Top ten recommendations and justification Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Top ten recommendations and justification - Essay Example More than 120 gallons of paint should not be stored in any one storage cabinet. More than three such cabinets shall not be kept in a single storage area. Such storage is against security norms; such storage will make rescue operations difficult. 5. Quantities in excess of this shall be stored in an inside storage room. Containers over 30 gallons capacity shall not be stacked one upon the other. This may lead to damage to the containers and spilling of paint. 6. Within 200 feet of each pile of containers, there shall be a 12-foot-wide access way to permit approach of fire control apparatus. This is necessary for agile and easy execution of fire control operations. 9. Materials which will create fire when they react with water shall not be stored in the rooms where paint is stored. Water is so commonplace a substance that it may be casually and carelessly handled by people, thus reacting with such substances and causing fire hazard. 10. Electrical wiring and equipment located in storage rooms shall be approved for ‘Class I, Division 1, Hazardous Locations’. This is elementary guard against short circuits that may lead to fire

Market Research Promotional Strategy for LG Electronics Essay

Market Research Promotional Strategy for LG Electronics - Essay Example The development of strategic plans worldwide is based on specific criteria. Most usually, the targets set have to be feasible – in terms of the resources and the time required – while the potential failures need to be identified in advance in order to ensure the limitation of failures. On the other hand, not all organizational initiatives have the same characteristics; when the achievement of specific targets is attempted then the methods used have to be carefully chosen – a balance between the cost of a specific strategic project and the expected benefits of this project must be pursued by managers in modern organizations. Current paper focuses on the examination of the strategic plans required for the increase of the market share of the firm LG in a particular sector: the televisions and audiovideo equipment. The firm’s current pricing strategy is reviewed and evaluated in order to decide on the appropriate of the marketing plans used in relation with th e specific marketing plan. It seems that the achievement of the specific target is feasible but specific measures will be required especially if taking into account the position of the firm’s competitors but also the challenges of the specific industry in all markets internationally. LG Electronics was first established in 1958 under the name ‘GoldStar’. Since the decade of 1960s the firm was actively involved in the production of radios and televisions – also of other products like the air conditioners. In 1995 the firm was renamed to LG Electronics. Through the years the firm was involved in other sectors, like the telecommunications while its performance is under continuous development (see Figure 1, Appendix). Currently, the firm’s employees have been estimated to 82,000 – working in about 82 branches of the firm worldwide. The firm’s achievements in its industry are many. We could indicatively refer to the development of the first

Materialist View of the Mind-body Problem Analysis

Materialist View of the Mind-body Problem Analysis Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the materialist view of the mind-body problem. The mind-body problem within the study of consciousness is exactly as it sounds – the difficulty with connecting the mind with the body. The mind is about mental processes, consciousness and thoughts, and the body is about the physical aspect of the brain (McLeod, 2007). This problem is known as the explanatory gap and there are many theories which attempt to understand the extent of this gap. One theory which is very popular amongst current researchers is materialism. This approach is the idea that consciousness can be completely explained by physical matter and leaves no room for the ‘non-physical’ mind (Blackmore, 2010). Materialists believe that it is only our brain functions that are important and not our subjective experiences, otherwise described as ‘matter over mind’. The opposing approach to materialism is dualism, which is the idea that our mind is more than just our brain, a.k.a. ‘mind over matter’ (â€Å"Dualism,† 2014) . However, there are very few dualists today. Most philosophers nowadays are materialists, although it cannot be denied that materialism is also not without its flaws (Blackmore, 2010). There are two main versions of materialism. One is eliminative materialism which proposes that subjective experiences do not exist and that by knowing enough about biology and the nervous system, we can also understand consciousness and therefore, it can be completely explained by neuroscience (Blackmore, 2010). The other version is reductive materialism which suggests that our mental states are identical to our physical states of the brain, meaning that subjective experiences do exist but they are not distinguishable from physical processes in the brain (Churchland, 1988). Materialism denies that it is our conscious decisions that cause us to act the way we do and instead believes that it is physical causes (Blackmore, 2010). There are strengths and weaknesses of materialism. Searle (2000) believes it is very outdated and does not explain what consciousness is, but neither does dualism and by rejecting one, it does not mean adopting the other. One strength of materialism is that it avoids the problem of dualism which is that consciousness and physical matter are thought of as two separate substances, meaning that the interaction between them cannot be explained. Materialists argue that if our minds are the same as our brains and not two separate substances, then there is no need to explain how one causes the other. For dualism to be correct, the interaction between the two substances would have to work both ways, meaning that any change in consciousness must be accompanied by a change in the brain, and any change in the brain must also be accompanied by a change in consciousness. However, the latter is not true which suggests that dualism does not work (Blackmore, 2010). Materialists believe that consciousness is identical to brain states. However, according to Leibniz’s law, if two entities are to be identical, they must have the same properties (Blackman, 2008). For materialism to be correct, all properties of the brain would also have to be properties of consciousness, which is not true as mental states have properties that brain states do not, such as subjective experiences. Materialism believes that our subjective experiences cannot be studied in an objective way as they are not a physical entity and non-entities cannot be studied by science (Blackman, 2008). However, Searle (2000) argues that they can. He believes that by asking people about their subjective experiences, for example, how it feels to experience pain, that we can study this objectively. One weakness of materialism is that it ignores the aspect of how it feels to be conscious by denying that subjective experiences exist or that they are not distinctive from functions in the brain (Blackmore, 2010). Patterns of brain activation cannot explain how it feels to be conscious and aware of experiences. Miller et al. (2009) demonstrated how we cannot tell what someone is experiencing by looking at images of their brain activation. This was shown by strong individual differences in patterns of brain activation amongst participants while they were all doing the same memory task. Materialists believe that by doing the same memory task, all participants are experiencing the same thing and therefore the patterns of their brain activation should all be the same. However, as this is not the case, it provides evidence that eliminative materialism does not work and that subjective experiences do exist as participants must have had different experiences from one another even though they were doing the same task. This also suggests that reductive materialism cannot work as the variation within participants shows that our subjective experiences must not be identical to our brain states. Nagel (1974) explains how subjective experiences are such a crucial aspect of being conscious by comparing humans to bats. We could never know what it would really be like to be a bat because we could never share the same subjective experiences as them. Even if we were magically transformed into a bat, we would still have our own memories and intelligence, meaning we would not have the same experience that normal bats do (Blackmore, 2010). He makes the point that in order to even begin to form an idea of what it is like to be a bat (or even another person) we must adopt their point of view. The same applies to Searle’s argument about pain – it seems impossible that anyone would ever be able to have the same experience of someone else’s mental state as their perceptions of the same experience could be entirely different (Churchland, 1988). This stresses how important subjective experiences are as we all have our own different viewpoints meaning that we experience things differently and therefore these experiences cannot be understood from looking at a brain scan. This also suggests why materialism is not the answer to the mind-body problem. However, it also argues against Searle’s theory that subjective experiences can be studied objectively as, even after asking about them, we still do not know exactly what it is like to experience it ourselves. Materialisms main strength is that it proposes that consciousness is not different from the brain, meaning that how one causes the other does not have to be explained and therefore, eliminates the problem of the explanatory gap. However, this can also be viewed as a major weakness of the theory the two cannot be identical as our mental states have properties that our brain states do not share. Materialism does not sufficiently account for the role of our subjective experiences in consciousness. It either completely eliminates their role or it claims that they are simply the same as our physical brain states. References All About Philosophy. (2014). Dualism. Retrieved from http://www.allaboutphilosophy.org/dualism.htm Blackman, R. (2008). Churchland, Matter and Consciousness. Retrieved from: http://reidblackman.com/pdf/reidBlackman.churchland.pdf Blackmore, S. (2010). Consciousness: An introduction. 2nd edition. Routledge. Churchland, P, M. (1988). Matter and Consciousness. Revised edition. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. McLeod, S. A. (2007). Mind Body Debate. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/mindbodydebate.html Miller, M.B., Donovan, C. L., Sokol-Hessner, P., German, E., Van Horn, J.D., Wolford, G.L. (2009). Unique and persistent individual patterns of brain activity across different memory retrieval tasks. NeuroImage, 48, 625-635. Nagel, T. (1974). What is it like to be a bat? The Philosophical Review, 83(4), 435-450. Searle, J. (2000). Consciousness. Annual Reviews of Neuroscience, 23, 557 – 578.

The Bluest Eye :: essays research papers

	Misdirection of Anger "Anger is better [than shame]. There is a sense of being in anger. A reality of presence. An awareness of worth."(50) This is how many of the blacks in Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye felt. They faked love when they felt powerless to hate, and destroyed what love they did have with anger. The Bluest Eye shows the way that the blacks were compelled to place their anger on their own families and on their own blackness instead of on the white people who were the cause of their misery. In this manner, they kept their anger circulating among themselves, in effect oppressing themselves, at the same time they were being oppressed by the white people. Pecola Breedlove was a young black girl, growing up in Lorain, Ohio in the early 1940's. Her life was one of the most difficult in the novel, for she was almost totally alone. She suffered the most because she had to withstand having others' anger dumped on her, internalized this hate, and was unable to get angry herself. Over the course of the novel, this anger destroys her from the inside. When Geraldine yells at her to get out of her house, Pecola's eyes were fixed on the "pretty" lady and her "pretty" house. Pecola does not stand up to Maureen Peal when she made fun of her for seeing her dad naked but instead lets Freida and Claudia fight for her. Instead of getting mad at Mr. Yacobowski for looking down on her, she directed her anger toward the dandelions that she once thought were beautiful. The dandelions also represent her view of her blackness, once she may have thought that she was beautiful, but like the dandelions, she now follows the majorities' view. However, "the anger will not hold"(50), and the feelings soon gave way to shame. Pecola was the sad product of having others' anger placed on her: "All of our waste we dumped on her and she absorbed. And all of our beauty, which was hers first and which she gave to us"(205). The other black people felt beautiful next to her ugliness, wholesome next to her uncleanness, her poverty made them generous, her weakness made them strong, and her pain made them happier. In effect, they were oppressing her the same way the whites were oppressing them. When Pecola's father, Cholly Breedlove, was caught as a teenager in a field with Darlene by two white men, "never did he once consider directing his hatred toward the hunters"(150), rather her directed his hatred towards the girl because hating the white men would "consume" him.

The Vampire Diaries: The Struggle Chapter Eight

â€Å"What?† said Elena dully. â€Å"Well, the way she ended up, in her slip. She looked just like she did when we found her on the road, only then she was all scratched up, too.† â€Å"Cat scratches, we thought,† said Meredith, finishing the last bite of her cake. She seemed to be in one of her quiet, thoughtful moods; right now she was watching Elena closely. â€Å"But that doesn't seem very likely.† Elena looked straight back at her. â€Å"Maybe she fell in some brambles,† she said. â€Å"Now, if you guys are finished eating, do you want to see that first note?† They left their dishes in the sink and climbed the stairs to Elena's room. Elena felt herself flush as the other girls read the note. Bonnie and Meredith were her best friends, maybe her only friends now. She'd read them passages from her diary before. But this was different. It was the most humiliating feeling she'd ever had. â€Å"Well?† she said to Meredith. â€Å"The person who wrote this is five feet eleven inches tall, walks with a slight limp, and wears a false mustache,† Meredith intoned. â€Å"Sorry,† she added, seeing Elena's face. â€Å"Not funny. Actually, there's not much to go on, is there? The writing looks like a guy's, but the paper looks feminine.† â€Å"And the whole thing has sort of a feminine touch,† put in Bonnie, bouncing slightly on Elena's bed. â€Å"Well, it does,† she said defensively. â€Å"Quoting bits of your diary back at you is the kind of thing a woman would think of. Men don't care about diaries.† â€Å"You just don't want it to be Damon,† said Meredith. â€Å"I would think you'd be more worried about him being a psycho killer than a diary thief.† â€Å"I don't know; killers are sort of romantic. Imagine your dying with his hands around your throat. He'd strangle the life out of you, and the last thing you'd see would be his face.† Putting her own hands to her throat, Bonnie gasped and expired tragically, ending up draped across the bed. â€Å"He can have me anytime,† she said, eyes still closed. It was on Elena's lips to say, â€Å"Don't you understand, this isserious ,† but instead she hissed in a breath. â€Å"Oh,God ,† she said, and ran to the window. The day was humid and stifling, and the window had been opened. Outside on the skeletal branches of the quince tree was a crow. Elena threw the sash down so hard that the glass rattled and tinkled. The crow gazed at her through the trembling panes with eyes like obsidian. Rainbows glimmered in its sleek black plumage. â€Å"Why did yousay that?† she said, turning to Bonnie. â€Å"Hey, there's nobody out there,† said Meredith gently. â€Å"Unless you count the birds.† Elena turned away from them. The tree was empty now. â€Å"I'm sorry,† said Bonnie in a small voice, after a moment. â€Å"It's just that it all doesn't seem real sometimes, even Mr. Tanner's being dead doesn't seem real. And Damon did look†¦ well, exciting. But dangerous. I â€Å"And besides, he wouldn't squeeze your throat; he'd cut it,† Meredith said. â€Å"Or at least that was what he did to Tanner. But the old man under the bridge had his throat ripped open, as if some animal had done it.† Meredith looked to Elena for clarification. â€Å"Damon doesn't have an animal, does he?† â€Å"No. I don't know.† Suddenly, Elena felt very tired. She was worried about Bonnie, about the consequences of those foolish words. â€Å"I can do anything to you, to you and the ones you love,† she remembered. What might Damon do now? She didn't understand him. He was different every time they met. In the gym he'd been taunting, laughing at her. But the next time she would swear that he'd been serious, quoting poetry to her, trying to get her to come away with him. Last week, with the icy graveyard wind lashing around him, he'd been menacing, cruel. And underneath his mocking words last night, she'd felt the same menace. She couldn't predict what he'd do next. But, whatever happened, she had to protect Bonnie and Meredith from him. Especially since she couldn't warn them properly. And what was Stefan up to? She needed him right now, more than anything. Wherewas he? It started that morning. â€Å"Let me get this straight,† Matt said, leaning against the scarred body of his ancient Ford sedan when Stefan approached him before school. â€Å"You want to borrow my car.† â€Å"Yes,† Stefan said. â€Å"And the reason you want to borrow it is flowers. You want to get some flowers for Elena.† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"And these particular flowers, these flowers you've just got to get, don't grow around here.† â€Å"They might. But their blooming season is over this far north. And the frost would have finished them off anyway.† â€Å"So you want to go down south – how far south you don't know – to find some of these flowers that you've just got to give to Elena.† â€Å"Or at least some of the plants,† Stefan said. â€Å"I'd rather have the actual flowers though.† â€Å"And since the police still have your car, you want to borrow mine, for however long it takes you to go down south and find these flowers that you've just got to give to Elena.† â€Å"I figure driving is the least conspicuous way to leave town,† Stefan explained. â€Å"I don't want the police to follow me.† â€Å"Uh huh. And that's why you want my car.† â€Å"Am I going to give my car to the guy who stole my girlfriend and now wants to take a jaunt down south to get her some kind of special flowers she's just got to have? Are you crazy?† Matt, who had been staring out over the roofs of the frame houses across the street, turned at last to look at Stefan. His blue eyes, usually cheerful and straightforward, were full of utter disbelief, and surmounted by twisted, puckered brows. Stefan looked away. He should have known better. After everything Matt had already done for him, to expect more was ridiculous. Especially these days, when people flinched from the sound of his step and avoided his eyes when he came near. To expect Matt, who had the best of reasons to resent him, to do him such a favor with no explanation, on the basis of faith alone, reallywas insane. â€Å"No, I'm not crazy,† he said quietly, and turned to go. â€Å"Neither am I,† Matt had said. â€Å"And I'd have to be crazy to turn my car over to you. Hell, no. I'm going with you.† By the time Stefan had turned back around, Matt was looking at the car instead of him, lower lip thrust forward in a wary, judicious pout. â€Å"After all,† he'd said, rubbing at the flaking vinyl of the roof, â€Å"you might scratch the paint or something.† Elena put the phone back on the hook.Somebody was at the boarding house, because somebody kept picking up the phone when it rang, but after that there was only silence and then the click of disconnection. She suspected it was Mrs. Flowers, but that didn't tell her anything about where Stefan was. Instinctively, she wanted to go to him. But it was dark outside, and Stefan had warned her specifically not to go out in the dark, especially not anywhere near the cemetery or the woods. The boarding house was near both. â€Å"No answer?† said Meredith as Elena came back and sat down on the bed. â€Å"She keeps hanging up on me,† Elena said, and muttered something under her breath. â€Å"Did you say she was a witch?† â€Å"No, but it rhymes with that,† said Elena. â€Å"Look,† said Bonnie, sitting up. â€Å"If Stefan's going to call, he'll call here. There's no reason for you to come and stay the night with me.† Therewas a reason, although Elena couldn't quite explain it even to herself. After all, Damon had kissed Bonnie at Alaric Saltzman's party. It was Elena's fault that Bonnie was in danger in the first place. Somehow she felt that if she were at least on the scene, she might be able to protect Bonnie. â€Å"My mom and dad and Mary are all home,† Bonnie persisted. â€Å"And we lock all our doors and windows and everything since Mr. Tanner was murdered. This weekend Dad even put on extra locks. I don't see whatyou can do.† She left a message for Stefan with Aunt Judith, telling him where she was. There was still a lingering constraint between her and her aunt. And there would be, Elena thought, until Aunt Judith changed her mind about Stefan. At Bonnie's house, she was given a room that had belonged to one of Bonnie's sisters who was now in college. The first thing she did was check the window. It was closed and locked, and there was nothing outside that someone could climb, like a drainpipe or tree. As inconspicuously as possible, she also checked Bonnie's room and any others she could get into. Bonnie was right; they were all sealed up tight from the inside. Nothing from the outside could get in. She lay in bed a long time that night, staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep. She kept remembering Vickie dreamily doing a striptease in the cafeteria. What was wrong with the girl? She would remember to ask Stefan that next time she saw him. Thoughts of Stefan were pleasant, even with all the terrible things that had happened recently. Elena smiled in the darkness, letting her mind wander. Someday all this harassment would be over, and she and Stefan could plan a life together. Of course, he hadn't actually said anything about that, but Elena herself was sure. She was going to marry Stefan, or no one. And Stefan was going to marry no one but her†¦ The transition into dreaming was so smooth and gradual that she scarcely noticed it. But she knew, somehow, that shewas dreaming. It was as if a little part of her was standing aside and watching the dream like a play. She was sitting in a long hallway, which was covered with mirrors on one side and windows on the other. She was waiting for something. Then she saw a flicker of movement, and Stefan was standing outside the window. His face was pale and his eyes were hurt and angry. She went over to the window, but she couldn't hear what he was saying because of the glass. In one hand, he was holding a book with a blue velvet cover, and he kept gesturing to it and asking her something. Then he dropped the book and turned away. â€Å"Stefan, don't go! Don't leave me!† she cried. Her fingers flattened whitely on the glass. Then she noticed that there was a latch on one side of the window and she opened it, calling to him. But he had disappeared and outside she saw only swirling white mist. Disconsolately, she turned away from the window and began walking down the hall. Her own image glimmered in mirror after mirror as she went by them. Then something about one of the reflections caught her eye. The eyes were her eyes, but there was a new look in them, a predatory, sly look. Vickie's eyes had looked that way when she was undressing. And there was something disturbing and hungry about her smile. As she watched, standing still, the image suddenly whirled around and around, as if dancing. Horror swept over Elena. She began to run down the hall, but now all the reflections had a life of their own, dancing, beckoning to her, laughing at her. Just when she thought her heart and lungs would burst with terror, she reached the end of the corridor and flung open a door. She was standing in a large and beautiful room. The lofty ceiling was intricately carved and inlaid with gold; the doorways were faced with white marble. Classical statues stood in niches along the walls. Elena had never seen a room of such splendor, but she knew where she was. In Renaissance Italy, when Stefan She looked down at herself and saw she was wearing a dress like the one she'd had made for Halloween, the ice blue Renaissance ball gown. But this dress was a deep ruby red, and around her waist she wore a thin chain set with brilliant red stones. The same stones were in her hair. When she moved, the silk shimmered like flames in the light of hundreds of torches. At the far end of the room, two huge doors swung inward. A figure appeared between them. It walked toward her, and she saw that it was a young man dressed in Renaissance clothing, doublet and hose and fur-trimmed jerkin. Stefan! She started toward him eagerly, feeling the weight of her dress swing from the waist. But when she got closer she stopped, drawing in a sharp breath. It was Damon. He kept on walking toward her, confident, casual. He was smiling, a smile of challenge. Reaching her, he put one hand over his heart and bowed. Then he held out the hand to her as if daring her to take it. â€Å"Do you like dancing?† he said. Except that his lips didn't move. The voice was in her mind. Her fear drained away, and she laughed. What was wrong with her, to have ever been afraid of him? They understood each other very well. But instead of taking his hand, she turned away, the silk of the dress turning after her. She moved lightly toward one of the statues along the wall, not glancing back to see if he was following her. She knew he would. She pretended to be absorbed in the statue, moving away again just as he reached her, biting her lip to hold in the laughter. She felt wonderful right now, so alive, so beautiful. Dangerous? Of course, this game was dangerous. But she had always enjoyed danger. The next time he drew near her, she glanced at him teasingly as she turned. He reached out, but caught only the jeweled chain at her waist. He let go quickly, and, looking back, she saw that the pronged setting on one of the gems had cut him. The drop of blood on his finger was just the color of her dress. His eyes flashed at her sideways, and his lips curved in a taunting smile as he held the wounded finger up. You wouldn't dare, those eyes said. Oh, wouldn't I? Elena told him with her own eyes. Boldly, she took his hand and held it a moment, teasing him. Then she brought the finger to her lips. After a few moments, she released it and looked up at him. â€Å"Ido like dancing,† she said, and found that, like him, she could speak with her mind. It was a thrilling sensation. She moved to the center of the room and waited. He followed her, graceful as a stalking beast. His fingers were warm and hard when they clasped hers. There was music, although it faded in and out and sounded far away. Damon placed his other hand on her waist. She could feel the warmth of his fingers there, the pressure. She picked up her skirts, and they began dancing. It was lovely, like flying, and her body knew every move to make. They danced around and around that empty room, in perfect timing, together. He was laughing down at her, his dark eyes glittering with enjoyment. She felt so beautiful; so poised and alert and ready for anything. She couldn't remember when she'd had this much fun. The room around her was blurring. She could see only his eyes, and they were making her feel more and more sleepy. She allowed her own eyes to half close, her head to fall back. She sighed. She couldfeel his gaze now, on her lips, on her throat. She smiled to herself and let her eyes close completely. He was supporting her weight now, keeping her from falling down. She felt his lips on the skin of her neck, burning hot as if he had a fever. Then she felt the sting, like the jabs of two needles. It was over quickly, though, and she relaxed to the pleasure of having her blood drawn out. She remembered this feeling, the feeling of floating on a bed of golden light. A delicious languor stole through all her limbs. She felt drowsy, as if it were too much trouble to move. She didn't want to move anyway; she felt too good. Her fingers were resting on his hair, clasping his head to her. Idly, she threaded them through the soft dark strands. His hair was like silk, warm and alive under her fingers. When she opened her eyes a slit, she saw that it reflected rainbows in the candlelight. Red and blue and purple, just like – just like the feathers†¦ And then everything shattered. There was pain at her throat suddenly, as if her soul was being torn out of her. She was pushing at Damon, clawing at him, trying to force him away. Screams rang in her ears. Damon was fighting her, but it wasn't Damon; it was a crow. Huge wings beat against her, thrashing in the air. Her eyes were open. She was awake and screaming. The ballroom was gone, and she was in a darkened bedroom. But the nightmare had followed her. Even as she reached for the light, it came at her again, wings thrashing in her face, sharp beak diving for her. Elena struck out at it, one hand flung up to protect her eyes. She was still screaming. She couldn't get away from it, those terrible wings kept flailing frantically, with a sound like a thousand decks of cards being shuffled at once. The door burst open, and she heard shouts. The warm, heavy body of the crow struck her and her screams went higher. Then someone was pulling her off the bed, and she was standing protected behind Bonnie's father. He had a broom and he was beating at the bird with it. Bonnie was standing in the doorway. Elena ran into her arms. Bonnie's father was shouting, and then came the slam of a window. â€Å"It's out,† Mr. McCullough said, breathing hard. Mary and Mrs. McCullough were just outside in the hallway, clad in bathrobes. â€Å"You're hurt,† Mrs. McCullough said to Elena in amazement. â€Å"The nasty thing's pecked you.† â€Å"I'm okay,† Elena said, brushing at a spot of blood on her face. She was so shaken that her knees were â€Å"How did it getin?† said Bonnie. Mr. McCullough was inspecting the window. â€Å"You shouldn't have left this open,† he said. â€Å"And what did you want to take the locks off for?† â€Å"I didn't,† Elena cried. â€Å"It was unlocked and open when I heard you screaming and came in,† Bonnie's father said. â€Å"I don't know who else could have opened it but you.† Elena choked back her protests. Hesitantly, cautiously, she moved to the window. He was right; the locks had been unscrewed. And it could have been done only from the inside. â€Å"Maybe you were sleepwalking,† said Bonnie, leading Elena away from the window as Mr. McCullough began putting the locks back on. â€Å"We'd better get you cleaned up.† Sleepwalking. Suddenly the entire dream flooded back to Elena. The hall of mirrors, and the ballroom, and Damon. Dancing with Damon. She pulled out of Bonnie's grasp. â€Å"I'll do it myself,† she said, hearing her own voice quaver on the edge of hysteria. â€Å"No – really – I want to.† She escaped into the bathroom and stood with her back to the locked door, trying to breathe. The last thing she wanted to do was look in a mirror. But at last, slowly, she approached the one over the sink, trembling as she saw the edge of her reflection, moving inch by inch until she was framed in the silvery surface. Her image stared back, ghastly pale, with eyes that looked bruised and frightened. There were deep shadows under them and smears of blood on her face. Slowly, she turned her head slightly and lifted up her hair. She almost cried out loud when she saw what was underneath. Two little wounds, fresh and open on the skin of her neck.

Management: Human Resources Essay

Human Resources are perhaps the most important factors in attainment of organizational objectives. For years, this aspect of management has been overlooked or in a sense has not been given the importance that it deserves. During the course of this particular paper, the author shall try to focus over the points which make human resources the most crucial point for organizational prosperity and what a manager shall do in order to increase the efficiency of the workers. Undervaluation of intellect capital: The businesses rely on a number of resources in order to attain various goals and objectives. But this has been a proven fact that no other resource is so crucial in organizational progress like that of the human resources. The human resources bring along with them knowledge and information which are perhaps pretty crucial in achieving overall objectives. It is so crucial for the organization to make sure that the relevant data and information flows in the current direction and is present in almost all parts of the business organization. Even though the organizations have not been giving too much of importance to the intellectual capital as of today, still future belongs to this factor only. The managers need to develop proper models for developing, retaining and managing the intellectual resources of the business organization. As the General Manager, the author would like to propose a model for managing the intellectual capital of the business organization. The author proposes a simple model for management of intellectual capital of the business organization. The model consists of the following major elements:  · Strategic Direction and Vision: This element could be derived from the human resources of the business organization. The strategies are formulated by human resources and the vision of the organization is also decided by the human resources.  · Focus on the customers: The prime source of organizational prosperity.  · Products and processes: which the organization is dealing in.  · Culture of the organization These elements together constitute the intellectual capital for any kind of business. It becomes so crucial for any business form to ensure that all the four elements are managed in best possible way in order to make sure that overall intellectual capital is retained within the organization. Intellectual capital, in both the structural and human forms, comes together with customer knowledge. It is a winning combination. Capabilities Audit: Contribution in assessing the performance of the organization: In today’s business environment, the identity of any organization is not restricted to the output which they are producing, neither on the quarterly results or any related issues. The organizations are known for their capabilities. The manager should have the knowledge about the potential of the workforce and overall capabilities of the organization. Ulrich and Smallwood have suggested a pretty powerful and efficient way to assess the intangible resources of the business organization. A capabilities audit â€Å"provides a high level picture of an organization’s strengths and areas for improvement.†Ã‚   (Smallwood, Ulrich, 2007) The scope of capabilities audit is huge and it could really help in increasing the efficiency of the organization as it includes a number of points which cover almost all the concerned areas of the business organization. A custom capabilities audit includes the following points:  · What are the competencies and capabilities of the workforce: Are they able to deliver the products and services in accordance to customer’s expectations.  · Can the organization change in accordance to the ever dynamic business environment.  · What is the work culture of the organization? Are both customers and employees part of the organizational culture?  · What is more importance for the organization: High performance or following the strategies?  · What are the ways by which both efficiency and leverage could be attained?  · What is the level of the organization as compared with the changing global environment?  · The quality of leaders and the leadership styles in the organization.  · What is the amount of trust which we share with the customers?  · Do our employees share an intellectual, behavioural, and procedural agenda for our strategy?  · The amount of innovation in various aspects of the business.  · How important is cost reduction and cost management for the organization. Evaluation of HR functions in the organization: Talking about the author’s organization, HR happens to be one of the most important functions of the organization. Traditionally the organization concerned HR as a cost centre and something which could not be considered as a profit generating centre for the organization. But with development in management ideas, it was found that HRM is most crucial aspect in attainment of organization’s strategic objectives. HR function actively contributes in attaining organizational objectives. Every organization should have the capacity to retain the talent and knowledge which are crucial in context of the organizational success. Each person has got a different perception, attitude and outlook in life. These three factors are those, which he carries with him all the time, even while working in an organization. A manager has to make sure that he takes a different approach while dealing with different people. And this is where the real challenge lies—an HR manager has to make use of maximum skills, even in pettiest situations. Of course, the task of HR manager becomes even more difficult when the size and complexities of business increases. HR manager’s task also becomes so difficult due to diversity present in the workforce. HRM includes a series of activities that includes the staffing and recruitment of the people required for an organization, along with deciding the source and method to hire the people. (Bratton, Gold, 2001).