Technology And Society Pros And Cons Essays - Cybernetics

Technology And Society: Pros And Cons The Luddites are a group of people who believe that technology has had a destructive effect on society. People across the world may have a different opinion about whether technology has had a positive or negative effect on society. But I think everyones answer would come out the same: that technology has had more positive effects than negative effects. There are many reasons backing up this statement such as improvements in medicine, the creation of the motorized vehicle, ways for students to do their work, and farming. Although these are just a couple advantages, there are many more. People might first off think that technology has had a bad effect on society. There are good reasons to think this. Back before the revolutions of science and agriculture, time was not a main concern. People did their day-to-day things. They went to work, came home, ate dinner, and went to bed. There were very few things that happened in between those events. They did not have to worry about the time and whether they were going to be late for something. They did not worry about getting something done because there would not be enough daylight. Since we have had this huge increase in technology, time has become a huge factor. Many people will say, there should be more than 24 hours in a day, or something to that degree. Our world now moves so much faster. Clocks are now a bigger concern because we need to know what time it is in order to get this done or that done. Pollution would be another good argument for why technology is a negative impact on society. There never used to be concerns for the o-zone layer. We did not have millions of people driving around in their cars and big factories producing lots of bad chemicals for the air. Today, we have to wonder if our earth will go another hundred years because of the pollution that we now produce as an effect of technology. One the other hand, technology has done great things for us today. What I am doing right now could not be done fifty years ago. If we wanted to write anything, it had to be in hand writing. Now we have these fancy computers, who do all the work for us. But they do more than just write for us. They connect us with people all across the world. They let us travel with out cars, which is one of the biggest advances in technology. Before the invention of the car, people had to travel place to place by horse, horse and buggy, or foot. Now, not only can we travel in our cars, trucks, or whatever we drive, we can scope the world on the internet. Vehicles let us drive from place to place while we just sit in the car steer, give the gas, and break. Technology has allowed us to make the freeways that you and I drive on everyday. Although there are barrels, slow drivers, and exits we have to dodge, motorized vehicles allow us to travel anywhere faster than we could in the past. Farming has change drastically. Before the agriculture revolution, men had to plow the fields using donkeys and walking many miles a day. Now we have tractors and combines that do the work for us. Tractors and combines allow farmers to spend less time in the fields because they can ride in the cab and get the work done in less time. Farmers can work on more fields, which means they can cultivate more fields, create more crops, and collect more money for their family. Medical advances are one of the biggest advances in technology. Twenty years ago, a man that had a liver problem might not have lived because hospitals did not know how to treat his disease. Since the beginning of medical treatments, every year there is a new treatment or they have discovered an antidote for a disease or virus. I bet that in the next twenty years there will be a cure for AIDS. It is only a matter of time. They have found a cure for most of the past

Ideas for Substitute Teachers With No Lesson Plans

Ideas for Substitute Teachers With No Lesson Plans From time to time, substitute teachers will go to a classroom and find that there is no lesson plan waiting for them. When you as a substitute are familiar with the subject at hand, you can typically use the textbook as a basis for a lesson about the topic currently being taught. However, an issue arises when you know little about the classs subject. It can be even worse when you have no textbook available for review. Make learning fun, because so long as the students view you positively, youll probably be asked to return. Improvising for Substitutes Therefore, it is best to come prepared for the worst with activities and ideas of things to do with students. Obviously, it is always best to relate any work that you give to the subject if you can, but if not, it is still important to keep students busy. In terms of classroom management, the worst thing to do is to just let them talk. This can often lead to either disruption within the class or even worse noise levels that disturb neighboring teachers. These curriculum ideas for activities will help you succeed as a sub in this type of situation. Several of these suggestions include games. There are countless skills that students can develop through game playing such as critical thinking skills, creativity, teamwork, and good sportsmanship.  There are opportunities for the students to practice speaking and listening skills when games are played individually or in groups. Some of these games or activities require more preparation than others. Obviously, you will need to use your best judgment about which will work with a particular class of students. It is also best to prepare with several of these as backups, just in case one is not working as well as you think it should. You can also get student input on which they would like to do.   Lesson Ideas, Games, and Crafts Trivia: Bring trivial pursuit questions and set the class up into teams. Have them take turns answering questions while keeping score.Draw a Picture or Write a Story About a Prop: Bring in a prop and have students either draw a picture of it or write a story or poem about it. Then give out awards for best in the class, most original, funniest, etc. before the end of the class.View Optical Illusions: Print out a number of optical illusions, or put them on transparencies or a slide show and project them on a screen. Have students spend some time trying to work out what they are looking at. This is a high-interest activity that can spur interesting discussions.Pictogram Puzzles: Pictogram or Rebus puzzles are word puzzles that are visual (GOT, GOT, GOT, GOT; Answer: FOUR GOT FORGOT). Print out a number of puzzles, link them to a Smartboard,  or project them.  Play a Game of Hypotheticals: Pose hypothetical questions to students and have them come up with answers and solutions. These are best if they serve a purpose and instruct while still being fun. For example, you might include questions about first aid or dangerous situations to help students think through the best course of action in these situations. Apples to Apples:  Lead  player draws a  description  card (adjective: chewy)  from the deck, then the other players each secretly submit a thing  card (noun: shark attack) in hand that best fits that description. The lead player chooses the  thing  card that, in her opinion, best matches the  description  card.  Create your own cards that are discipline-specific (English suffix descriptions: joyous, beauteous, gaseous, marvelous, and famous; math things: axis, number line, average, cube, and probability) or find other examples.Crosswords or Word Search Puzzles: Keep a stack of crossword and word search puzzles ready to hand out for students to complete.Hangman: This requires little preparation. However, it is best done in small groups; winners could then compete in tournament rounds.Origami cootie catchers: Make cootie catchers to use as study guides.  For example, have students place vocabulary terms on the outside flap and the definition when the inside fla p is opened.  20 Questions: Tell the students whether you are thinking of a person, place or thing. Give them clues after every five questions. It can also be fun to keep score while you play. You get a point if you stump them and they get a point if they guess the right answer. Scattergories: The object of this famed board game is to quickly fill out a category list with answers beginning with the assigned letter. Points are awarded if other players/teams havent thought of the same answers. The player/team with the most points wins.Four Winds Blow: Also known as the Big Wind Blows or Great Winds Blow, the game is similar to Musical Chairs. It allows  students the chance to get to know each other a bit better. You’ll need chairs, one fewer than the total number of players. One person starts by saying â€Å"Four winds blow  for everyone who†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and then says a characteristic or behavior that could be true, ...ate breakfast. All players who ate breakfast must quickly find a new seat that is more than two chairs away from them. If the player is not able to find a vacant seat, he or she is the new person who is in the middle.Pictionary: You can play a game of Pictionary without the cards. Split the class into two teams, and take turns tryin g to guess what teammates are drawing on the board. Write Mission Statements and Goals: Teach students all about personal mission statements and goal setting exercises. Then guide them as they create their own.

American Sign Language Verus Oral Communication

ASL can connect Deaf and hard of hearing people to hearing people by using an interpreter. Sign Language interpreters listen English and translate it into ASL. Those people who are Deaf or hard of hearing and need an interpreter for academic purposes, doctor appointments, job interviews, and conferences to name a few can request those services. Deaf and hard of hearing can request for an interpreters through the offices then offices request the interpreter from agency. For example, when I called doctor office to make an appointment and I requested an interpreter. Doctor office will call the agency for an interpreter. Doctor office is reasonable to call the agency to hire an interpreter. ASL also facilitates communicating with others who use ASL. Oral communication is refers to spoken verbal communication including speech, lip reading, and voice training. While some Deaf and hard of hearing people that have cochlear implants or hearing aids can communicate using ASL, others rely on oral communication. They use oral communication to connect with their family and friends, for education and every day life in general. Oral communication may help them more than those who are dependent on ASL. I prefer to use American Sign Language because it is an easier for me to communicate and socialize with other deaf people. I feel more comfortable with the language ASL than English. I’m able to speak with hearing people, but I would rather use ASL. I always request an interpreter for my academics, doctor appointments and job interviews. I really enjoy teaching hearing people sign language. Deaf and hard of hearing people have two ways of communicating with their own advantages and preference. American sign language and oral communication are different communications. My goal to informed to the people aware of ASL how to use it.

Personal Debt Crisis In the UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Personal Debt Crisis In the UK - Essay Example Seeing how things have gone south economically worldwide, one can only hope that governments, the global financial industry and more importantly, the private individual had better get their acts together. Citizens Advice Chief Executive David Harker cited the CAB statistics as "worrying evidence" that a large and growing number of people will continue to pay the price, and will become overwhelmed by serious debt impacting adversely on their lives. He further stressed that even more worrying are the "signs that people are struggling not only to repay credit, but also to afford day-to-day essentials" (CAB, 2007). According to a study that analyzed the impact of debt advice in the UK, there seemed to be three different types of debt that can be attributed to the following causes: changing circumstances, poor money management, and creditor behaviour. Changing circumstances typically included unemployment or a change in employment, illness, bereavement and/or separation from a partner. Although the factors which brought about these changes varied, the changes were commonly interlinked and their effect was generally the same: the difficulty interviewees experienced having to manage on a reduced income caused them to fall into debt or exacerbated an existing debt (Pleasence, P. et. al, 2006). Poor money management on the other hand is largely due to a complacent attitude towards financial literacy. Finally, the so-called "rogue" creditor behavior or the unscrupulous and borderline-usurious terms and policies that take advantage of the financially disadvantaged sectors of society. Even then, no si ngular universal definition as to how the explosive debt problem came to be can be arrived at by financial experts in both the government and private sectors. Thus, the challenge in coming up with the best strategy for reliving and controlling the debt crisis continues to be a heavily-contested area of study to date. Rising Interest

Historical research paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Historical - Research Paper Example The main objective of the self-strengthening movement in China was to restore values, implied by the term strength, to the weakened country through the introduction of western learning and technology. Kim (2004) identified that students, both at home and abroad, acquire western languages, thoughts and science. Shipyards, arsenals and factories, were based on the western models. Indeed, self-strengthening movement influenced uniquely to the cultural, social, economic and political situation in China (Twitchett 129). The period between 1861 and 1895 is referred self-strengthening movement period of institutional reforms started during the late Qing Dynasty after a series of concessions and military defeat to foreign powers. Most of the ruling elites still subscribed to a conservative Confucian worldview. However, with China’s serious defeats in the first and second Opium Wars, officials debated on the way forward. Kim (2004) pointed out that the officials argued that in order to reinforce itself against the West, the adoption of western military armaments and technology was inevitable. They agreed that shipyards and arsenal shall be established and to hire foreign advisers to enlighten Chinese artisans to fabricate such wares in China (Fairbank 37). Kim (2004) divided the activities of the movement into three phases. The first phase, which lasted from 1861 to 1872, accentuated the adoption of western machines, scientific knowledge, firearms, training of diplomatic and technical personnel through the development of a diplomatic college and office. The second phase lasted from 1872 to 1885. This phase concentrated its attention on modernizing industries, agriculture and commerce as well as to the creation of wealth in an attempt to strengthen the economy (Pong 79). Finally, during the third phase, which occurred between 1885 and 1895, modernization

Recent Trends in Indain Banking Sector Essay Example for Free

Recent Trends in Indain Banking Sector Essay The economy can be divided in the entire spectrum of economic activity into the real and monetary sectors. The real sector is where production takes place while the monetary sector supports this production and in a way is the means to the end. We know and we accept the financial system is critical to the working of the rest of the economy. In fact, the Asian crisis of the nineties, or for that matter what happened in Latin America and Russia subsequently and also Dubai Crisis have shown how a fragile financial sector can wreak havoc on the rest of the economy. Therefore the banking sector is crucial and we want to express our views to explore how this sector can work in harmony with the real sector to achieve the desired objectives. the b Banking sector has been immensely benefited from the implementation of superior technology during the recent past, almost in every nation in the world. Productivity enhancement, innovative products, speedy transactions seamless transfer of funds, real time information system, and efficient risk management are some of the advantage derived through the technology. Information technology has also improved the efficiency and robustness of business processes across anking sector. Indias banking sector has made rapid strides in reforming and aligning itself to the new competitive business environment. Indian banking industry is the midst of an IT revolution. Technological infrastructure has become an indispensable part of the reforms process in the banking system, with the gradual development of sophisticated instruments and innovations in market practices. IT in Banking Indian banking industry, today is in the midst of an IT revolution. A combination of regulatory and competitive reasons has led to increasing importance of total banking automation in the Indian Banking Industry. Information Technology has basically been used under two different avenues in Banking. One is Communication and Connectivity and other is Business Process Reengineering. Information technology enables sophisticated product development, better market infrastructure, implementation of reliable techniques for control of risks and helps the financial intermediaries to reach geographically distant and diversified markets. The bank which used the right technology to supply timely information will see productivity increase and thereby gain a competitive edge. To compete in an economy which is opening up, it is imperative for the Indian Banks to observe the latest technology and modify it to suit their environment. Not only banks need greatly enhanced use of technology to the customer friendly, efficient and competitive existing services and business, they also need technology for providing newer products and newer forms of services in an increasingly dynamic and globalize environment. Information technology offers a chance for banks to build new systems that address a wide range of customer needs including many that may not be imaginable today. Following are the innovative services offered by the industry in the recent past: Electronic Payment Services – E Cheques Nowadays we are hearing about e-governance, e-mail, e-commerce, e-tail etc. In the same manner, a new technology is being developed in US for introduction of e-cheque, which will eventually replace the conventional paper cheque. India, as harbinger to the introduction of e-cheque, the Negotiable Instruments Act has already been amended to include; Truncated cheque and E-cheque instruments. Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) Real Time Gross Settlement system, introduced in India since March 2004, is a system through which electronics instructions can be given by banks to transfer funds from their account to the account of another bank. The RTGS system is maintained and operated by the RBI and provides a means of efficient and faster funds transfer among banks facilitating their financial operations. As the name suggests, funds transfer between banks takes place on a ‘Real Time basis. Therefore, money can reach the beneficiary instantaneously and the beneficiarys bank has the responsibility to credit the beneficiarys account within two hours. Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) is a system whereby anyone who wants to make payment to another person/company etc. can approach his bank and make cash payment or give instructions/authorization to transfer funds directly from his own account to the bank account of the receiver/beneficiary. Complete details such as the receivers name, bank account number, account type (savings or current account), bank name, city, branch name etc. should be furnished to the bank at the time of requesting for such transfers so that the amount reaches the beneficiaries account correctly and faster. RBI is the service provider of EFT. Electronic Clearing Service (ECS) Electronic Clearing Service is a retail payment system that can be used to make bulk payments/receipts of a similar nature especially where each individual payment is of a repetitive nature and of relatively smaller amount. This facility is meant for companies and government departments to make/receive large volumes of payments rather than for funds transfers by individuals. Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) Automatic Teller Machine is the most popular devise in India, which enables the customers to withdraw their money 24 hours a day 7 days a week. It is a devise that allows customer who has an ATM card to perform routine banking transactions without interacting with a human teller. In addition to cash withdrawal, ATMs can be used for payment of utility bills, funds transfer between accounts, deposit of cheques and cash into accounts, balance enquiry etc. Point of Sale Terminal Point of Sale Terminal is a computer terminal that is linked online to the computerized customer information files in a bank and magnetically encoded plastic transaction card that identifies the customer to the computer. During a transaction, the customers account is debited and the retailers account is credited by the computer for the amount of purchase. Tele Banking Tele Banking facilitates the customer to do entire non-cash related banking on telephone. Under this devise Automatic Voice Recorder is used for simpler queries and transactions. For complicated queries and transactions, manned phone terminals are used. Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) Electronic Data Interchange is the electronic exchange of business documents like purchase order, invoices, shipping notices, receiving advices etc. in a standard, computer processed, universally accepted format between trading partners. EDI can also be used to transmit financial information and payments in electronic form. Implications The banks were quickly responded to the changes in the industry; especially the new generation banks. The continuance of the trend has re-defined and re-engineered the banking operations as whole with more customization through leveraging technology. As technology makes banking convenient, customers can access banking services and do banking transactions any time and from any ware. The importance of physical branches is going down. Challenges Faced by Banks, vis-Ã  -vis, IT Implementation It is becoming increasingly imperative for banks to assess and ascertain the benefits of technology implementation. The fruits of technology will certainly taste a lot sweeter when the returns can be measured in absolute terms but it needs precautions and the safety nets. It has not been a smooth sailing for banks keen to jump onto the IT bandwagon. There have been impediments in the path like the obduracy once shown by trade unions who felt that IT could turn out to be a threat to secure employment. Further, the expansion of banks into remote nooks and corners of the country, where logistics continues to be a handicap, proved to be another stumbling stock. Another challenge the banks have had to face concerns the inability of banks to retain the trained and talented personnel, especially those with a good knowledge of IT. The increasing use of technology in banks has also brought up ‘security concerns. To avoid any pitfalls or mishaps on this account, banks ought to have in place a well-documented security policy including network security and internal security. The passing of the Information Technology Act has come as a boon to the banking sector, and banks should now ensure to abide strictly by its covenants. An effort should also be made to cover e-business in the countrys consumer laws. Some are investing in it to drive the business growth, while others are having no option but to invest, to stay in business. The choice of right channel, justification of IT investment on ROI, e-governance, customer relationship management, security concerns, technological obsolescence, mergers and acquisitions, penetration of IT in rural areas, and outsourcing of IT operations are the major challenges and issues in the use of IT in banking operations. The main challenge, however, remains to motivate the customers to increasingly make use of IT while transacting with banks. For small banks, heavy investment requirement is the compressing need in addition to their capital requirements. The coming years will see even more investment in banking technology, but reaping ROI will call for more strategic thinking. Future Outlook Everyone today is convinced that the technology is going to hold the key to future of banking. The achievements in the banking today would not have make possible without IT revolution. Therefore, the key point is while changing to the current environment the banks has to understand properly the trigger for change and accordingly find out the suitable departure point for the change. Although, the adoption of technology in banks continues at a rapid pace, the concentration is perceptibly more in the metros and urban areas. The benefit of Information Technology is yet to percolate sufficiently to the common man living in his rural hamlet. More and more programs and software in regional languages could be introduced to attract more and more people from the rural segments also. Standards based messaging systems should be increasingly deployed in order to address cross platform transactions. The surplus manpower generated by the use of IT should be used for marketing new schemes and banks should form a ‘brains trust comprising domain experts and technology specialists. Conclusion The banking today is re-defined and re-engineered with the use of Information Technology and it is sure that the future of banking will offer more sophisticated services to the customers with the continuous product and process innovations. Thus, there is a paradigm shift from the sellers market to buyers market in the industry and finally it affected at the bankers level to change their approach from conventional banking to convenience banking and mass banking to class banking. The shift has also increased the degree of accessibility of a common man to bank for his variety of needs and requirements.

Dysfunctional Family Essay -- Family Psychology

A dysfunctional family is a group of people usually related by some means, not always necessarily by blood, in which conflict, misbehavior, maltreatment and neglecting create a hostile life for its members. To explain this idea better we will see the definition of family, the differences between a healthy and a dysfunctional family; their characteristics and behavioral patterns. Some examples will help us examine this issue better, taking us to discuss the different factors that contribute to the formation of such families, along with its consequences in today’s society. According to the Dictionary of Contemporary English, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, formed by a father, a mother and children. On the other hand, its etymology recognizes the Roman Empire to be the first one to define a Family. Ironically, the Romans defined it as a group of people linked, not necessarily by blood or affection. Instead the main link that united the ancient Roman families was labor. According to E. J. Graff in her context â€Å"What makes a Family?† She describes that the ancient families in Europe were primarily created at will, with the only purpose to improve work productivity and patriarchs would adopt grown ups into their families for a better investment. Choice not Biology made a Family. These families would consist of legitimate children, adopted adults, secretaries, other dependents and slaves of various ages. â€Å"The Romans rarely used it to mean family in the sense of kin† writes Roman Family historian Suzane Dixon. Evidently, the word family can have different definitions, depending on the geographic era and the time. However, members of families, either biological or chosen, all throughout history have been ... ...h Services Administration - Homepage. 22 Nov. 2010 . "Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act." Administration for Children and Families Home Page. 20 Nov. 2010 . Colombo, Gary, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle. "What makes a Family?" Rereading America: cultural contexts for critical thinking and writing. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2007. 26+. Crawford, Christina. Mommie dearest. New York: W. Morrow, 1978. "Family." Longman dictionary of contemporary English. Harlow: Pearson/Longman, 2009. Fortinash, Katherine M., and Patricia A. Holoday-Worret. "Parental Dysfunction." Psychiatric mental health nursing. St. Louis, MO: Mosby Elsevier, 2008. 297+. Obama, Barack. "Family." The audacity of hope: thoughts on reclaiming the American dream. New York: Crown, 2006. 331

A Commentary on ‘An Astrologer’s Day’ Essay

The writer’s description of the astrologer leaves us in no doubt that he is a charlatan – his equipment, costume and appearance all have a deliberate, theatrical quality designed to convey the impression of a mystic power which he does not possess. Notice the author’s wryly ironic comment that the abnormal gleam in his eye is â€Å"really an outcome of a continual searching for customers† and his dry observation that â€Å"even a half wit’s eyes would sparkle† between such a painted forehead and dark whiskers. The deliberate artifice of the astrologer is further underlined by the author’s use of phrases such as â€Å"To crown the effect† and â€Å"This color scheme†. The illusion is enhanced by the fact that the astrologer works in the eerie glow of a smoky flare which adds to the â€Å"enchantment† of the place. The astrologer’s customers are depicted as gullible creatures who are irresistibly attracted to him like bees. But although the author portrays the astrologer as a fraud, his innocent customers are not shown in the light of hapless victims. The writer does not condemn or deride the astrologer as a parasite but sees him as a businessman who gives his customers value for money: he said things which pleased and astonished everyone: that was more a matter of study, practice and shrewd guesswork. All the same, it was as much an honest man’s labor as any other, and he deserved the wages he carried home at the end of the day. We are told that the astrologer has not chosen his profession by design. Intriguingly, the author informs us that he was once a simple farmer who â€Å"had to leave home without telling anyone†. Although the fact that he had to depart hurriedly and travel far suggests that something dire occurred, the actual reason for his flight is not given, thus arousing our curiosity and conferring upon the exiled stranger a sense of mystery, more real than he could possibly create for himself in his bogus role of astrologer. Whilst he has no mystical powers, the astrologer is a shrewd psychologist. He diagnoses his customers’ problems by listening to their troubles and supplies them with solace and reassurance. Notice how he is careful to either blame his clients’ woes on other people, or attribute their troubles to elements beyond their control. In this way, they all depart as satisfied customers. Our expectation is aroused by the suitably dramatic entrance of the astrologer’s antagonist. For reasons which become apparent later, the author has cleverly contrived the scene so that the man is initially no more than a dark shape who blots out the solitary shaft of light which remains after the nut vendor’s departure. Our initial impression of the stranger is unsympathetic – he grumbles and truculently challenges the astrologer to prove his worth in the form of a bet. It is only after the bet has been agreed that the astrologer glimpses the man’s face whilst the latter is lighting a charoot. The sight of the man’s face seems to shock the astrologer but again we are purposely given no explanation why. The astrologer is so dismayed that he tries to retract the wager and hurriedly leave but the man is ruthlessly insistent and becomes threatening. Surprisingly, the astrologer agrees to speak but only if the wager is increased to one rupee. Both the reader and the man are surprised to hear the astrologer’s seemingly miraculous divinations as he accurately describes the man’s grisly past. The man is dismayed to learn that his thirst for revenge cannot be quenched since his enemy is already dead. He is further stunned to discover that the astrologer knows his name and accepts his admonition to return home and never travel southward again. The astrologer leaves the man with one consolation: he tells him that his enemy received his just deserts by dying a deservedly painful death. Our curiosity is finally satisfied at the end of the story when the astrologer goes home and reveals to his wife that the man in question was in fact the reason why he fled his village. Unbeknown to the man, he had ironically been consulting the very person he had been relentlessly searching for all these years! For the astrologer, meeting his old enemy has been doubly rewarding: firstly, the knowledge that he is not a murderer has lifted a great burden of guilt from his mind; secondly, he has assured his future safety by tricking his antagonist into believing that he is dead. The story fittingly ends with the astrologer sleeping contentedly, having finally laid to rest the ghost of his guilt and successfully warded off the menacing specter of revenge. The author’s technique in this story is more subtle than it first appears. Although we are just as surprised as the client when we first hear the astrologer’s uncannily accurate comments, our surprise is of a different nature since we know what Guru Nayak does not – that the astrologer is a definite fraud. Hence, there is an ironic distancing between the reader and the astrologer’s antagonist which is further stretched by the fact that he is portrayed as an unsympathetic character. Whereas the initially skeptical Guru Nayak becomes increasingly convinced of the astrologer’s mystic power, the reader becomes increasingly suspicious, especially when the astrologer correctly gives his client’s name. Unlike Guru Nayak, the reader has not become increasingly mystified and overawed by the astrologer’s knowledge, but gradually realises that a connection must exist between Guru Nayak’s story and the secret of the astrologer’s past. Hence, whilst the ending satisfies our curiosity, it does not come as a total surprise. We also share the astrologer’s final sense of relief, partly because we find Guru Nayak unpleasant but mainly because we admire the way in which he skilfully and successfully handles such a crisis of circumstance and manages to extricate himself from an extremely dangerous situation. Rising to the occasion, he uses his â€Å"professional† acting skills and sharp wits to turn the tables on his overawed antagonist and transform a perilous predicament into godsend. Finally, the author’s effective use of irony is worth commenting. Near the beginning of the story, he writes that the astrologer â€Å"†¦ knew no more of what was going to happen to others than he knew what was going to happen to himself next minute†. Given what is about to occur, these words become prophetically ironic. Note also the wry irony of the astrologer’s final complaint to his wife (â€Å"The swine has cheated me!†) when he himself had perpetrated the greater deception and cleverly cheated Guru Nayak of his revenge . Lastly, the matter-of-fact title is a masterpiece of ironic understatement. â€Å"An Astrologer’s Day† implies that the story will describe an average or â€Å"typical† day in the astrologer’ life whereas the event related is both extraordinary and fateful.

Cyclermate Report Essay

I. An executive summary Dai Armstrong and Lewis Llewellyn are the two men who planned to open their own company after being superfluous due to the shutting down of the steel plants in their town of South Wales were Dai Armstrong and Lewis Llewellyn. They became good friends because of taking part in the local club of cycle touring together and decided to start Cyclermate, which was a bicycle manufacturing company that was laid down in the year 1988. In the beginning of time, Cyclermate gained a huge influence over the share of the market. The company appeared well with no problems and difficulties up to 2010, the time when the business is in trouble, it confronted lots of consequences with respect to operation human resource and finance. Therefore, the demand by purchasers fell continue sadly even though the prices were cut down by the company; the distinguishing attributes of the goods were not up to the quality as they were earlier. The rising complaints from the customers regarding degrading quality and faults in the product and the concern by the bank manager regarding the overdraft could cause trouble if the problems are not solved as soon as possible. Because of that, the company requires a right way to deal with this issue and save it from the edge of going bankrupt. II. Introduction Based on case study research in Cyclermate Ltd. and a series of case in community, this report will work out the financial problems and various other problems confronted by Cyclermate. It has been designed to analysis the business environment and management, measured by SWOT and PET models that are required to be looked upon. The report also draws on a brief summary for the financial side of the business. In addition, this report takes into account an examination of difficulties confronted by Cyclermate and possible solution for the problems, included short and long term solutions. Another function of this report is to examine how the company could get out of the crisis and get back to the current market share. Finally, the report brings us some recommendations and conclusion of the whole Cyclermate case study. III. Analysis of Business Environment 1. PEST Analysis PEST analysis is involved in the chief external environmental that effect or control considerably a business strategy. As we can see, PEST is aimed for Political, Economic, Social and Technological matters that can affect the business. PEST is recognized to persuade it in a utile manner of summarizing the external environment. However, it may be adopted the ability of how an establishment should react to these factors. Political Factor A political factor has a powerful impact on income tax, labor law, trade restriction and many more. Company did not recruit enough workers to meet the targets and worker had to work overtime to get the work done and workers are getting paid at normal rate. Using a traditional method may harm workers health and decreased their productivity as well. These mistakes made Cyclermate become a target of health and safety agencies. They have to improve the quality or else they can be stuck in authorized issues. On the  other hand, they also need to achieve higher standard in manufacturing to meet requirements of the market, especially foreign markets. Economic Factor Cyclermate had purchased a larger storehouse for goods, which indeed was essential to them but did not suffice their requirements. Purchasing a warehouse, which fulfilled the needs of the company, could have saved a lot of money and that same money could have used in new or currently in existence projects. Another factor in economics that affects to the development of Cyclermate Ltd is labor. The unemployment rate is increasing, therefore, this is a good chance for this company to choose worker more easily, and employ them easily with affordable price. Social Factor Social factor has a powerful impact on human behavior, Cyclermate had many order but they did not have enough workforce to complete these orders. They have to work long hours in order to achieve their goals. One more important thing is that high-speed innovation as well as the increasing demands of consumers requires Cyclermate to change and improve every day. But there is a truly infact that living standard of clients could effect to their choices. The higher income distribution they get, the higher demands they re Technological Factor Cyclermate Ltd is using the oldest way to advertise their products by posting advertisement in traditional newspapers. It has limited their goods to the customers. Instead, this company can set up its own website. In addition, Cyclermate Ltd is using the oldest way to advertise their products by posting advertisement in traditional newspapers. It has limited their goods to the customers. Instead, this company can set up its own website. 2. SWOT Analysis It is a methodical technique that is utilized to categorize and identify substantial external (Opportunities and Threats) and internal (Strengths and Weaknesses) factors confronted with a specific area. (Johnson, 1993) It  renders data which are useful in corresponding the capabilities and resources to the spiritual atmosphere in which it functions and hence is a significant addition to the planning and marketing procedure. (Pearce, 2005) Let have look at the SWOT of cyclermate to understand more about the current issue that company has to face with. Strengths Direct channels of sale Cyclermate has direct channels of sales with the direct sales and direct shops; hence intermediary’s cost is largely eliminated. Reducing the cost of manufacturing could unquestionably help Cyclermate achieve a huge share of the market. As direct channels are in direct contact with the providers, thus, it could help in increasing in quantity or value of the sales and it provides a good opportunity to the providers to empathize the clients and could make required changes are per the requirement of the customers. Motivated workforce The employees at the Cyclermate are extremely pioneering and are can fully utilize and achieve any given objective or alterations in the company but they are inhibited by the administration as a result they are unable to express their views freely. The employees could have a crucial role in the company for its overall growth and development. Possession of buildings and lands Unlike Cyclermate most of the companies don’t possess either building or land and hence have to pay the heavy rents which adds to the cost but cyclermate can make any changes in the buildings and could capitalize in whichever way they wish to as they own it, which reduces the overall cost. Weaknesses Inexperience and unmotivated staffs of the company The company has made use of untrained workers. These untrained workers are not given the proper training after their employment. It is the fact that the employees and the staff are never allowed to put forward their creative and self-ideas due to the policies of the management, as a result of this  motivation in the staff is lost. Sales are decreasing in amount or degree and there is piling up of stocks in the warehouses which generates a feeling among the staff that they are not under a good management and as this feeling flourishes they lose hopes from the company and it has a very bad impact on their morale. The investors do not truly interested in the business Due to the low returns on the capital invested by the investors, they are unhappy with the performance of the company and are losing faith in it. In addition, the very fact that the shareholders were not paid any interest last year, it may result in the withdrawal of their money from the company. The quality concerns Because lack of the power to be effective of the staffs to keep up the measures of the goods and the quality of raw material utilized is leading to degraded quality of the goods eventually. Old machinery such as traditional spaying technique, painting and low-quality stock control technology needs updating as soon as possible if the business hopes to improve the production and sales in the coming time. Opportunities Take the advantages of social media Cyclermate should launch its website, which provides complete detail and range of the products available with them. Company can employ a new computer system for keeping a good database of the company. They can introduce online selling and modification according to the wish of customers. Introduction of new machines They should introduce some of the modern machinery in order to achieve higher-level productivity. Cyclermate could bring in new robotic machinery in the production process that will lead to speedy output and a superior quality of goods. Employ trained workers They have the opportunity to make use of the trained workforce, which has been recently laid off from the nearby production site. More workforce means opportunity to gain more productivity. Threats Overseas competitors As a result of the growth to a global or worldwide scale, many companies from across the globe have entered the market with products of low price and high quality, which certainly is a threat for Cyclermate as it supplies good with high cost and of lower quality. Due to recession, which is prevailing in Europe the purchasing power of people is going down. Thus, company can have reduced sales or can face financial crises. Reputation Due to poor-quality product for a period of Cyclermate’s reputation is going down and therefore people do not like to go for their products. Huge retail Merchants Retail Merchants like Argos and Halfords are captivating the market eventually and it might happen that Cyclermate may lose the market share completely. Customer threatens them to sue their company after their product was fail in delivering the good performance. IV. Analysis of Business Management 1. Financial Problems Prob. 1.1: Uncontrolled cost The main problem that company is in this situation is because of the uncontrolled cost and mismanaged budget. The costs are increasing yearly with the sales and selling price of the products going down. Let have look at the financial statement that company has  £210,800 worth of non-current assets. Loan request will be refused as company only holds cash fund of  £675 into their bank account. Costs are increasing at a rapid rate year after year. Asset turnover ratio is 2.06:1. This indicates that the profit margins for the company are very low that’s why the ratio is so high. We can also conclude from this that the company’s pricing strategy is not effective leading to lower profits. Prob. 1.2: Dealing with a big loan Creditor days – 24 days leads to the company has to pay back it its debtors in 24 days and it is just left with 675 £ of cash. The Company is liable to pay  £87,500 to the creditors and if they don’t so a legal action may be taken on them, which are not good for company’s reputation. They may talk to the creditors and ask for an extension in time for payments as they are going through financial crisis and don’t have money right now to pay back. Prob. 1.3: Lots of inventories Besides, it shows that the majority of inventories are stored and not effectively managed, that is why current ratio is at such high level, which also means low sales and low revenue gained. Moreover, the company relies on the bank loan as the main monetary support. 2. Operation Problems Prob. 2.1: Stock control system Disturbingly, materials are always in the shortage which results in the disruption of the production process recently. Although the demand is higher and higher, company cannot meet their requirement because of lacking necessary components. Prob. 2.2: Inappropriate division of duties The inappropriate division of duties obviously had made such a burden on many workers. In particular, Dai Armstrong has to deal with many tasks such as making all the frames, factory manager and business director at the same time. He himself also finds it hard to keep up the level of production (approximately 8 frames/day) because it requires the harsh physical demands. Prob. 2.3: Assembly is a complex process Moreover, assembly is a complex process, which takes 2 or 3 hours for one person. Janice Jones and Ffred Gregory often have to work overtime to catch up with the progress. As a result, their health and time issue could be heavily damaged. 3. HR Management problems Prob. 3.1: Improper workforce in manufacturing Unreasonable workforce division is one of the most serious problems of Cyclermate Ltd. Besides, lack of experienced employees and the aging workforce are worrying the production process and raising a big question for a more effective training system. Prob. 3.2: The training system creates The training system creates such obstacles for the assembly process. Typically, Fred, who is 18 years old, is a new and un-experienced person; the training for him is necessary, however, not easy at all. It takes so much time to instruct Fred in traditional way, which is apparently the cause of slow production recently. Prob. 3.3: Corporate culture The staff is highly de-motivated due to decreasing sales and profits and also the behavior of the management as in the sinking company they are not free to put up their ideas even if they do they are rejected because of the superiority of the management. V. Solution A. Short term and immediate planning 1. Financial problems: Solution 1.1: Cost in selling and distribution Cost in selling and distribution could be possible declined to save more money for the company such as cutting cost for postage and courier charges by substituting by cheaper service, as well as the travelling and hospitality. Those indirect costs contribute such high cost to the manufacturing of the cycles, restricting them would help boost the sales with cheaper price. Solution 1.2: Ask for trading debtors to repay The solution to this issue is that they should strictly resolve and for the  trade debtors to repay the loans as soon as possible. The amount of $200,571 would help the financial situation better in the coming time. Once their assets are raised through and their liquidity are proved to be valuable enough to afford the loan, it will be beneficial for them to borrow money from the banks. Solution 1.3: Direct sale prices Cyclermate’s direct sale prices are higher than shop sale price. In order to generate healthy revenue, Cyclermate needs to reduce their direct sale price. By reducing the direct sale prices will increase their sale and it will be easy for them to generate healthy revenue. 2. Operation Problems Solution 2.1: Buy stock when needed Company should only buy stock when they needed. Buying stock earlier will harm company’s financial positions, because raw material does not hold their value and it has got more chances of losing its market value. Solution 2.2: Require clear division A good answer for this problem is that the company should require clear division to who is able to undertake and separate arrangement of duties. Specifically, assigning other qualified person on frame-making position so that Mr. Dai could concentrate and dedicate himself to external relations business only. Solution 2.3: hiring more experienced labors The company should consider hiring more experienced labors for assemble line and frame-making because Mr Dai can no longer put up with the physical requirement of the task. With those simple tasks like packaging, it is acceptable for free hand employees to help out, but only when they finished all their tasks. 3. HR Management problems Solution 3.1: Employ cheaper labors In this case, the company can consider employ cheaper labors that are  suggested by Maldwyn Jones: Chinese or Taiwanese labor to make the machine for them- much better quality but half the price and move Idris Pugh to higher position as a supervisor for the whole wheel-making process. Solution 3.2: Improving the staff’s skills This training program involves directly in the new changes with a purpose of improving the staff’s skills, expertise and methods to complete an error-free task, exposing them to unfamiliar ideas and of course, giving them the chance to practice task under time/speed limit. Solution 3.3: Core business value Trust in others and a firm belief in overcoming difficulties (set up new mission: overcome difficulty, minimize waste and consequence) B. Long term and efficiency improvements Present fiscal condition of Cyclermate (Accounting ratios).The acid / liquid ratio of Cyclermate is 0.76:1, which depicts Cyclermate is incapable to satisfy indebtednesses of shorter term, which mean that it would not be competent to satisfy fiscal difficulty which may happen in the time to come. The Asset turnover ratio for Cyclermate is 2.06:1. As the ratio is excessively high, this means that profit margins are very low. The pricing strategy of Cyclermate is ineffective and because of that low profit. Return on capital employed –Cyclermate has far too less returns on the capital employed, just a mere 0.11 or 11%. Debtor days –It would take Cyclermate 115 days to get back the money from debtors. Creditor days – Cyclermate has to pay back in 24 days to its debtors with a cash balance of 675 £. The financial statement of Cyclermate shows that it has non-current assets which is of worth  £210,800.Any request regarding a loan from the bank will be refused as it has a mere cash balance of  £675. It may get a loan based on the position of its non-current assets. In place of the above-discussed alternative, it can sell its freehold land, which is worth  £160,000, and use the proceeds from the sale in the business. Cyclermate could acquire funds if they pursue its trade debtors to pay off soon. Debtors worth  £200,571 are to be recovered and the funds would be acquired soon if the debtors do not  default and pay in full. Once it has sufficient fund, Cyclermate could apply for the bank loan. VI. Conclusion Overall, Cyclermate will have a better future if they operate their business in slightly different ways. Cyclermate products were famous for its quality and price,if the company still provide what the consumer wants than it would be no harm to the company. But there few changes needs to be changed and once the new rules and regulation apply into the business than it would be a great opportunity for Cyclermate to operate their services. Moreover, With the movement of new threats into the marketplace the present systematic plan of action of Cyclermate is continuously below the acceptable level in its performance due to the fact that the new firms and the existing organizations are coming up with improved quality of products at a cheaper price VII. Recommendations The company must sign up correct individual as per the requirement of the position. Currently the management is interfering in the process of production and is unable to focus of the activities they should be concerned. The financial hardships through which Cyclermate is going through at present could be resolved by selling the unused stock that is piled up in the warehouse. In order to generate revenues and funds to invest in other arena of the company, Cyclermate must sell its freehold land that would certainly generate high revenue. In order to achieve higher output and productivity, modern technology should be applied in the production process. Installing a computer database through which the management could look into all the important and relevant data as and when required. Cyclermate should launch its website, which provides complete detail and range of the products available with them. Reducing both direct sales prices so as to sell the current stock and trade debtors. Employing young and trained workforce that is fit for the position.

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