A social psychology final paper Essay

The movie I chose was Easy A because there are many psychological concepts this movie that relate to real-life events and it covers many theories we learned about in this class. Easy A was released in 2010 and directed by Will Gluck. It’s about a teenage girl named Olive who accidentally admits to her friend Rhi that she was having sexual relations with boys. She felt pressured into lying since her friend had already engaged in sexual acts with her boyfriend. A rumor then spread and many people in the school then ignored Olive because they thought what she did was an immoral act, but the guys started giving her more attention. I feel that this applies to many people in the world today and it is not just in this movie. Many social psychological concepts come up in this movie like: conformity, looking glass self, self-presentation/impression management, cognitive dissonance, situational constraint, majority influence, self discrepancy, and social comparison theory to name a few. In the beginning of the movie, Olive lies while talking to her best friend, Rhi and accidentally said that she had slept with someone when in fact she was still a virgin. Rhi was not a virgin anymore so Olive felt that she had to lie to conform to the norms of her friend. The Social Comparison Theory says that to interpret whether our performances are successes or failures, we must often compare them with our own goals and expectations or with the performances of others. (DeLamater, 85) This theory helps us have conformity with others just as Olive compared her views to her friend’s views and then ended up lying to receive positive reinforcement from her friend. Olive was using this theory when she looked at one of her peer’s actions and saw her own behavior as in opposition to the norm. Then because she probably felt inferior to Rhi, she changed her behavior. Had she not gone along and followed what her friend did and changed her behavior and looks she would have been violating this theory. The Asch Conformity Paradigm shows that within limits groups can pressure their members to change their judgments and conform with majority’s position  even when the position is obviously incorrect. (DeLamater, 287) This is shown in the movie when at first she is pressured and says she had sex with someone because her friend did and once she got that reputation the guys persuaded her to act like she was being promiscuous and having sexual relations with them. Even though she knew this was wrong she still decided to do it because the majority influence put more pressure on her to go with â€Å"having sexual relations† to help some of her friends (who were guys) become more popular. This resulted in cognitive dissonance, which is a theory, that deals with consistency between behaviors and attitudes and it occurs after a decision and when one acts inconsistent with their beliefs. (DeLamater, 153) This is shown when she makes the decision to lie to her friend and say she has had sex and afterwards she has second thoughts and starts to regret it because it went against her values that she held. Another outstanding concept in this movie was self-presentation/tactical impression management. Self- presentation and impression management are petty similar because they are both processes by which individuals attempt to control the impressions that other form of them during interaction. (DeLamater, 89-90). Throughout his movie Olive presents herself to everyone at her school as someone she was not. She was viewed as the new school slut and at first she had cognitive dissonance about this but she then started to embrace it. Olive began to look the part by wearing risquà © clothes like corsets and tight revealing shirts. She even sewed an â€Å"A† on her clothes as a reference that she was being portrayed as Hester Prynne, the main character from The Scarlett Letter who was deemed to be adulterous and that was very inappropriate at the time. By presenting herself this way she is going with Cooley’s Looking Glass Self that says we acquire our view of ourselves from the views of others. (DeLamater, 69) By all of her classmates viewing her as promiscuous she started to view herself as that and changed the way she usually dressed to be more racy. This change in style and behavior lead to self-discrepancy which is when a component of the actual self is the opposite of a component of the ideal self or the ought self. (DeLamater, 82) This is seen when Olive goes out in public and portrays herself in a different way than what she believes her actual self as because she is more concerned with social interactions than what her actual self believes. This whole change of self was to boost her self-esteem because she knew if she  didn’t change the way she looked to fit the part she would be embarrassed and humiliated and her self-esteem would be lowered. Throughout this movie you can she the deviant behavior and how she violates the social norms of people her age. She dressed scandalously, she acted promiscuous, she acted out and got a rebellious attitude. These rebellious things Olive was doing changed her behavior and labeled her as deviant. Deviance is not considered deviant until it is labeled as that. So in her case, Olive really considered bad until a group of people at her school started going against what she was doing and even her friend, Rhi joined in. they started protesting what she was doing. This created a lot of aggression and hate for one another and eventually lead to intergroup conflict. In intergroup conflict there is a situation in which groups take antagonistic actions toward one another in order to control some outcome important to them. (DeLamater, 326) The outcome this group sought was to get Olive and other girls to stop acting in this way and being immoral. They went around and held signs around the school protesting what they thought of her behavior. After this, Olive finally realized that she was doing wrong and she made a video telling the truth to everyone and saying that it was all just an act. Everyone then viewed her as a liar for what she did, but she didn’t care because she saw what she did was wrong and it was a better reputation than being called easy. The whole reason Olive took on the role of being the school slut was to keep the type of self-presentation and tactical impression management. I think a lot of people feel the same way today in our world because if because I agree in the looking-glass self because I agree that you think of yourself the same way your peers and significant others see you. So if someone sees you as fat, ugly, promiscuous, or something else I agree that you would start to internalize what they say and take on that role. By the end of the movie, Olive’s beliefs about herself had changed significantly. She knew throughout the movie that the person she was portraying was not truly herself and it did not go along with her values but she kept the role to keep up with the rumor that she had started. In this movie we could see how social rejection affects the way you view yourself and how you carry yourself. In Easy A there are issues that we discussed in Social Psychology and many of them can be applied to everyday experiences, you just have to be  aware of them because they are truly all around especially in movies today. References DeLamater, John D., and Daniel J. Meyers. Social Psychology. 7th ed. N.p.: Cengage Learning, May 20, 2010. Print. Devine, Z., Gluck, W., Emmrich, A., Johnson, M.B. (producers) & Gluck, W. (director). (2010). Easy A [motion picture]. United States: Sony Pictures.

Psychsim 5: Operant Conditioning

Classical Versus Operant Conditioning: Classical and Operant differ in when an event takes place. Classical conditioning involves an event, and then a conditioned response, while Operant relies on a decision, knowing what the following event may be. Reinforcement and Punishment: Reinforcement increases the likelyhood of the behaviour repeating. Giving a dog a treat for coming in after going to the bathroom outside. Removing chores when a teenager obeys their curfew. Punishment decreased the likelyhood of the behaviour repeating. Giving a child time-out for hitting a kid in class. Continuous Versus Partial ReinforcementThe behaviour could likely stop as well. Schedules of Reinforcement Giving reinforcement after a constant number of responses. Paying a teenager after they complete 5 chores. Giving reinforcement after a response, after a constant amount of time has elapsed. Letting a child take a 15 minute break for every hour of homework they do. Giving reinforcement after a changing number of responses. Gamblers at a slot machine don't know how often they'll be reinforced. Giving reinforcement after a response, after a changing amount of time has elapsed. Fishermen don't have a constent reinforcement after casting their line.Simulated Experiment: Variable ratio is the most resistant to extinction long term. In any constant situation, the subject may notice a pattern in the number of responses they must provide, or how long they must wait for a reinforcement. In a variable interval senario, it's true they will respond more because they don't know how short the interval may be, but they won't be constantly responding. In a variable ratio schedule, the subject would have to keep responding, and after a changing amount of responses finally be reinforced. This would keep the subject responding at a higher rate.

Workplace Motivation Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Workplace Motivation - Case Study Example Mitsubishi Motors is the leading car manufacturer operating on the global scale. During 1990s, the company experienced problems with workers motivation which influenced productivity level and product quality. The main sources of resistance were lack of skills and low morale, low personal commitment and fear of technological changes (Mitsubishi Motors 2007). The corporation has to deal with motivation from the standpoint of the environment, that is, the various kinds of rewards and pressures within which people operate at work. Also, the corporation pays attention to motivation from the standpoint of the individual himself: his needs and purposes and how he acquires them. In order to increase productivity, Mitsubishi Motors develops new management strategies based on intrinsic motivation. As the most important, they underline manager's role in motivation and commitment. The key to a productivity-motivated workforce is a supervisory style which enhances the workers' proprietorship of their jobs. Management has too often approached the problem negatively, by depriving workers of control in order to forestall stoppages and goldbricking. Mitsubishi Motors pleads for a positive approach, for delegating this control in order to make the satisfactions of self-discipline possible (Scheuer, 2000). The morale changes occurred after men begin to think of themselves as belonging to a group. Part of the bargain is a worker's passive acceptance of any method that management might choose for organizing his work, even if this meant fragmenting his job to the point of tedium and regulating it to the point of puppetry (Scheuer, 2000). As a result, the men feel that they are important rather than taken for granted; each man knows that the group's record would suffer if he slackens, and most are determined not to let this happen. It is important to note that productivity is the goal, and control is merely one of several possible means to achieve it. The way to achieve the greatest profit is to remove the artificial impediments to productivity rather than to impose a regulatory system, no matter how tidy. A consistent record of excellence would then become a matter of personal pride rather than a meaningless exertion for somebody else's gain. The key to linking the individual's most pote nt aspirations to the goals of his company is his membership in a group which participates in its own management -- a group in which the role of the supervisor is changed from that of an enforcer or overseer to that of an expediter, an information giver, and above all an ego supporter. (Robbins, 2002). Security in the past and fear of change are another problems faced by Mitsubishi Motors. The 1990s were marked by technological and information changes, so many workers were afraid of negative consequences of these improvements. For a worker, the principal advantage of the old system is that he knows it well; it is at least predictable and that, for him, is not a small advantage by any means. He will not welcome change, but he is not likely to resist it very much, either. He considers resistance useless, and besides, he expects that in the long run all systems will work out about equally for him. Mitsubishi Motors introduces extensive training programs for assembly workers (off-job and on-job training). Also, the company proposes financial benefits for

Critical Roads into Volpone Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Critical Roads into Volpone - Essay Example For instance, â€Å"Just as Dantes hell is the spiritual inverse of heaven, Jonsons Venice is the moral inverse of every humanistic ideal which, as outlined in his poem† (Baker and Harp n.p.). Despite holding different opinions on morality, both authors believed in punishment of evil as demonstrated in their works. One weakness in Baker and Harp’s argument is that they fail to demonstrate the two works as comedies. Their argument that the story of Gianni Schicci evokes a comical effect is not sufficient. Furthermore, their attempt to classify the two works as comedies is inadequate. Their commentary requires more illustrations. One word that I recognized but had to look up to clarify was ‘Augur’ meaning a religious official in the ancient Rome who observed and interpreted natural signs as an indication of divine approval or disapproval of a proposed decision or action. I searched from

Medieval Roman Catholic Traditions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Medieval Roman Catholic Traditions - Essay Example Among the traditions that were indoctrinated include the establishment of purgatory as a physical place, the usage of Latin in prayer and worship, the Marian practices and the usage of the Rosary, the establishment of the Papacy and its powers, the veneration and canonization of saints, the dogma of transubstantiation, the confession of sin to the priest, the usage of the scapular among many other things.2 These Traditions cannot be traced back to the Bible, but they are accepted by the Catholic Church to be true and infallible. The doctrine of purgatory was introduced by Gregory the Great in 593. He established a connection between earthly penance and purification after death; that is, those who are alive can pray and purify those who are dead and in purgatory. However, only venial sins can be purified when in purgatory, while mortal sins cannot. This belief has remained constant and in its line of thought, the All Souls day was established on the 10th Century where people who are alive remember the dead and celebrate Mass in their honor for their salvation.3 The Papacy was established quite solidly in the 6th Century, around the year 610, by Gregory I and later by Boniface III. The leaders of the Church before 610 did not have supreme authority over all the Christian communities. Most of them were killed together with their congregations, and they spent most of their time debating on theological matters with other bishops. In 709, the kissing of the feet of the Pope was indoctrinated. The infallibility of the Pope was established almost a thousand years late in the 1870’s. The resignation of Pope Benedict XVI is special in that most popes die while in office and it is not common for a Pope to resign (.4 The duration between the last resignation of the Pope and the one in 2013 is almost 600 years. Popes only resign if they are of poor health and unable to offer

Organizational Issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Organizational Issues - Essay Example This film features the manner in which many institution of learning handle the students with potential in athletics. The film also shows the failure of these institutions with regard to preparing of these students who are on various scholarships. This has made the students to be less responsive to the external environment after completion of studies. In this context social pressure means an external initiative by a particular sect aimed at influencing business operations to conform to its intentions. This culminates in misleading of the organizations given that they are compelled to pursue weird goals. The major sours of external pressures in organizations are highlighted in this film. These include activists, the government and the society. Institutions of learning are perfect example of organizations with the highest influence of external social influence. In this regard, it is incumbent upon these institutions to inculcate the students with proper skills, which will enable them to fit in the job market especially after graduations. Unfortunately, some institutions fail to consider the skill requirements of all eth students. In this regard, students with athletics talent are ignored, which leads to thwarting of their dreams of becoming champions in the athletic realm. This also slows the adoption of this group of students to the external environment of athletics after completion of The role of external social pressure in influencing of organizational ethics is great. In this regard, the institutions of learning are socially bound to perform to the expectation of the community and the government. Good performance is a good gesture and it is usually in response to the implied external social pressure from the community and the state. The community will require the institutions to perform well in order to provide the best candidates in

Glaciation Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Glaciation - Lab Report Example The flow this mass of ice erodes the surface on which it moves on creating distinct formations along the way (Zappa, 2010 p20). Glaciers are a source of ground water and vast lakes because they dam waterways and cover up catchment areas contributing to aquifer formation. These aquifers are a broad source of fresh drinking water. They are sources of rich soils from glacial tills and produce physical features that are of aesthetic value to the landscape. Features like tills and outwash are of immense economical importance because they are rich in minerals increasing the fertility of farmlands (Walker, 2007 p16). Deposition features like drumlins are large sources of minerals for the surrounding lands especially arable land. Glacial features like eskers, boulders, drumlins and pyramid peaks are distinct landscape features that add aesthetic value to landscapes. The various types of glaciers are excellent sources of information regarding various disciplines like evolutionary sciences. Valley, piedmont, and cirque glaciers are examples of glaciers that are predominantly common in the world. Glaciers are useful geographical features especially with regard to the source of drinking water. Glaciers should be protected by advocating for a reduction in global warming, which interferes with, their natural process of formation and

Expatriate Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Expatriate Management - Essay Example Strong human resources management practices come in handy especially in the international context whereby managers are engaged in foreign assignments. They need to be trained to ensure that they are effective in accomplishing the duties assigned to them. Nevertheless, training of expatriate managers is faced with various challenges. This paper presents a critique of challenges such as identifying the time to train, type and level of training, parties to be involved in training as well as the expatriates’ capabilities to relate with the foreign culture. There are also challenges related to the learning capabilities, interest and willingness of the expatriates to undertake the training. Determining the appropriate time to train presents a major challenge as trainers try to evaluate the training needs of expatriates. They can either be trained before leaving their home organization or immediately after travelling to the foreign country (Bird and Osland, 2005). Both strategies are significant in equipping the manager with the desired knowledge to cope with the new environment, but choosing one of them rather than undertaking the two may be effective in saving time and resources. Planners are faced with a dilemma of determining which strategy would be more appropriate. For example, training before the managers leave the organization instills them with a sense of purpose for their mission. They are capable of imagining the organization’s situation after they successfully complete their mission. Yan et al. (2002) observe that training expatriates before they leave their home country motivates them to work towards accomplishment of the organizational goals to impr ove the situation at hand. When they are trained in the foreign country, they are fascinated by the new environment; either due to its magnificence or otherwise lower standards. The new environment may influence learning and therefore the training might not accomplish the organizational objectives (Chew,

Core concepts in ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Core concepts in ethics - Essay Example There will be some practical examples which will be used to illustrate each point in order to come up with conclusions on the relative strength of each idea. Deontology V Teleology Deontology is derived from a Greek word, 'deon' which means 'duty' (Morrison, 2009 p18). As a concept in ethics, deontology is a lense through which the need to do good or the right thing can be defined. Deontology suggests that the obligation to do what is right is our duty (Lipert-Rasmussen, 2005 p15). This means that ever human being must do what has right as a matter of responsibility and not as some kind of effort to go beyond normal. What is right is a duty and everyone has to do it. On the other hand, teleology is based on the premise that â€Å"what determines rightness or wrongness is solely on the basis of the estimated outcome of the act itself† (Hitchcock et al, 2009 p142). In other words, teleology suggests that the results of a person's actions determine whether those actions are right or wrong. This means that under teleology, actions are not wrong in themselves, but their outcome is what makes them right or wrong. The supporters of the school of thought of teleology argue with the popular phrase 'the end justifies the means' (Peil, 2009 p77). On further analysis, it can be said that deontology involves a set of universal and absolute rules that people ought to follow at all costs. However, teleology involves judging actions on the basis of their outcomes rather than a set of ideal standards. In terms of similarities, the two concepts are meant to define what is right and what should guide us to measure actions (Dyer, 1988 p51). In other words, they are both interested in finding a justification of morality or the role that morality plays in the human society. Thus, for instance, we all know that lying is wrong. But what makes lying wrong? That is what both concepts attempt to answer. However, the departure point in the two concepts lies in the fact that each of the concepts provides a different explanation for each concept. Whereas deontology argues for universal and absolute concepts with two extremes either right or wrong and no in-between, teleology states that something might not be right but the end might justify it as a good thing and vice versa (Maness, 2007 p8). Using the example of lying, supporters of deontology would say that lying is wrong. The reason for telling the lie can never negate this effect. So irrespective of the reason for telling the lie, a person is guilty. On the other hand, teleology states that lying might not be right. However, there are some situations where a lie can be justified by what it brings to the world. Thus for instance we can examine the case of a married man with a sensitive position in society and teenage children who has one casual affair with another woman not his wife. If this man comes to his senses after the affair and comes to a consensual agreement with the woman he cheated with that they should not see each other again and he prepares to change his ways and a small piece of evidence comes up and he is questioned by his wife or social group, he might have two options. Option 1 will be to confess to his wife or social group and ask for forgiveness [absolutism, universalism and deontology: BECAUSE IT IS WRONG TO LIE]. Option 2 might be to weigh the consequences of telling the truth and then decide to lie if the lie will bring bigger gains to the stakeholders involved [relativism, utilitarianism and teleology] Each of the

A world Full of challenges Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

A world Full of challenges - Essay Example The individualism can be traced back to the 18th century. The ideologies of individual freedom, a chance to compete for ones material well-being and the government not interfering with individuals’ initiative. The assumption of those ideologies is that if individuals pursued their own goals it would be interfered with by the public spirit, which would hinder the common goal of shaping the social institutions. The ideal of an autonomous individual was embedded in moral ecology like family and the church (Robert, 2011). The economic initiative which is in the public sphere was hoped to grow together with public spirit. Public spirit is crucial to the institution of democracy, individualism is primarily expressed through market mentality, it has affected every part of individuals’ lives, it undermines institutions like family and community, in general, that have in the past worked for collective purpose. Lack of common concern or purpose for a common good is ill for people claiming to be democratic. To restore the institutions in a way that transform and revitalize the democracy, in a culture of individualism is not easy. The people have to shed their individualistic blinders and pay attention to things that they are dependent on and their collective responsibility for the institutions to shape their common life. Create space for collective responsibilities starting with the family, where the parent should share their responsibilities equitably, places of work where people should embrace teamwork. Religious and educational institutions bear peoples moral and hence plays a vital role in intelligent and active participation in public work (Robert, 2011). Underlying this proposal, people should participate in public projects hence broadening their perspectives and concerns. From the focus of self to viewing individuals as members of the larger community, concerned with fellow citizens,

Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity Essay Example for Free

Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity Essay Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity People of different religions are in contact with each other every day, and do not even realize it. Here in the United States there is a compilation of many religions. Three major religions not only in the United States, but also throughout the world are Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity. There are many differences, and few similarities when comparing Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity. Not only are the backgrounds of these religions similar and different, but so are the practices that they still live out to this day. Hinduism originated between 4000 and 2000 BC. Hinduism believes in Karma, â€Å"you reap what you sow,† and reincarnation. Reincarnation is the belief that after death, the soul can come back to earth in another body. The Hindu trinity is the Brahma, Vishnu, and the Shiva, which are the three aspects of the same divine being. There are four goals in the life of a Hindu. They are Kama, Artha, Dharma, and Moksha. These mean the fulfillment of certain desires, wealth, religious duties, and not wanting things. The cow and the bull are both considered sacred and should not be slaughtered. So Hindus are forbidden from eating beef. There are many festivals affiliated with the Hindu religion, because they believe it keeps them close to their gods. At least once a month, there is a Hindu festival, where they celebrate their diversity. Islam is the second largest religion in the world, and the fastest growing religion in the world. Islam is the belief in the Judeo-Christian God. Muslims are monotheistic, and believe in the five pillars of Islam. The five pillars are the Shahada, Salat, Zakat, Sawm, and the Hajj. The Shahada means testimony, Salat is for prayer, Zakat is for giving, Sawm is for fasting, and Hajj means pilgrimage. According to Muslims, Muhammad was a cornerstone of Islam, and he was god’s messenger. For Muslims, the pig is an unclean animal, and is forbidden to eat unless prepared in accordance with prescribed rules. Intoxicating drinks and substances are prohibited. Christianity is a major world religion that adapted over 2000 years ago. It is the belief that Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God. The major text of Christianity is the Bible. The Bible concludes of an Old and a New Testament, and is a compilation of books. Christians have many ways of religious practices. There are festivals and feasts, which are usually celebrated on holidays. The communal worship takes place on Sundays and other days of the week in which people from the church come together for rituals. The last is private worship, which is used when one is alone, where they can engage in prayer, devotions, and spiritual practices. Islam is a religion founded by a prophet. In contrast, Hinduism is a group of religious traditions, established over a period of time. In Hinduism personalities do not count as much as the divine law or the dharma. So in Islam the message of Islam is far more important than the person of Muhammad himself. Unlike Christianity, Muslims do not worship their prophet. Unlike Islam, Hinduism is strictly monogamous. Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam all share similarities and differences. Unlike Hinduism, Christianity and Islam share the belief of only one god. Hindus have a god for fire, death, water, etc. The practices of Christianity and Islam are sometimes in groups, while Hinduism is practiced alone. All three religions believe in the efficacy of prayer. But Hinduism and Islam believe in the importance of remembering and reciting the names, words, and deeds of god, for inner purification. Unlike Islam and Christianity, Hinduism has the choice of an intervener between god and a person, such as a priest or a guru for assistance. Intimate relationships are not approved of in Islam and Hinduism. Dating is considered both irreligious and immoral. In these two religions along with Christianity, premarital sex is considered immoral also. In conclusion all three religions share that they believe in an afterlife, and strive for immortality. For all religions death is a normal and natural thing that leads to an eternal life. Christianity and Islam are closer together then Hinduism. Mostly Europeans adopted Christianity along with Islam in the 18th and 19th centuries. This means that both Christianity and Islam have been influenced in some ways by the European culture. The Europeans have pulled Christianity and Islam close together while the Europeans have never influenced Hinduism, which makes Hinduism different from the other two religions.

Distinguish Between Personnel Management And Human Resource Management Commerce Essay

Distinguish Between Personnel Management And Human Resource Management Commerce Essay Personnel Management is an independent function of an organization whereas HRM is considered to be an intrinsic part of an organizations workings. HRM has a much broader scope as it involves personnel and management tasks while developing teams of workers for the benefit of the organization by working to their maximum level of efficiency (Ulrich, 2005).   Personnel management have a tendency or have idea to motivate employees using external factors such as rewards and praises. By this way employee satisfaction is use as improve performances. And HRM believes how to implement and effective uses of the strategy make better performance and thus results in employee satisfaction. (Truss Gratton, 2004). PM is as describe a reaction based style of management, it is providing feedback to concerns and response when demanded. But HRM is more practical and provides ongoing strategy to improve the organisations workforce (Ulrich, 2005). 1.2 Assess the function of the human resource management in contributing to organisational purposes HRMs main function is to recruit, select, train and develop staff. It means finding the right people, training and developing them, so they can achieve their potential and creating systems which is leading to success of the organisation through high levels of morale and motivation (Mockler, 2002).  Ã‚   So Yo Dud need a HRM manager to make all department up-to-date means they use different types of training such as ongoing, training framework, care skills, health safety, legal and multi- skill. Jack will understand that motivated employees are essential for the continued growth of the Yo Dud magazine. HRM personals provide its staff with an ongoing and continuous training and development programme with appropriate and timely reward and recognition. The various levels of the company are well supported with work groups, strategies to meet new challenges and a chance to move higher up the order. Appraisal is a very important part of Human Resource Management (Fombrun et al, 1994). And it can helps Jack to get the desired result and get success. 1.3 Evaluate the role and responsibilities of line managers in human resource management The roles and responsibilities of Human Resource managers at any organization are demanding and vital. In Yo dud have strategically integrated HR into their overall plans. Managers have been to utilise aspects of HR in their decision making.  Ã‚  HRM managers have to balance organisational needs with the individuals expectations. Some employees will develop their career with one employer, while others require transferable skills. The manager requires employees with the right skills to ensure and sustain competitive advantage. They put increased emphasis on staff training and try to incorporate the learning into the organization. There is constant reviewing of the intervention and adjustments are made where necessary. It is also up to the HRM managers to see that the employers are motivated. 1.4 Analyse the impact of the legal and regulatory framework on human resource management Legal and regulatory requirements of HRM require protecting employees from unfair discrimination at the workplace. Define the 40 hour work week, the pay rate for working overtime and the minimum wage. It also requires protecting employee investments in their pensions. So Yo Dud need to go through a good beneficial scheme which is provides long-term benefits to their employees. Require that firms provide the same pay for men and women who are doing the same work. Labour relations describe the process by which unions can be formed and indicate what the parties can and cannot do. Provide clean and safe environment at the work place. Prevent unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favours other inappropriate verbal and physical conduct or hostile conditions. So these terms will be strict to maintain and aware legal restrictions. Task 2.1 Analyse the reasons for human resource planning in organisations The main goal of human resource planning is to ensure that a company always has candidates lined up to fill a new available post or position so that time and productivity are not lost. Long delay times in between one departure and new hire could be more weigh on the company. Forecasting is an important factor of the process that can tell how long the process to hire new employee, and make speedy the process. In case of when the large number of employee needed and job market is stiff for workers with requiring skills, then HR department will have to secure these workers. And it will be more difficult when the rivals are also seeking people with these skills, and secure the new talents to step up recruiting efforts and increase compensation packages to attract talent (Grant, 2005). If a company did not engage in human resource planning, it would not know how difficult it would be to hire the necessary workers until too late. Potential employees would be lost to rivals, and the  business  would be unable to build the team it needs.. This helps the HR department to stay in pace with the needs of staff and employees for Tesco. 2.2 Outline the stages involved in planning human resource requirements Stage 1: Establish a Competency Architecture and Competency Dictionary that will support Strategic Human Resource Planning. For each group to be profiled, define the roles and career streams to help identify current and future human resources needs. Determine how competencies will be integrated with the existing HR Planning process and systems (e.g., Human Resource Information Management systems; other computer-based tools, for example forecasting models) (Grant, 2005). Stage 2: Build or revamp HR Planning tools, templates and processes to incorporate elements as determined in Stage 1.Train managers and / or facilitate corporate HR Planning process. Continuously monitor and improve processes, tools and systems to support HR Planning (Grant, 2005). 2.3 Compare the recruitment and selection process in two organisations Need to seek the process, Jack For the development of their magazine, Tesco: As the market leader in the UK, Tesco mainly uses the means of in-store advertising, local agency and recommendations from existing employees to recruit. Meanwhile, Tesco chooses the new staff through online video conferences which favour the rapidest efficiency as well. In addition, unlike other common businesses, the interviews at Tesco will be conducted by the line manager in order to build up the loyalty with the recruit and help to make decisions. Sky B2B: The core elements of Sky B2B recruitment and selection process are similar to that of Tesco. They pay important attention to the reasonable treatment of its staff. The most focus is to deal with its candidates with its equality and diversity policy at all times. That policy is framed to recruit and select people without discrimination as well as aim to choose employees with the diverse personality and ability. But the aspect that is different is they tend to select and recruit employees based on their skills and technical ability due to the nature of their business. 2.4 Evaluate the effectiveness of the recruitment and selection techniques in two organisations Workforce planning is important for any organisation if they have to meet their future demands for staff. It is a way to train their existing staff to get responsive new staff to fill the vacancies (Armstrong, 1992). So if the Yo Dud goes through this technique then they will get talented employees which can improve the performance of the company and get the desired outcome and they can grow new job talents or job opportunities, including management, graduate, school leaver and apprentice posts. They need to have people with the right skills and behaviours to support its growth and development and have clear organizational structures, detailed job descriptions and person specifications. It has provides a user-friendly way, that is indicating how can applying for jobs and reliable approach to recruitment and selection. It can fulfil and manage the demanding need of staff. Task 3.1 Assess the link between motivational theory and reward Motivation is a concept used to describe the factors within an individual which produce, maintain and channel behaviour towards a targeting goal.  Motivation is a complex concept. Remuneration is also complex.  According to People thinking, that money is a motivator. Money does have an effect, but motivation is not just money and involves lots of things. It wills Positive effects coming through good financial and non-financial rewards (Grant, 2005). It is very important to motivate employees fro the growth of the organisation. Managers can create a positive environment and employees feel comfortable and motivate towards the organisational goal and some of their own goals. These goals could be appreciation of hard work,  a sense of achievement,  responsibility and empowerment,  opportunity for advancement, and a sense of challenge and enjoyment. There sis many non financial rewards also helpful to make an employee motivate. Rewards come through many ways like health benefits, flexibility in working time, staff discount, shares of the company etc. Financial compensation is an important factor to motivate employees and non financial rewards also make long term effects on the mind of the employee. So it is your (organisational) responsibility to ensure they using all the available resources to motivate them (Ulrich,2005). 3.2 Evaluate the process of job evaluation and other factors determining pay Definition: Job evaluation is the generic term applied to a variety of ways in which the relative worth or value of different jobs may be established. It helps to determine internal relativities by relating different rates of pay to different elements in the job (Truss Gratton, 2004). Lets start with the one of the UKs leading retailers example every year Tesco invites staff to and arrange a satisfaction within their employees to find about their job aspects it is called viewpoint. It aims to identify how much more valuable one job is in relation to another and so lay the foundations for a fair and orderly pay structure. One of the most widely known examples of schemes which have been developed by individual management consultancy companies is the Hay scheme. In its original form this relies on three factors know-how, problem solving, and accountability (Ulrich, 2005).  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Know-how is the sum of every kind of knowledge; skill and experience required for standard acceptable job performance. Problem solving is the self-starting thinking required by the job for analysing, evaluating, creating, reasoning, arriving and drawing conclusions. Accountability is the answerability for action and for the consequences of that action. It is measured effect of the job on end results (Fombrum et al, 2004).   While job evaluation is concerned with the value which companies put on jobs pay can also be focused on the individual and group i.e. pay is linked to assessment of individual or team performance, skills, competence or contribution. It could be skill based or performance based. Tesco uses a performance related method to reward its employees by bonuses and promotion (Grant, 2005). 3.3 Assess the effectiveness of reward systems in different contexts The reward system is good method to keep the employees motivated. Reward will be given thorough annual, weekly, or monthly bases or hourly rate of pay for a capable worker to perform a job (Armstrong, 1992). Reward power will be involve on two factors; First, indirect pay which is coming through giving a lifestyle break, free or reduced health benefits, discount gym membership, staff discount and company share options. Secondly, non-financial rewards which are the intrinsic rewards related to peoples needs and expectations such as those provided by any organisation which include career development and opportunities for personal development by providing a career break. Achievement, recognition and responsibility are some of the other intrinsic rewards.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The main aim of the rewards system is to Attract enough recruits with the right qualities and qualifications to satisfy organisational requirements. Retain employees with the core skills and competencies needed by the organisation. Motivate employees with a view to improving their on-the-job performance and commitment to the organisation. (Grant, 2005) The HRM is a department which puts a lot of stress on their reward system in order to apply its effectiveness. The idea that it might be possible to match a payment system and a set of circumstances in such a way as to achieve stated objectives deserves consideration. 3.4 Examine the methods organisations use to monitor employee performance In an effective organization, assignments and projects are monitored continually. Monitoring is a time after time measuring and providing ongoing feedback to employees and work groups on their progress toward achieving goals (Ulrich, 2005). Regulatory requirements for monitoring system is that which comparing employees performance according to the required standards. The process is provides the opportunity to review the performance how well employee meet the programmed standards and to make changes to unrealistic or problematic standards. So monitoring process is a way to avoid and rectify the unacceptable performances and provide the assistance. With this process an organisation can get better support to its staff on all level and thats why they are able to monitor and also assist when needed (Mockler, 2002). Task 4.1 Identify the reasons for cessation of employment with an organisation Resignation An employee can resign, or terminate his own employment, for a number of reasons. like employee is not satisfied with the job or unhappy, and could get better offer for the same job and some time some personal reason also effects their decision to leave the job. If the employee resigns, then employer need to find the cause behind and arrange interview to verify the cause, and employer should ask for the resignation in writing and retain that documentation (Fombrun et al, 1994). Layoff If there is a lack of work, if the company is in financial trouble, and May the specific job is not necessary or not needed then the company can layoff employee. So this process will be under the legal regulation. For example it is under the notification of the employee, Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, employers must give employees advance notice of closings and layoff. It is make employee and their family to adjust and make new arrangement for them or seeking unemployment benefits (Fombrun et al, 1994). Merger/Buyout A merger is another possible cause to affect the employees. Even though the employer doesnt want to do so, in some cases employers offer a severance package to employees terminated under these circumstances (Boxall, 1992). For Cause It happens when employee behaviour effects the companys reputation and other workers. For instance, if employee making some falsifier their time card or physically attacks a co worker, and this will be the cause of their termination, then employer should systematically document the employees behaviour when terminating Them (Boxall, 1992). Poor Performance Poor performance is other biggest cause of employee termination when employee doesnt fulfil their job commitment and fail to comply with the position. Before terminates that employee, employer will given the time to rectify the deficiency performance and given a time frame to keep correct it. And the documentation also needed before termination of the employee (Fombrun et al, 1994). 4.2 Describe the employment exit procedures used by two organisations Employment exit procedure used at a software company Every day in companies, people begin and terminate their employment. This continual movement of people can, and often does, result in a major security exposure, specifically in cases of employee separation. It is not uncommon to hear stories of retribution by terminated employees who feel they have been treated unfairly. This may be in the form of computer hacking, sabotage, illegal entry onto company property, and other forms of wrongdoing. The damage caused can be severe and can seriously affect the company and its employees. An  employee exit procedure  should be formally prepared, documented, and published to provide consistency for managers in dealing with terminated employees, i.e., items to be collected from an employee leaving the company, and computer / system access to be expediently inactivated. Briefly, as an example, the manager of an employee leaving the company should do the following: Collect keys, parking passes, ID cards, access cards, company credit cards, and travel call cards. Collect any off-site equipment, such as computers, cell phones, and pagers.   Arrange to have network IDs disabled, and delete or inactivate any other system access. Deactivate voice mail, and remove or re-assign phones. Employment exit procedure commonly used in Banks Resignation letter in written form Process on resignation letter Employee exit interview Acceptance of resignation Exit check list Clean out the office desk, files, etc, and return all supplies to production, take all personal belongings. Return all company credit cards Hand in all copies of reports and manuals Delete software from personal laptops or home computers 4.3 Consider the impact of the legal and regulatory framework on employment cessation arrangements Upon receiving notice to layoff and redesign job descriptions of employees, specific areas were reviewed in order to make a decision that would provide the best outcome for the company.  Ã‚  These areas include job performance, productivity, special achievements, job responsibility, educational qualifications, absenteeism and status (Truss Gratton, 2004). Length of service should play a role to make decision for reduction in company (non union) but it should be taken into thought along with skill level. An employee can not save their job only because of the several year services with the organisation. So an employee needs to be reviewing their performance (Fombrun et al, 1994). An existing employee is assets of the organisation because of their best services and know how to performing and cop with requirement and he/she is a strong candidate because new employee needs to further training to meet the required standard. So one very important thing is that new hire may have lots of experience and education than employee then who have been with the organization, this is complex, which will need to be taken into consideration. Some of the employees that have been with the organization for a long time may be looking to retire or would be interested in a severance package (Ulrich, 2005). Longest service generally is the basis of determining severance payment for every one but it is considering the most senior employee. One weeks salary per year of service is the most common term, based severance benefit for exempt and non-exempt employees, while two weeks is the median for officers and other executives (Truss Gratton, 2004).

Value Chain Analysis Toyota Motor

Value Chain Analysis Toyota Motor Toyota Motors vision is to be the most successful and respected company that can created the happiness for customers. Toyota also wants to be the best solution of the automobile industry with the variety of its products, and the best quality of its people and technology. Mission of Toyota motor is to provide customer with safe and sound journey. Because of Toyota concern with the environmental-friendly is the first and most important issue for its working, so it developed many new technology for energy saving and diversify energy source while Toyota also concern for creating a good and clean society. Meanwhile, Toyota Motor Thailands vision is to be the leader of Toyota Asia Pacific and Toyota motor network around the world that be the most respected and admired company in Thailand. For the mission, it wants to strengthen its production and support the collaboration in the Asia Pacific area that can achieves the high customer satisfaction and market share. Moreover, Toyota Thailand focuses on the safety with the first issue for its working and also wants to create social quality through many useful society activities. 2. Value Chain Analysis ( focus on Toyota Motor Thailand ) Toyota uses a Cost Leadership as its generic strategy. Toyota has been trying to reduce their costs in every stage of value chain but still, they need to maintain the high-quality standard. So, each stage of the analysis will show how it links the cost leadership strategy to the value chain. 2.1. Inbound logistics In this stage, Toyota receives parts from both local and international suppliers. They ship components from international suppliers by ships then deliver to production plant by trucks and for local suppliers in Thailand, trucks with full-loaded are used. This way they can buy components at cheaper price. Toyota makes suppliers making a commitment that they will share any innovation in the suppliers group that produces similar products. This will make suppliers produce better quality parts, more efficiently. Also they use Just-in-time and Milk run. (see appendix) Just-in-time is a part of lean management. It reduces lead time, inventory level, so holding cost decreases. In this stage, by applying JIT, we will receive parts from suppliers at the right time and right amount. Because we will order parts at the amount the production plants really need. For this method, you offset holding cost with ordering cost. Milk run is the method you use logistics providers to get auto parts from all suppliers in the routes and deliver to production plants. This method can reduce traffic at the production plants. There will be fewer trucks because sometimes many suppliers used to deliver their supplies to the plants but now only logistics providers truck with full-loaded of parts from different suppliers. Also, this will make inventory level decreases, because you will receive the parts many times a day, instead of getting a big lot once in a while. So cost in traffic management and holding cost decrease. 2.2 Operation After receiving components from suppliers, now production plants put all the parts together at their own production plants in Sum Rong, Gateway and Baan Poh. This can be called as Lean manufacturing which involve of Just-in-time, Jidoka and Kaizen. (see appendix) For Just-in-time, Kanban has been used to help achieving. Kanban tells you what to produce, when to produce and how much to produce by handing cards along in the production process. So you wont produce if the previous production process has not passed you the card, which also could not get started if there is no demand from customers. Also it could reduce lead time, which satisfies customers, because it can respond to customer demand immediately. Furthermore, no stocking occurs in the production plants. Jidoka can reduce defective goods by detecting the production process closely, so if any problem occurs in the assembly line, the production line will be stopped immediately, fixed and make sure that it will not happen again. When less defective goods occurs, the production system becomes more reliable, higher quality, the chance that customers will get defective goods will decrease, satisfaction increases. Kaizen is used to improve all functions continuously. It starts with idea generations, then tests the best with the standardized process, if it is good, they will apply that idea to the old process. The key in this method is to keep improving, never stop generating ideas and test to see whether it is a good idea. By Kaizen, it creates value to customers because they will get better and better product from the improvement in production process. For Toyota, it has worked on improving their lean manufacturing system in order to spread their fixed costs more over production. They have surpassed Ford and GM in production and costs. They can produce 15 cars per worker which is far more than the 4.7 vehicles per employee Ford can produce. By creating more cars to sell, Toyota has effectively spread their fixed costs over more production. 2.3 Outbound Logistics After products are finished, production plants need to delivery its finished goods with the full-loaded truck of cars directly to its own showrooms following the demand order of each showroom. Toyota Motor Thailand manages its own showrooms around the country. It helps customers to find Toyotas product easily. In the distribution process, Toyota will wait for the customers demand. Most of the car will be parked at the parking lots in which they are waiting for the purchasing orders from the dealers. For the cars that already have been placed purchasing orders from customers, they will be parked at the point of exchange and will be sent to the customers as fast as possible. And around 15 % of the cars that have been parking in the park lots will be sent to the near parking lots for further sending to the dealers In Thailand, there are 119 dealers with 319 showrooms that Toyota production plants in Thailand have to serve. For this outbound logistics in Thailand, Toyota has developed a system called Vehicle Logistics which is a cluster deliver. In the past, one truck can carry 3 large-sized cars and 6 small-sized cars. In nowadays, it is improved so that one truck can carry 4 large-sized cars and 8 small-sized cars. This also helps save the transportation cost for the company as well as reduces carbon dioxide emission to protect the environment which is one of the Toyotas purposes. 2.4 Marketing and Sales At this stage, Toyota communicates their cars by focus more on local area and specific lifestyle to satisfy the different need in each area by using below the lines marketing. It is because Toyota found out that auto market expanded more than 50% from the previous year and only mass media cannot build up attention of its target. So, Toyota decided to offer more of its events through segmenting lifestyles of its customers such as for people who love racing, Toyota offers the Toyota One Make Race which the event is for racing Toyota cars and to show quality of Vios and Yaris, around the country. For sport market, Toyota offer itself to be a sponsor in many sports that popular in Thailand, boxing and football, such as the Toyota Thai boxing marathon Vigo smart and the Toyota premier cup 2010. Toyota also provided 100 cars for the prize of short film competition in the Film Expo Asia 2010. However, Toyota tries to expand its events in every part of Thailand which Toyota will not control all of those events but local dealer to be the one who manage each event. This method can make Toyota get more attention from people in different lifestyle and help to increase the impulse purchasing from customer. Environmental friendly is the one that Toyota considers as its first issue for working. Therefore, Toyota pushes many CSR activities for save environment and improve the society such as the White Road Campaign to teach children about traffic regulations and safety through fun and practical lessons Toyota also communicates and updates its news through electronic media such as its website, www.toyota.co.th. Moreover, direct mail is a tool for people who want to receive news through e-mail from Toyota by register on its website. Brand ambassador also another tools that Toyota use for gain more attention from people by using celebrities who popular in at that time for promote its cars such as it used Joe-Wan AF to be brand ambassador for New Toyota Vios in concept of Make it happen. Even though Toyota focus more on below the line advertising but it also communicate its cars through Mass media such as Toyota launch its advertisement of New Toyota Vios, which has Joe-Wan AF to be a presenter, through television, radio, newspapers, magazine, and billboard. As a result, people aware that Toyota has new Vios in the market because mass media can communicate in wide area. Besides Toyota communicated its cars by advertisement and promotion for its current targeted, it tries to catch new target customer which is a teenager with in-trends lifestyle by building a place for hanging out, learning, and show up their creative of student at the center of teenager, Siam Square. This place was called The Style by Toyota which has the concept of Edutainment that people can come to this place to have fun with many entertainments and can also learn new technology or news of Toyota in the same time. Moreover, Toyota also launch a new model of its cars, Yaris beà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Groovy, to satisfy its new targeted which are teenager from 18-25 years old with fashionable lifestyle. Toyota change its Yaris to be superior and fashionable with its new technology ,such as engine start, from its Vios and Honda Jazz which is a main of its competitor. Therefore, the price of Yaris beà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Groovy also higher than the main competitor which is Honda Jazz for make customer s value its Yaris to be high quality than Honda Jazz. 2.5 Services After customers make a purchase of automobiles, the most important thing they need is customer service, which are check service. Toyota provides its customers a guarantee after purchased by 36 months or 100,000 km. depends on an offer. For this guarantee, if there is any defect components or any activity that affects from the irresponsible of an assembly line. Toyota will replace and fix those for free. This guarantee could also pass along through different ownerships but within 36 months or 100,000km. Express Maintenance is after sale service for car checking. They can give customers a fast service, normally within 1 hour or the given exact time by having 2 technicians check on your car and a boss to make sure that your car meets their standards. Also, they provide a very comfortable waiting room for customers or if you can ask the technicians about problems you have with your car, you can. From the room, you can see the place where all the cars are being checked. There are magazines, TV, snacks, soft drinks for customers to enjoy. Toyota Sure is a Certified Used Cars center. It is the place where you can sell, buy or exchange your used Toyota car with a better deal. They buy at a standard price. They make sure that the cars they are selling meet the same standard, with high quality. About 176 points need to be checked before they sell those cars. Every car that has been purchased, they offer a 1-year warranty or within 20,000. And they offer a wide service with more than 50 Toyota Sure across Thailand. 3. Porters Five Forces Analysis on Automotive Industry 3.1 Threat of new entrants: Barriers to entry Economies of Scale: High If we take a look at a big players in this industry; Toyota, Ford or GM, that sell the products to many countries all around the world. We could see that they are producing in the large amount. And of course, this is in the advantage of economies of scale. For automobile industry, it is very large and of course economies of scale must have been successfully reached. In order to compete in this big industry, a manufacture must be able to achieve economies of scale. It is generally valued to be a low-cost producer, sales of over four million vehicles a year are necessary. For this to happen, manufacturers have mass-production of the automotives so that the price of product will be affordable to the customers. This also implies that, the more the company produces the lower cost per unit. This means in term of the fixed cost like the rent, the electricity, the overhead cost, etc. The company can save the advertising cost and the transportation cost as well. As once they pay for the advertising cost or transportation cost, the cost per one unit is less if there are more units produce to sell. Therefore, for this industry, it requires high economies of scale for the businesses to compete. Product differentiation: High For the automobile industry, for sure there will be high product differentiation. As we can see in daily lives, many brands of cars are in the roads and even if in the same brand there will be many models available for customers to choose. Nowadays cars demonstrate a variety of features in which they differ from their predecessors that an entrant has to spend big amounts on safety, motor management, comfort, design, and numerous electronics functions. However, the innovative technology can also be one of the tools that established firms use to make their differentiation in products as well as create brand identification and customer loyalties. For example, Toyota has been introduced the hybrid technology in many models of their cars. This also helps save the environment. However, Ford also comes up with a new model called Ford Fiesta that inventing the new technology that uses drivers sound to control the cars. Therefore, in the present day technology and design can be use to create the differentiation between brands and this helps to satisfy the needs of customers as well. Capital Requirement: High The investment in capital is another barrier to entry that it keeps the difficulty and inconvenience for the new entrants to enter in the industry, since it takes a marvelous amount of capital to manufacture the automobiles. It takes an extreme amount of capital not only to be able to manufacture the products but also to keep up with the Research and Development (RD) cost that is necessary for the innovation requirements and product development. So, in order to start the business, it requires quite a high investment. There must be an investment in term of the factory, machines, warehouses as well as other supporting facilities like service facilities. Lets take a look at the example of Toyota, in the year 2010 Toyota has invested its fund for the development of environment technologies, maintenance and replacement of manufacturing facilities, and the introduction of new products. And the net cash used in investing with these activities was  ¥2,850.1 billion for fiscal 2010. Therefore, in starting or existing in the automobile industry, high investment in capital is substantial. Switching Cost: Low For the automobile industry, the switching cost is low. Lets say if you would like to change from buying a Honda car to a Toyota one, this would take you a little bit higher or smaller amount of money for you to pay. As there are many competitors for customers to choose and there are in competitive price, the price for each brand is not largely different. However, the switching cost is not only mean in term of the money or the amount you have paid, but this also involves your time, energy, and other costs that have been used to search or learn for the information base on the new brand you want to purchase. Since people get familiar with the car and they can also listen from the words of mouth from their family or friends so, they might not have to pay a large amount of time or energy to search for information. Therefore the switching cost from one brand to others is low and the gap of price among brands is not largely different. Access to distribution channels: High Access to distribution channels is another high barrier to entry. A company must find a dealership to sell their automobiles or consider having their own dealership. Also, considering with dealership, since space in the dealerships lots is quite limited. This makes it difficult to have a wider variety of inventory. And of course, to find a dealership is not that easy regardless of brand awareness Limited capacity within distribution channels (e.g., brand reputation), risk aversion by dealer ship, and the  ¬Ã‚ xed costs associated with carrying an additional product can result in retailers being reluctant to carry a new manufacturers product Government policy: High Local content requirement is one of regulation that government set to protect the local automobile companies to get hurt from the foreign automotive manufacturer that access to invest in lower cost countries. It is a regulation, that automotive manufacturer, especially on Toyota which is the biggest firm from Japan have to follow, that required manufacturer to use some parts of car that come from local country. In Thailand, the government required that about 85% of local parts are for picks up cars production, almost 70% are for passenger cars, and around 100% are for motorbike. Imported car tax requirement is one major of regulations that control the quantity of imported finished or unfinished cars to target countries. In Thailand, the imported cars tax are charged around 200-300% of car values while the cars that produce in Thailand are charged only 40-70% of cars values. Even with the same brand, same series would be more expensive if it is imported. Therefore, the government policy of automaker in Thailand is high because government issued the law for protect the local firm intentionally. Which mean its really hard for new entrants to import their cars or invest production in Thailand because regulations that government required, new automotive manufacturer need to have good relationship of suppliers to send the parts for productions and if some parts of productions need to import from oversea, it will effect a lot for new manufacturers to face the high cost of tax. In conclusion, the threat of new entrants for automotive industry is high. 3.2 Threat of substitute products: Low Transportation system such as buses, trains, motorbike, sky train, subway, ferries, and airplane are consider as one major of substitute products of automobile. Because transportation system can satisfy people need that for transport people from one place to another, similar to automobiles. Moreover, nowadays the oil price is rising continuously due to the hedge of world price of oil; it tends to motivate more people to use transportation system which can save their money. Environmental effect is also one reason that makes people turn to transportation system because of the driving more cars, the more Co2. So, people concern more of the earth and environment that make them try to change their lifestyle. As people take more interest on time than before especially on working time in urban people so instead of get stuck on the road from traffic jam and wasting time, people turn rely on sky train and subway for saving time and cost. In Bangkok, even though it has the rate of using sky tr ain slightly increased from 132,071,000 people to 146,964,000 people in 3 years, but the rate of cars on the road also high more than 2 times when it compare with the sky train using rate in same period of time. Moreover, for Thai people, car is more than a vehicle. It also shows the image and social status of the driver. That is why Thai people value cat as social materialism and they do not want to go by public transportation like bus to show lower social status. (see table in appendix) Walking, riding bicycle is other substitute product for using car because these activities can also bring people to other place without tax paid like taxes of imported car, and it can benefit more for personal health and environmental advantages. But concerning with Thai weather which is quite hot, therefore it is quite impossible for a person to go by bicycles in a far distance. Therefore, threat of substitute products of automobile is low. As well as, the management of transportation system in Thailand is lower than the standard that should be. In addition, Thailand do not have good city plan system for transportation so people in Thailand willing to pay more of cost and time for private cars more than using transportation system. Moreover, the weather in Thailand is not suitable for walking or riding a bicycle for other place because it too hot and wet. So even though there are many ways to transport people from one place to another place but private car also offer people more personal and comfortable. 3.3 Suppliers Power: Low As there are about top 49 vehicle manufacturing groups (by volume), range from big players like Toyota, General Motor, Volkswagen Group to local groups such as, Ashok Leyland from India, Navistar International Corporation from USA which produces trucks, internal frameworks, Diesel engines, buses, and school buses. For suppliers, there are about thousands suppliers around the world. When talking about suppliers, it means to supply from very small components such as battery boxes, battery switches, electrical fuses, etc. to bigger components, such as wheels and tires because normally car makers outsource those components and out together those components in their own manufacturing plants. So, suppliers power in automobile industry is low because they are lots of suppliers with very few top vehicle manufacturing companies. This means automakers have a high bargaining power over the suppliers; the suppliers rely much on those auto makers. If the supplier does not meet auto makers expectations or rules in terms of standard, price, lead time, etc., they can just switch to a new supplier. 3.4 Bargaining Power of Buyers: Moderately high The buyers can purchase almost all of the industries output since there are many brands for them to choose. The manufacturers depend on them to stay in business. The buyers also are a significant portion of the industries revenue. If they cannot keep their buyers with satisfaction then they are in risk to lose them to their competitors. However, the buyers may go for the other brands if they are not satisfied. All the buyer do is sell the car they own and purchase a new one. For example, like I buy a car from Toyota and I am not satisfy with it I can sell it and purchase a new Honda. The reasons why the power is not completely high is that the buyers are not large and few in number. The buyers do not have the ability to integrate backwards into the industry. If they want a car then they have to purchase it from a dealership. 3.5 Intensity of rivalry among competitor: High In Thailand, Toyota holds almost half of the market share, along with 2 big holders which are Isuzu and Honda. So we could say that automobile industry is a consolidated industry, which means it has few big players who hold major control within the industry. For car industry, they compete in the similar target market, price, and product innovation. When one company comes up with one of those techniques, other companies tend to follow. For example, Toyota Yaris launched the first generation in 1999; two years later Honda Jazz had been introduced to the market and in 2007 Mazda launched Mazda2 to the market. These 3 cars, Jazz, Yaris and Mazda2 are segmented as a hatchback subcompact car. They target same group of people who are looking for affordable transportation with fuel efficiency, young and energetic. They all come with slightly different prices with slightly different options, performance and promotion. (see appendix ) For automobile industry, the intensity of rivalry is high because there are few big players where 1 product innovation encourages other companies to launch the same type of product, either with the same or better function or more valuable. They could not let anyone take a step ahead for so long, because they would lose a high market share to the product leader. 5. Implementing Strategies Lean Manufacturing failure and Vertical Integration Toyota had to recall millions of Prius, Tundra and many other models during the past years, from their gas-paddles, floor mats, fuel-pressure sensor, etc. These results from Toyota tried to cut their unnecessary costs too much, to reduce any waste as it said in Lean Manufacturing strategy. The reason why many models of Toyota had been recalled is because Toyota used the same model of those defective goods from suppliers in many models, to gain more Economy of Scale, for company to reduce cost and get a higher margin. These recalls caused sales of Toyota to decline by 16% last year. As we can see that the problem arises from defective goods from a supplier, so we could apply the Vertical Integration to supply components, instead of outsourcing. This way we can control and maintain a standard of Toyota cars, protecting a companys image and creditability. Push and Pull Strategy As Toyota has been implementing the Pull Strategy, which mean they usually wait for the demand to come then produce, as applying the Kanban tools. But sometimes, this results a long lead time for customers. From this situation, Toyota should integrate Push and Pull strategy together to balance customer satisfaction and cost. For Pull strategy, they already gained a benefit from producing less excess inventory, reduce cost, and flexibility of products increases. But for Push Strategy, they can use for high-stable-demand products. For example, applying push strategy with the popular car color, features and model. So if you already have those high-demand cars for customers, customer satisfaction will definitely increase, due to less lead time. Normally, people tend to buy more cars during the Motor Show session because they get a better deal. In this case, after having a demand forecast, we could produce cars in advance. Centralized distribution system This strategy is used to respond to Push Strategy because when finished goods are waiting for demand, they will need a space for cars to store. By using this system, fixed cost, renting cost, overhead cost, electricity and water, etc. reduces; also inbound cost because instead of delivering goods to many distribution centers, you only deliver to fewer centers, risk decreases but outbound cost increases, comparing to cost that incurred from decentralized distribution system. Time Postponement Toyota has been implementing the Manufacturing Postponement, which directly links to Kanban, wait for demand to start producing, but if Toyota would apply the Push strategy and centralized distribution system, they should apply Time Postponement Strategy too. Because it means that the finished cars would be kept in central location and wait for demand to deliver the orders to customers. Demand Driving Strategy As we want to implement the Push Strategy along with the Pull Strategy, Toyota can use this strategy to forecast demand for Push Strategy from historical data to develop an expected demand from customers. But also demand could change, due to marketing, advertising campaign on your products, trends (about color for example), economic condition, etc. So as you forecast, these factors should be include under your consideration, in order to get the most accurate forecast. And the more accurate your forecast is, the fewer inventories you have to hold, the more cost reduction and the more customer satisfaction. Graph1: the comparison of using Sky Train and cars from 2007 to 2009 in Thailand. Table1: The table shows the specification of Toyota Yaris, Honda Jazz, Mazda2, and Suzuki Swift. Toyota official website www.toyota.com Toyota Thailand website www.toyota.co.th/th/toyota2009_home Figure 3: Milk Run delivery system Figure 4: The differences between doing business as usual and practicing Lean Manufacturing Figure 56: Toyota Production System including Just-in-time, Jidoka and Kaizen Guarantee after sales Express maintenance Toyota sure Below the line Mass media Vehicle logistics Deliver directly from plants to dealer Just-In-Time Milk Run Just-In-Time Jidoka KaiZen Figure 2: Strategy used in Toyota Motor Thailand Value chain Appendix A Figure 1: Toyota Motor Thailand Value Chain Appendix B Toyota Innovative Technology Hybrid Technology What is hybrid technology? A hybrid system combines different power sources to maximize each ones strengths, while compensating for the others shortcomings. A gasoline-electric hybrid system, for example, combines an internal combustion engines high-speed power with the clean efficiency and low-speed torque of an electric motor that never needs to be plugged in. Are all hybrids creating equal? There are several ways in which electric motors and a gas/petrol engine can be combined. Toyota perfected the series/parallel or full hybrid to deliver the energy-saving benefit of a series hybrid together with the acceleration benefit of a parallel hybrid. Two key technologies the power split device and sophisticated energy management make this possible. They constantly optimize the flows of mechanical power and electric power for safe and comfortable vehicle operation at the highest possible efficiency. The Full Hybrid Toyotas unique hybrid system combines an electric motor and a gasoline engine in the most efficient manner. It saves fuel and reduces emissions while giving ample power. For more information: www.toyota.global.com/innovation/environmental_technology/hybrid/ THE TOYOTA PRODUCTION SYSTEM Toyotas approach to automobile production, with its inherent quality controls, revolutionized the industry. Its just-in-time supply-chain concept has become a model for manufacturers around the world, and not just for automakers. The Toyota Production System (TPS) calls for the end product to be pulled through the system. This means the right parts reach the assembly line at the right place, just as they are needed, and with no excess. This approach represented a radical departure from conventional manufacturing systems, which require large inventories in order to push as much product as possible through production lines, regardless of actual demand. The idea of TPS, the contrary, is to produce only the products required in the precise quantities desired at a given point in time Focus on flexibility By basing production on demand rather than simply on capacity, Toyota manages to keep inventories, both of parts and of finished goods, to a strict minimum. But this is only one of the more obvious advantages of Toyotas unconventional approach. By focusing on smaller production lots and producing only what customers require when they require it, Toyota has developed a flexibility and responsiveness that continues to set the standard for the industry. With its attention to continuous improvement (Kaizen), Toyota has attained die-changeo

For this piece of coursework, I am going to compare two Poems produced :: English Literature

For this piece of coursework, I am going to compare two Poems produced by Simon Armitage. For this piece of coursework, I am going to compare two Poems produced by Simon Armitage. His website has quoted that he is one of the most exciting younger poets that combines accessible humor and realist style with critical significance and has been short listed for the Whitbread Prize, TS Eliot Prize and Forward Prize. When he jumped genres, the critics moan about his first novel Little Green Man (2001) for its lack of poeticism; he said he "just wanted to tell a story", but the Guardian saw this tale of adult men trapped in childhood games as a "piece of low-key, frill-free lad-lit". "About his person" is a poem about a dead man who has been discovered. The title of the poem gives a sense that someone has written him, such as a Police officer's report. The form of layout is in 10 two-lined stanzas called rhyming couplets. The poem starts off in an ordinary way. It says "Five pounds fifty in change, exactly. A library card on its date of expiry". He had a postcard stamped but it wasn't sent to the person he was sending it to. The word "slashed" was used and this showed violence. It also showed that he was writing something quickly when the poem states "A pocket sized diary slashed with a pencil" From March 24th to 1st of April, something happened during that period of time and we don't know what it is. This makes us wonder in suspicion, what it was about. In his hand there is a piece of paper with his own handwriting on it: "A final demand, in his own hand" and this suggests that it could be his bill order which is unpaid. It is not told what is exactly meant but I presume so. On the 6th stanza it says there was a rolled up note of explanation sprayed like a carnation. This gives us a hint that he committed to suicide. The words "explanation" and "carnation" both rhyme like a simile. It gives emotion to the poem from feeling sad about "his" death. He also had possession of a photograph that was in the shape of a heart. This has given a hint why he has committed suicide maybe because he lost a loved one. For example his wife, who would be important to him. "No gold or silver, but crowning one finger" states that he had a wedding ring and this links up to the previous stanza that he was married.

Alligators Essay -- Animals, Environment, Hunters

The American alligator scientific name is Alligator mississippiensis. The Chinese alligator is the only other alligator in the alligator family and its scientific name is alligator sinensis. The American alligator is in the kingdom Animalia because it is an animal. The phylum is chordate because it has vertebrae. The American alligator is in the class reptilia because it is cold blooded, lays shelled eggs, scaly skin and breaths air. Alligators are in the order crocodilian because it is a large animal that appeared during the Cambrian stage. The American alligator is in the family alligator idea because it has larger, broader snouts, and can withstand colder temperatures. The genus is alligator and the species is Mississippiensis (Florida nature,2006). The American alligators have many physical characteristics. Their size ranges from six to twelve feet. A full grown male can weigh up to one thousand and two hundred pounds. The American alligator has a long round snout with nostrils at the end. An alligator has two eyes towards the top of its head. Also alligators have a long thin body that has four legs and a long tail (EDIS, 2009) The American alligator lives in wetlands in southeastern United States from North Carolina to Texas. Wetlands are areas of standing water such as bogs, swamps, ponds, and marshes. Alligators mostly live in fresh water wetlands, but sometimes alligators live in brackish water. Brackish water is water that has more saline or salt water than fresh water. Alligators can’t live in salt water because they do not have an effective salt gland. American alligators live in temperate climate with cold winters and warm summers. The average temperature is 50 degree Fahrenheit a year and 40 to 60 inches of rainfall... ...and food. Their skin is used to make high quality leather. In 1950, American alligators were seriously endangered because humans were over hunting alligators. Then in 1967, the endangered species preservation act stopped the hunting of alligators and the number of alligators quickly rose. Now there are millions of alligators and people are allowed to hunt alligators again. Alligators are losing their habitat because wetlands are being filled to create land for houses, farms, and industries. Alligators are very dangerous animals to humans. Alligator attacks occur around seven times a year, but few are lethal. When people feed them, alligators learn not to be afraid of humans. This causes more alligator attacks and alligators to become more aggressive with humans. Ninety percent of all alligator attacks are caused from people feeding alligators. (langly,2005)

War of 1812 :: essays research papers

List and discuss the events leading up to the War of 1812 and the impact it had on American and Great Britain relations, and the American economy. During Jefferson’s second term in office, fighting between Great Britain and France was posed as a threat to American shipping. Napoleon made the decision to exclude British goods from Europe. As a result, Great Britain decided to blockade Europe and prevent ships from entering or leaving the country. A year later, Britain confiscated American cargoes and seized more than a thousand American ships. France had seized about five hundred American ships as well. America’s anger began to focus mainly on the British, even though France was also involved. This was because of the British policy of impressments. The British decided to capture American sailors, or draft them into the British navy. Also, in 1807, the commander of a British warship insisted on boarding and searching the United States naval frigate Chesapeake. When a United States captain refused to allow him onboard, the British killed three Americans and wounded eighteen. As a result, Jefferson convinced Congress to declare an embargo and ban exporting products to other countries. The Embargo Act of 1807 was eventually lifted in 1809 because it stifled American business. A group of young congressmen, known as the war hawks, were angered by the presence of Native Americans in the Indiana territory. Trobule began when General William Henry Harrison persuaded several Native American chiefs to sign away three million acres of tribal land to the United States government. A confederacy of Native Americans began to organize a fight for their homeland against intruding white settlers. This was lead by Shawnee Chief Tecumseh. Tecumseh’s brother lead the Shawnee in an attack on Harrison, but was defeated. When the war hawks found out that the confederacy was using arms from British Canada, they again called for war. James Madison, another Virginia Republican, declared war against Britain in 1812. He believed that Britain was trying to strangle American trade and weaken the American economy.

Froebels Idea Of The Importance Of Play Education Essay

Friedrich Wilhelm August Froebel ( 1782-1852 ) is commonly best known as the conceiver of the Kindergarten system. He was a German educationist who was brought up with a strong Christian religion, which was polar to his educationist idea. His love for nature besides weighs heavy on his thoughts and religion. He gained acknowledgment from his first major work in 1826 The Education of Human Nature, but became celebrated subsequently in life when his kindergarten system gained recognition. His thoughts of kindergarten later took root in England, America and Australia and his work and thoughts subsequently influenced Karl Marx. Froebel believed in the integrity in all things saying that: â€Å" an ageless jurisprudence pervades and governs all things. The footing of this all-controlling jurisprudence is an all-pervading, living, self witting and therefore ageless integrity. This integrity is God. † He believed in the integrity of cognition and the interconnectedness of all things. Froebel was of the sentiment that there are defined phases of babyhood, childhood, boyhood and manhood. Stage two of childhood was what Froebel deemed the most of import because he felt that at this phase they begin to come to footings with the integrity of the existence and get down inquiring inquiries about life. His apprehension of childhood was such that each kid has a godly kernel and is linked to the existence: â€Å" it is, so, with childhood that existent instruction begins. At this clip the head demands more attention and attending than does the organic structure † Froebel believed in the kid as basically good. He said â€Å" the lone infallible redress for antagonizing any defects and even evil is to happen the originally good beginnings, the originally good side of the humanaˆÂ ¦ † his belief of the built-in goodness of a kid relates to his thoughts that the kid should be encouraged to assist and educate themselves in a certain regard. He thought that single human chances would come about through the work of the person. He believed that â€Å" the intent of instruction is to promote and steer adult male as a witting, believing and comprehending being in such a manner that divine interior jurisprudence through his ain personal pick ; instruction must demo him the ways and significances of achieving that end. † Froebels ‘ strong belief that kids are of course originative persons and through drama they become cognizant of their topographic point in the universe led to one of his cardinal component of his pedagogical system, which is that of drama. He felt that broadens their apprehension of the environment they live in. Froebel thought that â€Å" drama is the purest, most religious activity of adult male at this phase, † and that â€Å" play, so, is the highest look of human development in childhood, for it entirely is the free look of what is in the kid ‘s ‘ psyche. † Froebel placed this accent on drama in Kindergarten with the usage of gifts ( play stuffs ) and businesss ( activities ) . He believed that worlds are basically productive and originative and through prosecuting with the universe, understanding could blossom. He presented the kids with a series of geometrical gifts that were in a system of classs. A gift was given one at a clip and the kid was left to detect its belongingss and possibilities for design. Here, Froebels thought of integrity was put into pattern, as each plaything related to the following in some manner, which exemplifies the integrity of all objects and things in the universe. For illustration, the first â€Å" gift † is a ball. Froebel writes that we should be â€Å" concerned merely with the ball itself in its simplest signifier and in its simplest dealingss. It may be free, or attached to a twine, and in each instance it can be moved either freely and indeterminately or vertically, horizontally, or sidelong, with mention to given surfaces. Here, as it were, it acts as a usher into the universe of things, following their lineations by its motions, and so stand foring themaˆÂ ¦should be considered in relation to the kid himself. † In this manner, the kid is free to detect the elements of the ball and educate and learn for themselves merely by observation and interaction with the ball. Froebel thought that â€Å" Every external object comes to adult male with the invitation to find its nature and relationships † the succeeding gift after the ball would be the Globe. Its has obvious similarities to the ball, but for a kid, it represents a new degree of apprehension, for illustration its weight means that it moves in a different manner to the ball. The Earth did non ostracize or replace the ball ; it reinforced the old gift of the ball. The kid would come on through phases of gifts and at the same time each phase of understanding. However Froebel was certain that â€Å" m erely the equal development of adult male at each predating phase can consequence and convey approximately equal development at each wining subsequently phase. † He finally felt that: â€Å" a toy is any thing which is related to the kid as agencies to a intent, and which, by making pleasant expectancy, calls forth drama in which he finds fresh and uninterrupted pleasance. † The activities set for the kids in Kindergarten included games, vocals and narratives designed to help in centripetal and physical development and socialization. By playing, kids socialise and copy grownup societal and economic activities as they are bit by bit led into the larger universe of group life. This relates to Froebels ‘ thought of whole kid instruction, where the kid is being educated all unit of ammunition as an person of society. Froebel believed that the teacher-student relationship should be one of equality, non authorization and felt that there should be a strong influence of the parent and siblings on the kid ‘s educational acquisition and ripening. He believed that the kid should have a spiritual instruction every bit good. He states: â€Å" I would educate human existences who with their pess stand rooted in Gods Earth, in nature, whose custodies reach even into Eden and there lay eyes on the truth, in whose Black Marias are united both Earth and Eden, the varied life of Earth and natureaˆÂ ¦ † I have discussed Froebels thought of the importance of drama in kindergarten and in the development of the kid. I believe it is one of his most specific and most emphatic elements of his pedagogical system. However In stating that term from the inquiry, it raises a few jobs. Pedagogy normally refers to a learning system of a comprehensive program on how to educate, whereas Froebels â€Å" teaching method † would be non to hold one. He believed that the kid ‘s environment made up the course of study for the instruction and the kids would learn themselves in certain ways and understand the environment and discover things for themselves. He said that: â€Å" aˆÂ ¦each single scholar contributes to, and collaborates in, his or her ain acquisition. † Through this job it is apparent that Froebel had certain thoughts on childhood that began his theoretical thoughts on kindergarten, which subsequently developed more to the full into a kind of teaching method. In decision it is clear that Froebel was extremely interested in the cardinal figure of the kid and their single acquisition experience, similar to that of today ‘s kid centred instruction. Froebel finally believed â€Å" the indispensable concern of the school is non so much to learn and to pass on a assortment and multiplicity of things, as it is to give prominence to the ever-living integrity that is in all things † Froebels kindergarten system and his thought of the nature of kids are rather cohesive in such ways that he allows the kid to educate themselves in the scene of the kindergarten thought usage of his gifts and allows the kid a certain freedom to research the natural universe and in bend develop their apprehension of the existence. He wanted to develop persons who were all rounded in their instruction and who had certain moral stances and who were in a manner, free minds. In decision, his overall apprehension and purpose of kindergarten was that: â€Å" Edu cation in other words, should take adult male to a clear cognition of himself, to peace with nature, to integrity with God. †

Gay Rights Persuasive Speech

What’s the definition of marriage to you? To me, it’s a great bond of two people under holy matrimony. Notice that I didn’t say a great bond of man and woman. Ninety percent of people might disagree on what I have said, but what about the other ten percent? The other ten percent have another twist on the fact that marriage doesn’t necessarily have to be the bond between man and woman, but may be as well, a brilliant bond between man and man or woman and woman. I truly believe that homosexuals should have the right to be able to marry their significant other and should be able to have as many rights as an average married couple because they should go ahead and love the person they really love, without any laws holding them back just because they’re homosexual. Homosexuals should be able to have rights, just like us. The reason that homosexuals choose to marry is due to the fact that marriage isn’t mainly about benefit, or respect, but mainly about love and family; the same reason that heterosexuals (straights) choose to marry. But, the one thing that holds them back is the law. Many states in the U. S banned homosexual marriage due to the fact that marriage between man and woman has been around for the past millennia. Lots of people thinks that same-sex marriage is one of the reasons that and that it supposedly wrecks the balance between traditional marriage and the balance between man and woman that’s supposed to equally balance the differences and family to create a brand- new creation to create man and woman as one. Phooey. People don’t know who is able to enforce marriage. The government has the actual power to marry people but society helps families through the emotional parts. Since marriage has no absolute definition, it’s not fair to not let gays marry. The state should allow gays to be with each other so that they can have a â€Å"marital† relationship. Even though most of society doesn’t accept the fact that homosexuals should marry, they are beneficial to others as well as states. Most homosexuals have the weight of pressure society gives to them in order for them to live a daily and average life. They’re like a very fragile vase ; they are beautiful people on the inside, but shatter instantly if you hurt them. Many homosexuals try very hard to fit in society, and yet society brings them own to a certain extent that they have no choice but to either commit suicide or hide in celibacy. Just think of washing your hair. If shampoo gets in your eyes, you feel an awful sensation and you want to wash it out right away. To homosexuals, fitting in into society and being accepted into society is just like that, but the pain never goes away. It just shatters my heart and feelings that society look down towards homosexuals, and that they tease them just how my older cousin did to me when I was a kid . Perhaps there would be more happy families and fewer sad deaths every day if society was more considerate and content for homosexuals. One of the main things that society doesn’t understand is that the ability to love and commit to each other is such a special gift that no one can take away or give two people the ability to love each other. The state could recognize these commitments, or they couldn’t. If you truly love someone to such a point where you basically die for the right of marriage, then I don’t really get it if the state were to not legalize homosexuals marrying, and at the same time, making many homosexuals die for the sake of legalizing just one tiny law out of thousands, maybe even millions. Homosexuals should have the right to marry their significant other. You all, being very well educated citizens of this so called â€Å"free nation† , should stand up and fight for the protection of another unique human; a homosexual. I would choose to gladly accept a law to rid of the invisible chain that locks the homosexuals to the law. Would you?