Entrepreneurship and UK's Economic Recovery and Growth Essay

Business and UK's Economic Recovery and Growth - Essay Example The private segment has been turned with the express point of supplanting the work openings that have been given up in the open assistance because of occupation cuts and for the accentuation on firing up of organizations so as to make employments as opposed to lose them. Business enterprise is for sure the response to the United Kingdom’s monetary recuperation and development. For some 10 years, British sociologists have been confounded by enterprise esteems atavistic perseverance and about the yearnings of the work power. This is regardless of the decline consequently on speculation of pioneering job and the lessening quantities of new business people in the UK. Given the free enterprise customs of the United Kingdom undoubtedly, pioneering desire is more obvious as lingering of the way of life of the by-gone monetary period. Max Webber, who established the enterprise research, has made a case for the way that Puritan philosophy once urged every one of its devotees to embrace the job of the business visionary and characterize once again the substance of the job. Thus, European type of private enterprise, including the United Kingdom’s, was given an improvement which allowed it to move its center the limitations of organization conventionalism, which had prior baffled the advancement of free enterprise in different locales of the world. Webber had the option to recognize an altogether causal type of business enterprise since he connected a determinant that was not financial, religious philosophy, to pioneering flexibly. Webber was additionally of the conviction that colossal bureaucratic associations were the future model of business (Soe, 2009 p88). This specific view can be translated as hostile to enterprising since the vast majority of these mammoth associations are not needing numerous business visionaries. His speculation that the twentieth century’s successful private enterprise didn't require the help of any sort of strict plainness was likewise noteworthy at that point. His work attempted to infer that free enterprise, which could be viewed as adult, was dependent, upon, signals from the market that could be depended upon to give business people required from a materialistic admired populace. This would bring about the arrangement of business visionaries by the market, which was set up to supplant the job of the more extensive society in giving these business visionaries. Webber’s vision took the assumption that private enterprise had developed enough and had formed a vital work power where there was social reverence and legitimization of business enterprise (Soe, 2009 p65). In the wake of this move in culture in the United Kingdom, business has gotten a versatile, fungible, and boundless item of work. He presumed that business enterprise had lost the association it generally needed to flexibly sources that were of a non-financial nature, and, along these lines, had lost its importance causally. Schump eter communicated the hypothesis that business enterprise can be recognized from monetary advancement by regarding enterprise as one of the ways by means of which financial development can happen (Soe, 2009 p89). He guessed that expertly oversaw, enormous, and corporately sorted out firms had the stimulus to supplant proprietor worked little firms as the mechanical blend that was predominant in social orders with cutting edge markets. Be that as it may, the executives of mammoth enterprises would take the obligations of business enterprise. Proficient administrators along these lines would assume control over the assignments of business visionaries in plan execution, chance assessment, and advancement arranging. Karl Marx who was uninterested in

Midshires College of Midwifery and Nursing Essay

Midshires College of Midwifery and Nursing - Essay Example The Steering Group had an aggregate of 24 individuals got from ten nearby Health Authorities, the NHS Hospital Trust and the Regional Health Authority. The individuals had different limits, for example, General Managers, Chief Nursing Officers and some were agents. The incorporation of General Managers from the ten Health Authorities was significant since the five schools offered types of assistance to medical clinics in the ten Health Authorities. Their perspectives, in this manner, were expected to guarantee that the formation of Midshires College of Midwifery and nursing turns into a triumph. The Steering Group had one principle objective, which was amalgamating the five distinct universities of birthing assistance and nursing. In spite of the fact that the Steering Group had an unmistakable target and the individuals expected to accomplish its goal, it confronted different issues during the time spent making Midshires College. The main issue experienced during the way toward amal gamating the five schools was the dubious future with respect to the interest for nurture training. The quantity of attendants required, and their capacities in the wellbeing division in the coming future were not satisfactory. For this situation, it was sure that nurses’ employments confronted a danger. Whenever shaped, Midshires College would confront the issue of not conceding enough understudies to satchel the birthing assistance and nursing course. The eventual fate of nursing occupations was estimated as far as populace development and foundation of new clinics. It was just characteristic that while making another school, it needed to oblige a bigger number of understudies than the other five universities suited altogether. In any case, there was a low interest for additional medical attendants later on advertise (Hughes et al, 2009). The subsequent issue experienced while making Midshires College was an irreconcilable circumstance between individuals in the Steering Gr oup and the new school to be shaped. In the five schools, the General Managers were accused of the errand of giving nursing instruction. It was evident that, the new school, Midshires, whenever made couldn't depend on direct medical attendant training administrations from the General Managers. The General Managers had the alternative of setting up a delicate, which could make sure that they secure the agreement of preparing attendants in the school. The goal and objective, which Midhires College depended on, negated both the aims and interests of General Managers who shaped the Steering Group. The formation of Midshires College confronted a tested, which originated from similar individuals who should manage its creation. An unequivocal rivalry was on the ascent, as it was seen when an association to contend with the new school as far as profiting post-experience nurture instruction was shaped by two Health Authorities. The Steering Group had the goal of baffling endeavors that the n ew school was making so as to give post-experience courses. It is significant that the Steering Group was all along ensuring its inclinations, through bemoaning that on the off chance that the new school gave post-experience courses, at that point 30% of the five colleges’ staff would lose their positions. Making the new school turned into a test since individuals in the Steering Group were restricting change, which would influence employments and arrangement of nursing instruction (Hughes et al, 2009). The third issue came because of the desire that a higher instructive foundation would approve capabilities accomplished from Midshires College, which was nearly arrangement. It was likewise anticipated that, at long last, Midshires College

Fuel from the Fields MIT Charcoal Project

Fuel from the Fields MIT Charcoal Project From the article Engineering changes for the better in Haiti: Local activist joins up with MIT instructor By Ron Fletcher The Boston Globe June 5, 2005 Smiths genius for designing simple and affordable solutions to the fundamental, seemingly intractable problems that plague impoverished regions earned her a place among the 2004 MacArthur fellows. Usually a degree in engineering means youll eventually be working on cars or bombs, said Smith. I dont drive a car, and I dont kill people. The MIT mission statement talks about serving humanity. My students care about that. Gerthy cares about that. I care about that. I blogged in a previous entry about my taking Development Lab (D-Lab) with Amy Smith, and heres just one example of a) how hands on the class is, and b) how it focuses on using technology to solve problems in developing nations. Were going to take these corn cobs and corn husks and this briquette press to make charcoal Read on, grasshopper. What is charcoal? Charcoal is the product of incomplete combustion of organic matter. This occurs when the organic matter is heated in a low-oxygen environment, which causes the organic matter to be carbonized instead of burning away. This piece of wood is a place-holder in the center of the barrel; eventually, we will pull it out and have a nice column of space for the fire. Cassava root (manoika) is a locally-available material (meaning locally in Petite Anise, Haiti) that will serve (in porridge form) as a binder for the charcoal. This process was designed to be as efficient as possible, so we will boil the cassava using the heat from the fire in the barrel. Peel it, grate it, eat it? Prop the barrel up on bricks and light the bagasse The metal rod here is holding up the pot of boiling cassava Use sand to seal the edges and let it carbonize for a while. Fast forward to the next step: Put the carbonized material in a plastic bag, add the binder, and mix. Put the resulting material in the charcoal brick press, hammer away, and voila. Leave these bricks out to dry (in sunny weather, it takes a couple of days) and then theyre ready to use, at a fraction of the cost of purchased charcoal. Good work, people. Post Tagged #D-Lab

Axelrod’s Quotations of Franklin Roosevelt in ‘Nothing to...

People seem to always have something to say. Doesn’t matter the person, religion, or gender, people always seem to have an opinion on something. But, how do they express their opinions? Some do it in speeches, but sometimes, a person isn’t very talented or is incapable incoming up will the right words to express how they feel. This is where people start to quote other people. Axelrod was one of those people who liked to quote other people and he quotes and interprets a speech made Theodore Roosevelt. However Axelrods quotes and points are often valid in his paper ‘Nothing to Fear: Lessons in Leadership from FDR’. Axelrod’s points are proved valid for three reasons: (1) Axelrod talks about Roosevelt had polio; (2) Axelrod quoted multiple sources to help the audience to further understand what Roosevelt was saying, (3) Axelrod use quotation in appropriate ways. In Axelrod’s essay ‘Nothing to Fear: Lessons in Leadership from FDR’ he talks about how Roosevelt had Polio. Polio is a disease that attacks the body, paralyzing it for life if not killing the contaminated. But why does Axelrod put that in his essay? It wasnt the fact that Theodore had polio that got Axelrod’s attention; it was what he did when he had Polio. Axelrod says (page 567), â€Å"He chose instead to understand polio, to see clearly the extent of his disability, and then to asses - also clearly - his opinions for overcoming that disability.† in this statement, Axelrod shows that, even though the President had

Kate Chopins The Story of an Hour and Desiress Baby

Escape to Feminism Feminism appears in many different types of medias around the world. Some of the first beginnings of feminism appeared in literature. A feminist writers work often portrays women as very strong and independent. Kate Chopin reveals her feminism throughout most of her works. In two of her works, â€Å"The Story of an Hour† and â€Å"Dà ©sirà ©e’s Baby†, feminism is expressed through journey two women take to escape to freedom from unsatisfying marriages. Neither of the husbands in either story are good representations of what a loving husband should be. Although, Mrs. Mallard nor Dà ©sirà ©e are physically abused, there are many different types of abuse. Their husbands’ abuse reveals in the control they had over their wives and†¦show more content†¦However, something awakens inside her, and she realizes what she and the marriage have become. With this understanding Dà ©sirà ©e knows she must leave to be free; she â€Å"disappeared among the reeds and willows that grew thick along the banks of the deep, sluggish bayou† (Chopoin 164). Her escape from the marriage may not be the easiest, but Dà ©sirà ©e chooses freedom. The freedoms of both women did not come easy, but they did at least come. Both stories are assumed to be tragedies, because the means by which these women escape are not the most pleasant. Chopin did not intend for this to be true though. Mrs. Mallard’s death should be celebrated, because it is understood that if her husband lives, she cannot. Mrs. Mallard’s death is her way of finally becoming alive and free. Although choosing to die, she ascends to a much happier place than earth. The very last sentence of the story says that Mrs. Mallard died â€Å"of joy that kills† (Chopin 161). The phrase is a play on words, because Mrs. Mallard really died in despair. While Mrs. Mallard did not die of joy, she is finally be truly happy now. Dà ©sirà ©e’s escape differs from Mrs. Mallard’s. Dà ©sirà ©e might not know where she will end up, but she leaves her husband’s overbearing ways of life. It is not known if Dà ©sirà ©e lives or dies, bu t it can be assumed that she reaches a better place either way. Chopin views both escapes from the wives’

Linen and Laundry Service in Off Premise Free Essays

Different types of hotel in the Philippines Many people visit the Philippine Islands each year in order to enjoy its picture perfect views and Asian hospitality. Luckily, there are several types of hotels available in the Philippines that make it possible for anyone to afford a trip. Whether you’re looking for student-budget type lodging, luxurious accommodations or something in between, the Philippines has got you covered. We will write a custom essay sample on Linen and Laundry Service in Off Premise or any similar topic only for you Order Now Luxury Hotels Luxury hotels are available across the Philippines and are an ideal type of hotel if you’re looking for refined surroundings. They’re a great option for honeymooners or anyone who wants to be treated like royalty for a while. This type of lodging facility will ensure that you are fully pampered and leave you feeling like your money was very well spent. Consider these top- rated luxury hotels located in the Philippines. Diamond Hotel, Manila This 27-story, five star hotel is located in Manila and radiates class and elegance. It’s located in a great area, Just minutes away from museums, parks, convention centers and shopping malls. Your accommodations, from the sheets on your bed to the towels in your bathroom, are guaranteed to be top-of-the-line quality. If you stay here, take advantage of the exquisite guestrooms, bars and restaurants. Location: Rosa Blvd. Core. Dry. J. Quintus SST. Manila 1000 Web: Demimondaine. Com Marimbas Blurter beach resort, Zebu Indulge yourself at the Marimbas Blurter Beach Resort in Zebu. Choose from rooms located on the beach wing (including bungalows), the garden wing, or the Mama Spa wing and enjoy authentic Filipino hospitality. This is the ideal hotel to book if you’re looking for relaxation and deluxe accommodations. Location: Marimbas, Buying, McCann Island Zebu 601 5 Web: www. Blurter. Com. PH/marimbas/home. P Budget Hotels A budget hotel is ideal for business travelers and those who don’t require frills and want to save some money. There is a variety to choose from across the Philippines and all offer affordable rooms and Filipino hospitality. If you’re looking for a comfortable bed and great bargain, opt for a budget hotel while in the Philippines. The Legend Hotels organizati on has hotels all across the Philippines, including the Legend Villas, Legend Palatal, Mayhap Manor, Cabana Cloacae, Cabana Cuba and Cabana Papas. Each one is owned and managed by Filipinos, which give them n authentic Filipino flavor. They offer value rates that make rooms affordable for many people and each room is different from the others. Location: 2650 A. Boniface SST. , Magmata City 1233 Web: Lighthouses. Com. PH SST. Alien’s Inn, Magmata This boutique-style budget hotel in Magmata has a great sense of charm. It provides guests with basic amenities and is a practical choice for any traveler. Enjoy yourself in the inner courtyards and take in the classic architecture during your stay. Location: 7461 Scintilla Street, Poi del Pillar Magmata City 1230 web: Scintillating. M Hostels Hostels are the best solution for the budget traveler who likes to meet new people from all over the world. By staying at a hostel in the Philippines you can save a substantial amount of money each night, making the overall cost of your vacation much lower. Prices per person, per night, range anywhere from $5 to $50. Here are a few excellent hostels to choose from. Townhouse Manila You can’t beat paying less than $10 for a bed. The Townhouse opened in 1986 and has served as a comfortable place to sleep for people from more than 85 countries. How to cite Linen and Laundry Service in Off Premise, Papers

Industrial Production Management-Free-Samples-Myassignmenthlep

Question: By selecting one of the Functional Strategies, Elaborate the task and challenges facing the Corporate Management of an International Operation in ensuring the Continuous Success of the Firm. Answer: Introduction: The application of planning something then organizing the plan and then directing the ways the plan needs to be executed and at last the controlling of the production is production management. All of these elements are referred to be the management principles of every corporate sector. Production management is interrelated with marketing policy, finance policy and the industrial policy of every business (?wik?a, 2014). Production management is not dependant on these areas but are related together. The production management is the section of the business that processes with the planning and regulating and have a resemblance with the process of transformation in any business. Aspects of production management: The most important aspect of production is to make products from the designs in the minimum low cost. A production system is included of the capital, information and other resources like time as well. The second aspect of production management is to keep an eye on the production process as production is not only done by using tools and materials but also with thinking power and planning (Holden Michailova, 2014). Production management includes the understanding of the logic behind the business and apply principles or plans according to that. Production management in terms of focuses mainly on the production of the company and it is seen that the production management has evolved a lot and hence reflects the corporate management of the firm by co-operating with the computerization, ecological control and safety. Production management also encompasses the change in the present business environment. Objectives of production management: Transparency can be another key aspect of production management. Transparency in the firm will motivate the environment and reduce the possibility of errors with the business. Another key aspect is in the management of production is the power of creating values. Creation of values helps in emphasizing the substance of the production management. The development of production management also emphasizes on the efficiency of production, human behaviour, systems of organizations and various situations which determine the success of the business. The idea of production management is highly influenced by the design of the system used for production. The two specific domains the production management emphasizes are production and the management. Production management include two dimensions, the information that states that production management includes the design of products. Results and benefits: Production management also includes an approach towards the human relation and contingency approach. Production management has an objective to produce specific product by utilizing the available resource having the minimum price and effective manpower along with required material and sources (Dima, 2013). Effective production management results in proper process of solving the problems of any organization. Production management consists of three points, the product, the service and the projects. The production management benefits the consumers, employees, investors, the suppliers, the communities as well as the nation (Dima, 2013). The production management also includes the methods of planning, estimated cost, scheduling of the execution of plans regarding production and the despatching, inspecting of the products. The production management also includes evaluation of the management itself in order to verify the contributions towards the corporate world. Challenges of production management: There are many challenges in the process of international business. International business is very hard process because of the challenges they face but still they come forward with success (Karlsson, 2016). The main challenges that the international business faces are: Globalization: The production management faces a lot of challenge for the company and needs to prove the well-being of the company on a regular basis. Globalization is a process that enhances a process of communication with other companies all over the world and reduces the number of barriers in trade and provides advancements in the information and transport technology process (Karlsson, 2016). The key factor of success on international business is the developing of creative skills as a stage of the production management. Laws and regulations: Having knowledge about the implications of taxes and trading laws as well as the legal requirements is very important challenge for any business. Business often requires engagement in cultural guidelines as well. This is a big challenge for the markets due to uncertain regulations. The best way to maintain legalization of the business is to stop engaging in any activities that can be questioned or judged (Wild, Wild Han, 2014). Currency problems: For an international business, setting price and the methods of payment is very hard and tough challenge. This is because monetary exchange has fluctuating rates that varies from time to time. The global economy can many times put any international business at stake (Wild, Wild Han, 2014). The fluctuations of monetary value lead to imbalance in the profit and transactions of business. This problem can be solved by preparing a contract stating an advance payment for the future sales. Communication problem: A good communication process is very important for any business inclusive of international business (Wild, Wild Han, 2014). The international business faces a challenge of communicating across the globe. The non-verbal form of communication can in many ways break business deals in international business. This problem can be sorted by implying business etiquette and having knowledge about the difference of culture and tradition. Political challenge: An international business always has a risk of political upholding that turns to be very hard nut to break. Countries all over the world have different political legitimacy that interrupts the process of international business. This problem can be solved by enhancing economical nationalism in the political landscape across the world. Conclusion: Production management in the international business is the role that bridges the gap between the company and other global companies. In international business, production management translates the products by their basic objectives. The international business explains the limitations and the strengths in a process of commercial specifications. The production management in the international business initiates new ideas and techniques so as to keep up their position in the global market. The main aim of the product management is the development of initiative in product development and marketing. The product management of international business is in charge of analyzing the conditions of the market and elaborating the features of the products to the world and maximize the benefits of organization References: ?wik?a, G. (2014). Methods of manufacturing data acquisition for production management-a review. InAdvanced Materials Research(Vol. 837, pp. 618-623). Trans Tech Publications. Dima, I. C. (Ed.). (2013).Industrial production management in flexible manufacturing systems. IGI Global. Holden, N. J., Michailova, S. (2014). A more expansive perspective on translation in IB research: Insights from the Russian Handbook of Knowledge Management.Journal of International Business Studies,45(7), 906-918. Karlsson, C. (Ed.). (2016).Research Methods for Operations Management. Routledge. Walker, P. H., Seuring, P. S., Sarkis, P. J., Klassen, P. R. (2014). Sustainable operations management: recent trends and future directions.International Journal of Operations Production Management,34(5). Wild, J., Wild, K. L., Han, J. C. (2014).International business. Pearson Education Limited.

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Dorothea Dix, Advocate for the Mentally Ill

Dorothea Dix, Advocate for the Mentally Ill Dorothea Dix was born in Maine in 1802.   Her father was a minister, and he and his wife raised Dorothea and her two younger brothers in poverty, sometimes sending Dorothea to Boston to her grandparents. After studying at home, Dorothea Dix became a teacher when she was 14 years old.   When she was 19 she started her own girls’ school in Boston.   William Ellery Channing, a leading Boston minister, sent his daughters to the school, and she became close to the family.   She also became interested in the Unitarianism of Channing.   As a teacher, she was known for strictness.   She used her grandmother’s home for another school, and also started a free school, supported by donations, for poor children. Struggling With Her Health At 25 Dorothea Dix became ill with tuberculosis, a chronic lung disease.   She quit teaching and focused on writing while she was recovering, writing mainly for children.   The Channing family took her with them on retreat and on vacations, including to St. Croix.   Dix, feeling somewhat better, returned to teaching after a few years, adding into her commitments the care of her grandmother.   Her health again seriously threatened, she went to London in hopes that would help her recovery.   She was frustrated by her ill health, writing â€Å"There is so much to do†¦.† While she was in England, she became familiar with efforts at prison reform and better treatment of the mentally ill.   She returned to Boston in 1837 after her grandmother died and left her an inheritance that allowed her to focus on her health, but now with an idea in mind of what to do with her life after her recovery. Choosing a Path to Reform In 1841, feeling strong and healthy, Dorothea Dix visited a women’s jail in East Cambridge, Massachusetts, to teach Sunday School.   She had heard of awful conditions there. She investigated and was especially horrified at how women declared insane were being treated. With the help of William Ellery Channing, she began working with well-known male reformers, including Charles Sumner (an abolitionist who would become a Senator), and with Horace Mann and Samuel Gridley Howe, both educators of some renown.   For a year and a half Dix visited prisons and places where the mentally ill were kept, often in cages or chained and often abused. Samuel Gridley Howe (husband of Juliet Ward Howe) supported her efforts by publishing about the need for reform of the care of the mentally ill, and Dix decided she had a cause to devote herself to.   She wrote to the state legislators calling for specific reforms, and detailing the conditions she had documented.   In Massachusetts first, then in other states including New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Maryland, Tennessee and Kentucky, she advocated for legislative reforms.   In her efforts to document, she became one of the first reformers to take social statistics seriously. In Providence, an article she wrote on the topic generated a large donation of $40,000 from a local businessman, and she was able to use this to move some of those imprisoned for mental â€Å"incompetence† to a better situation. In New Jersey and then in Pennsylvania, she won approval of new hospitals for the mentally ill. Federal and International Efforts By 1848, Dix had decided that reform needed to be federal.   After initial failure she got a bill through Congress to fund efforts to support people who were disabled or mentally ill, but President Pierce vetoed it. With a visit to England, during which she saw Florence Nightingale’s work, Dix was able to enlist Queen Victoria in studying the conditions there of the mentally ill, and won improvements in the asylums.   She moved on to working in many countries in England, and even convinced the Pope to build a new institution for the mentally ill. In 1856, Dix returned to America and worked for five more years advocating for funds for the mentally ill, both at federal and state levels. Civil War In 1861, with the opening of the American Civil War, Dix turned her efforts to military nursing.   In June of 1861, the U.S. Army appointed her as superintendent of Army nurses.   She tried to model nursing care on that of Florence Nightingale’s famous work in the Crimean War. She worked to train young women who volunteered for nursing duty.   She fought doggedly for good medical care, often coming into conflict with the physicians and surgeons.   She was recognized in 1866 by the Secretary of war for her extraordinary service. Later Life After the Civil War, Dix again devoted herself to advocating for the mentally ill. She died at age 79 in New Jersey, in the July of 1887.

Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 135

Summary - Essay Example There were so many restrictions in that Africans had limited movements and could only access limited areas of the states. By 1877, reconstruction was no more because Africans had been separated and thus were considered second-class citizens. These were some of the things that the author explains that had influenced Africans to fight for their positions. During the 1920s, there were lots of negative socio-political perceptions about the blacks. This was readily evident when blacks were stripped off their rights to access medical rights among others after the First World War. They had a rough time fighting for equality and good treatment which however, increased the cultural and social drift. The continuous fight depicts education as an important tool which can shape leadership skills (Lewis, 1987). For instance, W.E.B. Du Bois used such skills in fighting against racism. He supported Pan Africanism since it was in favor of African ideologies in terms of culture, language and ethnicity. Racial and political equality was a major concern by most African Americans. Even though some radical American whites considered it a myth, a good number of them ganged up to help in the fight for equal rights. Washington’s philosophy was a major contributor to African oppression. For this reason, Africans had to rely on paternalism in which the Southern whites offered symphathy. All in all, they had to accept the oppression and admit the superiority of whites. The Africans, while in the south took education seriously, began to save money and made investments. This was the only means through which they could get their equal rights and identity. Even while trying to popularize the African culture, some key aspects must have been forgotten especially the stereotype associated with â€Å"tap dancing Negro† (Lewis, 1987). This was something that most visual artists like Stuart Davies embraced all along. However, African elites considered such a move to be a racial joke since it

Analysis of Starbucks Caf Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Analysis of Starbucks Caf - Assignment Example The CEO and chairman of Starbucks Cafe is Howard Schultz. The mission of the company is to inspire and nurture human spirit – one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time (Starbucks, 2012). The company is a publicly traded company whose stocks are sold in the open market under the symbol SBUX. The common stocks of Starbucks Cafe were trading at a price of $55.79 as of January 31, 2013 (Yahoo, 2013). The firm’s revenues have grown by 24.24% during the last two years. The future development of the company will be achieved by its continued expansion into foreign markets. The company has a market presence in 31% of the countries worldwide. The core competency of the company is in the sales of gourmet retail coffee. Starbucks Cafe in 2012 entered into a partnership with Green Mountain. Following the announcement of the deal the common stocks of Green Mountain increased in value by 6% (Andrejczak, 2012). The company has mastered the management of its supply chain. It s ources coffee using fair trade coffee practices. The store has 192,866 employees and 39.66% of its workforce works outside the United States (Cnn, 2012). The employees of the company are very satisfied with their jobs. There is a low employee turnover rate at the company. The planning at Starbucks Cafe is performed by the executive management team led by his CEO Howard Schultz. The firm also has a board of directors that oversees the operation. The company faces structural problems such as dealing with the human resource challenges of having a large labor force, negotiation with suppliers and farmers, and fierce competition. The decisions the company makes are mostly programmed, but the firm’s at times makes nonprogrammed decisions to adapt to market changes. The firm faces certain uncertainly in the price of acquiring coffee since coffee is a commodity whose price fluctuates. The firm since its inception has done a good job at planning for the future. During the 1990’ s Starbucks was one of the fastest growing franchises in the United States. The company is organized as a publicly traded company whose stocks are sold in the New York Stock Exchange. The decision making of the company is organized in a centralized system. The corporate headquarters of the firm are located in 2401 Utah Avenue, South Seattle WA 98134. The reason that the company uses a centralized system is because the company must maintain consistency across its company owned and franchisee locations. A drawback of centralized systems is that it inhibits creativity. The organizational culture of the company is excellent. The firm believes in the value of diversity. The employees are referred too as baristas. The firm offers tremendous customer service to its clients. Starbucks Cafe has an excellent managerial team. The success of the company is evidenced by the outstanding financial performance of the firm. The managers of the company have done a great job of training its employees. The baristas of the firm are extremely productive workers. There is good teamwork among the workers of the firm. The managerial staff has also done a great job of integrating technology into its facilities. Starbucks Cafe was one of the first food places to offer free Wi-Fi internet to its customers. Howard Schultz is a charismatic leader. Charismatic leaders are able to have a profound effect on its followers. There are different performance indicators that the company must monitor closely. An important performance indicator is market share. Starbucks has a 33% market share in the U.S coffee marketplace. An important metric to measure the profitability of the company is net margin. The net margin of the company in 2011 was 10.65%. A third performance

The Use Of Icts In The Airline Industry Tourism Essay

The Use Of Icts In The Airline Industry Tourism Essay Information and communication technology is the new style of doing business in a useful method. This method was using since 1930s. in past 15 years this system have followed by various industries such as retail, banking, telecommunication, government, tourism etc This method covers huge series of applications like internet, wireless, Digital Cameras Wi-Fi, VIOP, GPS, Digital Radio, etc. all the industries are trying to apply this method from one way or the other to develop their business performance. in an article they have mentioned (daily telegraph IT) that majority of organizations will not 24hrs without the help of ICT This growth was expected and this made the work easier and faster. This is the main reason why outsourcing of work start. The cost of making was condensed and so was the cost of goods. This technical development has removed the national limits and helped various industries to go worldwide, thus mix markets as well as market across the world. This rapid growth in the technology has lead to the concept of E-Business and E-Commerce. With e-business there are various advantages due to the presence of global audience, online transaction, etc. This is playing a major role in reshaping the tourism sector across the world. This concept of ICT has brought people much closer to the tourism service providers. Now, customers do most of their holiday or travel plans online. Many tourism companies are adopting this technology. The tourism sector being one of the traditional sectors it was not a smooth ride in taking up this technological advancement. Many small could not afford this kind of investment. They had to terminate a lot of workers as after this advancement there was minimal response to the traditional high street travel agencies. Although physical services are the core products of industry, it is dominated by information systems. (Shankar, 2008) ICT for business and the travel industry in particular: Information technologies have made high changes in the environment by using the new technologies in business. Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) can provide powerful planning and planned tools for organizations when properly applied and used can bring more advantages for promoting and strengthening their competitiveness. The increase of the Internet, as a main stream communication media and as an info-structure for business dealings has a high range of designed implications for businesses and for the travel and airline industries mainly ICT revolutionized business processes and practices The current ICT developments have vast implication for the business, structure. And plan of organizations. The computation of future market will leads to a great extent and it will depend both such as development and purpose of these technologies. The creation of the World Wide Web will forces most of the organizations will make to re think about two things i.e., In which they are performing their business. How they can re-engineer their business methods. The business can be performed more efficiently by system, by facing so many new opportunities and challenges. ICTs contribute towards good organization, output and competitiveness development of both inter-organizational and intra-organizational systems. The affiliation between ICTs and competitive advantage and their performance is still vague. Even though there is an indirect and complex sporty relationship between ICTs and success, it is difficult to be measure and describe. Technologies have already developed a wide range of functions including business functions, external environment monitoring, communicating with associates and with clients in high level. Clear planned goals and obligation are basics for the growth of a proper ecommerce plan and the growth of web sites and other technological solution. The growing mobile technologies and mobile business are estimated to modify severely a number of industries and to force business to think again about their strategic management. ICT in the travel and tourism industries The main function of travel and tourism industries is run by ICT. The internet will allows them to demonstrate their products clearly and they can communicate easily with the customers. Intranets will provide friendly environment access for employees of organization , extranet will shows authorized partners with the ability to use computer information to operate through online, so many internal management applications shows the planning and operational management and marketing of travel organization. ICTs support all business functions and are critical for operating in the travel industry as a worldwide. Few other industries rely on so many partners to work together directly for delivering their products and few other value chains are as involved as the one for travel. ICTs provide the tools to look for important and profitable place market segments, to identify their value added components Cost success and suppleness are serious assets contribute by ICTs in this process, as they help the cost decrease and make best use of effectiveness. The power of ICTs on travel business is enveloping, as information is serious for both day-to-day operations as well as the planned management of organizations. On the strategic level, travel organizations have to constantly assess for all elements of their outside surroundings, as well as their opposition and customer requirements, and so, adapt themselves in order to improve their competitiveness. Using ICTs, tourism organization can make a distinction their product customizing the final product and by adding value according to person supplies. ICTs support the strategic management of travel business by allowing long-term result making and by providing a platform for teamwork and dealings between associates. ICT will help the complete industry to operate by empowering internal procedure, coordinating partners, as well as by interact with future travelers and the general public. As a result, the recent ICT developments have develop the entire system and have thoughtful implications for both the strategic and planned management of travel organizations. Most important that they have severely changed the industry structure and polluted the competitiveness of all players in the market. Airlines and the Internet revolution Internet was introduced in 1990s and due to the development of intranet and extranet have forced on airlines to make a changes in their panning on technical improvement in order to enhance their competitiveness. Finally airlines have identified that the internet is important product to handle distribution costs and to modify the structure of the industry. In 2001 that British Airways CEO ROD Eddington said that BA spent 1.1 billion of pounds on distribution and that have became the third most costly after labour and fuel In the Internet era, GDSs is as self-governing business from airlines developing their offer to provide the backbone for the complete industry to establish the info structure for the dealings undertaken by high number of Internet travel entrances. In addition, they slowly reinvented themselves to main technology suppliers for a broad range of tourism organizations as well as airlines, travel agencies and Internet travel portals. At the same time a number of plain airlines appear in both countries i.e., Europe and the US. These airlines concentrated on lower input cost in as many areas of their operations. They also developed simple distribution strategies and took full benefit of the Internet for converse with their clients. Internet near the beginning adopters, such as both well-established and newly-established airlines recognized a clear opportunity. They invested a lot in order to develop their on-line brand name and to gather the important market share. Some of the high established airlines, such as American Airlines. Recently established airline industries such as Bratthens, Rynair and Easyjet they have adopted the Internet from the early stages. Several carriers even decorated their aircraft with their Internet address at the same time as they arranged special promotions with the media to make transfer to their web sites. They provide incentives for consumers to book online and ensured that they were not distributed through the GDS in this way airline are forcing their clients online. Easy Jet and Ryan is a good example: In the year 2002 the majority of airline booking have done through the internet and the consumers have got the 5 pounds discounts on their original. No frills airlines are managed by the Internet and other ICT tools, made the industry reengineer. By introduced a number of ICT-enabled innovations including: Electronic/paperless tickets Transparent and clear pricing led by proactive and reactive yield management Single fare tickets with no restrictions on staying or Saturday nights rules Commission capping and publication of net fares Financial incentives for self-booking online Auctions and online promotions Powerful Customer Relationship Management Systems Online and context-relevant advertising As the customers are enjoying the facilities which have provided by the airlines and the customers are benefited by low rates provided by the airline. Therefore some of the airline have followed the no frills carriers to develop their online marketing and to also satisfy the customer needs HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE USE OF ICTs IN THE AIRLINE INDUSTRY: Most of the airlines are using advanced ICTs and mostly the airline functions highly depended on ICTs. Sharing and partnership is perhaps one of the most important areas of ICTs contribution. Majority of low-cost to be dependent on support on ICTs for displaying their availability and for the communication and transaction with their clients. ICTs have the equal importance in operations management and contribute for the improvement of procedure and processes and also good facilities such as in flight entertainment and good customer service Most of the airlines have been investing on ICTs service since 1950s. They have introduced ICTs to get effective, quickly, quality and exact procedure of their inventories (reports) in which to communicate easily with travel agencies and with others. When the airlines have changed the date, time and route to update easily with in fraction of seconds for the clients. SABRE computer reservation system (CRS) was introduced in 1962 by American airlines alternatively to expend its Boeing 770 fleet by 50% (8-12 aircrafts). This project have described as a technically to feel amazement to represent a program task that increase the power of coding efforts which is needed for NASA Project Mercury . In mid 1970s SABRE have made as a powerful inventory control system. SABRE made base for the changes in flight plans for aircrafts, tracking spare parts, managing events for crews and for developing the level of decision support system for the airlines management. Then after all the airlines have followed the same system to provide the facilities to satisfy the clients (customers, consumers) needs. In 1970s USA air transportation deregulation made airlines to make a changes in their fare and routes. This have made a huge growth of air traffic and increased the demand for information, CRS gave a chance for airline to improve their internal organization and CRS have made into powerful tool (product) to control the airlines inventories (reports) in this way CRS made airlines to communicate easily with travel agencies, consolidators, other distributors by providing update routes, availability price standards. Because of deregulation airlines have increased the tariffs and computing and communication needs. Agents and others have used newly introduced computer technologies to control their reservation and to get easily about tariff information. Slowly CRS have became strategic business unit (SBU) in its own way, because of one reason i.e., huge usage of this in airline (airline are using more because due to this they have increased their income or sales ratio). In 1980s airlines and CRS executives realized that air transportation was a fairly small and has large travel experience then travel agencies are demanded to increase the number of carriers from a single terminal and to increase the value of information on destination. CRS were developed to much and introduced GDS (Global distribution systems) by offering a huge range of tourism products, such as hotels and car rental reservations. SABRA system have developed there database to include their itinerary and inventory from other airlines, the same procedure have introduced in EUROPE to develop the Galileo and Amadeus GDSs, then GDS have became backbone of airlines by providing good communication between airlines and travel agencies. GDS will handle millions of tariffs in their database by making 40 millions of changes in their inventories in every month. Finally GDS have developed their standards to control more than 500,000 passengers records and nearly 2000 messages in each second. In 1990s GDS have became like a travel supermarket by offering information and reservation capacity by providing high level of travel products such as accommodation, car rental, exact plans for non- air transportation etc., GDS offer a chance for travel agencies to access their essential information on their screens and to develop the travel schedule (itinerary) from the convenience of one inter-connected system. GDS have became a one of the marketing, important procedure for scheduled airlines operational and strategic agendas as they can control and distribute the majority of airline seats. Due to some changes CRS results into four major GDS such as SABRE, world span, Amadeus and Galileo. These four GDS have the permission for recruiting the travel agencies and they select their own market place by increasing number of value added services for travel agencies and airlines. The below table will shows ho GDS moved highly successful business in their own way by getting and providing high profits for airlines, travel agents and others. S/ no Company Period ending Worldwide locations segments per year (m) Total revenue (m) Operating expenses (m) Operating income or loss Operating margin Other income Less taxes Net earnings /loss (m) Net margin Sales and marketing support: Airlines contain lengthy used internal Computer Reservation Systems. Airline are using this to co-ordinate easily with GDSs and with the airline Internet site in order to increase the sales and marketing by distributing inventory globally .airline is using these systems to issue electronic tickets and to sale their e-tickets in hyge number by travel agencies over all the world. Inter views suggested that they greatly need to encourage their web site as their primary reservation path and as an alternative to the GDS/travel agency route. Such systems link all partners in the handling process, automate procedures, and support smooth communication flow. Airlines try to do something by use technology to improve their effectiveness and therefore they attempt to combine new technologies such as electronic scales, stacker systems, handheld terminals, and bar coding to increase their usage competence and to reduce preparation costs. These systems will support the airline internally such as administration, accounting, and passenger or goods handling process by coordinate inventory management, sales and marketing, yield and revenue management, ticketing, and departure control systems and other departments. Airlines will use decision support systems to control traffic and bookings on computer reservation systems because in order to identify customer activities, traffic flows or trends, as well as the performance of followers and sales agencies. This system will also follow the pricing of their challenger for several city join up. These systems will also permit airlines to charge their situation against the performance of their competitors and also accept positive and immediate actions. A broad information foundation will show the way to more right decision for heart airline plan and arranged activities, such as marketing sales, schedule planning, yield management, and pricing. Distribution, marketing and sales support with partners In the past majority of marketing and distribution of airline are done by the travel agencies for the distribution of their products. Then now the air line are linked travel agencies is normally facilitate by the global distribution systems and they provide the info structure for the itinerary building and facilitate for the total transaction. Airline high level management employees have explained that they like to communicate with the travel agencies on Extranet, by using internet in order to avoid the GDS bookings fees. For example British airlines have developed a separate web site for the travel buy and sell (www.batraveltrade.com). They have developed this website to develop the extranet in order to make easy the process. Some of the travel agencies slowly find out the useful financial features. For example if the customers are using the credit card payment they will charge the airlines for the credit card payment, in the same way KLM provided the web fares for only extranet GDS fares are more expensive to cover the additional costs. Airlines also employed numbers of General Sales Agencies in all regions that they have to stop the person who are operating in their own office do not operate their own offices. They have appointed by international airlines to secure business from IATA and non-IATA agents in markets anywhere agency networks are so far to be fully automated and where airlines need monetary security to cover business risks. They also involved in their reservations and distribution in local and they will maintain the good relationship with the executives to promote the product in the market. Now a day the travel agencies are buying the seats in a large quantity and selling in local market by providing the discounts to customers. These discount rates, can be updated through online for the customers by using ICT Resource Management Systems Airlines are needed to maximize the consumption of their most expensive resources such as human resources and fleet, for that they have to ensure that their tools and aircraft are efficient and its ability fully used. Maintenance Control systems have manages some things such as aircraft maintenance, commercial, and operational requirements. Airlines have to make sure that aircraft and other equipment is frequently maintained and also that technical problems and unprepared services are deal with as capably as possible to minimize out-of-service periods whilst minimizing service disruptions. These systems are built-in with proper systems for allowing airlines to arrange parts and other consumables online, at the same time as engineering systems may be included for providing online manuals and technical support. Technical documentation management systems such as create, distribute, and manage complex technical data and documents. Hence, airlines aim to maximize task force utilization by improving maintenance, repair and repair performance. The airline will get this result by optimizing the supply chain network, aircraft downtime, and materials management. Airlines will manage their crew schedule through crew management systems. Planning duty schedule is a difficult process as there are several key limits including skills and they should have the ability to operate tools, level, immigration problems, rest periods, and cost of rest periods. Crew management systems use complete crew record to start pairing construction, schedule making, and crew manage in order to optimize the human resources performance. They need to be coordinated with all associated activities, such as flight arrangement, operations manager, crew contact, flight meeting, etc. These systems will also undertake a number of usual tasks, such as inspection legalities, publishing rosters and announcements, and administrate hotel accommodations, deadheads and pick-up services. Communicate setting up information with crews (notices) and next duty period (briefings) as well as information regarding flight load, crew composition, aircraft and airport details is also critical. A number of intranet solutions facilitate this process. It is the coordination of all these systems that ensures that airlines enjoy operational efficiency and are empowered to achieve their long-term strategy SWOT ANALYSIS: What is SWOT analysis? Swot analysis is a planned method; this method is used to extract the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats involved in any business project. This analysis will identify the internal and external factors that are useful to achieve the product. Strengths: the point or a quality or a power of a company that are helped to achieve the product. Weakness: the point or a quality or a power of a company which are harmful to achieve the product. Opportunities: the external situations which are helpful to achieve the product of a company Threats: external circumstances which can do the damage to achieve the product. SWOT ANALYSIS OF ICTs IN AIRLINE INDUSTRY

Charlie Chaplain’s Modern Times: an Economic Analysis Essay

From what I have seen of modern times, Charlie Chaplain works in a factory under a supervisor, who answers to the head honcho boss upstairs. His life is affected by intensity of work, his employer, technological advancement, and even a feeding machine. As he slaves away with his coworkers, they begin to panic as the workload increases. His boss orders an increase in the speed of the workers output multiple times. This is brought on by the desire of the boss to increase production and ultimately profit. Instead of hiring more workers he chooses to overwork the ones he has. This results in a decrease in moral, which leads Charlie to be confronted by his employer. The factory’s employees do not communicate directly with their employer, instead supervisors and television screens that depict an image of the boss serve to bark orders. In one particular scene, the boss watches as Charlie smokes a cigarette in the bathroom, he then appears on a TV screen and orders Charlie to â€Å"quit stalling and get back to work.† This is not only an infringement on Charlie’s rights as an employee but it is also strange that the boss oversees his workers like a big brother. Throughout this scene, large machines and pulsating electronic sounds give the feeling of ever-advancing technology. The boss has installed an observation network within the factory, as well as multiple monitors to communicate with his employees. These technologies as well as the introduction of the feeding machine symbolize innovation in the work environment. A spokesman arrives at the factory with a rather peculiar looking machine. This machine, designated â€Å"the feeding machine† is advertised to limit employee’s free time in order to further increase production. The boss decides to give it a go and tests this contraption on Chaplain. During his lunch, the machine malfunctions and goes berserk; Charlie is subject to the wrath of technological failure. Once the commotion ends the boss is unimpressed and refuses to buy the feeding machine. This is an example of a failed attempt at innovation. In this scene of modern times, we sympathize with Chaplain’s character as he experiences the trials of post-depression industrialism. New technologies, a ruthless employer, and an intense workload plague this character. Through it all we are introduced to this old world, and the ideals that still exist in big business today.

Succubus Revealed Chapter 1

This wasn't the first time I'd worn a foil dress. It was, however, the first time I'd done so in a family-friendly setting. â€Å"Vixen!† Santa's voice rang out above the mall crowd, and I hurried away from where I'd been corralling a group of Burberryclad kids. It wasn't actually Santa Claus calling me, of course. The man sitting in the holly-and-light-bedecked gazebo was named Walter something-or-other, but he asked that those of us working as his â€Å"elves† refer to him as Santa at all times. Conversely, he had christened all of us with either reindeer or Seven Dwarves names. He took this job very seriously and said the names helped him stay in character. If we questioned that, he'd start regaling us with tales of his extensive career as a Shakespearean actor, one that he claimed had come to an end because of his age. We elves had our own ideas about what might have cut his career short. â€Å"Santa needs another drink,† he told me in a stage whisper, once I reached his side. â€Å"Grumpy won't get me one.† He inclined his head toward another woman dressed in a green foil dress. She was holding back a squirming boy while Santa and I conducted our conversation. I met her pained expression and then glanced down at my watch. â€Å"Well, Santa,† I said, â€Å"that's because it's only been an hour since the last one. You know the deal: one shot in your coffee every three hours.† â€Å"We made that deal a week ago!† he hissed. â€Å"Before the crowds picked up. You have no idea what Santa endures.† I didn't know if it was part of his acting method or just a personality quirk, but he also referred to himself in the third person a lot. â€Å"A girl just asked for SAT scores good enough to get her into Yale. I think she was nine.† I spared him a moment's sympathy. The mall where we were earning holiday pay was in one of Seattle's more affluent suburbs, and the requests he got sometimes went beyond footballs and ponies. The kids also tended to be better dressed than me (when I wasn't in elf-wear), which was no small feat. â€Å"Sorry,† I said. Tradition or not, I sometimes thought putting children on an old guy's lap was already creepy enough. We didn't need to mix alcohol into it. â€Å"The deal stands.† â€Å"Santa can't take much more of this!† â€Å"Santa's got four hours left of his shift,† I pointed out. â€Å"I wish Comet was still here,† he said petulantly. â€Å"She was much more lenient with the drinks.† â€Å"Yes. And I'm sure she's drinking alone right now, seeing as she's unemployed.† Comet, a former elf, had been generous with Santa's shots and also partaken of them herself. Since she was half his weight, though, she hadn't held her liquor as well and had lost her job when mall officials caught her taking off her clothes in The Sharper Image. I gave a curt nod to Grumpy. â€Å"Go ahead.† The little boy hurried forward and climbed onto Santa's lap. To his credit, Santa switched into character and didn't pester me (or the boy) further about a drink. â€Å"Ho ho ho! What would you like for this nondenominational winter holiday season?† He even affected a slight British accent, which wasn't really necessary for the role but certainly made him seem more authoritative. The boy regarded Santa solemnly. â€Å"I want my dad to move back home.† â€Å"Is that your father?† asked Santa, looking toward a couple standing near Grumpy. The woman was pretty and blond, with the look of someone in her thirties who'd been preemptively hitting the Botox. If the guy she was plastered all over was old enough to be out of college, I would have been very surprised. â€Å"No,† said the boy. â€Å"That's my mom and her friend Roger.† Santa was silent for a few moments. â€Å"Is there anything else you'd like?† I left them to it and returned to my post near the line's start. Evening was wearing on, increasing the number of families turning out. Unlike Santa's, my shift ended in less than an hour. I could get in a little shopping time and miss the worst of the commuting traffic. As an official mall employee, I got a considerable discount, which made drunken Santas and foil dresses that much easier to bear. One of the greatest things about the happiest time of the year was that all the department stores had extensive cosmetics and fragrance gift sets out right now, gift sets that desperately needed a home in my bathroom. â€Å"Georgina?† My dreams of sugarplums and Christian Dior were interrupted by the sound of a familiar voice. I turned and felt my heart sink as I met the eyes of a pretty middle-aged woman with cropped hair. â€Å"Janice, hey. How's it going?† My former co-worker returned my stiff smile with a puzzled one. â€Å"Fine. I . . . I didn't expect to see you here.† I also hadn't expected to be seen here. It was one of the reasons I'd chosen to work outside the city, to specifically avoid anyone from my old job. â€Å"Likewise. Don't you live in Northgate?† I tried not to make it sound like an accusation. She nodded and rested her hand on the shoulder of a small, dark-haired girl. â€Å"We do, but my sister lives over here, and we thought we'd visit her after Alicia talks to Santa.† â€Å"I see,† I said, feeling mortified. Wonderful. Janice was going to go back to Emerald City Books and Cafe and tell everyone that she'd spotted me dressed as an elf. Not that that could make things worse, I supposed. Everyone there already thought I was the Whore of Babylon. It was why I'd quit a few weeks ago. What was an elf dress on top of that? â€Å"Is this Santa any good?† asked Alicia impatiently. â€Å"The one I saw last year didn't get me what I wanted.† Over the buzzing of the crowd, I just barely heard Santa saying, â€Å"Well, Jessica, there's not much Santa can do about interest rates.† I turned back to Alicia. â€Å"It kind of depends on what you want,† I said. â€Å"How did you end up here?† asked Janice, with a small frown. She actually sounded concerned, which I supposed was better than her gloating. I had a feeling there were a number of people at the bookstore who would have loved the idea of me suffering – not that this job was so bad. â€Å"Well, this is just temporary, obviously,† I explained. â€Å"It gives me something to do while I interview for others, and I get a mall discount. And really, it's just another form of customer service.† I was trying hard not to sound defensive or desperate, but with each word, the intensity of how much I missed my old job hit me more and more. â€Å"Oh, good,† she said, looking slightly relieved. â€Å"I'm sure you'll find something soon. Looks like the line's moving.† â€Å"Wait, Janice?† I caught hold of her arm before she could walk away. â€Å"How . . . how's Doug?† I'd left behind a lot of things at Emerald City: a position of power, a warm atmosphere, unlimited books and coffee . . . But as much as I missed all of those things, I didn't miss them as much as I missed a single person: my friend Doug Sato. He, more than anything, was what had spurred me to leave. I hadn't been able to handle working with him anymore. It had been terrible, seeing someone I care about so much regard me with such contempt and disappointment. I'd had to get away from that and felt I'd made the right choice, but it was still hard losing someone who'd been a part of my life for the last five years. Janice's smile returned. Doug had that effect on people. â€Å"Oh, you know. He's Doug. The same, wacky Doug. Band's going strong. And I think he might get your job. Er, your old job. They're interviewing for it.† Her smile faded, as though she suddenly realized that might cause me discomfort. It didn't. Not much. â€Å"That's great,† I said. â€Å"I'm happy for him.† She nodded and told me good-bye before hurrying forward in line. Behind her, a family of four paused in their frantic texting on identical cell phones to glare at me for the holdup. A moment later, they hunched back down again, no doubt telling all their Twitter friends about every inane detail of their holiday mall experience. I put on a cheery smile that didn't reflect what I felt inside and continued helping with the line until Sneezy, my replacement, showed up. I got him up to speed on Santa's drinking schedule and then abandoned the holiday nexus for the mall's back offices. Once inside a bathroom, I shape-shifted out of the foil dress, trading it for a much more tasteful sweater and jeans combo. I even made the sweater blue so that there would be no confusion. I was off the holiday clock. Of course, as I walked back through the mall, I couldn't help but notice I was never off the clock for my main job: being a succubus in the illustrious service of Hell. Centuries of corruption and seduction of souls had given me a sixth sense for spotting those most vulnerable to my charms. The holidays, while ostensibly being a time of cheer, also tended to bring out the worst in people. I could spot the desperation everywhere – those hoping to frantically find the perfect gifts to win over the ones they loved, those dissatisfied with their ability to provide for their loved ones, those dragged along on shopping trips to create a â€Å"perfect† holiday experience they had no interest in. . . . Yes, it was everywhere if you knew how to look for it: that sorrow and frustration tucked in amongst the joy. Those were exactly the kinds of souls that were ripe for the taking. I could have picked off any number of guys if I wanted to tonight and taken care of my quota for the week. My brief exchange with Janice had left me feeling strange, however, and I couldn't muster the energy to go strike up a conversation with some discontent suburban businessman. Instead, I consoled myself with impulse purchases for myself and even found a couple of much-needed gifts for others, proving that I wasn't totally and completely selfish. By the time I left, I felt confident traffic had died down and would give me an easy drive back to the city. As I walked past the center of the mall, I heard Santa ho-ho-ho-ing loudly while waving his arms energetically around, much to the terror of a small child on his lap. My guess was that someone had cracked and broken the drinking rule. On the way home, I noticed I had three voice mail messages, all from my friend Peter. Before I could even attempt to listen to them, the phone rang. â€Å"Hello?† â€Å"Where are you?† Peter's frantic voice filled up the small space of my Passat. â€Å"In my car. Where are you?† â€Å"At my apartment. Where else? Everyone's here!† â€Å"Everyone? What are you talking about?† â€Å"Did you forget? Damn it, Georgina. You were a lot more punctual when you were unhappy and single.† I ignored the jab and scanned through my mental calendar. Peter was one of my best friends. He was also a neurotic, obsessive compulsive vampire who loved hosting dinners and parties. He usually managed to throw something together at least once a week, never for the same reason, so it was easy to lose track. â€Å"It's fondue night,† I said at last, proud of myself for remembering. â€Å"Yes! And the cheese is getting cold. I'm not made of Sterno, you know.† â€Å"Why didn't you just start eating?† â€Å"Because we're civilized.† â€Å"Debatable.† I pondered whether I wanted to go or not. Part of me really just wanted to get home and snuggle with Seth, but I had a feeling he'd be working. I likely couldn't expect snuggling for a while, whereas I could appease Peter right now. â€Å"Fine. Start without me, and I'll be there soon. I'm just getting off the bridge now.† Wistfully, I drove past Seth's exit and instead set my sights on the one that would take me to Peter's place. â€Å"Did you remember to bring wine?† he asked. â€Å"Peter, until a minute ago, I didn't even remember I was supposed to be at your place. Do you really need wine?† I'd seen Peter's wine cabinet. On any given day, he had a dozen each of reds and whites, both domestic and international. â€Å"I don't want to run out of the good stuff,† he said. â€Å"I seriously doubt you're going to – wait. Is Carter there?† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Okay. I'll pick up some wine.† I showed up at his apartment ten minutes later. His roommate and apprentice, Cody, opened the door and gave me a broad, fang-filled smile. Light, music, and the scent of fondue and potpourri washed over me. Their home put Santa's gazebo to shame and had decorations filling every square inch. And not just Christmas ones. â€Å"Since when do you guys have a menorah?† I asked Cody. â€Å"Neither of you are Jewish.† â€Å"Well, we're not Christian either,† he pointed out, leading me toward the dining room. â€Å"Peter wanted to take a multicultural slant this year. The guestroom is all done in Kwanza decorations, if you know someone looking for a truly tacky overnight experience.† â€Å"It is not tacky!† Peter stood up from a table where our other immortal friends sat around two tubs of melted cheese. â€Å"I can't believe you're so insensitive to other people's religious views. Jesus Christ! Is that boxed wine?† â€Å"You said you wanted wine,† I reminded him. â€Å"I wanted good wine. Please tell me it's not blush.† â€Å"Of course it's blush. And you didn't tell me to bring good wine. You said you were worried Carter would drink all your good wine. So I brought this for him instead. Your wine is safe.† At the mention of his name, the only heavenly creature in the room looked up. â€Å"Sweet,† he said, accepting the box from me. â€Å"Santa's little helper delivers.† He opened up the box's dispenser and looked at Peter expectantly. â€Å"Do you have a straw?† I sat in an empty seat beside my boss, Jerome, who was contentedly dipping a piece of bread in molten cheddar. He was the archdemon of all of Seattle and chose to walk the earth looking like a circa 1990 John Cusack, which made it easy to forget his true nature sometimes. Fortunately, his brimstone personality always came out the instant he opened his mouth. â€Å"You're here less than a minute, Georgie, and already you've made this get-together fifty percent less classy.† â€Å"You guys are eating fondue on a Tuesday night,† I retorted. â€Å"You were well on your way without me.† Peter had settled himself back down and was trying to appear calm. â€Å"Fondue is very classy. It's all in the presentation. Hey! Where'd you get that?† Carter had set the wine box on his lap, dispenser on top, and was now drinking from it with an enormous straw that I suspected had been literally conjured from thin air. â€Å"At least he's not doing that with a bottle of Pinot Noir,† I told Peter good-naturedly. I helped myself to a fondue fork and speared a piece of apple. On the other side of Jerome, Hugh busily typed away on his phone's keyboard, reminding me of the family at the mall. â€Å"Telling the world about this lowbrow party?† I teased. Hugh was an imp, a type of hellish administrative assistant, so he could have actually been buying or selling souls via his phone for all I knew. â€Å"Of course,† said Hugh, not looking up. â€Å"I'm updating Facebook. Do you know why Roman won't answer my friend request?† â€Å"No clue,† I said. â€Å"I've barely spoken to him in days.† â€Å"When I talked to him earlier, he said he had to work tonight,† Peter explained, â€Å"but that we should go ahead and draw for him.† â€Å"Draw?† I asked uneasily. â€Å"Oh Lord. Tell me it's not Pictionary night too.† Peter sighed wearily. â€Å"Draw for Secret Santas. Do you even read the e-mails I send?† â€Å"Secret Santas? Seems like we just did that,† I said. â€Å"Yeah, a year ago,† said Peter. â€Å"Just like we do every Christmas.† I glanced over at Carter who was quietly drinking his wine. â€Å"Did you lose my hat? You look like you could use one.† The angel's chin-length, blond hair was even more unkempt than usual. â€Å"Tell us what you really think, Georgina,† he replied. He ran a hand over his hair, but it somehow only made things worse. â€Å"I'm saving it for a special occasion.† â€Å"If I get your name again, I'll buy you two hats so you don't have to ration yourself.† â€Å"I wouldn't want you to go to the trouble.† â€Å"No trouble at all. I get a discount at the mall.† Jerome sighed and set down his fork. â€Å"Are you still doing that, Georgie? Don't I suffer enough without having to endure the humiliation of a succubus who moonlights as a Christmas elf?† â€Å"You always said I should quit the bookstore and find something else to do,† I reminded him. â€Å"Yes, but that was because I thought you'd go on to do something respectable. Like become a stripper or the mayor's mistress.† â€Å"This is just temporary.† I handed Carter the elegant crystal wineglass that had been sitting by my plate. He filled it with wine from the box and gave it back. Peter groaned and muttered something about despoiling Tiffany's. â€Å"Georgina doesn't need material things anymore,† teased Cody. â€Å"She's paid in love now.† Jerome fixed the young vampire with a cold stare. â€Å"Do not ever say anything that saccharine again.† â€Å"You're one to talk,† I said to Cody, unable to hide my smile. â€Å"I'm surprised you could drag yourself away from Gabrielle tonight.† His face immediately grew dreamy at the mention of his ladylove. â€Å"That makes two of us,† observed Peter. He shook his head bitterly. â€Å"You guys and your perfect love lives.† â€Å"Hardly perfect,† I said at the same time Cody said, â€Å"It is perfect.† All eyes fell on me. Hugh even looked up from his phone. â€Å"Trouble in paradise?† â€Å"Why do you always assume that? And no, of course not,† I scoffed, hating myself for the slip. â€Å"Things are fantastic with Seth.† And they were. Just speaking his name sent a flood of joy through me. Seth. Seth was what made everything worthwhile. My relationship with him was what had caused the rift between me and my former co-workers at the bookstore. They saw me as the reason for his breakup with Doug's sister. Which, I suppose, I was. But no matter how much I'd loved that job, giving it up was a small price to pay to be with Seth. I could endure being an elf. I could endure the quotas he and I put on our sex life, to ensure my succubus powers didn't suck him dry. With him, I could handle anything. Even a future of damnation. There were just a couple of teeny-tiny things about my relationship with Seth that gave me pause. One had been eating at me for a while, one I kept trying to ignore. But now, suddenly, with my immortal friends watching me, I finally drummed up the courage to address it. â€Å"It's just . . . I don't suppose any of you told Seth my name, did you?† Seeing Peter open his mouth in confusion, I immediately amended, â€Å"My real name.† â€Å"Why would that ever come up?† asked Hugh dismissively, returning to his texting. â€Å"I don't even know your real name,† said Cody. â€Å"Are you saying it's not Georgina?† I regretted the words already. It was a stupid thing for me to worry about, and their reactions were just proving that point. â€Å"Do you not want him to know your name?† asked Hugh. â€Å"No . . . it's fine. I just, well. It's just weird. A month or so ago, when he was half-asleep, he called me by it. Letha,† I added, for Cody's benefit. I managed to say the name without tripping over it. It wasn't a name I welcomed. I'd shed it centuries ago, when I became a succubus, and had been taking assumed names ever since. In banishing that name, I'd banished that former life. I'd wanted to erase it so badly that I'd sold my soul in exchange for everyone I'd known forgetting I existed. That was why the conversation with Seth had totally blindsided me. There was no way he could've known that name. You are the world, Letha . . . he had told me drowsily. He hadn't even remembered saying it, let alone where he'd heard it. Don't know, he'd told me, when I questioned him about it later. Greek myths, I guess. The River Lethe, where the dead go to wash away the memories from their souls . . . to forget the past. . . . â€Å"That's a pretty name,† said Cody. I shrugged noncommittally. â€Å"The point is, I never told it to Seth. But somehow, he knew it. He couldn't remember anything about it, though. Where he heard it.† â€Å"He must have heard it from you,† said Hugh, ever practical. â€Å"I never told him. I'd remember if I had.† â€Å"Well, with all the other immortals traipsing through here, I'm sure it came up from one of them. He probably overheard it.† Peter frowned. â€Å"Don't you have an award with your name on it? Maybe he saw that.† â€Å"I don't really leave my ‘Best Succubus' award lying around,† I pointed out. â€Å"Well, you should,† said Hugh. I eyed Carter carefully. â€Å"You're being awfully quiet.† He paused in drinking from the wine box. â€Å"I'm busy.† â€Å"Did you tell Seth my name? You've called me it before.† Carter, despite being an angel, seemed to have a genuine affection for us damned souls. And like an elementary school boy, he often thought the best way of showing that affection was by picking on us. Calling me Letha – when he knew I hated it – and other pet names was one such tactic he used. Carter shook his head. â€Å"Sorry to disappoint you, Daughter of Lilith, but I never told him. You know me: model of discretion.† There was a slurping sound as he neared the wine's end. â€Å"Then how did Seth find out?† I demanded. â€Å"How'd he know the name? Someone must have told him.† Jerome sighed loudly. â€Å"Georgie, this conversation is even more ridiculous than the one about your job. You already got your answer: either you or someone else slipped up and doesn't remember. Why does everything have to be so dramatic for you? Are you just looking for something to be unhappy about?† He had a point. And honestly, I didn't know why this had bugged me so much for so long. Everyone was right. There was no mystery here, nothing earth-shattering. Seth had overheard my name somewhere, end of story. There was no reason for me to overreact or assume the worst – only a tiny, nagging voice in my head that refused to forget about that night. â€Å"It's just weird,† I said lamely. Jerome rolled his eyes. â€Å"If you want something to worry about, then I'll give you something.† All thoughts of Seth and names flew out of my head. Everyone at the table (except Carter, who was still slurping) froze and stared at Jerome. When my boss said he had something for you to worry about, there was a strong possibility it meant something fiery and terrifying. Hugh looked startled by this proclamation too, which was a bad sign. He usually knew about hellish mandates before Jerome did. â€Å"What's going on?† I asked. â€Å"I had a drink with Nanette the other night,† he growled. Nanette was Portland's archdemoness. â€Å"Bad enough she still won't let me forget the summoning. She was also going off on some bullshit about how her people were more competent than mine.† I glanced briefly at my friends. We weren't exactly model employees of Hell, so there was a very good chance that Nanette was right. Not that any of us would tell Jerome that. â€Å"So,† he continued, â€Å"when I denied it, she demanded we step up and prove what superior Hellish minions we are.† â€Å"How?† asked Hugh, looking mildly interested. â€Å"With a soul pledge drive?† â€Å"Don't be ridiculous,† said Jerome. â€Å"Then with what?† I asked. Jerome gave us a tight-lipped smile. â€Å"With bowling.†

How to Stay Organized in College

You might have had grand plans about getting organized in college. And yet, despite your best intentions, your plans for organization seemed to slip through your fingers. So how can you stay organized for the long road ahead? Fortunately, although there are a zillion things to manage between your first day of classes and your last, staying organized in college is a lot easier than you might think. With a little advanced planning and the right skill set, staying organized can become more of your routine instead of just your ideal. Try Various Time Management Systems If you were wholly dedicated to making some fancy schmancy new calendaring app work for you this semester, but it ended up not working at all, dont be too hard on yourself. That means a particular system didnt work for you, not that youre bad at time management. Keep trying (and trying and trying) new time management systems until you find one that clicks. And if that means using a good, old-fashioned paper calendaring system, so be it. Having some calendar is the most important part of staying organized through the chaos that is college. Keep Your Dorm Room Clean When you lived at home, you had to keep your room relatively clean. But now that youre in college, you can keep your dorm room as messy as you want, right? Wrong! As silly as it sounds, a messy dorm room can represent a messy college life. Keeping your living space clean can help with everything from preventing you from losing your keys (again) to being able to mentally focus when you need to since you wont be visually distracted by all the junk on your desk. Additionally, keeping your space clean doesnt have to take a lot of time and will lead to all those little things that make you feel like youre in control of your own life: having clean clothes to choose from in the morning, knowing where that FAFSA form went, always having your cell phone charged. If keeping your dorm room clean seems like a waste of time, spend one-week tracking how much time you spend maintaining it clean and another week tracking how much time you spend looking for stuff or trying to recover from things youve lost (like that FAFSA form). You might surprise yourself. Stay on Top of Your Responsibilities When you are faced with anything that connects with your college life responsibilities — from a cell phone bill to an email from your mom about when youre coming home for Thanksgiving — make yourself do one of four things: Do it Schedule it Toss itFile it As an example, spending the next month arguing with your mom over when youll fly home will take ten times as much time as it will for you to just give her some dates when she brings it up. And if you arent sure yet, figure out a day by which you will be sure — and then put it into your calendaring system. Your mom will leave you alone, youll knock something off your to-do list, and you wont have to spend time telling yourself Oh shoot, I need to figure out Thanksgiving a million times a day between now and then. Spend Time Each Week Reorganizing Youre in college because youve got a great brain. So put it to use on all you have to do outside of the classroom! Just like a finely tuned athlete, your mind is learning, expanding, and strengthening each week; youre in school. Consequently, what organizing systems worked for you a month or two ago might not work any longer. Spend a few moments looking at what you got done, what youre doing, and what youll need to do over the next few weeks. While it may seem like a waste of time, those precious minutes can save you a lot of lost time — and a lot of disorganization — in the future. Plan Ahead to Stay Ahead Everyone knows that student who always says, Oh, I cant do something then, Ill be up all night cramming for my midterm. Really? Because that is just planning to be disorganized! Plan for everything you have to do. If you have a significant event youre planning, make sure your homework is done ahead of time so you can focus on your event when the time comes. If you know you have a major paper due, plan to work on it — and finish it — a few days in advance. Since its on your calendar and in your master plan, youll stay organized and on top of your tasks without even having to think about it. Take Care of Your Physical, Emotional, and Mental Health Being in college is hard — and not just academically. If youre not eating healthy, getting enough sleep, finding time to exercise, and overall treating yourself kindly, it will catch up with you sooner or later. And its impossible to get and stay organized if you dont have the physical, emotional, and mental energy to function. So give yourself a little TLC and remember that taking care of your health is an integral part of reaching your college goals.