before dawn, around midday, and right after sunset. As they crawl along branches and twigs in search of leaves to eat, they leave behind silk trails and pheromones. The trails mark the path to food for their fellow tentmates. Pheromone signals alert other caterpillars to not only the presence of foliage but provide information about the quality of the food on a particular branch. Like most hairy caterpillars, eastern tent larvae are thought to deter birds and other predators with their irritating bristles. When they perceive a threat, the caterpillars rear up and thrash their bodies. The community members respond to these movements by doing the same, which makes for an amusing group display to observe. The tent itself also provides cover from predators and between feedings, the caterpillars retreat to its safety to rest. Where DoEastern Tent Caterpillars Live? Eastern tent caterpillars may infest the home landscape, making tents in ornamental cherry, plum, and apple trees. Roadside stands of trees might provide suitable wild cherries and crabapples, where dozens of caterpillar tents decorate the forest edge. These early spring caterpillars require the warmth of the sun to heat their bodies, so tents would rarely, if ever, be found in shaded woodland areas. The eastern tent caterpillar lives throughout the eastern United States, to the Rocky Mountains and into southern Canada. Malacosoma americanum is a native insect of North America. Sources Eastern tent caterpillar. Texas AM University.Eastern tent caterpillar.  University of Kentucky Agriculture Department.T. D. Fitzgerald. The Tent Caterpillars.Stephen A. Marshal. ​Insects: Their Natural History and Diversity.

What is the relationship between the services provided by HR managers Essay

What is the relationship between the services provided by HR managers and other leaders with regards to the levels of staff commitment - Essay Example Basically, the purpose of this quantitative, descriptive nature of research is to explore the relationship between critical dimensions between HR services provided and employee retention by surveying 1000 members from different branches in a financial institution based in Doha in the State of Qatar. The study also aims at assessing the available information about human resource practices, especially the focus is on how effectively the leaders can retain the employees through devising effective techniques that can be utilized, the role of HR personnel in improving employee commitment as an important objective of this study. The study also identifies the limitations of the leaders in their approach of suggesting improvement. The independent variable will be the job satisfaction and thus the retention of the employees, while this will be tested against several dependent variables such as (a) wages and bonuses (b) recognition on the job (c) teamwork and (d) availability of training, givi ng responsibility to the employees, flexibility of the leaders while dealing with his subordinates and similar variables. Chapter two specifically deals with reviewing of published literature that is relevant to the study which influenced the careful selection of the method of data collection to be implemented in the study.

HRIS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

HRIS - Essay Example This resulted in inconsistent outcomes and the cost of the human resource was also increased to a great extent. Consequently, the manager is desperate to find out appropriate solutions to overcome these issues due to which he is looking for different vendors that would make things better within the organization. There were basically two choices of vendors that could work well for this business. It includes; the pro staff files and the Auxillian West Human Resource Software. The pro staff files works well for huge organization like Castle’s Family Restaurant whereas the HRnet source is applicable on the small or mid-size organizations. As far as my opinion is concerned I prefer that Mr. Morgan selects the pro staff files as this a high profile business. Knowing the fact that the HRnet could only be used for smaller organizations it is likely to be disqualified. Henceforth, this is a time where Mr. Morgan should lead form the from the front and take a decision that should make things better and produce consistent and efficient results along with creating a diverse environment within the workplace. One thing that plays a significant role for an organization to be successful is its well organized Human Resource Department. The Human Resource Department can either make or break the organization. It helps to operate the business smoothly along with improving the information and technology processes. With the rapid advancements in the technology it is essential for any organization to maximize their focus on the technology and produce effective results. It has been witnessed that the introduction of Human Resource Information System obliged to set up a computerized system rather than depending much on manual work. Castle’s Family Restaurant has also decided to maintain a HRIS in order to create diversity within the workplace. However, this was not very easy as the company had to go

Life Developed Only on Earth Essay Example for Free

Life Developed Only on Earth Essay Life developed only on this one small planet in this one small galaxy. There are several reasons to explain this and some of these are the following: First of all, water is sufficient on Earth making it fit for life to exist (BBC, n. d. ). Second, oxygen is available on Earth for a life to carry on living (BBC, n. d. ). Third, neither earth is too close nor too far from the Sun, thus neither it is not too warm nor is it too cold to live in (BBC, n. d. ). Fourth, the chemicals necessitated to create a living cell are more than enough (BBC, n. d. ). Fifth, a considerable amount of plant and animal species have already developed and adjusted to the environment (BBC, n. d. ). Sixth, the surface of the Earth is perfectly designed since it amazingly protects it from the rays of the Sun (BBC, n. d. ). This is the same reason why the Earth gets the right temperature while other planets are either extremely hot or excessively cold (BBC, n. d. ). Consequently, this also made it possible for water to be available in its liquid state (BBC, n. d. ). Seventh, even if it has been said that life exists in Mars, there are no evidences that support such yet (Fisher, 2005). Furthermore, telescopes are not that good enough to provide details as to whether life really exists there or not (Fisher, 2005). Moreover, to declare such a statement would entail a closer scrutiny of the aforementioned (Fisher, 2005). Eighth, unfortunately, nobody from Earth can leave for Mars (Fisher, 2005). In fact, even NASA say â€Å"no such mission will be attempted for several years† (Fisher, 2005). Last but not least, the Earth is the only planet which has a magnetic field that â€Å"turns away dangerous particles of space radiation† (Fisher, 2005). This means that other planets have a much lesser air and have a much colder temperature, thus living will be quite impossible (Fisher, 2005). References BBC. (n. d. ). Why is There Life on Earth? Retrieved August 22, 2007 from http://www. open2. net/science/finalfrontier/life/why. htm Fisher, D. (2005). Is there Life on Mars. Retrieved August 22, 2007 from http://spaceplace. nasa. gov/en/kids/phonedrmarc/2002_june. shtml

Failed Revolutions and Tyrants in Animal Farm Essay -- Animal Farm Ess

Failed Revolutions and Tyrants in Animal Farm Animal Farm, by George Orwell was published in 1945, a crucial time in history because of Stalin’s takeover of the Soviet Union and his exploitation of the centralized communist government. This was in direct contradiction to the expected results of the Russian Revolution. Orwell felt that revolutions fail because the end result is a change of tyrants and not of government. Orwell exemplifies this failure through the goals of the revolution and their failure to meet them, the malfunction of Napoleon and Snowball’s rule together, and Napoleon’s disastrous reign. The goals of the Revolution and the failure to meet them, is one way Orwell exemplifies his philosophy. Before the Revolution, the inhabitants of Animal Farm are ruled by the tyrannical Jones. The animals get fed up with the treatment they are receiving and, at the meeting, Old Major provides a solution, Revolution. Even at this meeting the pigs, including Napoleon, sit close to the front, showing the social classes that already exist. The Revolution plans to overthrow Jones and set up an animal government. Their goals are to be completely self sufficient and not have to rely on humans in any way. These goals are seemingly idealistic but the animals do not achieve these for more than about six months. The reason for this is the pigs becoming corrupt and wanting to break the commandments for their own pleasure. Shortly after the meeting with Old Major, the Revolutio...

No Security Without Development

There is no security without development and no development without security. (40 marks) This essay is going to focus on whether there can be no security without development and no development without security. Security can include economic security, social (personal, political and community ) security, health security and food security. Development can include social (hospitals, schools, housing) and infrastructure (communication links roads, power supplies, access to water) aspects.Security and development can both be linked to poverty. So, the question is, if a country or region is living in poverty can either security or development be gained? There cannot be no security without development if people do not own enough land as they do not have social security or do not have land to grow crops, meaning a lack of economic and food security. Afghanistan is a unstable country and is prone to civil wars lasting over 30 years. Only 12% of it's land is farmable meaning that Afghans are c ompeting for the best land.However, instead of growing crops, they crop poppies that can be used to produce heroin, which generates much more income than crops. This can give some economic security, but defects food security due to the lack of crops grown. There cannot be no security if people live in fear of losing everything in a natural disaster such as an earthquake, tsunami or a volcanic eruption. An example of this is the Asian Tsunami in 2004 that hit countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lankia, India and Thailand.It killed 250000 people in a day, causing mass damage wiping out everything in its way. This meant that houses, infrastructure, health services and businesses were destroyed. With 1. 7 million people homeless, it clasped social security and left many people without food. The 18 countries that were affected lacked security. However, with NGO's, aid and relief it allowed the countries to develop again which helped to rebuild businesses which helped increase econ omic security and gave shelter and good supplies which developed to increase social and food security.Therefore, this suggests that with security a country can develop and with development there can be security. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is a resource rich country, however, it lacks security. They have a lot of gold but no machines to get it out, lacks development of infrastructure. Unfortunately, no big companies will invest unless the country has peace and gains social security. However, to help the country develop, monitoring of mines is a strategy to help bring security and get resources safely to sell, which provides an income to help the DRC to develop.Sadly, there are not enough conflict free mines such as in Nyabibwe to help full development as there is only partial security. Therefore, this suggests that if there is no security development cannot take place. To conclude, no security without development and no development without security is dependent on an area s status. For example the DRC has conflict and lacks security so no one will invest to help development, whereas a country like Indonesia, where a natural disaster has occurred lacks security but aid and relief is given that increases development that helps to increase security.

Do you think IQ will determine your success in life Essay

Have a successful life is everyone’s goal. Most of people think people who have higher IQ would always have a successful life. They believe that people who had talent is always better than people who don’t. However I think IQ would not determine people’s success in life. I would say have a higher IQ just can help people easier to do things but this doesn’t mean that people can do everything without they try hard and work hard. There are so many people that have higher IQ but they don’t even work hard to try their best. They never try to improve themselves, they just keep waste their precious talent. On the other hand there are people who don’t have higher IQ but they always work hard and try to improve themselves. I think people who never work hard will never success even they have a smart brain. I believe that if I want to have a successful life the only one thing I should do is to try my best. No matter I am a smart person or not, if I want to success in my life I better work as much as I can. Because in this world there is no one can get everything without hard working. Life is just like a race, you have to keep running away from destiny and never let destiny catch you. If you win this race, destiny will not affect you anymore and you will be the boss of your life. Nothing can make you fear and nothing can defeat you. Therefore I think life is based on choice. Because when people really want to change something in their life they can always defeat their destiny. I believe that life is led by myself and I am the guy who will decide where to go in my future. Every decision I make would all depend on my willingness and nothing can affect me except myself.

Organizational Learning in Management

Organizational Learning in Management Organizational learning Work force within an organization needs to be developed, sharpened and its skills improved with time; organizational learning is a strategic managing tool that is used to nature, tap, develop, and utilize human resources potential. The main aim of organizational learning is to improve employees’ skills and expertise (Meinolf, Ariane, John and Ikujiro, 2003). This paper discusses how managers can use organizational learning to improve their organizational performance.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Organizational Learning in Management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More How managers utilize organizational learning and knowledge to construct better work systems Organizational learning takes the form of three main forms, training, mentorship, and coaching; different situations calls for different systems and approaches, when new systems have been adopted, then an organization nee ds to inform their staffs and train them on how they will utilize the new ways of doing business for the good of the company. For example at John Hospkins Hospital, after the facility adopted a health Record Management System (HRMS), the management had to organize some training lessons to ensure that employees use the system as expected. At this point, organizational learning is seen to facilitate change (Dulewicz and Malcolm, 2003). Organizational learning is also used for strategic movements within an organization; this move was used by Barclays Bank in United states in 2008, were they embarked on training their human force on the effects that globalization has on the banking industry; they then asked employees to think of policies that could see the company through the hard economic time successfully. With time, the company came up with stringent lending policies, embarked on debt collection and mobilized sales a move that saw the company succeed.  Organizational learning has b een used as a tool to nature creativity, invention and innovativeness. Apple inc. used this approach in 2007 when it trained and mentored their staffs on the developments in the industry; with time, staffs were able to come-up with cost management policies, new products were developed and saw the development of a positive working environment (Parker, 2009). Organizational learning frameworks Human resources department assisted with line managers should be responsible of enacting appropriate policies that enhance learning within an organization (Schilling and Kluge, 2009). Learning should be a continuous process that occurs formally and informally, the following are the main forms that an effective organizational learning should have:Advertising Looking for critical writing on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Training: when developing something new in an organization or there is a change in the bus iness environment, management should ensure that its human capital are well trained on the new processes, for example Mitsubishi Motor Company has embarked on massive staff training on the need to conserve the environment. Mentorship: this takes the form of guidance and instructing was leaders offer intellectual and technical assistance to their employees; this means that an organization should have leaders and supervisors who can mentor and show their subordinates the right pathway and direction to follow. It helps to share experiences and grow knowledge of both the leader and the employee. Coaching: coaching mostly comes with something special with an employee or a certain point of strength that a company adopts; it calls for employees to be shown the right way to operate and undertake functions. For example, new entrants at Starbucks are trained on how to operate a fair business trading policy to ensure the company remains respected for its ethical business approach (Hornsby and Warkeoczeski, 2000). Conclusion Organizational learning is a strategic management tool that assists managers to improve their business through human force; it takes the form of training, mentorship, coaching, and sometimes counseling. When well managed, it offers an organization some competitive advantage. References Dulewicz, V. and Malcolm, H. ,2003.Leadership at the top: the need for emotional intelligence in organizations. International Journal of Organizational Analysis 11(3),pp. 193-210. Hornsby, T. and Warkeoczeski, L. 2000. New roles for leaders: A step-by-step guide to competitive advantage. Franklin: Hillsboro Press. Meinolf, D., Ariane, A., John, C. and Ikujiro, N.,2003. Handbook of Organisational Learning and Knowledge. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Organizational Learning in Management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Parker, G. ,2009.Team Leadership: 20 Pro ven Tools for Success. New Jersey: Human Resource Development Press. Schilling, J. and Kluge, A.,2009. Barriers to organizational learning: An integration of theory and research. International Journal of Management Reviews, 11(3), pp. 337–360

Biography of Al Capone, Prohibition Era Crime Boss

Biography of Al Capone, Prohibition Era Crime Boss Al Capone (January 17, 1899–January 25, 1947) was a notorious gangster who ran an organized crime syndicate in Chicago during the 1920s, taking advantage of the era of Prohibition. Capone, who was both charming and charitable as well as powerful and vicious, became an iconic figure of the successful American gangster. Fast Facts: Al Capone Known For: Notorious gangster in Chicago during ProhibitionBorn: January 17, 1899 in Brooklyn, New YorkParents: Gabriele and Teresina (Teresa) CaponeDied: January 25, 1947 in Miami, FloridaEducation: Left grade school at 14Spouse: Mary Mae CoughlinChildren: Albert Francis Capone Early Life Al Capone (Alphonse Capone, and known as Scarface) was born on January 17, 1899, in Brooklyn, New York, to Italian immigrants Gabriele and Teresina (Teresa) Capone and was the fourth of their nine children. From all known accounts, Capones childhood was a normal one. His father was a barber and his mother stayed home with the children. They were a tight-knit Italian family trying to succeed in their new country. Like many immigrant families at the time, the Capone children often dropped out of school early to help earn money for the family. Al Capone stayed in school until he was 14 and then left to take a number of odd jobs. Around the same time, Capone joined a street gang called the South Brooklyn Rippers and then later the Five Points Juniors. These were groups of teenagers who roamed the streets, protected their turf from rival gangs, and sometimes carried out petty crimes like stealing cigarettes. Scarface It was through the Five Points gang that Al Capone came to the attention of brutal New York mobster Frankie Yale. In 1917, 18-year-old Capone went to work for Yale at the Harvard Inn as a bartender and as a waiter and bouncer when needed. Capone watched and learned as Yale used violence to maintain control over his empire. One day while working at the Harvard Inn, Capone saw a man and woman sitting at a table. After his initial advances were ignored, Capone went up to the good-looking woman and whispered in her ear, Honey, you have a nice ass and I mean that as a compliment. The man with her was her brother, Frank Gallucio. Defending his sisters honor, Gallucio punched Capone. However, Capone didnt let it end there; he decided to fight back. Gallucio then took out a knife and slashed at Capones face, managing to cut Capones left cheek three times (one of which cut Capone from ear to mouth). The scars left from this attack led to Capones nickname of Scarface, a name he personally hated. Family Life Not long after this attack, Al Capone met Mary (Mae) Coughlin, who was pretty, blonde, middle-class, and came from a respectable Irish family. A few months after they started dating, Mae became pregnant. Al Capone and Mae got married on December 30, 1918, three weeks after their son (Albert Francis Capone, a.k.a. Sonny) was born. Sonny was to remain Capones only child. Throughout the rest of his life, Al Capone kept his family and his business interests completely separate. Capone was a doting father and husband, taking great care in keeping his family safe, cared for, and out of the spotlight. However, despite his love for his family, Capone did have a number of mistresses over the years. Plus, unknown to him at the time, Capone contracted syphilis from a prostitute before he met Mae. Since the symptoms of syphilis can disappear quickly, Capone had no idea that he still had the sexually transmitted disease or that it would so greatly affect his health in later years. Chicago About 1920, Capone left the East Coast and headed to Chicago. He was looking for a fresh start working for Chicago crime boss Johnny Torrio. Unlike Yale who used violence to run his racket, Torrio was a sophisticated gentleman who preferred cooperation and negotiation to rule his crime organization. Capone was to learn a lot from Torrio. Capone started out in Chicago as a manager for the Four Deuces, a place where clients could drink and gamble downstairs or visit prostitutes upstairs. Capone did well in this position and worked hard to earn Torrios respect. Soon Torrio had increasingly important jobs for Capone and by 1922, Capone had risen up the ranks in Torrios organization. When William E. Dever, an honest man, took over as Chicagos mayor in 1923, Torrio decided to avoid the mayors attempts to curb crime by moving his headquarters to the Chicago suburb of Cicero. It was Capone who made this happen. Capone established speakeasies, brothels, and gambling joints. Capone also worked diligently to get all the important city officials on his payroll. It didnt take long for Capone to own Cicero. Capone had more than proven his worth to Torrio and it wasnt long before Torrio handed over the entire organization to Capone. Crime Boss Following the November 1924 murder of Dion OBanion (an associate of Torrio and Capones who had become untrustworthy), Torrio and Capone were seriously hunted by one of OBanions vengeful friends. Fearing for his life, Capone drastically upgraded everything about his personal safety, including surrounding himself with bodyguards and ordering a bulletproof Cadillac sedan. Torrio, on the other hand, did not greatly change his routine and on January 12, 1925, he was savagely attacked just outside his home. Nearly killed, Torrio decided to retire and hand his entire organization over to Capone in March 1925. Capone had learned well from Torrio and soon proved himself to be an extremely successful crime boss. Capone as a Celebrity Gangster Al Capone, only 26 years old, was now in charge of a very large crime organization that included brothels, nightclubs, dance halls, race tracks, gambling establishments, restaurants, speakeasies, breweries, and distilleries. As a major crime boss in Chicago, Capone put himself in the publics eye. In Chicago, Capone became an outlandish character. He dressed in colorful suits, wore a white fedora hat, proudly displayed his 11.5-carat diamond pinky ring, and would often pull out his huge roll of bills while out in public places. It was hard not to notice Al Capone. Capone was also known for his generosity. He would frequently tip a waiter $100, had standing orders in Cicero to hand out coal and clothes to the needy during the cold winters, and opened some of the first soup kitchens during the Great Depression. There were also numerous stories of how Capone would personally help out when he heard a hard-luck story, such as a woman considering turning to prostitution to help her family or a young kid who couldnt go to college because of the high cost of tuition. Capone was so generous to the average citizen that some even considered him a modern-day Robin Hood. Cold-Blooded Killer As much as the average citizen considered Capone to be a generous benefactor and local celebrity, Capone was also a cold-blooded killer. Although the exact numbers will never be known, it is believed that Capone personally murdered dozens of people and ordered the killing of hundreds of others. One such example of Capone handling things personally occurred in the spring of 1929. Capone had learned that three of his associates planned to betray him, so he invited all three to a huge banquet. After the three unsuspecting men had eaten heartily and drank their fill, Capones bodyguards quickly tied them to their chairs. Capone then picked up a baseball bat and began hitting them, breaking bone after bone. When Capone was done with them, the three men were shot in the head and their bodies dumped out of town. The most famous example of a hit believed to be ordered by Capone was the February 14, 1929 assassination now called the St. Valentines Day Massacre. On that day, Capones Henchman Machine Gun Jack McGurn attempted to lure rival crime leader George Bugs Moran into a garage and kill him. The ruse was actually quite elaborate and would have been completely successful if Moran hadnt been running a few minutes late. Still, seven of Morans top men were gunned down in that garage. Tax Evasion Despite committing murder and other crimes for years, it was the St. Valentines Day Massacre that brought Capone to the attention of the federal government. When President Herbert Hoover learned about Capone, Hoover personally pushed for Capones arrest. The federal government had a two-pronged attack plan. One part of the plan included collecting evidence of Prohibition violations as well as shutting down Capones illegal businesses. Treasury agent Eliot Ness and his group of Untouchables were to enact this part of the plan by frequently raiding Capones breweries and speakeasies. The forced shut down, plus the confiscation of all that was found, severely hurt Capones business- and his pride. The second part of the governments plan was to find evidence of Capone not paying taxes on his massive income. Capone had been careful over the years to run his businesses with cash only or through third parties. However, the IRS found an incriminating ledger and some witnesses who were able to testify against Capone. On October 6, 1931, Capone was brought to trial. He was charged with 22 counts of tax evasion and 5,000 violations of the Volstead Act (the main Prohibition law). The first trial focused only on the tax evasion charges. On October 17, Capone was found guilty of only five of the 22 tax evasion charges. The judge, not wanting Capone to get off easily, sentenced Capone to 11 years in prison, $50,000 in fines, and court costs totaling $30,000. Capone was completely shocked. He had thought he could bribe the jury and get away with these charges just like he had dozens of others. He had no idea that this was to be the end of his reign as a crime boss. He was only 32 years old. Alcatraz When most high-ranking gangsters went to prison, they usually bribed the warden and prison guards in order to make their stay behind bars plush with amenities. Capone was not that lucky. The government wanted to make an example of him. After his appeal was denied, Capone was taken to the Atlanta Penitentiary in Georgia on May 4, 1932. When rumors leaked out that Capone had been receiving special treatment there, he was chosen to be one of the first inmates at the new maximum security prison at Alcatraz in San Francisco. When Capone arrived at Alcatraz in August 1934, he became prisoner number 85. There were no bribes and no amenities at Alcatraz. Capone was in a new prison with the most violent of criminals, many of whom wanted to challenge the tough gangster from Chicago. However, just as daily life became more brutal for him, his body began to suffer from the long-term effects of syphilis. Over the next several years, Capone began to grow increasingly disoriented, experienced convulsions, slurred speech, and a shuffling walk. His mind quickly deteriorated. After spending four-and-a-half years at Alcatraz, Capone was transferred on January 6, 1939, to a hospital at the Federal Correctional Institution in Los Angeles. A few months after that Capone was transferred to a penitentiary in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. On November 16, 1939, Capone was paroled. Retirement and Death Capone had tertiary syphilis, which could not be healed. However, Capones wife Mae took him to a number of different doctors. Despite many novel attempts at a cure, Capones mind continued to degenerate. Capone spent his remaining years in quiet retirement at his estate in Miami, Florida while his health slowly got worse. On January 19, 1947, Capone suffered a stroke. After developing pneumonia, Capone died on January 25, 1947, of cardiac arrest at age 48. Sources Capeci, Dominic J. Al Capone: Symbol of a Ballyhoo Society. The Journal of Ethnic Studies 2.33–50 (1975).Haller, Mark H. Organized Crime in Urban Society: Chicago in the Twentieth Century. Journal of Social History 5.2 (1971): 210–34.Iorizzo, Luciano J. Al Capone: A Biography. Greenwood Biographies. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2003.

Abstract and bibliography Annotated Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Abstract and - Annotated Bibliography Example In this article suitable frequencies and time periods for using vibrating plate are discussed. In the first section diseases like osteoporosis[1], sarcopenia[2], BMD[3] etc., are discussed. In the second section old methods for the treatment of these diseases and for the purpose of losing weight[4] are presented. Draw backs of those old treatments are presented in the subsequent section. The effects of using vibrating plates are presented in section five. Then we describe the most effective ways of using vibrating plates, selection of appropriate frequency of vibration and selection of time limit of using vibrating plates, first for the pupose of losing weight, then for osteoporosis and in the end for enhancing the Bone Mineral Density (BMD) of the femoral neck and encumber/lumber and reduce persistent back pain in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. In the end conclusions are drawn on the basis of discussion in the paper. This article will prove helpful to vibrating plates manuf acturing companies to prepare user manuals as well as to the users in using vibrating plates. [3] Xiang-yan R, Feng-yu JIN, Yu-lan LIU, Zhou-li PENG, Yun-gao SUN, â€Å"Effects of vibration therapy on bone mineral density in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis†, Chinese Medical Journal, vol. 121, No. 13, pp. 115-1158, 2008. [4] N Gusi, A Raimundo, A Leal, â€Å"Low-frequency vibratory exercise reduces the risk of bone fracture more than walking: a randomized controlled trial†, [Online document] Nov. 2006, Available at

The Assassination of John F. Kenny and the Conspiracy Theories Behind Research Paper

The Assassination of John F. Kenny and the Conspiracy Theories Behind his Murder - Research Paper Example As the smoke cleared and the Presidential motorcade was surrounded by the mob by scared townspeople, their emotions running amok, it was discovered that Governor Connally and James Tague, travelling suit were injured heavily trying to protect the one man sitting in the vehicle, on which everyone had their eyes upon. Jacqueline Kennedy, the First Lady was shell shocked as she heard the noise and on her right quietly fallen, lay her husband, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, fatally shot and wounded, in the heart of Dealey Plaza, in Dallas, Texas. The political assassination of JFK, the thirty fifth President of the United States of America was a shocker to the entire global community that regarded him as one of the smartest and most influential people of all time. After many enquiries into the political situation, it has been marked as the offshoot of a criminal conspiracy possibly involving a number of groups and communities such as the CIA, the KGB, the American mafia, the Israeli government , and people like the President of the FBI at the time, J. Edgar Hoover, and the Cuban President, Fidel Castro. The official story was that Kennedy was killed at the hand of Lee Harvey Oswald who fired a shot from the corner window of the Book Depository, and was a U.S Marine who had defected to the Soviet Union. In order to understand the political motives and happenings of the events leading up to and during the assassination of President Kennedy, it is vital to first understand the terms that are being used to describe the situation. The entire event has been passed off as a political conspiracy; a conspiracy may thus be defined as â€Å"An agreement between two or more persons to combine for unlawful or subversive purpose involving plots schemes, intrigues and collusion. The group of conspirators are united in the aim of usurping or overthrowing established political power often, but not always, in secret.† Under the same, Kennedy’s death was the cause of a politic al assassination which may be defined as ‘a sudden or secretive attack to murder someone who holds a prominent position for political reasons’ (Knoepfler). It is important also to comprehend the kind of motives that each assassin might have in order for him to be convinced enough to kill someone of such great stature. Most assassins in history have been stirred by religious, political, ideological or military motives in order to kill someone who they feel do not deserve the right to live because their pleas and needs were not being heard by them. The motive or incentive for Lee Oswald Harvey being behind Kennedy’s killing was not portrayed as something that involved some sort of financial or personal gain. Despite heavy interrogation by the police, the assassin denied all the alleged accusations against him for being charged for the murder of Kennedy as well as police officer, J.D Tippit. However, it is felt by some that enough evidence exists against him. Howeve r, even before the man could be tried, he was killed by a club owner by the name of Jack Ruby. People further believed that Ruby himself was part of the same conspiracy leading to Kennedy’s death; however he denied any such allegation and further insisted on saying that he was only trying to give Mrs Kennedy a break from going to

Jetblue Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Jetblue - Research Paper Example Some of the features underlying the Jet Blue Airline Company include satellite radio, television on every seat, and some in-flight entertainment (James, 2012). Jet blue airline also has an uncensored single-class system, outstanding flight attendants, a user friendly online air ticketing system, and an Airbus A320s. The airline has scooped awards for its outstanding performance over the years; it was awarded for being the best domestic airline by "Readers' Choice Award" commonly termed as the Conde Nast Traveler. Jet blue also won the "Highest Customer Satisfaction Among Low Cost Carriers in North America" award by J.D. Power and Associates' in 2008. The planes from JetBlue Airline Company connect over 80 destinations including; Bahamas, Las Vegas, West Palm Beach, San Juan, and Puerto Rico (James, 2012). The executive vice president of JetBlue’s systems and technology, John Eng revealed the plans of the airline company to disclose its modern workstation in New York at the Joh n F. Kennedy International Airport. A terminal that if launched would be the peak of one major technological project by the airline. At what is normally called terminal 5 at the John F. Kennedy International Airport, is comprised of 20 check-point security lanes, Wi-Fi all over the terminal and the planes, 65 e-ticketing kiosks and 40ticket counters, and self –service all over the terminal (James, 2012). The Jet Blue Company also broke up its contract with the Navitaire Company; a move which Navitaire claims is as a result of JetBlue’s misperception about the ability of the company’s functionality. According to Navitaire, it was providing JetBlue Company with an Open Skies platform. The Navitaire Company move to transit from the open Skies platform to New Skies system is one of the contributing factors that made JetBlue break their contract and sign a new contract with Sabre e-ticketing. The New Skies platform is designed to work with a ticketless model of which money is not attached to an individual ticket but to the customer record (James, 2012). However, Navitaire defends its ticketless New Skies as more effective and efficient than the Sabre e-ticket model since the New Skies can avoid the need of relocating data out and back among numerous systems. Despite of the new ticketing technology that allows for ticketless model that is attached to customer records, Jet Blue Airline chose to remain with their usual ticketing model with SabreSonic. Navitaire Company perceives Jet Blue’s luxity to adopt the new e-ticketing system that embraces a ticketless model, as a decision that has been influenced by having a team that has roots with the U.S legacy carriers (James, 2012). Navitaires states that JetBlue cannot understand the benefits that come with the new ticketless model. The benefits mentioned include; flexibility of services, reduced costs, and ticketing efficiencies. The Chief executive Officer (CEO) and president of JetBlue Airli ne, David Barger confirmed against Navitaires perceptions and stated that Sabre will provide his company with numerous benefits. Berger continues and says that the new platform adopted by Jet Blue provides the company with robust and flexible tools to increase the products and services rendered to their customers. The CEO adds on that the technological system will help in further augmenting the brand of the airline and advancing the general customer

System Analyst Skills and Knowledge

System Analyst Skills and Knowledge There is no doubt that information system analyst is playing an increasingly important role in most of the successful system project development. To achieve this, information system analyst must possess a wide range of qualities which involves appropriate skills and abilities as well as sufficient knowledge in the implementing system of users supports and functioning of business. It has to be considered that information system analyst carries responsibilities to analyse and understands the complex needs of human resources, people skills, technical understanding and process facilitation and it is basically applied from the first day of the system projects existence. It is crucial for every information system analyst to have dynamic project teams which are not static and unchanging as to ensure that they are able to articulate the needs that are associated with the key problem to be solved or opportunity to be realized. There are also several barriers exist in gathering and interpretin g of project information that needs to be concerned by information system analyst as this will affect the results of the project and the effectiveness of system development. This paper is critically emphasized on the skills and knowledge of an information system analysts and how these skills and knowledge have impacted in the successful in system project development. The structure of the paper will begin with the introduction, terminologies section, most important skills and competencies for a system analyst, other important requirements as well as a conclusion as the summarization of the whole topic. 1.0 INTRODUCTION Initially, information system analyst is highly necessary to run a system project. Without information system knowledge and appropriate skill set, it is hardly to achieve projects goals. There are various formal and informal roles that system analyst play in creating successful. In short, every system analyst in project has their own responsibilities that carry both formal and informal task and sometimes they are also assigned to run in big or small project concurrently based on the project requirements to achieve project successfulness. Essentially, system analyst plays an important role in the process of system development life cycle tasks which involved project planning, analysis, design, implementation and support process. Each process requires system analyst to perform different task and they must possess a wide range of skills with sufficient knowledge. This is important as system development is very difficult activity that needs very careful planning, control and execution. With the emergence of information technology, system has become increasingly role in most of the organization. In fact, a good system becomes the solely sustainable advantage for organizations to gain a winning position in todays highly competitive world. Parallel with that, the task of system analyst becomes more difficult because they have to deal with different organization with different requirements. According to Misic and Graf (2004), system analyst perform their job is characterized by constant change where the change of the environment and uncertainty places forces the system analyst to regularly and consistently update their task and activities. Meaning here, the system analyst should be able to adapt to the environmental changes. For that, a system analyst has to learn the culture or environment for every organization that they assigned to develop a system in order for them to effectively perform their job and meet the projects goals. In addition, they also need to have ful l understanding of system development and try to apply it within the organization with the support of knowledge and skills as it is very important and necessary to ensure the organization gain value and outperform rivals. Numerous articles have been written about system analyst skills and knowledge by many authors. Various authors have expressed different opinions on the skills that should be possessed by a system analyst such as analytical, technical, managerial and interpersonal or communication skills. There are two key skills that are needed to perform system analysis task, fact-finding for the investigation of system requirements and modelling of business process based on the system requirements (Satzinger, Jackson and Burd, 2009). Therefore, the purpose of this article is to provide thorough information on the aspects of tasks, knowledge and important skills of todays system analyst as well as to identify the impact of these aspects towards the effectiveness of system development. 2.0 DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS: SYSTEM ANALYST, KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS There are several of definition of a system analyst have been identified by many professionals. The meaning of the terms may vary from various authors depending to business process, workflow and discipline where it is used; however, the concept of a system analyst remains the same. According to Dennis and Wixom (2003), system analyst can be defined as the individuals who generate ideas and suggestions for how information technology can improve business processes, define new processes with the help of a business analyst, design a new information system and ensure that all the standard information systems maintained. In contrast, Whitten and Bentley (2007) have defined system analyst as a specialist who are responsible in identifying and study the organization problems and needs as to determine how people, data, processes and information technology can contributes to the business developments. Some people get confused the meaning between system analyst and computer programmer. Basically, system analyst is not a computer programmer; he or she is individuals that decided what form of information technology to be used in the development of a system, whereas a computer programmer is individuals which are responsible in putting appropriate instructions with specific code into computer system. However, both Information System professionals have a similar skills needed in system development, which is emphasized on technical skills (Patrick Chang Boon Lee, 2002). Systems analyst and computer programmer are related in some way or another, but they are not exactly the same. Systems analyst requires different skills. Instead, computer programmer is focused on a particular emphasis of the study. Systems analyst and computer programmer like other professions were forced to have a sense of ethics. As viewed by Kagan and Sobolo (1987), systems analyst job involves analysis of the problem or need information on the organization and resolve the problem through the design of an efficient pattern of information flow from the source data into the computer. In different point of views by Green (1989), system analysts are service providers who are work closely with users as to define, develop and implement computer based system in order to meet business and other requirements. The involvement of users is required to help the system analyst to do analysis and synthesis tasks on a particular system. Almost similar with Misic and Graf (2002) views, system analyst acts as problem solver where they work closely with users and management in collecting and analyzing information on current and/or future computer-based system. Information system knowledge and appropriate skills for effective tasks and duties is needed to be an excellent system analyst. Several authors reviewed knowledge as an actionable or relevant information available in the right format at the right time and at the right place for decision making. In other words, people seek knowledge because it assists them to improve performance and succeed in their work. Knowledge also is the most precious therapy for complexity and uncertainty. Further, the process of system development depends heavily on knowledge so that, by having right knowledge, organization can produce a good decision making with producing good product and services to ensure meet the business requirements. In the case of information systems, knowledge can be referred to as content or technical information needed to do an adequate job and is usually acquired through formal education, on job training and information media such as the manuals (Cheney, Hale and Kasper, 1990). Meanwhile, skills are referred to the specific psychomotor processes necessary to meet the current requirements of job a specific job. Skills also include facilities to choose from between the repertoire of action that may be most appropriate for their specific actions (Cheney, Hale and Kasper, 1990). Environmental projects may differ from organization to organization and project to project, however, some skills will help in almost any environmental project. These skills include understanding the changes and understand how the organization works within the social, political and physical. Important to realize, understanding the importance of system analyst activities and the related skills and knowledge may be critical in successful of system development. 3.0 MOST IMPORTANT SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES FOR SYSTEM ANALYST The system analyst needs certain skills to conduct system development. They need the skills to do systems analysis and design, where they have to understand what stakeholders (users, clients and technical staffs) need as to analyze the flow of data or enter data in a systematic, process or transform data, store data, and output information in the specific context of the business (Kendell and Kendell, 2010). Systems analysts aim to improve and develop information systems and information technology to get the best benefits for business especially in solving the business problems. Essentially, job skills support the core information system capabilities to determine the effective exploitation of technology innovation for IT organizations (Lerogue, Newton and Blanton, 2005). There are number of opinions that describe the skills that system analyst should possessed to be successful. Following is the most important skills and competencies for system analyst as pointed by various authors. Analytical skills According to Misic and Graf (2002) in their article entitled System analyst and skills in the millennium, analytical skills were considered the most important skills in the system development. Analytical skills can be defined as the ability to examine things critically and/or minutely, to separate the clear picture into its individual components (Misic and Graf, 2002). As indicated by Misic and Graf (2002), these skills provide the primary basis for an individual to adapt to changes in technology and by focusing on the development of their current employees and / or recruiting new employees that strong analytical skills of focusing mainly on a technical background, management information system will form a team development to be successful today and also in the face of the next wave of inevitable change and stress in their technological procedures. They also indicated that, this skill is applied in defining and analyzing requirements and insuring the fit within the organizations info rmation system environment. In other hand, analytical skills were involved in the analysis process where it is the task to understand the whole of something by breaking it down into important components. By understanding its components and how they fit together in a larger whole, it leads to understand the whole better. Analytical skill requires a system analyst to precisely in defining the problems. It is a fact that, knowing how to define a problem is a tough part. They have to find a way to break things into elements and utilize those elements to understand the real situations. The system analyst tasks might involve visualizing, articulating, and solving complex problems and concepts, and making sensible decisions based on information available. Analytical skills assist the system analyst to figure out the needs of the organizations and then try to satisfy those needs with a new system development. The growing use of technology has become a major part of the organization around the world. This led to the making the task of properly defines the problem ever more difficult. The system analyst has to be more precise in defining the problem besides determining the scope of a new system. This is the task where, system analysts have to properly define the possible problem and the target where they aim to hit. Important to know that, if the problem is wrongly identified it may impact on the system development, such as the new system will not well known, more time needed to do some research on a new system and many possible issues might be occurred. In contrast, if the problems are well identified with the analytical skill is applied to do this; the solutions to the particular problem are usually straightforward. Furthermore, to ensure the problem is precisely identified, systems analysts need to analyze and address the available information, to know what information sources are good, to be able to access and to make effective use in developing a new system. Identifying very clearly defined and specific problem is an important step to successfully implement the first solution. Interpersonal skills and communication skills Interpersonal and communication skills are other skills that required by every system analyst. Such skills are required at various stages of the development process for interacting with the users and try to identify their requirements in order to find out possible solutions to that particular problem. Interpersonal skills are related with individual skills needed to interact with individuals that associated with an IS project. In other words, interpersonal skills also can be referred as a behaviour and attitudes of individual, interpersonal communication and group behaviour in the IS context (Lerouge, Newton and Blanton, 2005). According to Lerouge, Newton and Blanton, (2005) in their study, IS managers have viewed these skills as the most important set skills for a system analyst in affecting IS success, whereas, for CIOs and end users indicated that technical skills were the most vital skills in successful of system development. Several authors indicated that behavioural, social, c ommunication and soft skills are sometimes referred to interpersonal skills as its characteristic represents individual behaviours such as articulating and speaking skills to interact with the users, ability to work in team such as programmers, analysts and other system professionals, personal motivation and working independently, good listener, ability to write and many more. Based on Odini (1991), interpersonal skills are term use to describe variety of social and communicative skills that involve two way communication skills, styles of positive behavior, leadership and teamwork and understanding of human behavior and interpersonal relationships in terms of interaction with relevant individuals. In contrast, Misic and Graf (2004) have distinguished interpersonal and communication skills into two different categories. Interpersonal skills are the ability to interact with other workers including end users, other system analyst, managers and outside vendors, meanwhile, communication skills is referred to the ability of people to effectively write and speak clearly, able to summarize document and that document must be understandable to the users. Most of company IT based found that interpersonal skills or communication skills in both speaking and writing and ability to work in team are very important and necessary to carry out their task. System analyst need to have communication skills as they are required to write users requirements into technical specifications. It is a fact that, good communication skill is significance to help the system analyst to interact with users in order to identify their needs, to interact with system designers to assist them in developing of system interface as well as to communicate with the system developer as to keep track of system development. According to Green (1989), system analysts believe that they must rely on behavioral skills to effectively interact with user during the crucial stages of problem definition and analysis. As indicated by Misic and Graf (2004), if system analyst is able to interact well with users, it shows that he or she has ability to work with members of project team . Moreover, system analyst should spend time getting close to the diverse stakeholders such as users, client and technical staffs in order to obtain information as they are the group of people who will use a new system and will benefit most from it. Generally, interpersonal skill is a significant factor in the success of system analyst in developing system. The excellent system analyst is involved in every aspect of the system development process, and is actively involved in the interaction design for the system. They have an understanding of the various ways the stakeholder need to interact with the system, understand the different needs and to identify the different aspects of design that will work for different stakeholders. Based on Green (1989), management must recognize that successful system development depends on both behavioral and technical skills. He added that, training to improve behavioral skills such as interviewing and listening is needed. This is because they have to interact with many groups of people in various businesses where this group of people provides valuable insights to ensure the system satisfies the business needs. Besides, systems analysts also liaise with almost every department of the business that is involved in solving the system problem. In addition, management must also provide an orientation program for the users involved in new projects. This program is mainly about the specific activities of system development and related skills needs for analysis. This program may facilitate the improvement of interaction skills and promoting greater consumer awareness of the importance of behavioral skills for systems development functions (Green, 1989). Technical skills There is no doubt that technical skills are areas commonly considered major to the computer related profession including system analyst. According to Misic and Graf (2004) technical skills are the ability to use techniques such as the development of systems of functional decomposition, data flow diagrams, process specifications, object-oriented analysis, data modeling, computer programming, hardware and software knowledge and other tools that are recognized to help in the development of system. In different point of views, Gallagher et. al (2010) indicated that technical skills can be divided into three major categories, foundational skills, operational skills and essential skills. Table 1, shows some of the technical skills that need to be possessed by every IT professionals. Table 1: Technical Skills Foundational Skills Operational Skills Essential Skills Programming System testing Desktop Support/ Helpdesk Database Design / Management Operating Systems Voice / Data Telecommunications Operations Service Hosting Continuity / Discovery Planning Mainframe / Legacy Systems Analysis Systems Design IT Architectures / Standard Source: Adapted from Gallagher et. al (2010) Based on the above table, it can be assumed that system analyst requires all three technical skills as to stay competitive with todays dynamic environment especially in the emergence of internet and intranet technologies. This rapid change in technology forced the system analyst to prepare and focuses on the system analysis and development of system by mastering all relevant technical skills. Foundation skills are skills to be obtained in advance by system analysts for their basic knowledge before they can further develop to a higher level of skills. Whereas as indicated by Gallagher et. al (2010), operational skills often in particular, but they are usually not firm-specific. Though, they may be specific to technology providers such as, IBM mainframes or Microsoft server products. These skills are important to solve problems that are related to the computers and both hardware and software. Meanwhile, essential skills are the most important skills in assisting system analyst to perfo rm in analyzing and designing of system development. There are changes in the system analyst technical skill set due to the development of technology. Haga et. al (2007), have defined technical skills set that are listed in the job bank into three major categories, there are, database skills, operating system skills and other miscellaneous skills. Table 2, summarizes the technical skills required for a system analyst listed in the job bank. All these skills are crucial for them to operate and Table 1: Technical skills required for system analyst listed in the job bank. Database Skills Operating System Skills Other Miscellaneous Skills Oracle SQL PL/SQL Database DB2 SQL Server Powerbuilder Sysbase Data Mining/ Data Warehousing Informix Delpi UNIX/LINUX Win NT Win 95/98/2000 AS400/ OS400 Mainframe JCL Novell Sun Solaris DOS MAC OS MS Office Internet/ Intranet Development Networking/Telecom SAP Accounting (pay-roll, etc) Peoplesoft Tech Support/ Help Desk ERP Lotus Notes uml Crystal Reports Vision Source: Adapted from Haga et. al (2007)