The Concept of the Soul, by Plato Research Paper - 1

The Concept of the Soul, by Plato - Research Paper Example d "appetite." In an elaboration to this, it was assumed that not all the desires are part of the belief and therefore they had association with reason. All the part that form ones soul have certain desires within them, but when it comes to the appetitive or the spirited part of the soul then these desires are not merely constituted by belief or the decision making/ choices that is linked to good.The passion in these elements sprouts from independent faiths differentiating between what is good or bad. When it comes to the appetite, this is due to the arousal of desires that occur as a reaction to the hormonal or other events that take place inside the body. Lastly, the spirited part of the soul is because of the routine response that develops during the course of ones upbringing. Plato in his book Phaedrus, Plato explains this Tripartite Soul in detail. In this book he describes the human soul which is made up of three elements that follow three specific classes that prevail in the society of a fair city containing justice. If individuallyjustice comprises of balancing these three elements in such a way that the precise relationship is developed that is based on power. All this leads to a person that contains ruling with reasoning,reason that takes help from spirit, and also develop a satisfying appetite Platos Theory of the soul is the basic origin point of the Theory of the State. In this theory, Plato claims that a person who is happy is apparently a just/fair person. In the other words this canbe better explained by saying that a content person is one who is governed by reason.Thus "Plato and Aristotle each had a view of human nature that assigned reason a central role." (Kupperman, 59) Plato believed that that soul is comprised of the three constituents that enlighten the human: Reason, Emotion, and Appetite which I previously mentioned. It should be noted that Reason contains the utmost and supreme value whereas the remaining two are considered to be as

Response #1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Response #1 - Essay Example I agree with writer when she quotes Aristeas, ‘If God is creator of everything, why should His law be so severe†¦?’ Indeed, all creatures are equal and therefore eating some and avoiding others is morally wrong. In fact, I believe that religious scriptures should be interpreted in broader sense of contemporary issues when being vegetarian has become more relevant because it is healthier. The article gives revealing insight into the religious scriptures and cultural paradigms that guide human society. Religion is important because it helps people to conform to certain rules and guidelines that help them to live peacefully within a society. The socio-religious groups become important pillars of society that promote emotional and social stability and motivate people towards good life that takes into considerations the welfare of others. But at the same time, I believe that the tenets of scriptures should be interpreted with flexible beliefs that can encompass the changing environment. God as the creator is fundamental tenet that unifies diverse cultural and religious beliefs and therefore, religious and cultural diversity should be looked from the wider perspective of what is right. Consequently, Leviticus’ dietary guidelines should not be treated as divine laws and people should eat what they like and what is good for their health. (words:

The Essence Of Human Resource Management Theory Management Essay

The Essence Of Human Resource Management Theory Management Essay According to Martyn Shuttleworth (2009), literature review is a critical and in depth evaluation of research in which all sides of an argument must be clearly explainted, and areas of agreement and disagreement should be highlighted. In order to deal with the objectives and question proposed in the chapter 1, the author is going to find related theories in academic journals both online and paper, and other academic sources to provide the supervisor as well as readers a comprehensive overview of why the author is pursuing the research. In the chapter, the definition, components and practice of human resource management, human resource management in Vietnam and SMEs will be presented. In addition, the author will address the problems and find solutions to improve human resource management. 2.1: Human resource management definition There have been many lessons and also so much research both national and interational on the human resource management, which are widely applied in enterprises. And these primarily concentrate on the areas including the concept of human resource management, functions of human resource management and its applications. An debate on what is the essence of human resource management theory is still ongoing conversation. A review and research agenda put forth by Guest (1997) has endeavoured to pull all those arguments together. He indicates that there are diverse theories about human resource management including illustrative, strategic and normative. Firstly, descriptive theory states that the important inputs of an alternative of human resource management policy and practice such as creating employee influence, enforcing human resource flows and establishing incentive reward systems will influence on four key effects, which are commitment, competence, congruence and cost effectiveness. These leading to they will produce low labor turnover, loyal and faithful employees, who will commit to build up an organizations efficiency. This statement is also presented by Beer et al (1984) and Beaumont (1993). Secondly, strategic theory suggests that a good coordination between business strategy, human resource policy and practice will strengthen enterprises performance. Finally, normative theory describes a set of value that indicates human resource management practice applied to gain normative targets of high commitment to the enterprise. This will affect the performance of enterprises. Definition of human resource management is still in argument. Boxall and Purcell (2003) argue that this definition is affected by three issues. Firstly, human resource management is derived from a range of antecedents and depends on the stance and philosophy of the analyst. Secondly, it contributes to the analysis of the employment relationship, and is reliant upon context. Finally, the significance of human resource management is variable, which emphasize people, strategy, employment relationships etc. In order to emphasize human resource management, Redman and Wilkinson (2006) compare it as the utilization of individuals to achieve an organizations objectives. People management not only critical to business performance but also much more significant than priority over quality, technology, competitive strategy or RD terms of influence on the bottom-line. They present functions of human resource management, which include employee and labour relations, staffing, human resource development, compensation and benefits, safety and health. Storey (1995) states, similarly, that human resource management is a distinctive approach to employment management which seeks to achieve competitive advantage through strategic development of a highly committed and skilled workforce, using an integrated array of cultural, structural techniques. In addition, Cherrington (1995) confirms that human resource management is responsible for how people are treated in companies. It is the commitment on taking p eople into the organizations, assisting them carry their work out, compensating them for their labours, and settling issues that arise. 2.2: Human resource management functions and performance According to Mondy (2002), there are four functions in human resource management including recruitment, training and development, performance appraisal, compensation and benefits. Together they make up the human resource management system. Top management views these functions as an important tool to enhance competitiveness. Recruitment is, firstly, the process of attracting individuals on an opportune basis, in sufficient numbers and with suitable qualifications, and motivating them to apply for jobs with an organization. This process involves analyzing and forecasting the talent that companies need to execute their business plan, it is an important strategic step, enabling the organization to recognize, develop and sustain the workforce skills it needs to successfully accomplish its strategic intent whilst balancing career and lifestyle goals of its employees. Better recruit would lead to improvement in organisation productivities outcome compare to a poor recruit process. This process is very crucial to the success of the business. Failure to recruit appropriate worker will result in slow or stunted the grow of business (Boxall and Purcell 2000, p.140). The firm may then select those applicants with qualifications most closely related to job specifications (Mondy, 2002). He confirms that finding the r ight way of encouraging qualified candidates to put in for employment is extremely important when a firm needs to hire employees. Training and development is, secondly, the heart of a continuous effort designed to improve employee competency and organizational performance. Mondy (2002) argues that training provides learners with the knowledge and skills needed for their present jobs. On the other hand, development involves learning that goes beyond todays job, which has a more long-term focus. It prepares employees to keep pace with the organization as it changes and grows. Training Development activities have the potential to align a firms employees with its corporate strategies. According to Leonard Nadler (1984), training and development are ornanizational learning experiences took place in the certain period of times in order to increase the job performance and improve the development capacity of organizations and individuals. The concept emphasizes the ultimate goal of human resource development is to develop the organization, also focuses on the combination of personal development goals together with development objectives of the organization. However, the term also confirmed the development activities only increase job performance and organizational development capability since only when are employees interested in appling the learned knowledge to the work then the change will be created. On the other hand, the concept also clarified the role of direct managers in improving the job performance of employees yet definition of the concept is still in debate. Similarly, Henry J.Sredl Willam J. Rothwell (1997) defines training and development is to refer to the organizational learning experiences which are sponsored by the business ower. They are designed and implemented along with the goal of improving the job performance and enhancing the human condition through ensuring the combination of organizational and individual goals. The concept emphasizes the support of employer for their employees in the human resource development activities. On another view, Jerry W. Gilley (2002) states that training and development is the process of promoting organizational learning, improving job performance, and creating changes through the implementation of solutions (official and non-official), initiatives and management activities aiming at performance improvement, competitiveness and innovation which has more emphasis on the official and non-official remedies in human resource development activities, and also more focus on organizational management s olutions. Thirdly, according to Mondy (2002), performance appraisal (PA) is a formal system of review and evaluation of individual or team task performance. While assessment of team performance is essential as long as teams exist in an organization, the focus of PA in a number of companies remains on the individual employee. In spite of the emphasis, an effective appraisal system evaluates achivements and initiative plans for improvement, targets, and objectives. Finally, Mondy (2002) shows that compensation administration is one of managements most difficult and challenging human resource areas on account of containing quite a lot of elements and has a far-reaching impact on an organizations plans. Compensation is the total of all awards provided to employees in return for their services. Generally speaking, pay system are designed to attract, preserve, and encourage employees, to attain internal, external, and individual equity, and to keep a balance up in relationships between direct and indirect forms of compensation, and between the pay rates of supervisory and non-supervisory employees. As far as the relationship between human resource management and organizations performance is concerned, there has been increasing numbers of research. Most of them support the positive correlation between high performance as a result of human resource management practice and efficiency of enterprise performance. Poole and Jenkins (1996) examined the development of comprehensive human resource management policies by the survey of 909 firms in Britain and investigated that human resource management is one of the key factor to achieve a competitive advantage. With the general consensus, Dunphy and Stace (1992) have the same view with Poole and Jenkins. They emphasize that people themselves and their skills are the important factor to the added value of the organisation and human management will have an influence on enriching the efficiency of an organization. As a result, human resource management must be added in enterprises strategic development. The empirical study on effects of management training of Wong (1997) finds out that there are considerable impacts of management training and development on reforming performance of small and medium enterprises. In addition, Bratton and Gold (1994), Bearwell et al (1994) and Storey (1995) conclude that an organisation, which strives to improve its operations and demand for success, leads to the greater emphasis on human resource management. Hence, these studies have suggested that policies and practices of human resource management contribute to business success. Furthermore, there are several studies in which have included performance-based compensation as one of the high performance in human resource management practices. Redman and Wilkinson (2006) state that compensation is the total of all rewards provided employees in return for their services. There are two types of compensation including financial and non-financial compensation. Financial component consists of wages, salaries, bonuses, social security, health services etc. In contrary, non-financial one covers the satisfaction that an employee receives from the job itself and job environment such as teamwork, skills, autonomy, flex time and others. Huselid (1995), Delery and Doty (1996) consider compensation and benefits as the single strongest predictor of an enterprises performance. Based on empirical studies, these authors conclude that there is a positive correlation between performance-related pay and company performance. Therefore, performance-based compensation and merit-based promotions can be evaluated as important factors in incentive systems (Guest, 1997 and Huselid, 1995). At present, there are quite a lot of ways to progress the practice of human resource management. One of the key factors for the success of enterprises in a competitive market is to keep up continued competence through the development of human resources, which employee performance appraisal is a crucial tool. Borman (1991) defines that performance appraisal is a system of reviews and evaluations of an individuals or teams performance. It covers human resource planning, recruitment and selection, training and development, career planning and development, compensation programs and evaluation of employee potentials, of which compensation is widely apply in performance appraisal. A professional appraisal system could significantly improve employee performance and enterprise profitability (Robert, 1995). 2.3: Human resource management in small and medium enterprises Hill and Stewart (2000), with respect to human resource management in small and medium enterprises, state that SMEs lack resources like large enterprises, which tends to follow informal modes of operation such as short-term perspectives and the owners preferences and experience. However, many studies indicate that issues in SMEs are similar to those facing large enterprises such as the difficulty of linking investment in training with performance outcomes, the delivery of training courses and impacts of technology. Patton et al (2000) suggest that understanding the link between training interventions and achieving performance might be complicated by several variables that could impact the relationship. These factors might contain surrounding factors and particular ones to the firm, such as the owner and background of the management team, and the partnership between the training supplier and the recipient. Patton et al recommend that it could be more productive to encourage training as beneficial to the firm in the widest sense rather than attempting to reveal clear causal relationship. Huang (2001) argues that inadequacies in the definition and measurement of training have hampered attempts to show links between training and improvements in performance. Huangs study suggests that, where firms grow up sophisticated training courses with efficient management assistance, the effectiveness of the investment in training will be high (Huang, 2001). However, it might be argued that, by their very natu re, small and medium enterprises might lack the ability to build up sophisticated training programmes, with or without management assistance. There is a huge challenge in thinking up incentives for small firms to invest in formal job related training when it is often difficult to argue that it is in their short-term interests to do so. In relative terms, the effect of the owner manager in a small firm is much more pervaise and powerful than may be the case with the CEO of a big firm. In the view of Mazzarol (2003), he suggests small businesses are the product of their owners, whose personality and personal involvement dominate. The owner managers perspectives to training will be an essential hindrance or assistance in the implementation of training programmes. Hankinsons (2000) study of owner-managers found that these managers typically invested 93% of their working day inside the firm and made little deliberate attempt to up-skill themselves through joining courses or reading relevant literature as they regarded experience as the most relevant from of their continuing achievement. Managers with these views to training are not likely to encourage high rates of participation in training amongst their staffs. One response to this low regard many owner-managers have for the relevance of available training and developm ent schemes might be to develop an approach based on mentoring (Hudson-Davies et al. 2000). Sharply becoming a key issue, technology is in association with training on two sides, first the rapid development of technology coupled with the increasing pressure to keep up technical skills in order to maintain competitive, should supply an important incentive for continued investment in training and development. As McCole et al (2001) note, the generally negative attitude and low priority given to training in many SMEs is a matter for concern. Following their study of training in SMEs in Northern Ireland, McCole et al summarized that the short-term emphasis in small companies, which depresses investment in longer term masters such as training, might result in small companies experiencing a decline in their ability to keep up competitive in terms of their key human resources. The second side of technology is that new forms of electronically mediated training design and delivery should overcome several the problems of access, that have been often cited by managers in SMEs as a maj or obstacle. In spite of the importance of technology and the chances now emerging, research seems to suggest that SMEs have not been quick on the uptake. From a number of managers of SMEs, a frequent complaint is that available training programmes are not well designed for the commands of the small companies, or are difficult to adapt to the specific requirements of a firm. The issues here might be more complicated than simply a question of content. Anderson and Boocock (2002) argue that the big firm model of learning, on which the majority of formal training courses are arranged, is inappropriate for small companies in which the distinctive culture and communications systems could be more suited to learning which occurs through more informal processes. Advances on training in SMEs has to contain concern not simply for content, but also for problems of timing, location and delivery and such training might require a significant level of customisation given the heterogeneous nature of the SMEs sector. Clearly there is a problem here for SMEs as highly customized products for small clients are not an appealing prospect for training provi ders. According to Patton (2000), he points out that the relationship between training interventions and improved performance may be hindered by factors such as the owner and nature of management team, the relationship between the training provider and recipient. In addition, Mazzarol (2003) states that the influence of the owner manager in SMEs is more pervasive and powerful than ones in large enterprises. Moreover, Huang (2001) argues that SMEs are not capable of designing sophisticated training programs with the management support, which is a challenge for SMEs to invest into jobs related to training programs. 2.4: Human resource management of SMEs in VietNam Vietnamese government with the assistance from international organisations in many countries in the world has paid more and more attention to the development of SMEs since the renovation doi moi. In order to support Viet Nam along with its efforts, some donors came and joined hands to support Vietnamese SMEs as key actors in the countrys socio-economic development. A number of researchers have been implemented with the mandate to provide assistance to the development of SMEs. Almost these researches have aimed at financial issues, businessworking environment of SMEs and business services. This area has been mentioned by some reports in different aspects although there has not been any research specialising in human resources management issues in Vietnamese SMEs. Nguyen Duc Vinh (1999) indicates that the faster the growth experienced by the small firm the more likely it will experience human resource masters. The management of SMEs tends to be small and multi-functional. Often, entrepreneurs run companies dingle-handed or take a disproportionate production of the key decisions, in addition to functioning as the general interface to the outside world. Creating a larger, professional management is desirable, but until a certain size is reached it is difficult to create much division of labour and to develop specialised interfaces. These leading to management functions in a brutal cycle of overwork, which results in inability to consider and exploit externally-derived improvement opportunities, that in turn leads to overwork. The lack of specialised is completely absent. Notably, a number of small firms have no engineers and therefore no intelligent interface to technological changes and opportunities. Other key skill and resources might be abse nt. Usually, for instance, new technology-based companies have few marketing or business development capabilities. SMEs, which are trying to orient to export markets, require good entrepreneurial and management skills. However, business management skills are not up to the mark. Only a few owners are equipped with business knowledge of a market economy. Most of the proprietors run business based on their own experience. In general, entrepreneurs in the SMEs sector are often home-grown, obtianing their skills and leadership qualities in their own workplace and business environment. Beyond a certain point, this learning by doing approach becomes less useful in assisting small firms in graduating into modern small enterprises, equipped with advance models of technology and marketing skills. Furthermore, SME management rely on being experienced and being able to communicate both inside the enterprise and with outside partners. Thus, according to Tuong Lai (1999), training and support programmes might be needed to build up the quality and skills of both employees and management. In Vietnam, the facts have showed that employers are reluctant to invest in training potentially highly mobile workers. To a certain extent, the demand for technical and vocational training is being dampened by employees tendency to leave for a better job once they have been trained. Employers do not believe in contracts that require their workers to stay firm a certain period of time after training, either because the workers are not registered or because they think the contracts will not be enforced. A survey by MPDF in 89 manufacturing companies in both public and private sectors (MPDF, 2000) found that: On average, each month, firms invested three days of internal staff time in training and bought-in an average of 16 days of training services. Seventy eight percent of external training was provided by the public sector. The respondents also state that training content needed to be more up-to-date, of global quality, and localized for the Vietnamese context. Training should be carefully matched to customers demands with both basic and advanced training options. The training itself needed to be practical, not theoretical. The method of instruction needed to be designed to ensure skill transfer from the classroom back to the workplace. Fifty nine percent of the companies indicated that they were not able to get the training expertise they needed in Viet Nam. Additionally, although labour is abundant, most job seekers are unskilled staffs. While only a small number of SMEs could provide training for their staffs, government assistance in training is insignificant. Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), though, plays an active role on organising seminars and some training courses, a number of private companies do not apply such programs, nor they aware of VCCIs training services that is particularly the situation in the poorer provinces (Stoyan Tenev et al., 2003). According to a survey by MPDF, private firms, especially SMEs are the least preferred place of employment. Students and their parents think of a private employer as failing to provide suitable jobs and to ensure job security for employees (MPDF, 1999). This perception makes SMEs more difficult to attract qualified labour. In a seminar on development of SMEs under the umbrella of Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in 2005, Dodd (2005) points to another weakness arising from the fact that smaller Vietnamese businesses tend to have the bulk of their labour force make up of family members, friends or relatives. In this opinion, good brothers do not necessarily make good associates. It is often difficult for a company leader to have a good judgement of his employees, especially when it comes to one of his skin. And even when the right judgement is made, other employees may still see the directors decision as an unfair one. Brown and Davison (1999) shared this opinion with Dodd that human resource management within family-owned and managed small firms can also be made difficult when family members hold key positions within the business or find themselves in dispute with other or the human resource manager.

Wedding Traditions Across Different Cultures Essay -- Weddings Marriag

Wedding Traditions Across Different Cultures When it comes to planning a wedding, people have to worry not only about food, flowers, and what they wear, they also have to honor many traditions, even if they don't understand their origins or meanings. However, to not follow these traditions, understood or not, might mean bad luck for the marriage or, at the very least, disgruntled wedding guests. Every culture cherishes its own marriage traditions and superstitions. Many are not understood but are still seriously followed because 'it's always been done that way'; (Kendrick). Even people not normally superstitious wouldn't think of violating these traditions. Many traditions originated from old rhymes, folktales or tribal traditions whose origins are lost in time. For example, one of the original meanings of the word 'wedding'; was to gamble or wager. This comes from the time when a bride price was required before marriage. This bride price could include land, social status, political alliances or money. Thus, the 'Anglo-Saxon word 'wedd' meant that the groom would vow to marry the woman, but it also referred to the bride price (money or barter) to be paid by the groom to the bride's father'; (Kendrick). There are equally surprising origins for such traditions as the ring finger, wedding ring, engagement ring (and its diamond), and wedding cake. For example, the finger used as the ring finger differs from culture to culture. In Greece during the third century the index finger was used. In India they used the thumb. The 'modern'; ring finger started being used in the fourth century when the Greeks originated the belief that the third finger was connected to the heart by the 'vena amoris,'; or the vein of love. (Kendrick). Use of a wedding ring can be traced back to Roman times, and even back then it was made of gold. Roman rings were often decorated with a carving of two hands to symbolize two people journeying through life together as one. Early women's rings also had keys carved in them, symbolizing that women were able to unlock the hearts of their husbands. It was 'Pope Nicholas I [in 860 AD, who first] decreed an engagement ring become a required statement of nuptial intent,'; (Kendrick). He insisted that this ring also be ma... ...untie these knots (Kendrick). The honeymoon is considered a time for the new couple to escape all of the pre- wedding stresses and just enjoy relaxing with each other before the pressures of married life set in. Karl says the 'moon'; part of the honeymoon was because customarily the bride and groom would go away for a whole month, or from full moon to full moon (132). A honey-flavored wine was frequently enjoyed on the getaway. 'Honey was the ancient symbol of life, health, and fertility,'; (Karl132). The two words eventually were combined to denote the honeymoon we know today. Wedding cakes and diamond rings, white gowns and garters, veils and ring fingers. These and other traditions of the modern wedding all have their origins in beliefs and superstitions that are centuries old. Planning a modern wedding can be a hectic, nerve wracking experience, and the chaos can often blind the young couple to the true meaning of the ceremony they are about to share. Perhaps if a modern couple took the time to understand some of the ceremony's customs and traditions their wedding day would have even greater meaning for them.

How Foreign Ownership Has Affected the English Premier League

Introduction The Premier league is the top soccer division in England. It is claimed to be the richest league in the world where some of the most popular players and football teams play. Most professional sports teams that are capable of buying top football players are generally the most successful. Foreign investment in English Premier League teams has become a trend and a way of becoming rich and successful. Most of the clubs in the league are controlled by foreign investors out to make profits. Liverpool F.C was formed in 1892 by John Houlding to play at Anfield after Everton F. C vacated the field. The club is arguably the most successful club in England. It has won 18 First Division titles, 7 FA Cups, 7 League Cups, and 5 European Cups. Liverpool F. C. signed a deal with Prince Faisal Al Saud to initiate and activate an elite commercial collaboration between F6, Liverpool F. C. , and the Richard Petty Nascar Team. Factors of management that are strength to the program Collaborat ion with effective partners is a major strength in the performance of the club.These exclusive collaborations explore collaborative commercial opportunities viable to football, Nascar racing, and interactive media in the Middle East country, Saudi Arabia and the surrounding nations. The Middle East sport market has great potential of growth, as the fan base in the region is growing everyday. The deal will strive to enhance the level of football competition, sports management expertise and soccer players in the region. Among the strategic partnership, plans in mind include the creation of academies and training facilities owned and controlled by Prince Faisal's organization.The framework for collaboration in Nascar has been created to evaluate the expansion of a Nascar racing circuit and Richard Petty racing institutions in the Middle East environs. F6 is one of the leading investors in interactive sports media in Saudi Arabia and has considered this deal as a perfect opportunity to bring in local teams and athletes, and introduce new methods of management and training in sports. It will also provide employment opportunities and innovative reality media production techniques (Foster et al, 2006). Liverpool fans have greatly contributed towards the success of the club.The number of Liverpool fans has increased as a result of celebrating the club’s sale to new owners and also due to the appointment of a new manager Roy Hodgson. The signing of a new player Joe Cole saw the Liverpool website break its previous record of 65 million page views to over 85 million page views. The news of Joe Cole signing raised the page view impressions to over 483,000 in just an hour. In addition, the time that the club’s fan spend in the site increased from five minutes to seven minutes while the average number of page view increased from 4. 5 to 5. 95. Factors of Profitability and viabilityOne of the factors contributing to profitability and viability of Liverpool is t he use of market value approach. This approach has enabled the company to assess its market value and thus evaluate its overall performance (Foster et al, 2006). Other approaches that have also contributed to the clubs success include the Acquisition-Based valuation approach and the Sabermetrics technique. The Acquisition-Based valuation approach assists in making viable acquisition for the club while the sabermetrics is very useful in the evaluation of players’ performance and the overall performance of the club (Foster et al, 2006).As a result, Liverpool F. C. debts have almost doubled to ? 86m based on the latest financial reports. The club has however recorded an increase in profits after making losses the previous year. The club’s annual accounts show a pre-tax profit of ? 10. 2m in 2008, which is an increase fro the previous year in which the club made a loss of ? 21. 7m. Application of Triangulation to gain an accurate value of the club Technological development and growth has been one of the most effective ways of using triangulation to gain accurate value for Liverpool.The club launched Assigra’s agentless backup and recovery hardware, Televaulting that prides a back-up for data in a disc. Liverpool was in the past using legacy tape-based backup and disaster recovery (DR). The use of the new software is aimed at increasing the speed of back up and recovery and provides a guarantee 100% success rate in recovering lost data. The old system was limiting in that every time a back up of the i-series based ticketing system took place, the whole system had to be shut down. This was greatly inconveniencing because the backups were limited to once a day only.The club had to think of a way of recovering data in case it was lost in an effective manner (Turner, 2007). The new backup system now safe guard vital business data across Liverpool FC’s major sites: Anfield, Melwood and Academy. Changes to improve value Liverpool introduced a new approach to training in order to ascend and stay at the top of English and European football. The owners of the club have created the position of Director of football strategy in a bid to ensure that the club maintains a top position in English football.Although the Director of football strategy is the most unpopular post in English football, the new owners of Liverpool view this as the most appropriate strategy to run the club. The owners have introduced the principles of sabermetrics, which are very successful in baseball. Sabermetrics is defined as the analysis of baseball based on objective evidence, particularly baseball statistics that evaluate the in-game activity as opposed to industry activity such as attendance. It is thus a set of statistics that is used to assess the overall performance of a player or team.For instance, Top player ratings normally referred to, as Batter-Fielder/Pitcher Wins is a rating used to evaluate the value of baseball players and to facilitate the comparison of players against each other, despite playing for different teams or different positions. Value Over Replacement Player (VORP) is a metric that measures hitters contribution (offensive) and Pitchers contribution in a team compared to a fictitious average player (Turner, 2007). This measurement is used to evaluate a payer’s Replacement level. The use of these quantitative metrics n football has transformed Liverpool F. C. for the better. Events from 1997 to 2003 and principles of improvement Gerard Houllier, the former French national team manager, was introduced into the Liverpool management team for the 1998–99 season to work alongside Roy Evans. Evans did not find the deal favorable to him and decided to quit in November of 1998. The club became a founder member of the G-14 group of clubs in September 2000. The organization was formed to create a united voice to air their opinions and suggestions to soccer governing bodies FIFA and UEFA.Liverpool rema ined an active member of the G-14 clubs until it was disbanded in 2008. In its place, the European Club Association was established. The 2000-01 season was one of the best Liverpool’s seasons in the clubs history. The players Owen, Fowler, Gerrard and Hyypia played a role to the club’s third place finish and hence a qualification to play in the champion league. The club also won the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup, together with the charity shield and the European Super Cup in 2001.Liverpool finished as number two in the premier league 2001–02 season, their best league finish since 1991, but was subjected to a embarrassing defeat in the League Cup Third Round by Grimsby Town. The Clubs manager Houllier suffered a serious heart problem, which made him inactive in the club for three months beginning from November. How sale of the club will affect the strategic direction The sale of the club by CFO will affect my strategic direction in several ways. The sale of the club might affect the value of the club depending on the effect it will have on the stakeholders of the club.If the fans are not happy with the sale, then the clubs fan-base will be affected. Fewer fans will visit the club’s website leading to a fall in the club’s earnings. Some investors might feel cheated and withdrawal their support for the club. This will affect the equity value of the club. The sale of the club will thus affect the overall running of the club including the approaches used by the management. Factors that would underlie the changes and research to strengthen the recommendations There are two factors that would underlie the changes in Liverpool football club.The two factors are change of the valuation approach in acquisition and accounting for player-related payments.. Acquisition-Based Valuation Approach is the best approach to consider when determining any acquisition for the club. This approach involves considering similar previous acquisitions b efore making an investment (Foster et al, 2006). Ability to account for all player-payments greatly contributes towards the appropriate management of the club. Some of the sources of player-payments include, sign-on bonus, transfer fees, and match fees. ConclusionLiverpool football club s one of the most successful clubs in English football. The club has been successful as a result of its effective management and overall business strategies. The new owners have introduced new approaches in management as well as the training of the players. One of the newly introduced approach, sabermetrics, has provided the best evaluation and assessment criteria for both the club as well as the individual performance of the players. The cub has also adopted a new method, Televaulting, for backup and data recovery. The new method ensures that vital business data is safe and secure.

Polaroid Strategy

For quite some time, Polaroid’s company focus was instant cameras. They were a hit, as many could see their pictures immediately. Further, the catchy song lyrics â€Å"Shake it like a Polaroid Picture† helped spread the brand name to multiple populations. As digital cameras became popular over time, Polaroid lost concentration on their main selling point: instant photography. However, Polaroid believes that this new decade is the time to recreate their instant cameras with a revised mission and fresh set of values and visions. Current Mission â€Å"To put the latest cutting edge technology in the people’s hands and give them the power to use it comfortably, affordably†¦and in an instant. † Polaroid’s mission has always revolved around customer convenience and ease of technology. Their forte, instant film, remains a legacy in the company. By associating their products with reasonable prices, comfort, and mainly dynamically continuous innovations, Polaroid has been ingrained as a top brand in the eyes of their customers, especially amateurs. However, in lieu of current market trends, it is now time for Polaroid to revise this mission to include the following aspects and values: * Experience: More than just a product, the new Polaroid cameras will serve as an experience to its customers. Through instant gratification and social networking movements, the company opens up to allow the redefined PIC-1000 model to include multiple features. * Compatibility: Polaroid’s new plan emphasizes consistency with their old models. The new PIC-1000 will be compatible with traditional film. Retro-Futurism: The company attempts to step back in time and bring back an old, vintage styled camera with a modern twist. * Enthusiasts: Polaroid is expanding their target market to more than just the amateur. They plan to spice things up with Creative Director, Lady Gaga, and attract to the passion-driven enthusiasts in the art and fashion communities who unequivocally want the Polaroid experience back. Vision Polaroid’s vision serves as the framework for their marketing plan and guides every aspect of their business by describing what they need to accomplish in order to achieve sustainable, quality growth. This includes focusing on the needs of their customers, consumers, and partners. In addition, this improved vision pinpoints the following company values: leadership, diversity, quality, passion, accountability, integrity, and collaboration. Goals An overall goal includes expanding Polaroid’s market to younger photographers, while also appealing to older generations with more familiarity with the company’s cameras. The following are specific short and long-term goals: Short-term: Enter new markets, specifically the art and fashion communities * Reduce postage costs with more distribution centers around the world * Present the new technology at consumer electronic shows * Publicize innovative products in various advertising media, for example Engadget and Popular Science magazines * Widely distribute products in many retail stores for easy access to customers * Regain participation in community promotions, such as in the corporate sponsorship of motorsports Long-term: Gain a large percentage of the niche photography market * Re-establish their iconic instant imaging * Create a legacy * Form licensing deals to extend the brand into new market segments * Provide customer satisfaction and fulfillment * Be a top-ranked player in the photography industry * Maximize profit and return to shareowners while being aware of responsibilities * Offer a social networking â€Å"Movement† for consumers to share and enjoy Core Competencies and Competitive Advantage As a pioneer of instant photography, Polaroid has a leg up on other competitors. They have a patent that allows for product protection and brand equity. Through much research, development, and devotion, these so-called purists have created a unique image and legacy that has stood the test of time. Some points of differentiation to distinguish Polaroid’s products from the masses are its vintage quality, ease of use, instant gratification, and retro niche appeal. The company’s competitive advantage in instant imaging is made possible through its partners and supporting industries, the availability of skilled researchers, and the current demand for artistic products in the marketplace. Polaroid will work to form strong bonds and relationships with distributors and suppliers, which will in turn satisfy their customer’s needs most fully.