Human Resource Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 2

Human Resource Management - Essay Example Logitech Solutions has its Headquarters in London. It has over 20 branches spread all over the country with 200 staff working for them. They offer hourly technical assistance to fix minor problems in organizations, work on retainer contract basis when a business requires certain regular services like system maintenance and network administration and takes up individual projects and consulting advices too like website design and preparing estimates for major hardware purchases. Logitech Solutions has a CEO, a general manager and seven line managers who work under them. Logitech's HR department has 11 members who handle, hiring, administrating and the payroll of all its workers. Logitech solutions aim in expanding through improving. The company has over 150 clients and it is in constant lookout of fresh talent. They open a new branch every year, making their manhunt process a never ending loop. Logitech Solutions has well defined Human Resource Management policies according to which th e HR department hires the best talent in the market, provide them with enough training and extract the best from them in their designation. It ensures every employee working for them grow along with the company both monetarily and intellectually. They achieve this by providing them regular assessment of their work, extra training when required, promotions and increments on a fixed interval. Task 1 a) Explain the difference between personnel and human resource management and discuss the HRM function in terms of its contribution to organisational purpose Modern day business environment gives ample importance to human resource management as people are considered as the greatest asset of any company. Personnel management and HRM both are connected with managing people. Personnel management deals with administrative tasks like payroll and dealing with contractual obligations. Personnel managers often act as mediators between the employees and the management and help in solving the employ ee grievances. HRM gained importance with the growth of modern organizations which view people as a resource. It aims in fulfilling the company’s objectives by taking of all the employees needs and motivating them to give their best. HRM manager’s duty includes increasing the return on investment or ROI by taking extra strategy oriented steps to get the best from the employees or rather select the best employees. Their work is strategy cantered rather than administration cantered (Pravin, 2010). (Sreenath, 2009) HRM is actually considered as a main organizational function which will continue to expand constantly and evolve into a main value adding area for any company. HRM education should be made widespread for this change to occur. HRM has space of extensive research. Personnel management on the other hand is considered as concept which has already started to disappear as HRM dominates many organizations. HRM can be considered as the next improved level of personnel management. b) Assess the role and responsibilities of line manager in your chosen organisation Line managers or front-line managers constitute the lower layer in the management hierarchy. Teams comprising of employees who do not have any managerial or supervising responsibilities report to the line managers. These front-line managers report to higher management, through their higher authorities or supervisors. For example, people taking direct calls from customers in

Starbucks Coffee Company - An Analysis Assignment

Starbucks Coffee Company - An Analysis - Assignment Example No Heading Page No 1 Retail Sales Mix by Products Type for Company –Operated Stores 3 2 Coffee & Snacks Shops – Industry at a Glance – 2011 4 3 Total Net Revenues of Starbucks 5 4 Ranking of Porter’s Five Forces 7 5 Outlet Numbers of Selected Specialty coffee stores 9 4 Number of Coffee Outlets - UK 10 6 Comparable Stores Sales Growth 15 1.0 Introduction: Starbuck is the leader in roaster, retailer and marketer of specialty coffee in the international level functioning in sixty nations around the world. Through company operated stores, Starbucks buy and roast first-rate coffee beans which it would market with handcrafted tea, coffee and other hot drinks, roasted beans, coffee accessories and a number of food items to its customers around the world. Starbuck main goal is that its coffee should be grown under the top standards of quality employing just buying practices. (Bussing-Burks: 1). Retail Sales Mix by Products Type for Company –Operated Stores : Starbucks established its first store on March 29, 1971 in Seattle. The major turning point in Starbucks operations started after Howard Schultz joined as director of Starbucks retail marketing and operations in 1982 as Starbucks started to offer coffee to espresso bars and fine restaurants. In 1984, Howard convinced the founders of Starbucks to apply the Italian coffeehouse concept in Seattle and in 1984, the ever first Starbucks Caffe Latte was offered. In 1987, Starbucks was acquired by II Giornale and the name was changed to Starbucks Corporation (Gilbert: 1). In 2000, Howard Schultz was promoted as chairman of the company. In 2008, Howard Schultz returned as the chief executive officer from the position of chairman and Coffee Equipment Company was acquired. In 2011, it acquired evolution fresh and in 2012, it acquired La Boulange. As of 30th September 2012, Starbucks has 9405 company –operated stores and 8661 licensed stores around the world. (â€Å"Starbucks Timeline 2012†). 1.1 â€Å"Segment Analysis â€Å" â€Å"Current Market Position† Coffee & Snacks Shops – Industry at a Glance – 2011 â€Å"USD in Billions† Revenue 26.5 Industry Annual Growth 2006 to 2011 2% â€Å"Annual Growth 2011 to 2016† 4.1% Industry Profit 1.6 Industry Wages 6.1 As per IBIS World Industry Report 2011 (Coffee & Snacks Shops), Starbuck is occupying 32.6% of share in the industry. (Fellner 2008:17). As per Starbucks annual report, Starbuck serves about 33% of total QSR (Quick Service Restaurant), which includes both convenience store coffee shop and coffee shop despite cutthroat competition in QSR, Starbuck is able to hold its share in the industry. Further in the global market, every one cup of coffee out of 100 cups of coffee served is being served by the Starbucks. 1.2 â€Å"Current Strategies† Recovering from recession, Starbucks has attained the highest annual income of $11.7 bn in the year 2011. During 2011, Blonde Roast, was introduced in its products, it entered into the juice segment by acquiring Evolution Fresh. Starbucks is now able to serve about 60 million

Student Accounting Essay Example for Free

Student Accounting Essay This paper addresses the way state funds are distributed to schools using ADA or ADM. It also addresses the advantage of using either one of these and equalizing the funds to maximize cost-quality relationships. It also focuses on preparing for changes in local area revenue and expenditures of a school district based on demographic and economic factors. Distributing state dollars to all the schools in the state is one of the most important jobs of the state department of education. There are several different ways in which the state department of education collects data to use in deciding how to allocate state dollars to public schools. The two most common methods that are used are ADA (average daily attendance) and ADM (average daily membership). These methods are sometimes refered to as pupil counting. ADA is the average total of students that are present during a certain time period. ADM is the average total of students that are on a class roll during a certain time period whether present or not. As the person in charge of distributing state dollars to all public schools, I can see how it would be easy to prefer the ADA method. The reason is simple. I would want the money going to the schools that actually have students that are present so the money would not be wasted. This would create a difference of opinion between state officials and school officials because, as an administrator of a school, I would prefer the ADM method. But, we are talking about public schools where every child is entitled to the same education. We cannot assume that a certain number of children will be absent from school a certain time period, therefore, not allocate money for them. This would be highly unfair, not only to these students , but to the schools who are have to educate children under funded. This happens enough as it is without state officials withholding state monies from certain schools. The advantage of using the ADA over the ADM is that you would get a more accurate number of students that are actually at school most of the time during the school year. Teachers would prefer the ADM method because they want the most money possible for their students. The problem with ADA is that the numbers don’t always paint a clear picture. In 1989 at a school in Alabama, a meningitis epidemic broke out. The CDC were called in and numerous students were in the hospital for over two weeks and from school up to a month. If the state was using the ADA method during this time period of the year, this particular school would not have anywhere close to accurate numbers. Whereas if the state was using the ADM method, the circumstances that caused the absences would not matter because these students were on the role of their teachers classes. The cost-equality debate goes back to the Coleman Report on Equality of Education Opportunity in 1966. Over the years opinions on the issue of how money allocated to schools affected student achievement has gone back and forth. Social scientist of national reputation have analyzed statistical findings on this issue and determined that money allocated to schools per student do not effect student performance on standardized test. Other issues such as home background account for the differences in student achievement. But, even with this information, public school children must receive the same monies per child to give them a chance to achieve and the teachers a chance to teach. I would give school systems in lower socioeconomic areas more money per child to even out the levels that some systems are able to provide extra. In preparing for changes in local areas, I would conduct studies on how past economic factors have changed the revenue and expenditures of a given school. In 2004, Alabama was in proration. There is a chance Alabama will be in proration again during the 2008-2009 year. Files that show how each school district were effected in 2004 should be studied to get an idea of what might happen again. Local economic factors also have to be taken into consideration. Industries open and close and this effects the schools and how much tax money they receive. Proration often leads to school closings and loss of teacher units and jobs. City systems , which receive lots more tax money are usually in a lot better shape than county schools who receive less. Our students in public education and what is best for them is what must be considered in all situations, good or bad. Appropriate accommodations must be made to insure that all students receive an opportunity for an equal education . References Hall, J(2003). ADA vs. ADM: More information is needed. Retrieved from http://www. buckeyeinstitute. org/article/344 McDermott, John E. (1974). The cost equality debate in school finance litigation. Retrieved from http://www. jstor. org/pss/1191046 North Carolina Public Schools. (no date given). Data Reports- Student Accounting. Retrieved from http://www. ncpublicschools. org/fbs/accounting/data

IKEA SWOT, Porters 5 and PESTEL Analysis

IKEA SWOT, Porters 5 and PESTEL Analysis Jump to: SWOT, Porters 5  Forces, PESTEL INTRODUCTION IKEA has created its own brand name in the world of furnishing at an affordable price. IKEA strives to make a better life for many by offering wide variety of well-designed, practical home furnishing items at affordable prices. History IKEA was found in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad in small village Agunnaryd , Sweden. Originally company sold the basic household goods at discount prices later kamprad start to sell the home furnishing and 10 year later IKEA opened its first showroom, clearly demonstrates the function and quality of its low-price products. In 1955 IKEA introduce its own Designing furniture and in 1956 flat packs and self-assembly were launch (which reduced production and transport costs) and in later year IKEA has opened 301 stores all over Europe and Asia which shows the success of company. Present In 2002, IKEA Group was worlds top furniture retailers. The total number of stores 301 operated by IKEA in 37 countries/territories. The IKEA Group itself owns 267 stores in 25 countries with 123,000 co-workers and generating annual sales of more than 21.5 billion euro (these facts are taken from IKEA website). There are wide range of products in IKEA stores from plants and living room furnishings to toys and whole kitchens. At IKEA their vision is to create a better everyday life for the many people what make IKEA as worlds top furniture retailers, matchless approaches of IKEA attract the customer whether its affordable price, portable furniture or the unique design in store, Swedish cafà © in the stores, child care facility in the stores SWOT Analysis of IKEA Strengths One of the strongest strengths of IKEA is their strong brand name: IKEA is widely known brand in Europe and some Asian countries. In 2002 IKEA was the worlds most famous furniture retailer. [  [1]  ] Unique selling point of IKEA is low prices and flat pack furniture which is economical for customer and easy to transport Exclusive furniture design catch the attention of the customer Cheap Prices of IKEA furniture offers value to Customer Exclusive furniture design catch the attention of the customer As published in Business Times Ikea catalogue is the third most printed book in the world after Bible and Harry Potter [2] Furniture are easy to assemble and easy to ship IKEA has Strong potential of Global sourcing Powerful advertising campaign IKEA has built its own brand name and consistently strives to maintain it   In mid- 1990s IKEA had launched a high profile advertising campaign in USA intending to raise awareness of the IKEA brand UK wide advertising campaign in September 2007 titled Home is the Most Important Place in the World using estate agent signs with the term Not for Sale written on them as part of the wider campaign Wallets for Oyster cards and tube map are sponsored by IKEA IKEA consciously runs advertising campaign to create brand awareness. IKEA maintain Long-term Relationship with suppliers IKEA has preserved long-term relationship with its suppliers. IKEA purchases products in high volume from suppliers which allows IKEA to keep their product prices low It has about 45 trading service offices in 31 countries. This enables them to develop close relationships with more than 1,350 suppliers in 50 countries Product improvement IKEA is actively taking initiatives in environment changes, they strongly cares about forest and support the suppliers to minimize the total impact on the climates by contributing in forest projects. Weakness Supplier dependencies One of the main weakness of the IKEA is that it is dependent on the supplier for its manufacturing their products By totally dependencies on suppliers IKEA convert its strength to IKEA does not manufacture anything itself and is heavily dependent on the supplier. By limiting the manufacturing facilities means more dependencies on the suppliers. Ikea furnitures need to assemble yourself may be its is unattractive to certain groups of consumers Store design can be confusing for those customer who need particular item Swedish design may not so appealing to other regions of world Major Reliability on European Markets 90% of IKEA stores are based in European regions and rest in America, Middle East and Asia , Ikea is limiting themselves to enter into the Competition can take benefit of IKEAs non existences in the other fast growing retails markets like America, Middle East and Asia by expanding their businesses. Quality and standards Its difficult to maintain high Quality and standards globally due to the size and scale of products People generally associate the low prices with bad quality of products and non durability Ikea furnitures not manufacture for lifetime Opportunities Expansion in untouched retails market IKEA should extent their business or stores from international to global market , by developing in other regions like Asia and Eastern Europe By expanding in fast growing retails markets IKEA can capture additional share in Asia and Eastern Europe Only 10% percentages of stores were in underdeveloped markets. Its an excellent opportunity for IKEA to expand and grow their businesses in the untouched markets Development in Ecommerce IKEA should enlarge their internet present in markets Fast growing virtual markets in the Internet revolution era gives an excellent opportunity to IKEA to enlarge their place in the online business all over the world like ebay , Amazon.com, Inc IKEA can expand their business by collaboration of local companies and suppliers. By developing E-commerce site and local company alliances gives an opportunity to achieve growth in existing business and can gain new acquisition In additional it will help to increase customer service satisfaction and customer feedback Also it can reduce the work pressure from store to certain level Design various type of Store It will be good opportunities for IKEA to try new outlay of store to easily find the particular products which will increase the growth sales and customer satisfaction Minimizing waste (IKEA and the new EU legislation on chemicals) IKEA avoids use of chemicals and materials that can be of any harm to people and the environment. All IKEA products for all markets, everywhere in the world will adhere to the chemical restrictions in the REACH legislation. Efficient use of materials IKEA strives to use fewest resources to make the best possible products, without having any negative effect on the functionality or the design or the look of the products. The main material used in the manufacturing of the products is wood, cotton, metal, plastic, glass and rattan and we work towards using as many renewable and recyclable materials as possible. Threats Impact of European economy As IKEA is predominantly present in European region, any adverse effects in this region will impact the business of IKEA. Major sales and purchasing are done is European markets. In order to avoid such situation, it needs to secure place in other retail market and increase awareness of the IKEA brand and products worldwide Competition Indirect threat of competition One of the fastest growing competitive retail market in Europe and other businesses regions of IKEA Difficult to preserve good quality and design at cheap prices when competition is increasing rapidly growing e.g. In USA Wal-Mart , room to go , kmart ,In Japan Nitori Co and MUJI Even average retailers are producing low cost values flat packed furniture, which can put tremendous impact on the IKEA. Advantages of competition Competition is aggressively offer similar product Most of retailers promising to serve on high quality of and service Educating customer on quality of woods, construction techniques and so on Competitions are offering free delivery of assembled furniture whereas IKEA is not giving any options to customer on the transportation Summary of IKEA SWOT ANALYSIS SWOT analysis describes IKEAs strengths and weakness, as well as encountering the threats with opportunities which will secure IKEAs place in the retail market Strength of IKEA group in the world of retail markets is their Vision IKEA strives to make a better life for many by offering wide variety of well-designed, practical home furnishing items at affordable prices which display their clear business idea.[3] IKEA buy massive from the suppliers and gain advantage of low cost product which is one of strongest strength of IKEA , as they can sale the finished goods in cheaper than competitors IKEA is good long term business relationship with the suppliers and weakness is the total dependencies on the supplier which can be the threat in their future business. Business Strategy of IKEA gives the Excellent opportunities to expand their services to the world widely and but by limiting their expansion only to the European and selected Asian countries can be biggest threats and can be advantage to the competitors due to the non-existences of IKEA Porters 5 forces analysis of IKEA Competition from Substitutes: HIGH The furniture retails market is on developing stage. Competition from Substitute it is high in the modern time people consider better products if it is costly. The switching costs are high and Substitute will be other brands supplier at high prices. Other options might be cheap furniture from local supplier. But IKEA can competitive advantage from low prices, unique design and flat pack furniture Bargaining power of buyers: LOW IKEA focuses on large segments and target individual customers young people aged around 20 to 40 years as in the modern world people prefers compact and foldable furniture so it is easy use and transport. IKEA products are affordable for everyone because of the low prices. There is high customer loyalty therefore low bargaining power of customers. One more reason of low bargaining power can the brand name of IKEA, consumer can buy the same furnitures from capitation but because of the IKEA trademark they prefer to buy. Furnitures Industry is growing tremendously, there is very high switching cost for the buyers and with the product differentiation is prime factors. Therefore Because of the brand and large collection of product the customer loyal and preference is IKEA Threat of New Entrants : LOW The Home Furnishings House wares Retail industry is developed markets and IKEA has its own reputation and experiences players in retail markets. It is very difficult to compete against with big players in the industry as to build to own status brand lots of resources such as unique design, technology, low cost products, infrastructure and human resources. IKEA having a very long experience in its field and it has established itself differently from competitors. IKEA stores and distinguished itself as a functional home products .In Retail industry, low cost and use new technology is very essential and IKEA spent years to establish this reputation .However for a new entrant it is difficult to get. Bargaining power of supplier: LOW IKEA deals with suppliers for Wood cotton, metal, plastic, glass and rattan. IKEA have more 1,300 direct suppliers and about 10,000 sub-suppliers in 60 countries and 28 distribution centres and 11 customer distribution centres in 16 countries. IKEA had set up its own code and conducts for the suppliers. Being a Multinational brand there is a competition among supplier for selling to IKEA. They purchase in huge volume of material from the suppliers at low cost IKEA buy massively from these suppliers to deliver in the European market The Bargaining power of suppliers is low as they can lose their one of biggest clients Rivalry among existing firms: HIGH IKEA competitors are mainly in the Home Furnishings House wares Retail industry and competition from Substitutes too high in the industry. Some competitors for IKEA such as Wal-Marts, TGT, kmart in Japan Nitori Co. Many manufacturers provide furniture with same functions and design. As published in Business Times we can take Example of TGT has recruited top designer Thomas OBrien to develop a range of low-priced furnishings and In Japan Nitori Co. has a lock on low-cost furniture.[4] Competition is putting a lot of resources to manufacture the same type of products Strategic Position of IKEA IKEA PESTLE analysis Political Factors Governments have put various taxes, duties and vat on IKEA products their constitutions in different countries. Changes in the government and trading policies can threat to IKEA For example Russian government has kept on hold all new investment and delaying unpredictability of the administrative processes for Mega-Samara mall sports in Russia because of the delay IKEA have to postponed the 30 new stores in the country[5] Awareness of political situation of every country where company is operating Important Many countries offers incentive to attract the foreign investment like Malaysia , china and Thailand IKEA has grown from a small company to largest home furniture retailer in the world, Political factors has direct impact and is interrelated on other aspect. Political factors can control the process of business and greatly impact on the operating industry. As IKEAs major business is on the European regions, it has to adopt the guidelines and policy formed by the EU. Economical Factors Interest rates and exchange rates have a direct impact on company. Some time foreign currency exchange fluctuation may be beneficial or un beneficial for IKEA Due to recession demand for home furniture declined as people dont have money to buy expenses products and customers go for cheap alternatives. Fluctuation in cost of raw material can be threat for the IKEA , as they dont produces on its own , but buy from whole seller Recession has impacted on all kind of industry more or less it has effected on IKEA In todays time global warming is important concern to every business should consider to reducing elements effect the environment Social Factors IKEA takes initiatives and founded a committed to invest in the social programmes on a global level which can give IKEA a recognized globally IKEA is proactively trying to fight against Child labour and give better life to children Everyone is trying to save and reduce the causes of global warming does IKEA is The IKEA contributed much in the society as they provide recyclable products and try to minimize the waste Technological Factors IKEA products are eco-friendly IKEA should consider natural resources like using solar power renewal energy usage and energy efficiencies One of Important aspect which should be take into account as a need of new trends in changing business styles and enhance the competitive advantage which development of E-commerce and entre the world of Online business (virtual markets) Legal Factors Governments may put a negative as well as positive impact on IKEA as it is operating all over the globe hence it may vary according to different countries. In 2004 Irish Government had implement law of restricting the maximum size of a retail outlet to 6,000 (units?) to save the small business but retails giant of home furnishing wants IKEAs plan to build stores in Dublin and usual size of IKEA stores is four time bigger caused the law be put up for debate. In Jan 2005 The Government has agreed to change the planning laws clearing the way for furniture stores such as Ikea to open in Ireland IKEA and the new EU legislation on chemicals IKEA avoids use of chemicals and materials that can be of any harm to people and the environment. All IKEA products for all markets, everywhere in the world will adhere to the chemical restrictions in the REACH legislation. Environmental Factors Product Development IKEA is proactively taking initiatives in climate change projects. As 50% of the raw material is from the forest, it strongly cares about forest. The effort is to leave minimum impact on environment. It contributes to many forestry projects and honour certification by the Forest Stewardship Council Erase the Waste IKEA believes in using Waste by-products generated due to manufacturing where possible. In 2006, IKEA implemented the EU directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and IKEA stores now accept and recycle IKEA electrical produce and electronic devices. Customers can also return certain types of waste such as discarded packaging, spent batteries and low-energy bulbs for proper recycling and disposal. In 2006, IKEA stores and distribution centres handled 281,734 tons of waste, of which 81% was sorted for recycling reuse or energy recover. In the pursuit of recycling, as of October 1, 2008, IKEA USA no longer sells throwaway bags. IKEA products are recyclable and make minimum usage of polythene. Product Development IKEA is proactively taking initiatives in climate change projects. As 50% of the raw material is from the forest, it strongly cares about forest. The effort is to leave minimum impact on environment. It contributes to many forestry projects and honours certification by the Forest Stewardship Council Climate changing IKEA ensures that the products and resources are customized to reduce any negative impact on the environment. IKEA Group and WWF co-operate in projects at intended to reducing carbon dioxide emissions generated by IKEA operations.[6] Conclusion IKEA is well recognized brand for flat pack furniture and Swedish design in the world of furnishings, also they are leading retailers in globally. IKEA should explore their new opportunities into asian market as there is no major competition in flat pack furnishing and also due to over population in some asian countries flat pack can be eye catching for new customer as IKEA captured 90% of European . IKEA should seek to introduce new technologies to reduce use of wood.

The Game Epidemic :: essays research papers

Andrew, Chuck, and Kevin played all night and skipped class the next day. They, along with thousands of others across the country, purchased Halo 2 at midnight the day the much-anticipated game was released in stores. Students and company employees called in sick that next day claiming the Halo 2 flu as their reasoning. Halo 2 is only one of a multitude of games distributed for use on Microsoft’s Xbox, Sony’s Playstation 2, and Nintendo’s Gamecube. American society is experiencing an epidemic as a result of many young people spending hours upon hours playing video games. The National Institute on Media and the Family is one organization founded â€Å"to build healthy families and communities through the wise use of media.† This institute wants to raise awareness of the harmful effects of playing too much. These effects include violence, lack of independent thought, and a false sense of reality.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Founded in 1996 by David Walsh, Ph D, NIMF works to maximize the benefits and minimize the harms of the media. The organization does this through research, education, and advocacy, even though they are a non-partisan, non-profit organization. Its website provides information for parents to use when selecting games for their children and raises awareness about the effects that come with video games. One of these deals with the environment of the games. According to NIMF, â€Å"Game environments are often based on plots of violence, aggression, and gender bias.† Additionally, women are often portrayed as helpless or sexually provocative. The number of hours played under these false settings can often give a false sense of reality. Gamers then have trouble distinguishing between what is real and what is not.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Negative effects exist as a result of the environment and storyline of a video game. According to a study referenced on the NIMF web site, violent video games may translate into aggressive behavior. The child’s imagination is capture, and oftentimes he imagines that he is the character he plays on the game, which is another mesh of fantasy and reality. Questions have also been brought up in regard to children at a very young age being exposed to violent video games. It is true that violent behavior is also linked to abusive parents and siblings. However, video games are set apart from this influence because they are easier to regulate.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another cause for concern comes from the storyline many video games create.

Animal Farm Dystopia :: Literary Analysis

Animal Farm is about a group of animals taking over the farm in the search for freedom and equality, but over time with wrong decisions made one animal takes control of all. Animal Farm is an example of a dystopia because it is based on five out of the nine traits dystopias have these traits are restrictions, fear, dehumanization, conformity, and control. One quality of a dystopia that is very well represented in Animal Farm is restriction. The animals had seven commandments that must always be followed and four of them were restrictions. One restriction given to the animals was â€Å"no animal shall ever wear clothes† (19) animals were forbidden from clothes because only humans were supposed to wear them. Another restriction animal had that â€Å"no animal shall ever drink alcohol† (19) the animals could not drink alcohol because only humans did and alcohol caused them to act crazy. One major restriction the animals had was â€Å"no animal shall kill any other animal† (19) this restriction of no killing was made by other animals for all the animals to follow. Animal farm has many examples of dystopia but the strongest quality of one is restriction. In Animal Farm fear is used to keep the animals under control. Old major told the animals â€Å"Man is the only real enemy we have. Remove Man from the scene and the root cause of hunger and overwork is abolished forever.†(5) Old Major used fear to get the animals to revel by telling them how horrible Johns was, and how john treated them badly and miss feed them. Also fear was used by Squealer when he says â€Å"surely there is no one among you who wants to see Jones come back?†(28) The pigs knew that the animals were mistreated by Johns and that no one wanted him back so the pigs asked for more food so johns would not come back to the farm. Napoleon kept the animals doing what he wanted by scaring them in to thinking that snowball betrayed them â€Å"snowball was declared to be hiding at Foxwood†(63) Napoleon would tell the animals that snowball was doing all kinds of bad things, and some animals were afraid to sleep. Control is used in animal farm to keep the animals away from disobeying. Napoleon took over the farm by controlling the animals he made Snowball be chased out by â€Å"nine enormous dogs.†(43) Napoleon made the dogs chase Snowball out because he had different points of view than Napoleon, and Napoleon wanted to control the animals with his ideas.

Video Game Ethical Issues

Kuan-Yu Lin Brenda Varda HMN-101-01 10/28/2012 Ethical Issue Essay: Final Draft Video games have always been an important part of the entertainment industry since its appearance in 1970’s. They have been played worldwide and effect many people. While the children are already playing the games, the number of women gamers, as well as the age level of gamers in general is increasing.As technology advances, video games with more diversity and real-life experience are slowly creeping into parts of our life and gaining its momentum in the society. Due to its quick development, many ethical issues associated with video games have been brought to our attention. Therefore, we should understand how video games are ethically influencing people within its realm. The four major ethical issues which will be discussed are issues of violence, education, stereotyping and addiction. Video games are enjoying fast-growing popularity, becoming a major component of young people's social lives and leisure activities.First of all, a major concern which has been discussed continuously regarding video games is violence. Violence in video games is considered as the visual presentation of characters fighting, gun shooting, physical injury or death to characters. Recently, more and more video games involving violent behavior are taking over the game selection on the shelves. Comparing to games made in the 70’s, 80’s, recent games feature tougher, more aggressive heroines and more games are made specifically for adults.Research consistently declares that most top-selling video games involve violence. In order to prevent the potential harm to children, youth and society of this negative influence, lots of research has focused on the consequence of violent video games. Video game research indicates that playing violent video games increases aggression, hostility, and aggressive thoughts. (Anderson, Buckley, & Gentile, 2007; Anderson & Bushman, 2001; Anderson, Carnagey, F lanagan, Benjamin, Eubanks & Valentine, 2004;Anderson & Dill, 2000).In their research, they conclude that engaging games which have content related to violence may possibly increase a person’s aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behavior in real life. Some other studies focusing on college student playing video games also point out that students playing violent games are also engaging in more aggressive behavior. It has been claimed by many critics of the media industry that the incident at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado on April 20, 1999 was caused by the influence of violent video games.It was shown on BBC news that both students shooters, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, had played and enjoy violent video games. â€Å"Relatives of people killed in the Columbine massacre are seeking damages from computer game makers, claiming their products helped bring about the killings. † Although video games can help players relieving stress, they can also affect gamer s in a harmful way. It is both the players’ and the game makers’ responsibility to be aware of the negative effects of video gaming. Games with harmful content might be leading negative effects; they still have values considered being beneficial in certain aspect.Games are popular in the community of youth and have many qualities that make them wonderful teaching tools. Through the educational perspective, both adults and children learn many things by playing video games. Games with positive content show positive effects. For example, playing a dancing video game can help children lose weight (Konami’s Dance Dance Revolution, 2007; O’Hannon, 2007; Epstein, Beecher, Graf & Roemmich, 2007). As mentioned before, videogames could be an excellent tool for learning. In particular, players are learning in an active way with practice and feedback.Because they are fun, children are highly motivated with video gaming, when people are motivated, they usually perform better, thus lead in to a better result. Also, games usually have clear objectives with adaptable difficulty levels. Games with increasing difficulty across levels allow player to apply past learning. Lastly, games allow children to apply to what they learn in different problems and contexts. Some believe that video games help improve life skill such as logic and problem solving. They also can improve hand-eye coordination and leadership skills, which can be useful for military training purposes.Having realized the efficiency and the joyful quality of learning experience in gaming, educators are able to take advantage of the positive learning characteristics of games by using the well-designed software in order to teach children more effectively. While the issues associated with violence in video games have caused huge concern among children, gender, and racial stereotypes in video games are also causing problems which require more attention. There is an unbalanced proportion betwe en male and female game players and developers. According to a recent study the average gamer age was in the mid to late 20's with 60% men playing and 40% women. †2 The whole gaming industry is overwhelmed by the male population. Most of the games on the market are targeted to only male players. Dietz’s, one of the earliest studies to examine stereotypical portrayals in video games, analyzed the depiction of women in a sample of 33 most popular Nintendo and Sega Genesis video games. The study categorized the female characters in those games into four possible stereotypes based on their appearances and behaviors. Females as sex objects or prizes, females as victims, females in feminine roles, and females as heroes or action characters. Not surprisingly, Dietz (1998) found that 41% of the games were devoid of female characters. Only 15% (5 out of 33) portrayed women as heroes or action characters, while 21% (7 out of 33) portrayed women as victims or as so called ‘d amsel in distress’. At the same time, in 28% of these games, women were portrayed as sex objects based upon physical appearance or sexually-oriented actions. Following the discussion of female character as indicator of sexuality, most of the female characters in video games have clothing that exposed more skin than the male characters. The research also found out that the female characters appearing in gaming most likely wear low-cut clothing. About half of the female characters have bare arms and legs with big busted figure. * In essence, these female characters in video games were portrayed in a stereotypical way in which they were exaggerated by sexy attire. That leads to the exclusion of female players in video game industry.Although the number of game designed for female gamers is increasing slowly, it is crucial for both consumers and game makers to make the video games more engaging for both sexes either by changing the content of the game or by expanding the choice of games. They should be designed in a way that they are attractive for both male and female players. Finally, the last ethical issue I want to talk about is the addiction of engaging video games. Some people spent immense amount of time playing video games and caused them to lose valuable time participating in activities which are more beneficial for them.However, video games could be considered as one of social activities because friends, siblings, and other relatives can play with it. Bibliography (not yet in proper MLA format, I will work on in for the final paper) http://evvy09. hubpages. com/hub/Video-Games-Have-Changed-the-World http://www. ethicapublishing. com/ethical/3CH12. pdf https://www. msu. edu/~pengwei/Mou%26Peng_gender%20and%20racial%20stereotype. pdf http://news. bbc. co. uk/2/hi/science/nature/1295920. stm