Me, Myself, and Why Problem Set Essay

1. What is the difference between self-interest and selfishness? Why is this distinction important when considering the competitive market economy as appropriate for society? Self-interest is looking out for your best interest and finding the best possible alternatives that will benefit yourself in the business world. Selfishness is putting your own interests above the interests of others and making decisions solely based on how they will benefit you. This distinction is imperative in considering the competitive market that is appropriate for society because you need to make sure that you are looking out for yourself but at the same time you should not make market decisions based solely off your own selfish interests. A selfish business man or woman will never be successful in the long run. 2. Does your textbook present only positive economics and avoid any normative economics? If not, give some examples of normative economics covered in your textbook. The textbook presents both positive economics and normative economics. An example of normative economics that is used in the textbook states â€Å"a value-free interpretation [of economics] leads to all sorts of abuses† (42). Normative economics incorporate subjectivity in to their analysis. Normative economics are heavily influenced by value judgment as well as theoretical situations. Normative economics are the opposite of positive economics. 3. What did Adam Smith believe serves to curb self-interest in an economy? â€Å"People care what others think of them and it is this desire for the good opinion of others that constrains people in their pursuit of self-interest† (41). Adam goes on to say, â€Å"this constraint is reinforced by competition and by the jurisprudence system† (41). Smith believes that others opinions shape what they pursue. Smith opposed the exclusive privileges of corporations and even went as far to oppose  regulations such as taxes which he claims gave individuals the ability to gain an unfair advantage. 4. What does it mean to seek the Kingdom of God in a democratic capitalist economy? How can it be done? Capitalism and Christianity can be combined. It may be difficult to combine the two because many Christians believe that it is better to always put the interests of others before yourself. However, Christ calls us to be good stewards of what He has given us and it is important to be good business men and woman that strive to be warriors for the Lord. Christ has not called us to be mediocre but to rise to the top and to shine for Him. The book states, â€Å"we’re not perfect, but we can strive to act righteously with in a system that accommodates both vice and virtue† (50).

Counseling African Americans Essay

Sue and Sue’s Chapter 14 Counseling African Americans spends a great deal of effort exploring cultural particulars and corresponding clinical implications while working with African Americans; factors such as family dynamics, educational orientation, spirituality, and the pressures and stress of racism and marginalization. This offered me perspective through a lens much broader than my own somewhat narrow, predominantly white, and fairly privileged way of relating to the world. Before understanding culturally appropriate interventions, one must have an understanding of the cultural context or the cultural word of an individual. For me, this first means that differences must be noted, either literally in relationship with the African American client or simply as a clinical observation I make on my own. Of course the difference in the two will depend on the client, context, and general relevancy in the moment. In my own experience, noting racial difference aloud with a client has been most helpful in that it gives permission for the potentially â€Å"taboo† topic of race and differences to be considered, brought into the space at a later time, and even into the forefront of consciousness. Apart from the explicit therapeutic relationship, noting difference is a personal reminder that I am no expert on anyone’s experience but my own, I may make mistakes (and probably will), I should steer clear of assumptions, it’s ok to be curious, and to do my homework. Once a general understanding of differences is established, then one can begin to consider appropriate therapeutic interventions. Let’s take the issue of racism and discrimination; the byproduct of these atrocities oftentimes manifests as defense and survival mechanisms in Black Americans. Which can lead to a general mistrust or as it’s stated (by Sue and Sue) a â€Å"healthy cultural paranoia†, as a way of coping. This mistrust can be of individuals, entire races of people, the government, social service providers†¦ With this in mind, it’s important to determine what the client’s feelings and understandings about therapy are. To touch base and explain what kind of therapy I engage in, how it can be helpful to them, and what can be expected of our time together. Hopefully this will help to assuage uneasy feelings of fear of the unknown or mistrust, as well as set up a foundation for a healthy therapeutic alliance. Although Sue and Sue’s Afrocentric perspective can be helpful it can also simultaneously be viewed as reductive. It’s important not to discount individual differences by universalizing traits of African Americans. Self cannot be defined as a unitary concept evolving from a single defining variable, such as race or gender (Williams, 1999). For instance, not all women are nurturing, caring, and relational. Similarly, not all African Americans possess an African ethos of communalism or spirituality. Race, class, sexual orientation, and gender are all complex interactive components that make up the self. To approach a client through the lens of only one of these variables, means potentially silencing a central component of their identity. Additionally, it is also necessary to consider an internal state without regard to the social demands of each variable. Collectively, these considerations can aide to a more holistic view when working with African American clients. Part Two After spending a year in practicum at the SF county jail, I feel as though I’ve had a fairly decent introduction to working with African American females. When I began practicum I had had very little training in diversity or cross-cultural counseling. Turns out that a year in the jail was one large training in diversity and cross-cultural counseling! Now I’m able to pin my personal experience against the readings and gauge my success as a culturally competent therapist. When assessing my strengths, I find that I possess a keen and tremendously empathic understanding of how the stress of racism, sexism, and oppression can manifest in African American women. Oftentimes the byproduct of this stress is what brings the individual to jail. As a clinician, I can confidently say that I am able to enter the therapeutic relationship with a greater capacity for empathy because of this understanding and build a strong alliance as an ally as well as a therapist. I’m not afraid to make mistakes and have no attachment to being â€Å"right†; these qualities will only support me as a clinician. In addition, my upfront demeanor and willingness to self-disclose have had a remarkable impact on the therapeutic relationship. My empathy is strongly with women and their plight of identifying and addressing all the â€Å"isms† that stand between them and equality, wholeness, and health. Frequently, those â€Å"isms† are at the hands of men and I certainly have a bias towards this, and towards men in general. It’s no accident that I spent an entire year of practicum working solely with women; although it wasn’t a conscious choice, I believe on some level I chose not to work with men. I have incredible biases towards men as perpetrators and oppressors and men and their privilege, African American men as well as Caucasian. These biases keep me terrified at the thought of working with male clients. I imagine heaps and heaps of countertransference between male clients and myself; countertransference that is full of pain and rage. I’m not sure that I have much to offer men inside the therapeutic space. I don’t believe this to be my â€Å"final answer†, I just know that I have some work to do around my relationship with men before I make the leap of working with them in such sacred space. Essentially, it all comes down to two core qualities- and they are humility and flexibility; humility in all that I think I know and the flexibility to shift or discard that knowledge. My experience of working with, knowing, and reading about African American culture, difference, and oppression may or may not serve me as a therapist at any given moment. What works for and makes sense in the context of Client A, may not be so for Client B, and vise versa. Although it is crucial to have fundamental knowledge of the legacy of oppression against African American people and to consider factors such as interdependence, collectivism, and emotional vitality as presumed long- standing black personality traits, I must also be able to draw connections between those factors and the individual experience- much like the womanist techniques mentioned in Carmen Braun Williams’ article African American Women, Afrocentrism and Feminism: Implications for Therapy. As a therapist, I am responsible for guiding and supporting the client in making the shift from object to subject; transferring ownership of self from one whose self is externally determined to one who is self- determining (Freire, 1990). And practice practice practice, with an open heart, ears, and mind. References Braun Williams, C. (1999). African American women, afrocentrism and feminism: Implications for therapy. Women & Therapy, Vol. 22(4) 1999. Freire, P. (1990). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Continuum. Sue, D. & Sue, D. (2008). Counseling the culturally diverse: Theory and practice, Chapter 14.

Master of International Business Essay

What is inventory turnover? How can a high inventory turnover ratio be detrimental to a firm? Inventory turnover refers to the number of times that inventory is sold in a one year period. It can be calculated by dividing the cost of goods sold for a particular period by the average inventory for that period. High inventory turnover may signal a low level of inventories, which can increase the chance of product stockouts. 2. Distinguish among cycle, safety, pipeline, and speculative stock. Cycle (base) stock refers to inventory that is needed to satisfy normal demand during the course of an order cycle. Safety (buffer) stock refers to inventory that is held in addition to cycle stock to guard against uncertainty in demand and/or lead time. Pipeline (in-transit) stock is inventory that is en route between various nodes in a logistics system, while speculative stock is inventory that is held for several reasons to include seasonal demand, projected price increases, and potential product shortages. 3. Define what is meant by inventory carrying costs. What are some of its main components? Inventory carrying costs refer to the costs associated with holding inventory. Inventory carrying costs consist of a number of different components, and their importance can vary from product to product. These components include obsolescence costs, shrinkage costs, storage costs, taxes, and interest costs. 4. Discuss the concept of stockout costs. How can a stockout cost be calculated? Stockouts refer to situations where customers demand items that are not immediately available and stockout costs refer to the costs associated with not having items available. Calculation of a stockout cost first requires a company to classify potential customer responses to a stockout (e. g. , delays the purchase, lost sale, lost customer). Next, the company needs to assign probabilities to the various responses as well as to assign monetary losses to the various responses. The respective probabilities and losses are multiplied together and then all costs are summed to yield an average cost of stockout. 5. Distinguish between a fixed order quantity and fixed order interval system. Which one generally requires more safety stock? Why? In a fixed order quantity system, the order size stays constant (although the time interval between orders may vary); in a fixed order interval system, the time interval is constant (although the order size may vary). The infrequency of inventory monitoring makes a fixed order interval system more susceptible to stockouts and thus there is likely to be higher levels of safety stock in a fixed order interval system. 6. Explain the logic of the EOQ model. The logic of the EOQ model is as follows: determining an order quantity requires a company to balance two costs; the costs of carrying the inventory and the costs of ordering it. Inventory carrying costs are in direct proportion to order size; that is, the larger the order, the greater the inventory carrying costs. Ordering costs, by contrast, tend to decline with order size but not in a linear fashion. The EOQ attempts to find the point (quantity) at which ordering costs equals carrying costs. 7. How can inventory flow diagrams be useful to a logistics manager? They present a visual depiction of additions to, and subtractions from, inventory. This could be helpful in identifying any patterns that might be occurring. In addition, inventory flow examples illustrate how safety stock can offset an increased rate of demand as well as longer than normal replenishment cycles. 8. Discuss what is meant by ABC analysis of inventory. What are several measures that can be used to determine ABC status? ABC analysis is an approach that recognizes all inventories are not of equal value to a firm and, as a result, all inventory should not be managed in the same way. Measures that can be used to determine ABC status include sales volume in dollars, sales volume in units, the fastest selling items, item profitability, or item importance. . What are implications of the JIT approach for supply chain management? The consequences of JIT actually go far beyond inventory management and JIT has important implications for supply chain efficiency. One implication is that suppliers must deliver high quality materials to the production line, in part because of JIT’s emphasis on low (no) safety stock. Moreover, because customers in a JIT system tend to place smaller, more frequent orders, it is imperative that suppliers’ order systems are capable of handling an increased number of orders in an error-free fashion. Smaller, more frequent orders, coupled with close supplier location, tend to favor truck as a mode of transportation and this means that production and distribution facilities should be designed to support truck shipments. 10. How does vendor-managed inventory differ from traditional inventory management? In â€Å"traditional† inventory management, the size and timing of replenishment orders are the responsibility of the party using the inventory. Under vendor-managed inventory, by contrast, the size and timing of replenishment orders are the responsibility of the manufacturer. This represents a huge philosophical shift for some organizations in the sense that they are allowing another party to have control over their inventories and this requires a great deal of trust among the various parties. 11. Do substitute items or complementary items present the greater managerial challenge? Support your answer. Either answer would be acceptable. Students should recognize that both substitute items and complementary items present managerial challenges, but the nature of these challenges is different. For instance, one challenge with substitute items might be the amount of product to hold; a challenge with complementary items might be product placement in a retail outlet. 12. Define what it meant by dead inventory. What are several ways to manage it? Dead inventory refers to product for which there is no demand—at least under current marketing practices. Because dead inventory has often been associated with overproduction of items that customers do not want (or need), one suggestion would be make to order as opposed to make to stock. Having said this, an increasing source of dead stock in recent years involves special, highly customized orders that never end up with the customer. Suggestions for dealing with this situation include partial (or full) prepayment as well as a no-return policy. Another suggestion is for companies to more aggressively market their dead stock, and companies might also sell dead inventory via auctions. Another possibility is to donate the dead inventory to charitable causes. A last resort is to simply throw away the dead inventory in order to free up storage space. 13. Explain how an SKU might have different meanings, depending on one’s position in the supply chain. A retailer, for example, might keep records in terms of individual items or case lots, while the warehouse that supplies the retailer may deal only with case lots or pallets loads of a product. In turn, the distributor that sells to warehouses may deal with only pallet loads or vehicle loads, and may only accept orders only for pallet loads or vehicle loads—and not case lots or individual items. 14. Why is it important for a manager to understand informal considerations with respect to inventory management? One reason is that the increasing quest for customer service and customer satisfaction is leading many companies to engage in informal considerations. Even though â€Å"formal† inventory analysis should not be ignored, they should not be applied without taking into account informal arrangements. The informal arrangements may not fit any â€Å"formal† inventory tenets, but many informal considerations tend to do an excellent job of satisfying customers. And, without customers, businesses are not going to be very successful. 15. Discuss some of the challenges that are associated with managing repair and replacement parts. One challenge is the difficulty in forecasting the demand for these products—when will products break down or fail? As such, it becomes challenging with respect to which parts to carry as well as the appropriate stocking levels for them. Another challenge involves the number of warehousing facilities to be used: Should the parts be more decentralized or more centralized? These and other challenges have caused some companies to outsource their repair/replacement parts business. 16. Which presents the greater reverse logistics challenge: (1) Returned items or (2) Refurbished and recycled products? Support your answer. As was the case with question 11, either answer is acceptable. Again, it is important to recognize that both present reverse logistics challenges—but the nature of the challenges is different. For example, there is unpredictability with respect to returned items, in terms of return rates and product content. Refurbishing and recycling, by contrast, are predicated on sufficient product volumes, which require adequate storage space. 17. What are substitute items and how might they affect safety stock policies? Substitute items refer to products that customers view as being able to fill the same need or want. With respect to safety stock policies, if a consumer has little hesitation in substituting another item for one that is out of stock, there would appear to be minimal penalties for a stockout. It is also important that companies understand substitution patterns in the sense that Product A may be a substitute for Product B, but the reverse may not be true. In such a situation, safety stock policies would need to reflect the appropriate relationships. 18. Which supply chain participant(s) should be responsible for managing inventory levels? Why? The key to this question is the word â€Å"managing. Although various inventory approaches may require certain select participants to maintain the inventory, supply-chain effectiveness and efficiency would argue that all supply chain participants should be involved with managing inventory levels. Because the supply chain is a system, one company’s inventory policies and practices can impact the other members of the supply chain. Failure to consider these other participants when setting inventory policies and practices could lead to dysfunctional consequences. 19. Should inventories be considered investments? Why? The text suggests that inventories should be considered investments. Carrying costs for inventories can be significant; the return on investment to a firm for its funds tied up in inventory should be as high as the return it can obtain from other, equally risky uses of the same funds. 20. Since the mid-1990s, many beer and soft-drink cans and bottles have contained a freshness date stamped on them to indicate the latest date that the product should be consumed. What problems might such a system cause for the people responsible for managing such inventories? Discuss. There are a variety of possible answers to this question. One consideration is that product needs to be in places where it can be bought prior to the expiration date. At a minimum, this means that companies need to be able to identify individual products, locate the products, and move the products to the appropriate place(s). The oldest inventory should be â€Å"turned† before other inventory. Another consideration involves what to do with expired product, a situation that brings into play reverse logistics considerations.

Howl by Allen Ginsberg Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Howl by Allen Ginsberg - Essay Example The aforementioned individuals faced different dilemmas in their lives and chose a destructive pathway for them self neither suggested by the society nor forced by government. Thus, the poet cannot solely blame government and society for their indigence position. Throughout, the history many prominent personalities have started their carrier from the scratch, thus, the matter of destiny, aim and preference lies in ones hand. The poet has somehow justified their use of narcotics or marijuana as an escape route from poverty, unavailability of basic resources like warm water for bath and tattered clothes. Moreover, he has complained about the social boundaries prevailed in the later part of twentieth century, like tabooed culture of gay sex, obscenity in art and literature, sexual intercourse in public areas and freedom of expression to students in university and colleges for the sake of sanity. However, social norms are set to distinguish human apart from animal culture, especially in the matters of intercourse. The poet requires a freedom, which is prevailed in the twenty first century and has caused many root problems. For instance the usage of drug has

Effective team and performance management Assignment

Effective team and performance management - Assignment Example The key purpose of this assignment was to ensure accomplishment of a comprehensive understanding of the concept of working in teams, and various factors associated with the same such as, the manner in which teams function, how to enhance the performance of teams; avoid arguments and disagreements and working together towards a common goal; various ways to avoid conflicts within teams; the issue of leadership and emotional intelligence; the impact and influence of decision making and the skill of negotiating with team members, among others. For the purpose of accomplishing this task, i.e., that of working in teams effectively and successfully completing the various group activities assigned to us as a part of this study, we used various models and theories to support and understand the concept of effective team management. The models proposed to be used for this task include conceptual models, mathematical models as well as computational models. For instance, the Cannon-Bowers (Cannon -Bowers et al., 1995) model of team effectiveness; the Tuckman model of team development developed by Bruce Tuckman (1965); Belbin's team role theory - a model which identifies 9 team roles which are associated with each specific personality trait of the members in a team; etc among many others. Finally, my personal reflections of the tasks performed based on my individual experiences will be explained using the John's (2000) model of structured reflection which includes three key factors i.e. experience, reflection and alternative action. These models and theories will be applied to the group activities assigned to us, in order to interpret, examine and analyze the manner in which the concept of team performance and management functions. 2. Reflection For the purpose of this segment, three key tasks undertaken by us will be described, and the corresponding experiences and issues associated with the same, will be reflected upon in a brief manner. The formation process of our team ca me through coincidence such as when tutor asked everyone to form a group; our group came into existence due to the fact that we were sitting in a same row at that very time. The group was consisted of multicultural members. I was both excited as well as nervous since this was my first time working with such a multicultural group. Before we could work on the assigned tasks, all the team members were given a Belbin questionnaire, based on which our roles in a team would be decided. According to the results of this questionnaire, I was assigned the role of a team worker and implementer. The rest of the team members were assigned appropriate roles according to their respective results. This worked in the favour of our team, since we all were best suited for the roles assigned to us, and helped us function effortlessly. Task 1: Egg flying contest. Description of the task assigned: For the purpose of this task, the team members were asked to choose 5 out of 7 resources provided to them, t o enable the egg to be dropped from 2m without breaking it. It also required the teams to select leaders and each team was assigned a time limit of 15 minutes, to accomplish this task. Key issues faced: The key issue faced during this task was deciding on the resources to be selected, that would help us in successfully executing the activity, without breaking the eggs. The members were divided on the opinion regarding which resources to choose, and there were lot of discussions and debates

Chain of Command Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Chain of Command - Essay Example In this case Lyndon Johnson, who was President of the United States when the most powerful country on the face of the earth went into what is called as the limited war ideology in Indo-China, his Secretary of National Defense Robert McNamara, General William Westmoreland, the man in charge of the US military operations in Vietnam in the 1960’s, the division and battalion commanders and the individual soldiers in full battle gears. Soldiery, from top to bottom, is guided by the laws of modern warfare specially those task to institute peace and freedom as the Military Review by Sargent (2005) noted, we simply cannot afford to collaterally alienate the people we are trying to influence, liberate, protect, or aid. Not everyone in the field can have the honor and pride of taking orders from the Commander-in-Chief in the form of a morale-boosting pep talk and encouragement. Under constant threat of dragging into the mayhem two of the biggest armies in the world, China and the USSR a nd the wounds of World War II and the Korean War still fresh from the minds of the American people, the United States went into employing the doctrine of limited war.

The Role of Religious Accommodation at Workplace Essay

The Role of Religious Accommodation at Workplace - Essay Example In General, people in the modern world is spending most of their life time in offices and workplace is a significant environment in their life. The modern century is functioning at a fast space and everyone wants to perform their best at their workplace in peace with his inner self. An employee who keeps his religion alive can inculcate enormous ethics, moral and social values in him. In the same way religious accommodation are essential at work place as it increases the quality of job performance and productivity among employees. As per (Laderman) â€Å"Today, "religion" can mean anything at all, from the most personal and intimate spirituality for the individual to the most diffuse cultural activity in any given society†. Religious values increases work quality First when we think about religion, the most important factor that sweeps through our mind is the serenity and satisfaction it brings to the psyche and personality of an individual. As all know ,religion is the direct ion towards God and anyone engaged in this value is at peace .It is obvious that when the self of a person is at serenity he can bring forth vitality to his thinking and personal behavior despite of the environment he is in. Work place environment is mostly stress abandoned and employees undergo much complication and emotional disturbance, when they engage in work place. So it will be greatly benefited on individual basis if the organizations allot some time to the employees for religious practice. According to (TriNet)â€Å"A Gallup poll states that 90% of American adults say that religion is either very important or fairly important in their lives. And with that, arises workplace conflicts†. Frankly speaking, religious accommodation is important in workplace as it increases the confidence and mental balance of an employee which results in quality job performance and productivity. Only a spiritually evoked employee can regulate his behavior and thoughts and give out optimum potentiality to the organization he/she is working in .In an organization, there can be present people from various religious background. However when an employee engage in his/her religious practice , he connect with God and respect all religions and treat his colleagues with respect and humility. Religion can bring about conflict at work place and time management issues Religion indeed is an essential part of every individual’s life , but as there are different religion in world , the ideology and religious culture in a work place vary immensely. This fact can give rise to conflict among employees as their habit and behavior differ according to their religious concept and beliefs. This contradicting view among employees can lead to chaos and dysfunctional situation. When employees hold vengeance and unfriendly attitude among each other, the flow of business can be interrupted and this can create low quality work and unproductive situation in workplace Generally, failure and lockouts can occur in work place and dealing with this issue can create loss of time. When the employees of an organization hold various religious beliefs then the organization can work on a not unifying nature . This is because the employees on various level look at each other as opponent and enemies and they can feel like competing with each other to prove each one’s religion as the best. Such an atmosphere can dismantle the whole unifying environment of the organization.

Example and illustration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Example and illustration - Essay Example â€Å"Korean families will always leave their shoes off inside the home. Slippers are often given in exchange for your shoes at the door. This is even true in the case of more traditional workplaces. So, be sure you are wearing clean socks when you go for a visit† (Facts about Korea) Koreans give more respect to their home and workplace compared to other cultures. Another peculiar aspect of Korean social life is the respect derived by the elders. Korean culture is strongly associated with Confucianism and as per Confucianist traditions; elders must be given proper respect by the younger ones. Seniority is determined by age, position in the family, job position, being a teacher, etc. Elders can speak anything to the young people whereas the young people always keep respect while talking to the elder people. It is a common thing in Korea that, when two strangers meet together they will ask the age of the other in order to take precautions in their communication. While drinking or smoking the younger one often try to do it in the company of others of lesser age. Even the direct eye contacts will be avoided by while communicating with elders by the younger ones. Direct eye contacts consider as the symbol of authority and the younger people never look into the eyes of the elder ones in order to mark their respect. Moreover the younger ones always accept complements, gifts or anything from elder ones with both hands (Korean Customs – Respect) The third speciality in Korean culture is the way in which the Koreans start their talk. As per the western culture, people often ask â€Å"How are you?† when they start their conversation with another one. In Korea, the conversation starts with an enquiry about whether the other person who was in touch has taken food or not. In some other cases, the conversation may start from an enquiry like â€Å"where are you going?† Koreans are very much keen in providing food to the others. To conclude, Koreans exhibit

General Motors - Business Model and Direction Research Paper

General Motors - Business Model and Direction - Research Paper Example GM has been operating for over 100 years and has produced about 450 million vehicles globally, and operates in nearly every nation worldwide. Research has demonstrated that a firm, such as, GM adopts an internationalization strategy to gain access to new customers, attain lower costs via economies of scale and increased purchasing power, further exploit its competencies, to gain access to the capabilities and resources located in international markets, and spread its business risks across a wider market base. In the next five years, GM is focusing on restructuring its brands whilst focusing on its core business with Chevrolet, Cadillac and Buick remaining at the core of the business. A corporate strategy, as found out by Abraham (2012), is carried out at the corporate head office and defines the scope of the business in relation to the markets and industries that it competes. It consists of new ventures, vertical integration, decisions about diversification, acquisitions, and allocation of scarce resources between units. At the corporate level, GM aims at maintaining its customers as long as possible. GM’s goals shape the manner in which it invests in brands across the globe to inspire loyalty and passion. The corporate level strategy also entails translating breakthrough technologies into experiences as well as automobiles that customers like. Proceeding further, the corporate strategy motivates GM’s entire team to serve and enhance the society where it operates worldwide. In conclusion, the corporate strategy is geared towards building the General Motors into the globes most valued car manufacturing firm (General Motors, 2015b). The firm’s corporate level executives attend to the overall performance of the company. They also pursue opportunities to leverage cross-business value chain relationships together with strategic fit into competitive advantage. In this regard, GM has a competitive value

Cross Platform Mobile and Web Widgets installation Thesis

Cross Platform Mobile and Web Widgets installation - Thesis Example re has been a need of a framework that could allow for client-based cross-platform widgets or application, thus removing restrictions imposed by server and allowing for more powerful web applications or widgets to be used by a website user. In this research, an attempt has been made to develop a client-based framework that can allow a web widget to be installed and run on any client platform, thus allowing the web widget to modify and display the information sent by the web server in a way that is more comprehensible and productive to the user. As part of this research, a prototype framework has been successfully developed for Android operating system. This framework consists of three components which are the micro engine, the Event Hook and the browser plug-in. Dalvik VM for the Android operating system has been modified to run on an x86 architecture system. It is then utilized to run the web widget or application making it accessible for the user from within the browser. The successfully development and demonstration of the framework shows that client-based multi-platform applications or widgets are certainly possible. The framework itself is a first, since no attempts to develop such type of framework were made. Hence, it is expected that this research will open up a new area for web widget development and form the basis of a large number of future researches. Computer-mediated communication and decision-making applications for teams are extremely varied and ubiquitous, ranging from e-mail to shared bulletin boards for classrooms to remote conferencing. As the potential to put these applications onto the Web becomes better exploited, computer-mediated communication and coordination of teams of individuals will become even more widespread. Although the Web is normally thought of as an individual-to-mass form of communication, it actually has a great deal of potential to serve team collaboration. This is largely due to the cross-platform nature of Web design.

Beach Bum Gym Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5500 words

Beach Bum Gym - Thesis Example It will provide exclusive services to the customers by expert trainers. Furthermore, the cost of the services will also be attractive for customers. Beach Bum Gym will simply target the young and adult customer segment within the age group between 16 to 34 years. It is expected that the gym will gain significant profit and sales in due course of its operations. The management team of the business will consist of manager, instructors, security personnel and receptionists who will help to run and to manage the club operations effectively. It is expected that in order to open the business almost US$ 635,00 will be required as startup fund. The major competitive advantages of the gym will be its locational advantages, inexpensive membership fees and attractive workout atmosphere. Industry and Proposed Company Gym i.e. fitness and health industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the United States. In recent years, this industry has displayed considerable progress in terms of re venue and memberships. According to the data of ‘International Heath, Racquet & Sportsclub Association’ the revenue of gym clubs in the US had increased by 5% to US$ 21.4 billion in the year 2011 than the previous year. The number of membership has also augmented by 2.4% to 51.4 million than 2010 (South University, 2011). As stated by IBIS World, the demand for gym, fitness and health clubs will increase on upcoming days and people are becoming more conscious with regard to maintaining healthy lifestyle and focusing more on staying fit (IBISWorld, 2012). Due to the obesity related influences in the US, fitness and weight loss has gained increased popularity. In the year 2009, the number of gym clubs was 26830 which had increased to 29960 in 2011 (South University, 2011). Considering the industry attractiveness, the business plan is proposed for developing a gym club named ‘Beach Bum Gym’. The club will be located on beach area of Hampton, US and will provid e workout and gym facilities to the people. Although the industry is lucrative but it is highly cyclical and competitive business and thus, Beach Bum Gym has to compete with other health and fitness clubs in the Hampton area. Products and Services Beach Bum Gym will have different products and services for people. The products of the gym would be divided into three categories i.e. nutrition products, fitness products, and gym accessories. The following table will describe the products that will be offered by the Beach Bum Gym for customers: Nutrition Products Body Fitness Products Gym Accessories Energy Drinks Treadmills Headphones Supplements Dumbbells Music Health Drinks Elliptical Clothing General Nutrition Stationary Bikes Fitness DVD Sport Drinks Rowing Machines Protein Weight Benches Barbells Source: (Gymlink Australia, 2011) Apart from several products, Beach Bum Gym will also provide numerous services to the customers. The services that will be provided by the Beach Bum Gym would be fitness classes, individual training and group workouts. Beach Bum Gym will provide different membership options for people on the basis of time and purchasing

Legalizing Gambling Essay Example for Free

Legalizing Gambling Essay Gambling is legal in many places, its not either a criminal or dangerous activity provided it is done responsibly, and in accordance with the law. Have you ever wagered on a game? If so you were gambling and should have been fined. Lawmakers have decided that it is evil to gamble, they have justified it as a means to scam billions from citizens in order to compensate for their mismanagement of tax revenue. They pass laws that could put a taxpayer in jail for placing a single dollar wager on a pool game. Legalizing gambling nationally could potentially benefit our economic situation. All gambling was once legal. Looking back only 75-100 years ago most of our states had lotteries in place. Over the past century, as a result of abuse and moral fervor the majority forms of gambling have been prohibited. The history of gambling in the United States evolved from Europe. The Puritans and Quakers took little time to create first laws against gambling in 1638. Casino gambling is becoming increasingly popular especially in southern states. Native Americans are allowed to establish bingo parlors and casinos on their reservations, although Las Vegas and Atlantic City remain gambling tourist top destination choice. Many states allow horse and dog racing tracks and then there’s the people who bet on sporting events, card games, and almost anything you can imagine in the privacy of their own home. The first thing to do is to regulate gambling, both land-based and online. After the legislative base is created and regulation covers every aspect of the gambling industry, its half way to being legalized. I don’t see why we should lose a couple dollars to a pool hustler, when we could be hustled legally by the state. Gambling offers individuals the adrenaline rush that greater opportunity lies within their own hands. People should not be denied an activity that they enjoy partaking in. Government can earn revenues from legalized gambling which can be diverted towards bettering our society. Legalizing gambling would increase employment opportunities in society which could help to reduce the amount of working capable people out of a job. Gambling establishments have shown to increase employment opportunities as well as improve tourism in the right areas. The presence of gambling establishments is also beneficial to society because they can contribute the revenues to local governments which then could use the profits for social programs that would benefit both gamblers and non gamblers. Legalized commercial gambling is becoming an increasing controversy within our state governments. There is no doubt that many different forms of legalized gambling has exploded in the region and around the country, if the government gives full support of legalization they will be doing all US citizens a favor. Some argue that gambling is an addiction, one that can become dangerous and harmful to the general public. The truth is that like all other influenced jobs it can be a way of making a living for yourself and your family. Though there are a lot of people that struggle with an addiction to gambling, there are probably just as many people who are responsible gamblers and have enough self control to moderate there wagering hobbies. Legalizing gambling nationally will help stimulate our struggling economy in many ways. If our government would be willing to try to implement new laws to legalize and regulate it theres no way a short time period of testing these ideas would leave any permanent damage on our nation.

Ethical Leadership And Unethical Behavior Management Essay

Ethical Leadership And Unethical Behavior Management Essay Ethical leadership, is a form of leadership including attributes such as integrity, trustworthiness, fairness, concern for others, and behaving ethically. A more systemic definition divides ethical leaders into two parts moral persons and moral managers (Trevià ±o, Hartman, Brown, 2000). For moral persons, it refers to the ethical part of the term ethical leadership, suggesting that ethical leaders should be moral persons who are honest, trustworthy, taking good care and be fair to their followers, having right behaviors in both personal and professional lives. For moral managers, it refers to the leadership part, focusing on more transactional efforts to influence the ethical behavior of followers (Trevino, Brown Hartman, 2003). As moral managers, ethical leaders communicate with their subordinates about their ethical and values-based expectations, use reward and punishment to encourage ethical conduct or prevent unethical behaviors. (Trevià ±o Brown, 2004). As ethical behaviors refer to behaviors that are generally morally acceptable to the larger community; conversely, we define unethical behaviors as behaviors that are morally unacceptable generally. (Jones, 1991; Trevià ±o, 2006) And in this paper, the ethical (unethical) behaviors refer to the behaviors conducted in companies or organizations. After defining the terms, we base on two theories or processes to explain the effects of ethical leadership on the unethical work behavior, which is consistent with the recent relevant studies about the topic. (Mayer, Aquino,Greenbaum Kuenzi, 2012; Mayer et al., 2009; Brown, Trevià ±o Harrison, 2005; Kirkman, Chen, Farh, Chen Lowe, 2009) Social Learning Theory Social learning theory posits that leaders influence their subordinates through the process of role-modeling. (Bandura, 1977, 1986) Employees learn what ought to do and what ought not, by observing the leaders behaviors and the corresponding results. (Trevià ±o Brown, 2004). Given the virtue and power in an organization, leaders are generally perceived as a credible and legitimate role model (Mayer et al., 2012). So by mimicking the behaviors of the ethical leaders, the subordinates would also be more likely to do things in a morally desirable way. Apart from direct observation on leaders, employees would also pay close attention to behaviors that are rewarded and punished to themselves or others (Brown, 2005), and to do what is rewarded while avoiding what is punished, and thus reduce the unfavorable behaviors. (Trevià ±o Brown, 2004). Ethical leadership highlights on ethical behaviors. So through behave ethically as a valid ethical role models, at the same time, encourage ethical behaviors and discipline unethical ones by putting forward proper rewards and punishments, ethical leader can have a role on preventing or reducing the unethical behaviors in the organization. (Mayer et al, 2012). Social Exchange Theory The effect of ethical leadership on the subordinates behavior can also be explained by social exchange processes (Blau, 1964; Trevià ±o Brown, 2004; Mayer et al., 2009). Social exchange is based on the norm of reciprocity (Gouldner, 1960), which means that if one party do something beneficial to the other party, the counter party will then assume the obligation to do something good as the reciprocation back to the first party. (Cropanzano Mitchell, 2005). So in the relationship of ethical leadership and unethical behavior, ethical leadership defines leaders with characteristics of having fairness, trustworthiness, integrity etc, if employees regarded themselves as being treated fairly and perceived organizational support create a closer relationship between employer and employee, they are more likely to reciprocate these favorable treatment by being more loyal and supportive to their leaders or organizations, thus tends to reduce the harmful behaviors (Bies Moag, 1986 ; Phillips Elkins ,2000 ; Trevià ±o Brown, 2004). Besides, it is found that if employees maintain a high-quality relationship with their leader, they are less likely to engage in retaliation (Liden, Sparrowe, Wayne, 1997). As ethical leaders are perceived as admirable leaders due to their trustworthiness, integrity and care and concern for others, they are likely to create a positive social exchange relationship with their subordinates. In return, more citizenship behaviors and less unethical conduct will be expected. (Trevià ±o Brown, 2004) So base on the review of the two processes that ethical leadership takes effect, we propose the first hypothesis. Hypothesis 1: Ethical leadership is negatively related to unethical behavior in organization. Power Distance Orientation as Moderator Power distance is defined as the extent to which one accepts the legitimacy of unequally distributed power in institutions and organizations. (Hofstede, 1980). And in this article, the research is on the individual-level, thus the term power distance orientation (Kirkman, Chen, Farh, Chen, Lowe, 2009; Clugston, Howell, Dorfman, 2000) was adopted. Recent studies and researches in the cross-cultural management field indicates that cultural value orientations, or individually held cultural values and beliefs, have an important role in how employees react to aspects of their work (Kirkman et al., 2009). And compared to other culture dimension, such as individualism-collectivism,uncertainty avoidance and masculinity-femininity etc. (Hofstede, 1980), power distance orientation, in theory, has a more direct relationship to leadership reactions (Kirkman et al., 2009) or the individuals perception and reaction to authority (Lian, Ferris Brown, 2012). And according to the review of the ethical leadership unethical behavior relationship, we note that ethical leadership can influence the subordinators unethical behavior through two processes social learning and social exchange. Studies suggest that by influencing the two processes, power distance orientation can act as a facilitator or barriers (Kirkman et al., 2009) to the ethical leadership-unethical behavior relationship. Power Distance Orientation and Social Learning Theory In the social learning perspective (Bandura, 1973), subordinates behavior will be influenced by leaders through the modeling process(Trevià ±o Brown, 2004; Brown,Trevià ±o, Harrison, 2005), where the subordinates will take the leaders as their role models, and learn from or mimic what the leaders do; besides, the subordinates would observe the reward and punishment to themselves or to the others offered by the leaders to get to know what to do or not to do. (Trevià ±o Brown, 2004) On the basis of this, with support from the studies, we argue that the power distance orientation will influence the effectiveness of the social learning in following ways. On one hand, compared to the low power distance orientation individuals, those who are with high power distance orientations will tend to view their leaders as the ones with high-status (Bochner Hesketh, 1994; Kirkman et al., 2009; Lian, Ferris Brown, 2012) and are superior as well as elite (Javidan, Dorfman, de Luque, House, 2006;Kirkman et al., 2009), thus they will be more likely to take their leaders as role models and mimic their behaviors. (Mayer, Aquino, Greenbaum Kuenzi, 2012; Lian, Ferris Brown, 2012) On the other hand, referring to the definition of power distance, we could note that subordinates with high power distance orientation accept unequally distributed power to a greater extent(Hofstede, 1980), thus they will hold a stronger belief, compared to low power distance orientation individuals, that one should not be against but to respect the leaders decision. (Bochner Hesketh, 1994; Lian, Ferris Brown, 2012), which means, the reward and punishment decision made by the leaders would be less likely to doubt and more likely to be accepted and followed by the high power distance orientation subordinators. As stated earlier, ethical leadership can have effects on subordinators unethical behavior through the social learning process. And with the present of power distance orientation, we expect the effect of ethical leadership will be affected, compared to low power distance orientation, individuals holding high power distance orientation will be more likely to regard their leaders as the ethical role model and mimic them to behave ethically. Also, they would be more convinced by and learn from the rewards on ethical behavior and punishments on unethical behavior. Power Distance Orientation and Social Exchange Theory Besides of Social learning processes, the ethical leaderships relationship with subordinates unethical behavior can be also explained by the social exchange processes. (Trevià ±o Brown, 2004; Mayer, Kuenzi, Greenbaum, Bardes, Salvador, 2009). As stated earlier, in social exchange theory and based on the norm of reciprocity (Gouldner, 1960), ethical leadership can help to prevent or mitigate the subordinators unethical behaviors when leaders and subordinators are in a positive social exchange relationship with elements such as perceived fairness, trust in leaders, etc. being satisfied. So by affecting these aspects, we expect power distance orientation will influence the ethical leaderships effect. For example, in the perceived fairness aspect, individuals with high power distance orientation will accept the unequally distributed power in a larger extent (Hofstede, 1980), so they will tend to be more tolerant for the unequally treatment and regard it as non unfair (Lian, Ferris Brown, 2012). So we posited that, with the less perceived unfairness, subordinates with high power distance orientation would view the leaders as fair which would result in less undesirable behavior such as unethical behavior (Trevià ±o Brown, 2004). Similarly, in the aspect of trust in leaders or affection for leaders, high power distance orientation plays a role that subordinates with high power distance orientation are more likely to admit their leaders superiority and elite (Javidan et al., 2006;Kirkman et al., 2009) so are more likely to show their respect to and trust their leaders (Kirkman et al., 2009; Sully de Luque Sommer, 2000;Lian Ferris Brown 2012). As a result, they will tend to behave favorably for the leaders or even the whole organization (Javidan et al., 2006; Kirkman et al., 2009) and reduce the undesirable behaviors including the unethical behaviors. To sum up the above, we expect the moderating effect of power distance orientation on the strength of the relationship between ethical leadership and unethical behaviors, and as such we put forward the second hypothesis. Hypothesis 2: The relation between ethical leadership and unethical behavior in organization is moderated by power distance orientation, such that the relation is stronger for individuals with high power distance orientation than for individuals with low power distance orientation. 3. Method Sample and Procedures This study is a quantitative study. Data would be collected in mainland China, the questionnaires will be translated to Chinese and back-translated into English for results analysis. (Kirkman et al., 2009). Sample size is expected to be around 200 subordinates in individuals. Measures Ethical leadership Referring to the recent ethical leadership studies of (Mayer et al., 2009, 2012), in this paper, we measure ethical leadership by using the ten-item scale from Brown et al. (2005). (See Appendix 1) Unethical behavior To measure the unethical behavior, we adopt the 17-item-scale used by (Akaahs ,1996) and (Mayer et al., 2012), which was originated from Newstrom Ruch (1975). (See Appendix 2) Power distance orientation As this article is on the individual-level, we follow the previous studies (Brockner et al., 2001; Earley, 1999; Kim Leung, 2007; Kirkman et al., 2009) to use the eight-item linkert scale from Earley and Erez (1997) for the measurement of the power distance orientation. (See Appendix 3) Control variables In this study, control variables including: age, gender, tenure, (Brockner et al., 2001; Kirtment et al., 2009; Lian, Ferris Brown, 2012); we will also control the position factor, which refers to whether the employees hold the role of subordinate and supervisor at the same time. (Brockner et al., 2001). Analysis Method We will first use the bivariate regression to test the main effect (Hypothesis 1) and we will use multiple regression to test the moderating effect (Hypothesis 2). 5. Schedule Reference Akaah, I. P. (1996). The influence of organizational rank and role on marketing professionals ethical judgments. Journal of Business Ethics, 15: 605-614. 15: 605-614. Blau, P. M. (1964). Exchange and power in social life. New York: Wiley. Bandura, A. (1973). Aggression: A social learning analysis. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Brislin, R. W. (1980). Translation and content analysis of oral and written materials. In H. C. Triandis J. W. Berry (Eds.), Handbook of cross-cultural psychology: Methodology, vol. 2: 389-444. Boston: Allyn Bacon. Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought action. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Bochner, S., Hesketh, B. (1994). Power distance, individualism/collectivism, and job-related attitudes in a culturally diverse work group. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 25, 233-257. doi:10.1177/ 0022022194252005 Brockner, J., Ackerman, G., Greenberg, J., Gelfand, M. J., Francesco, A. M., Chen, Z. X., . . . Shapiro, D. (2001). Culture and procedural justice: The influence of power distance on reactions to voice. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 37, 300 -315. doi:10.1006/ jesp.2000.1451 Brown, M. E., Trevià ±o, L. K., Harrison, D. A. 2005. Ethical leadership: A social learning perspective for construct development and testing. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 97: 117- 134. Brown, M. E., Trevià ±o, L. K. 2006a. Ethical leadership: A review and future directions. Leadership Quarterly, 17: 595-616. Brown, M. E., Trevià ±o, L. K. 2006b. Socialized charismatic leadership, values congruence, and deviance in work groups. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91: 954-962. Clugston, M., Howell, J. P., Dorfman, P. W. (2000). Does cultural socialization predict multiple bases and foci of commitment? Journal of Management, 26, 5-30. doi:10.1016/S0149-2063(99)00034-3 Cropanzano, R., Mitchell, M. S. (2005)Social exchange theory: An interdisciplinary review. .Journal of Management, 31(6), 874-900. doi: 10.1177/0149206305279602 Dorfman, P. W., Howell, J. P. (1988). Dimensions of national culture and effective leadership patterns: Hofstede revisited. Advances in International Comparative Management, 3, 127-150. Earley, P. C., Erez, M. 1997. The transplanted executive: Why you need to understand how workers in other countries see the world differently. New York: Oxford University Press Earley, P. C. 1999. Playing follow the leader: Status determining traits in relation to collective efficacy across cultures. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 80: 192-212. Gouldner, A. W. (1960). The norm of reciprocity. American Sociological Review, 25, 161-178 Hofstede, G. H. (1980). Cultures consequences: International differences in work-related values. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage. Hofstede, G. 1993. Culture constraints in management theories. Academy of Management Executive, 7(1): 81-94. Hofstede, G. 2001. Cultures consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and organizations across nations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Jones, T. M. 1991. Ethical decision making by individuals in organizations: An issue-contingent model. Academy of Management Review, 16: 366-395. Javidan, M., Dorfman, P. W., de Luque, M. S., House, R. J. 2006. In the eye of the beholder: Cross-cultural lessons in leadership from Project GLOBE. Academy of Management Perspectives, 20(1): 67-90. Kim, T., Leung, K. 2007. Forming and reacting to overall fairness: A cross-cultural comparison. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 104: 83-95. Kirkman, B. L., Chen, G., Farh, J.-L., Chen, Z. X., Lowe, K. B. (2009). Individual power distance orientation and follower reactions to transformational leaders: A cross-level, cross-cultural examination. Academy of Management Journal, 52, 744-764. doi:10.5465/AMJ.2009.43669971 Lian, H., Ferris, D. L., Brown, D. J. (2012). Does power distance exacerbate or mitigate the effects of abusive supervision? it depends on the outcome. The Journal of Applied Psychology, 97(1), 107-123 Mayer, D. M., Kuenzi, M., Greenbaum, R., Bardes, M., Salvador, R. (. (2009). How low does ethical leadership flow? test of a trickle-down model. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 108(1), 1-13. doi:10.1016/j.obhdp.2008.04.002 Mayer, D. M., Aquino, K., Greenbaum, R. L., Kuenzi, M. (2012). Who displays ethical leadership, and why does it matter? an examination of antecedents and consequences of ethical leadership. Academy of Management Journal, 55(1), 151. Newstrom, J. W., W. A. Ruch: 1975, The Ethics of Management and the Management of Ethic, MSU Business Topics (Winter), 31. Trevià ±o, L. K., Weaver, G. R., Gibson, D. G., Toffler, B. L. (1999). Managing ethics and legal compliance: What works and what hurts. California Management Review, 41(2), 131-151. Trevià ±o, L. K., Hartman, L. P., Brown, M. E. 2000. Moral person and moral manager: How executives develop a reputation for ethical leadership. California Management Review, 42(4): 128-142. Trevino, L. K., Brown, M. E., Hartman, L. P. (2003). A qualitative investigation of perceived executive ethical leadership: Perceptions from inside and outside the executive suite. Human Relations, 56, 5-38. Trevià ±o, L. K., Brown, M. E. (2004). The Role of Leaders in Influencing Unethical Behavior in the Workplace [PDF document]. Retrieved from http://www.corwin.com/upm-data/4910_Kidwell_Chapter_3.pdf Trevià ±o, L. K. (2006). Behavioral ethics in organizations: A review. Journal of Management, 32(6), 951-990. doi: 10.1177/0149206306294258 Appendices Appendix 1 10 items Ethical Leadership Scale (Brown et al., 2005) Items will be rated on a scale from 1 (highly unlikely) to 7 (highly likely) Conducts h/h personal life in an ethical manner Defines success not just by results but also the way that they are obtained Listens to what employees have to say Disciplines employees who violate ethical standards Makes fair and balanced decisions Can be trusted Discusses business ethics or values with employees Sets an example of how to do things the right way in terms of ethics Has the best interests of employees in mind When making decisions, asks what is the right thing to do? Appendix 2 17 items unethical behavior scale ( Newstrom Ruch 1975) Items will be rated on descriptive range from 1 Never to 7 Frequently Personal use Using company services for personal use Doing personal business on company time Pilfering company materials and supplies Taking extra personal time (lunch hour, breaks, early departure) Passing blame Concealing ones error Passing blame for errors to an innocent co-worker Claiming credit for someone elses work Bribery Giving gifts/favors in exchange for preferential treatment Accepting gifts/favor in exchange for preferential treatment Falsification Falsifying time/quality/quantity reports Calling in sick to take a day off Authorizing a subordinate to violate company rules Padding expenses Padding an expense account up to 10% Padding an expense account more than 10% Deception Taking longer than necessary to do a job Divulging con ¬Ã‚ dential information Not reporting others violations of company policies and rules

Requirements for the Corporate Computing Function

Requirements for the Corporate Computing Function Michael J. Hudgins   The new Corporate CIO of XLZ Data Systems has devised a nine-point mission statement for the company. I am one of the operations managers in the department and have received a memo on the new policy and an associated task. The CIO wants to address the new strategy in a three-phase rollout plan and my feedback on LAN and MAN technology. As a reference point, the table below addresses the nine points of the mission statement of the CIO.   Ã‚   Analysis as to why the fifth point, Meet information requirements of management, is in the CIOs list of nine (9) points. Stallings, W. (2009) It is very important that the development of data processing activities at the departmental level can at times increase the difficulty of obtaining data for the effective use of executive management making their job more difficult, the information difficult to interpret. The adoption of differing departmental standards and means of summarizing data makes uniform collection of data for upward reporting more difficult. (p. 54). Therefore, it is of my own opinion that the reason why CIO stressed that point is to make sure that we address the complexity of understanding the massive amounts of data that is produced and presented to management and that the process be as streamlined as possible. This makes it possible for the CIO to make better business decisions without having to spend more time that should be sifting through vast amounts of data produced that was not designed as it was outlined in the business requirements documents. First Phase Rollout Items Listing Since the first phase of the rollout will only contain three of the nine points of the mission statement, I would make a case that the items to be included in phase one would be the following for the reasons listed: Item number one (1) I believe would have to be part of the initial rollout: Provide computing capability to all organizational units that legitimately require it. After all it is our mandate to provide IT services to all corporate customers and departments within the organization and this could be done on a cost savings basis by acquiring cost efficient systems that include servers, personal workstations and personal computers. Item number two (2) would be number 9 of the mission statement: Make the work of employees enjoyable as well as productive. I firmly believe that our employees are our greatest assets and should be treated as such and considered just as valuable as the IT Systems hardware and software. Having access to all the resources that our employees need to perform their job tasks is an essential and I might add, critical aspect of productivity. This benefits the company bottom line. Last but certainly not least, the third item of the initial rollout I believe would be mission statement item number seven (7): Allow organizational units sufficient autonomy in the conduct of their tasks to optimize creativity and performance at the unit level. Stallings, W. (2009) Widespread use of small computers can provide highly individualistic service to all the departments needing computing, allow users to establish and maintain autonomy in their operations using their own equipment, and provide users with hands-on opportunity to enjoy computing use while improving departmental productivity. (p. 54) Now that I have addressed the first three items to be part of the phase one rollout of the CIOs mission initiative, I would like to take this opportunity to address what I believe to be the most critical and necessary part of any IT Corporate Initiative and that is Security. I strongly recommend to the CIO that XLZ Systems. It does not matter how large or small our company currently is, there is a need to have a cyber security plan to ensure the security of our information assets. The cyber security plan that we implement must take into consideration the protection of the following: XLZ Systems customer information, that includes all confidential information is currently held on behalf of customers and business clients. XLZ Systems financial information, and this information includes market assessments and all of our companys own financial records and other miscellaneous financial corporate data. XLZ Systems corporate products information, that includes any designs, plans, our patent applications, source code, and any and all drawings. As we have seen from other corporate data security breaches such as Target to name a few, failure to protect our datas confidentiality might result in our customer credit card numbers being stolen, with legal consequences and a loss of goodwill. This can and more than likely will result in lost customers and the potential for lawsuits. So in closing, in addition to the nine points of the mission statement I would amend it to now number ten with security ranking as high as number one. This will be my report to the CIO. References Schlossbauer, S (2015) Management Requirements and Changing Values in the Information Age Retrieved from: https://us.experteer.com/magazine/management-requirements/ Stallings, W. (2009). CIS 505: Business Data Communications: Custom edition (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Stallings, W (2009) Standards Organizations Retrieved from: http://www.box.net/shared/9dtnzvwys8/1/15730219/164146343/1 Zaharia, A (2016) 10+ Critical Corporate Cyber Security Risks A Data Driven List [Updated] Retrieved from: https://heimdalsecurity.com/blog/10-critical-corporate-cyber-security- risks-a-data-driven-list/

niels david bohr :: essays research papers

Niels Hedrik David Bohr Niels Hendrik David Bohr was one of the foremost scientists of the 20th century. The Nobel prizewinning physicist was known for his development of the theory of atomic fission that led to the development of the atomic bomb. He was born on Oct. 7, 1885, in Copenhagen, Denmark. His father, Christian, was a professor at the University of Copenhagen and his brother, Harold, was a great mathematician. Bohr and his family grew up in an atmosphere that helped the development of his knowledge. His father was largely responsible for awakening his interest in physics while, his mother came from a family well known in the field of education. After Gammelholm Grammar School in 1903, he entered Copenhagen University where He won a gold medal from the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences for his theoretical analysis of vibrations of water jets as a means of determining surface tension. He received his Master's degree from the University of Copenhagen in 1909 and his doctorate in 1911 with a thesis Studies on the electron theory of metals. Bohr went to England to study with Sir J.J. Thomson at Cambridge. He had intended to spend his entire study period in Cambridge but he did not get on well with Thomson so, after a meeti ng with Ernest Rutherford in Cambridge in December 1911, Bohr moved to Manchester in 1912. There he worked with Rutherford's group on the structure of the atom. Rutherford became Bohr's role model both for his personal and scientific qualities. Using quantum ideas due to Planck and Einstein, Bohr conjectured that an atom could exist only in a discrete set of stable energy states. Bohr won the Nobel piece prize for his theory of atomic structures. According to Microsoft Encarta His work drew on Rutherford’s nuclear model of the atom, in which the atom is seen as a compact nucleus surrounded by a swarm of much lighter electrons. He thought that electrons are arranged in definite shells, or quantum levels, at a big distance from the nucleus.

Animals In The Eyes of The Dragon :: essays papers

Animals In The Eyes of The Dragon Although it may seem quite absurd, the role of animals in The Eyes of the Dragon is a very supreme and dignified part of the novel. Through the development of the novel, the animal kingdom roars novel from insects to dogs and they all play their own, individual roles. The great black and white Anduan Husky named Frisky who is, out of all of her dogs, Naomi's favorite, leads Ben Staad and Naomi directly to the whereabouts of Dennis, Peter's butler. Flagg's animals are symbols of his plans for the downfall of Delain. The dragon that is killed by King Roland may be considered the most the memorable of all. In this archetypal tale, Thomas sees Flagg murder Thomas's father through the eyes of the dragon. In the end of the novel, though, all of the animals' roles fall into place. Frisky, Naomi's companion, is a strong-willed, over-confident, Anduan Husky who may have been the "greatest tracking dog that ever lived." This dog sums up the meaning of a man's best friend. Frisky, who can track a three-day-old scent in the middle winter, is the reason the story takes place as it does. Just as arson dogs help pinpoint the location of substances used to start fires, Frisky uses her keen sense of smell to pinpoint exactly where Dennis, son of Brandon, has journeyed to from Peyna's farmhouse. Dennis's mission is to go back to the castle where Thomas the Tax-Bringer and Flagg, the king's magician, live and are at high power. Peyna, who has just given up his Judge-General's bench, has a feeling that there is some reason why Peter has asked for the Royal Napkins and his mother's dollhouse. Dennis is to find this reason by sending a letter to Peter, who is imprisoned at the time. Dennis journeys from Peyna's farm in the Inner Baronies back to the fearful castle with nothing except for the risks of getting killed. Five days later, with not a soul knowing the whereabouts of Dennis, Naomi and Ben Staad (Peter's best friend) come upon the deserted farm. Naomi's dogs have been pulling the sleds for thirty miles all the way from a snowy hollow in which they were camping. The two now feel helpless. With no clue on where there friend had traveled to, they search diligently for any signs of what they are to do next and find nothing at Animals In The Eyes of The Dragon :: essays papers Animals In The Eyes of The Dragon Although it may seem quite absurd, the role of animals in The Eyes of the Dragon is a very supreme and dignified part of the novel. Through the development of the novel, the animal kingdom roars novel from insects to dogs and they all play their own, individual roles. The great black and white Anduan Husky named Frisky who is, out of all of her dogs, Naomi's favorite, leads Ben Staad and Naomi directly to the whereabouts of Dennis, Peter's butler. Flagg's animals are symbols of his plans for the downfall of Delain. The dragon that is killed by King Roland may be considered the most the memorable of all. In this archetypal tale, Thomas sees Flagg murder Thomas's father through the eyes of the dragon. In the end of the novel, though, all of the animals' roles fall into place. Frisky, Naomi's companion, is a strong-willed, over-confident, Anduan Husky who may have been the "greatest tracking dog that ever lived." This dog sums up the meaning of a man's best friend. Frisky, who can track a three-day-old scent in the middle winter, is the reason the story takes place as it does. Just as arson dogs help pinpoint the location of substances used to start fires, Frisky uses her keen sense of smell to pinpoint exactly where Dennis, son of Brandon, has journeyed to from Peyna's farmhouse. Dennis's mission is to go back to the castle where Thomas the Tax-Bringer and Flagg, the king's magician, live and are at high power. Peyna, who has just given up his Judge-General's bench, has a feeling that there is some reason why Peter has asked for the Royal Napkins and his mother's dollhouse. Dennis is to find this reason by sending a letter to Peter, who is imprisoned at the time. Dennis journeys from Peyna's farm in the Inner Baronies back to the fearful castle with nothing except for the risks of getting killed. Five days later, with not a soul knowing the whereabouts of Dennis, Naomi and Ben Staad (Peter's best friend) come upon the deserted farm. Naomi's dogs have been pulling the sleds for thirty miles all the way from a snowy hollow in which they were camping. The two now feel helpless. With no clue on where there friend had traveled to, they search diligently for any signs of what they are to do next and find nothing at

Racial profiling Essay

There are several controversial issues surrounding racial profiling and the various problems that are encountered as a result of it. One issue is whether or not racial profiling exists. Most law enforcement departments refuse to undergo a study and they deny that racial profiling exists. These problems, coupled with the status of literature regarding this topic at this point, are more unreliable than scientific. In addition, the topic is controversial because the United States believes that it has rid itself of prejudice and racism, and to open the topic of racial profiling by law enforcement personnel is admitting that its possible the nation is backsliding. As a result, the events of September 11th stepped up the pace of racial profiling by law enforcement and grew to include new groups of people. Racial profiling is a topic that is seen across the nation in the media. Racial profiling has often been referred to as the apparition occurrence because so far departments across the nation clearly deny its existence. The topic is a growing one in light of the September 11, 2001 attacks on America. Racial profiling has been a top news story since that attack but it was an issue for many years before that. The equal protection clause can be found in the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution. It simply states that, â€Å"No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States†¦nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.† In other words, this meant that the Constitution would become ‘color-blind’. State laws would no longer be allowed to treat whites and blacks differently. The Supreme Court relied heavily upon the â€Å"separate but equal† doctrine to determine when a state law violated the equal protection clause. This is also how the Supreme Court would determine what is considered to be discrimination. In order to prove that a state is guilty of discrimination there must be an overwhelming amount of evidence supporting the claim. This was evident in the case of Washington vs. Davis, where the Court ruled against two blacks who claimed that the hiring practices of the D.C. Police Department were discriminatory towards racial minorities. The Supreme Court said that the hiring practices did not violate the Equal  Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. Equal Protection is described as â€Å"the right of all persons to have the same access to the law and courts and to be treated equally by the law and courts, both in procedures and in the substance of the law†. It is similar to the right to due process of law, but in particular applies to equal treatment as an aspect of fundamental fairness. The most famous case on this subject is Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954) in which Chief Justice Earl Warren, for a undivided Supreme Court, ruled that â€Å"separate but equal† educational facilities for blacks were essentially unequal and unconstitutional since the segregated school system did not give all students equal rights under the law. It will also apply to other inequalities such as difference in pay for the same work or unequal taxation. The principle is stated in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution: â€Å"No State shall†¦deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.â₠¬  One of the hardest things to argue in this intense topic is whether or not it exists. There is not a law enforcement agency in the nation that has stepped up to the plate and acknowledged that it does indeed profile using racial criteria. It is something that New York City’s Law Enforcement Department has been accused of over and over again, while the chiefs and mayors unwaveringly deny the rumors. It is something that the media use entire segments trying to prove with the cases that are claimed to have happened because of it (Colb, 2000). Numerous studies over the past few years have proven what many have known for decades: law enforcement agents at all levels consistently use race, ethnicity, national origin, and religion when choosing which individuals should be stopped and searched. Discriminatory racial profiling is a widely recognized problem in communities across the country. States are beginning to recognize the need to address this discriminatory practice. The practice of racial profiling occurs when law enforcement officers target suspects on the basis of race, national origin, ethnicity, or religion. Racial profiling is not just an issue of who gets stopped, but  why they are stopped, and how they are treated. In 1999, the federal government and New Jersey came to an exceptional agreement that state troopers would no longer use race as a factor in highway traffic stops. This agreement came about after an investigation of police records revealed that African Americans and Latinos drove three-fourths of the cars searched on state highways. One might wonder how police balance their enforcement knowledge against the potential for discrimination based on stereotyping, or what’s commonly called â€Å"racial profiling†? It’s a complex, provoking issue, but by starting to look at police training may help to figure out the source. For law-enforcement personnel, training and experience are critical. Training comes from many sources. It begins with the initial training academy, and continues with ongoing updates known as in-service training. Additional formal training happens when a field-training officer (a police officer’s first street partner) assists with law enforcement’s version of â€Å"on-the-job training.† Somewhere along the progression, â€Å"informal† training begins. It takes place anywhere and everywhere, and continues throughout a career. And just like in any job, officers learn to cut corners, streamline processes and get the job done. The end result can be a more efficient employee or one who omits necessary steps in the processes. On one front, police brutality occurs when an officer has difficulty judging the need to utilize force. An officer’s career depends on police-survival skills that can make the difference for continued existence. Knowing when to go for your gun or when to issue a verbal command is a learned skill. It requires good training, time on the job, and repeated exposure to incidents. Equally, a crucial part of this is the guidance and influence of senior officers, not to mention the officer’s own motivations of fear, physical abilities and the like. There are many factors that influence an officer’s decisions when it comes to discriminatory issues and law enforcement. The manor, in which an officer is socially experienced, in both professional and personal settings, plays a major role. Bringing about the stereotype of young African-American men as  criminals can come from both of these tracts. Like everyone else, police must unlearn this bias and judge people based on their actions alone. The big difference is that police, at times, have power over our freedom. Racial profiling of African-Americans and Latinos is rampant at all levels of law enforcement today. For example, approximately 72 percent of all routine traffic stops on an interstate in the Northeast were of African-American drivers, despite the fact that African-Americans make up only about 17 percent of the driving population, according to a study by the American Civil Liberties Union. In the aftermath of September 11, racial profiling of Arabs and South Asians has increased very much so. Since the terrorist attacks, individuals who appear to be of Arab or South Asian descent have been targeted for special inquiry. For example, many have been asked to leave airplanes for no reason other than their appearance. In the case of Arab look a likes on airplanes, many have been asked to remove their turbans, a violation of their religious practices. Few state or federal agencies collect data on the incidence of racial profiling. The U.S. Department of Justice only recently issued voluntary guidelines that states should follow, producing in 2000, A Resource Guide on Racial Profiling Data Collection Systems. This document provides an overview of the nature of racial profiling, a description of data collection and its purpose, current activities in California, New Jersey, and North Carolina, and policy recommendations. Collecting accurate data is a critical first step toward eliminating the practice of racial profiling and bridging the lack of trust between law enforcement agencies and communities of color. Developing and implementing data collection systems will help to eliminate intentional and unintentional profiling and restore trust in law enforcement agencies. States that require law enforcement officials to collect information regarding the race, ethnicity, gender and age of each driver stopped by police will also help. The reporting requirements also include noting what actions (citation, warnings, tickets) were taken, and, if a vehicle search was conducted,  whether it was based upon consent, probable cause, or reasonable suspicion of a crime. The potential for abuse of power in most law enforcement departments exists for several reasons. Incorporated with the lack of literature regarding the topic at this point, most law enforcement departs refuse to undergo a study and they deny that racial profiling exists, the controversial issues in regards to prejudice and racism, and the added events of September 11th; racial profiling by law enforcement grew to include new groups of people. However, many police departments are aggressively addressing these issues with added training and stiffer sanctions for violating a citizen’s civil rights. Through the years, the learned patterns of criminality, real or perceived, have given us the institution of profiling. The unlearning of these patterns may take just as long.

Succubus Dreams CHAPTER 22

Seth wasn't at the bookstore the next day, which I took as a bad sign. It was usually his passive-aggressive reaction to whenever we had a fight. I thought about him a lot while I worked, thinking of that awful blowout. We'd had a lot of uncomfortable talks in our time together, but we'd never had anything like that. I couldn't put my finger on exactly what about it bothered me – aside from the obvious – but I kept feeling like it was a pivotal moment, something that was going to have long-reaching effects. It scared me, and I wanted to fix things. And, of course, there was Nyx to worry about. I was going to find a victim after work, and then Vincent said the angels would come while I was asleep – when Nyx made her move. â€Å"You okay?† I looked up from the stack of checks I was signing in my office. Maddie stood there in a black pencil skirt and fitted white blouse that made her look super amazing. She'd worn her hair down too. â€Å"Wow,† I said. â€Å"What's the occasion?† â€Å"Nothing,† she said, with a shrug. â€Å"Wardrobe overhaul.† She lifted one foot, revealing three-inch black heels. â€Å"Holy shit,† I said. â€Å"You don't do anything in halves.† She beamed, and I noticed something about her that had nothing to do with the new clothes. There was joy in her eyes – a happiness that made her confident and even more radiant. She was a far cry from the bitter woman who'd shown up at the auction. â€Å"What's going on?† I asked, not fixating on myself for the first time today. Her grin widened, revealing her phantom dimple. A moment later, she turned more serious. â€Å"I'll tell you later. My news is good. But you†¦what's the matter? You look awful.† Yasmine had said the same thing last night. It really was a sad day when a succubus couldn't stay on top of her game. I shook my head. â€Å"It's†¦complicated.† I offered a weak smile. â€Å"I'll deal with it, don't worry. Now, come on. I'd rather hear something cheerful. Tell me what's going on.† â€Å"Can't. They need me out there. I just came to drop these off.† She set a stack of papers on my desk. They practically melted into the other stacks I already had. My office was so chaotic, it could have been a lair for Nyx in and of itself. â€Å"Come on, the suspense is going to drive me crazy,† I teased. â€Å"Well†¦you think you can give me a lift to the airport tomorrow? I'm going home for Christmas.† â€Å"You taking Doug with you?† â€Å"Nope. He's your holiday gift. But I'll give you the scoop then if you can give me a ride. I'd probably need to leave around five.† â€Å"Five o'clock traffic on the Friday before Christmas. We're going to have a lot of time to talk.† A bit of her normal nervousness reappeared. â€Å"If it's a problem†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Nope. We're closing early anyway. We'll go then.† Maddie left, and I found myself momentarily distracted by whatever her news could be. Whatever it was, it was a good thing. I liked the change it had brought about. That sort of happiness and confidence suited her. My thoughts were interrupted by the phone ringing. I answered and found Seth on the other end. â€Å"Hey,† I said, hoping I sounded cool and confident and not desperate and relieved. â€Å"Hey.† A long pause followed. â€Å"I†¦just†¦wanted to make sure we were on for Christmas.† My heart sank. No: â€Å"I've missed you.† No: â€Å"I'm sorry.† â€Å"Sure. Wouldn't miss it.† Thinking about Christmas. I experienced a weird sense of d? ¦j? ¤ vu. We'd also been with his brother on Thanksgiving. And like now, we'd also been fighting. There it was again: my life, the endless loop. You aren't learning. You aren't changing. Of course, Seth and I had patched up the other fight. Maybe that kind of resolution would repeat itself too. After all, holidays were supposed to be magic, right? â€Å"Okay,† he told me. â€Å"I'll pick you up.† â€Å"Okay.† Another long pause. â€Å"I'd come by today, but†¦well. The book†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The book. Always the book. Then again, I was busy with chaos deities today. â€Å"Yeah, I know. It's fine.† â€Å"We'll talk on Christmas.† â€Å"Okay.† We hung up. A chill ran through me. There it was again. I had no gift for premonition, but an inner instinct – one that had nothing to do with Nyx's visions of the future – told me there was something big coming. After work, I drove over to Bellevue, Seattle's richest and most pretentious suburb. A city in its own right, Bellevue was pretty much the polar opposite of SeaTac. Hotels, restaurants, and shopping were continually being added to its downtown strip, and the influx of money from Boeing and Microsoft was steadily replacing older, plain buildings with sleeker and more stylish architecture. Bellevue was also home to a guy I knew named Kevin. I'd met him years ago in a bar. There was nothing overly extraordinary about Kevin. He was neither a sinner nor a saint, instead occupying some happy ground in the middle that yielded a decent amount of energy whenever I slept with him. His most notable trait was that he was perpetually available. He worked at home – some Web business, I believed – and never seemed to go out, despite being good-looking and sociable. I didn't question that too much, though, because it suited my purposes whenever I needed quick and easy sex with someone I didn't completely loathe. â€Å"Sandra,† he said happily, opening the door of his condo for me. He had dark brown hair and a closely trimmed, very new beard that I approved of. Dark brown eyes regarded me with amusement. â€Å"Been a while.† My â€Å"Sandra† form had a petite build similar to the one I usually wore. After that, the resemblance ended. My hair was now curly and black, my eyes a blue that looked violet sometimes. Underneath my long black coat, I wore a sleeveless navy blue dress that fit snugly and was far too skimpy for this kind of weather. â€Å"It has been,† I agreed. â€Å"Does that mean you aren't going to let me in?† He smiled and stepped back, grandly waving me inside. â€Å"What, do you think I'm crazy or something? Only an idiot would turn you away.† I followed Kevin down the hall and into his living room. He'd redecorated since the last time I was here, and the change was nice. The furniture and d? ¦cor were now all done in shades of a grayish blue that reminded me of winter twilights. A fireplace crackled on one side of the room, and a large bay window looked out to another set of condos. I draped my coat over a chair and smoothed miniscule wrinkles out of the dress. â€Å"You want something to drink?† he asked, hands in his pockets. I shook my head. â€Å"I don't have much time.† He gave me a rueful smile. â€Å"You never do. You know, sometimes I feel used.† â€Å"Is that a problem?† â€Å"Problem?† he asked with a snort. â€Å"A beautiful woman who wants to have sex with me and no commitments? Hardly a problem.† He took a few steps toward me. â€Å"Use me all you want.† He came closer still, and we met in a kiss. No delay, no preamble. I wrapped my arms around his neck and parted my lips, eager to feel him and taste him. His hands rested on my hips for a moment, then slid upward. He caught my dress's straps and pulled them down, baring my breasts and still kissing me the whole time. Pushing forward, he pressed me against the wall, near the fireplace. I felt its heat against the bare skin of my legs. His hands cupped my breasts, thumbs sliding to my nipples and squeezing them. He varied the intensity, sometimes hard and sometimes gentle. I broke the kiss long enough to incline my head toward the uncovered window behind him. â€Å"The window – â€Å" He crushed his mouth back against mine. Our tongues danced together briefly, and then he pulled back just long enough to say, â€Å"I know.† The tone of his voice told me that he not only knew – he also wanted it that way. I didn't question it. This apparently was the season for exhibitionism. Eventually, he moved his mouth away from mine and trailed kisses down my neck. I tilted my head back and arched the rest of my body toward his. One of his hands continued cupping a breast as he nibbled on its nipple, teeth and tongue stirring it to arousal. His other hand pushed up my skirt, eagerly seeking my panties and what lay within. The ache for his energy and his touch coursed through me. I moaned softly as he moved his lips down my body. Shifting to the floor, he settled on his knees while still keeping me standing against the wall. He pulled the panties down all the way, so they hung around my ankles. Sliding his hands between my thighs, he pulled them apart slightly and then buried his face between them, his stubble tickling me. I was burning and wet, more so than I'd realized, and when his tongue touched my aching clit, I moaned more loudly and felt my knees tremble slightly. I started to tell him that he didn't need to do this, that it was okay if he just wanted to get straight to the main event. But as his tongue gently moved back and forth, building the heat and ecstasy within me, I swallowed my words. The last three guys I'd slept with hadn't made me come, and although this visit was strictly utilitarian and part of the Nyx plan, I suddenly and selfishly wanted to get more than his life energy out of it. Back and forth his tongue moved, speed and intensity continually shifting. As his thoughts began to trickle into me, I could tell that he liked doing that not simply for the sake of novelty, but also because he liked seeing the way I reacted to each slight change. He was one of those men who truly enjoyed making a woman happy. The burning spot he'd brought to life between my legs grew and grew, expanding beyond where his tongue touched, beyond my thighs. Steadily, it spread into my whole body, all the way to my fingertips. I felt like fire in human – or rather, succubus – form and writhed against the wall, against him. My knees buckled as the searing pleasure reached a critical point inside me, and his hands moved down to steady my legs and keep me upright. At last the core within me exploded, the fire turning to pure light, pure bliss. I cried out at the way the orgasm consumed me, at the way his tongue still kept teasing me even in the throes of my climax. Finally, even he couldn't keep me upright. My legs had turned to jelly, and I sank to the floor in front of him. He smiled, genuinely pleased, and leaned forward to kiss me. I could taste me on his lips. â€Å"Come on,† he said, taking my hands and helping me up. He led me over to the window and peeled off the rest of my dress. He eased me onto a high window seat. Removing his own clothes, he murmured, â€Å"I should go find a condom.† My breathing was rapid, my heart pounding away. â€Å"No, I want to feel you – just you.† I took his hand and brought it between my legs, guiding his fingers into me. â€Å"I want you to feel me.† I'd been wet before starting all this and was now doubly so after what he'd just done. His fingers glided easily inside of me, and his eyes widened at what he felt. Indecision played on his face, and then he nodded. If counseling any of my human friends, I would certainly advocate safe sex. It didn't matter for me personally, however, since I couldn't catch anything or get pregnant. Often with victims, I'd talk them out of any sort of protection in order to increase their guilt. With Kevin tonight, I didn't want to bother with condoms simply because I didn't want to waste the time. My urgency and desire were too strong. I wanted him now. I slid my hands down his stomach and felt how hard he was. He wanted me too. I wrapped my fingers around him, stroking and massaging and loving the way he swelled within my hand. Pressing my back against the cold glass, I drew my knees up to me and then spread them wide, feeling rather like a butterfly. The window seat was exactly the perfect height, putting us hip to hip as I led him inside of me. We both gasped at the contact. He pushed in as far as possible, our hips pressed skin to skin. The way he filled me up was exquisite. Shape-shifting meant I could make myself as tight as possible, and I loved how he tested the limits of it. He paused a moment, simply savoring the way our bodies felt together, and then slowly began moving in and out of me, rocking me against the window with each thrust. And with that, his life began pouring into me in earnest. I nearly exhaled with relief. The sensation of that energy filling me up rivaled the feel of his body inside me. I had missed it so much, missed the wonder and joy of that pure, indescribable energy generated by the human soul. Nyx had been stealing a part of me, and I was glad to have it back, if only for this moment. The thoughts coming through with his energy were happy and content ones as he reveled in the pleasure of being with me. A secret, kinky part of him was turned on by hoping that his neighbors across the way might be watching. He hoped they were. He hoped they were jealous. His thrusts grew harder and harder, and he murmured over and over how wonderful I was, how beautiful. Still sensitive from him going down on me, I came twice more, my body melting as the orgasms' spasms shook me. At last, I felt his body tense and saw his expression signal he was about to lose control. I dug my nails into his arms and begged him to come in me. He did, shoving me so hard against the window that I hoped the glass would hold. The peak of his energy hit me with his climax, and as it faded, we both sighed happily. I didn't abandon him quite as quickly as I had Bryce, but I didn't spend time lounging in the afterglow either. I helped him get dressed and made sure he was situated comfortably on the couch before I left. I liked him, after all, and hoped I'd see him again in some other casual situation. His face was languid and content as we made our good-byes. â€Å"You are the most exhausting woman I've ever been with,† he told me, eyelids flickering with fatigue. I couldn't help a smile. Of course I was. Other lovers didn't steal his soul – at least not literally. â€Å"Does that mean you want me to stay away longer next time?† He smiled and yawned. â€Å"No. Absolutely not.† Still smiling, I left and headed back to the city. But as I drove closer to downtown, brimming with energy, my happy feelings faded. I remembered why I'd had to go see him in the first place and what would happen tonight. My body, so achingly hot an hour ago, grew cold. When I arrived back at my apartment, Vincent, Carter, and Yasmine were already waiting for me. None of them commented on my glow. Instead, they launched right into the plan. â€Å"Nyx will probably come trolling around tonight,† Carter explained. â€Å"And when she sees you've got energy again, she'll do her thing.† Yasmine nodded along. â€Å"We can't be here when it happens. Vincent will be around, out in the living room. She won't suspect him of anything; she'll figure he's an ordinary human. But when he senses her feeding off of you, he'll let us know. Then, we'll show up and bind her.† I didn't like the sound of any of that – neither the feeding nor the binding. â€Å"What's that mean?† â€Å"We'll pull her out and trap her,† said Carter. Presumably â€Å"out† meant out of me. Yikes. â€Å"Then we'll take her away, back to her prison,† added Yasmine. Their confidence inspired confidence in me, and I suspected I was being influenced by angelic charisma. But there was no way out of this, not if I wanted to shake my nighttime visitor. â€Å"All right,† I said. â€Å"Let's do this.† The angels left. It was still early evening, so I hung out with Vincent. We played a couple games of cards and watched bad movies. Hanging out with him in such a casual way made it easy to forget he was a nephilim. When midnight loomed, I stood up and stretched. â€Å"I don't think I can sleep,† I remarked. â€Å"It's like trying to go to bed on Christmas Eve. Too jittery to settle down. Except†¦it's not Santa I'm waiting for.† He smiled. â€Å"Well, try. If we need to, we can probably give you a sedative or something, but this whole thing will be more efficient without.† It took a long time – lying in bed for almost two hours – before I fell asleep. It wasn't easy to relax when you were inviting a creature of chaos to come feed off of you. And yet, as I drifted off, I couldn't help a small flicker of eagerness. I'd be dreaming the dream again. And I did. It started from the beginning, like always, running all the way to the part where the little girl fell and my dream-self comforted her. The girl's tears were drying when we both heard the faint sound of a car door closing. My dream-self straightened up. A smile blossomed on her face as she regarded her – my – daughter with the kind of over-exaggerated excitement adults often use with children. â€Å"You hear that?† my dream-self asked. â€Å"Daddy's home.† Mirrored excitement showed on the girl's face as my dream-self stood up, still holding the girl and balancing her on one hip. It was an act of some coordination, considering how small my dream-self was. They walked to the front door and stepped outside onto a porch. It was nighttime, all quiet darkness, save for a small light hanging on the porch. It shone onto a long stretch of unbroken white snow on the lawn and the driveway. All around, more snow fell in a steady stream. I didn't recognize the place, but it certainly wasn't Seattle. That much snow would have sent the city into a panic, putting everyone on Armageddon alert. My dream-self was perfectly at ease, barely noticing the snow. Wherever she was, it was a common occurrence. In the driveway, a car had just pulled up. I felt my dream-self's heart swell with happiness. A man stood behind it, a non-descript dark figure in the faint lighting. He took out a rolling suitcase and slammed the trunk shut. The little girl clasped her hands in excitement, and my dream-self waved a hand in greeting. The man returned the wave as he walked toward the house, and my waking self tried desperately to see his face. It was too dark. I needed him to get closer, just a little closer – I couldn't get any closer because just then, I felt my soul get ripped out of me. I sat up in bed, nearly screaming in agony at the pain coursing through me. All four angels, plus Vincent, ringed the room. The power pulsing around us felt like smoke. I could barely breathe. And there, beside my bed, was Nyx. She looked a lot like Erik's description: an old, emaciated woman. Her skin and hair were white, her dark eyes sunken and inhuman. A tattered, gossamer dress wrapped around her body. She had an almost translucent look, like she wasn't entirely solid, and a sparkling aura shone around her. I couldn't see the forces being wielded, but I felt them distinctly. The angels temporarily had her enclosed in walls of power, but she wasn't bound, not yet. She pushed back against their restraints with considerable power of her own, and I gaped. Any one of those angels dwarfed my own power – yet, their combined force was still an even match for hers. It was a staggering thought, and I couldn't understand why she'd need my energy since she had so much of her own. And actually, she did have some of mine. She'd taken about half before they'd pulled her out of me. Nyx shrieked in rage, still pushing back on them. Then, bit by bit, I could see the balance shift. Her power was fading the more she used it. The angels' was steady. They were weakening her. She realized this and panic showed on her face. Casting frantic eyes over all the angels, she finally rested her gaze on Yasmine. There was still enough of a faint connection between us that I realized what Nyx was going to do. She'd sought out the least powerful of the foursome. Mustering the last of her power, she blasted it toward Yasmine, hoping both to smash the angels' united front and hurt Yasmine enough to cause a distraction. A heartbeat before Nyx unleashed her attack, I saw Vincent's face. He too realized what she was going to do. He moved forward, and I felt his mask drop. The telltale nephilim signature washed over me, and his power filled the room as well. There was a lot of it. He'd held back in the alley. Invisible energy rushed from Nyx toward Yasmine, trying to destroy the angel. But Vincent was there, blocking the attack. It rebounded back on Nyx. She screamed again, her defenses shattering. The other angels seized the opportunity, and bands of light snapped into place around her. A moment later, the light faded, but the restraints were there, even if I could no longer see them. She clawed around her, like a twisted version of a mime in a box, but she was trapped. She couldn't get through the walls they'd locked her in. They'd done it. They'd recaptured Nyx. But none of the angels were paying attention to her. They were all looking at Vincent. â€Å"You,† gasped Joel. He didn't hesitate. He strode toward the nephilim, and I saw Joel's body start to shimmer with light. He was about to transform into his true form, a form of terrible beauty and power. But Yasmine was faster. The slim, dark-haired woman became pure light. She was all the colors of the rainbow and none of them. A sword of flame appeared in her hands. She stepped in front of Vincent – who was screaming at her to stop – and swung toward Joel. The blade hit him, and he screamed. An awful, burning sensation was starting to flood me. Hastily, I shielded my eyes and looked away, realizing what I'd almost done. An angel's true form was an indescribable thing, requiring senses a human – or a human-turned-succubus – didn't possess. Staring at her could cause me major damage. Even being in the same room with her hurt. But I'd seen what I'd needed to before looking away. I'd seen the sword fall. Yasmine had attacked Joel. Nyx had pegged her as the weakest of the four, but Yasmine and Joel must have been incredibly close in power. Catching him by surprise like that tipped the scales. The air in the room swirled, reaching hurricane levels. Power exploded around me, like a sun going supernova. Everything was fire and wind. And screaming. Twin screams: Yasmine's and Joel's. I wrapped my arms around me, burying my face, certain I was going to die. The energy exploding toward me reached a point in which it would surely blow up the building, blow up the world. Stronger and stronger it grew. Suddenly, it all reversed. Power rushed away from my side of the room, back toward the angels. It was like a black hole had formed, sucking everything toward it. Of course, it was only pulling energy, not physical objects, but I nonetheless felt like it was dragging me in too. I clutched the bed's comforter, using it like an anchor to hold me down. Time ceased to have meaning. Ten seconds or ten hours could have passed for all I knew. Finally, the rushing stopped, and everything went still. The atmosphere returned to normal. No more insane power levels. There was only what you would normally expect in a room with three angels, a nephilim, a succubus, and a primordial entity of chaos. The latter had suddenly moved to the backburner of everyone's attention. Yasmine had returned to her â€Å"human† form. It was safe for me. I looked up, expecting Carter and Whitney to swoop in and attack her. But they stood frozen. No trace of Joel remained. He was gone, destroyed. The typhoon of power had marked his death. Yasmine was on her knees, fingers digging into the sides of her face. She sobbed, murmuring words that sounded like frantic prayers. Vincent, like the angels, kept his distance from her. She had just killed Joel. I didn't understand why no one was acting. Why were they just standing there? Everyone seemed to be waiting for something. Suddenly, a voice hissed beside me, more in my mind than spoken aloud. â€Å"Succubus.† I looked into Nyx's cavernous eyes. Like Vincent and the angels, I'd forgotten about her. She extended her hand toward me, and I cringed. Fortunately, the invisible binds kept her from getting any closer. â€Å"Succubus,† she repeated. â€Å"Touch the walls. Use the last of your power to set me free.† â€Å"What? No!† I was dividing my attention between her and the others. The angelic group still stood motionless. â€Å"Free me, and I'll help you exact your revenge.† â€Å"Revenge? Who are you talking about?† â€Å"The one who sent me to you when I escaped,† she rasped. â€Å"The one who promised you to me.† I had no clue what she meant. â€Å"Like†¦who freed you?† She cast an uneasy look behind her. Time was ticking down on her distraction. â€Å"No, you were promised to me! But I can help you. Help you punish – â€Å" â€Å"No,† I said. She was too dangerous. Whatever insane revenge she was talking about wasn't worth what she could do to mortals if she was freed. Her desperation grew. The angels were eventually going to remember her, and we both knew it. â€Å"I will show you the end of the dream!† she cried. â€Å"I'll show you the man. The man in the dream.† My heart stopped. â€Å"He isn't real,† I whispered. â€Å"It was all a lie. You used it to trick me.† â€Å"No! Everything I show is true. Always true.† â€Å"It can't be†¦it's impossible.† I swallowed and felt tears starting to fill my eyes. I wanted it to be true. More than anything. â€Å"That can't ever happen to me.† Nyx beat her hands on her unseen prison walls. â€Å"It's real! It's the future! I've seen it. Touch the walls, and I will show you. I will show you the man in the dream!† I wanted to. I wanted to see him. I needed to see him. The man in the dream. The man who could maybe truly make this future happen†¦. My hand moved forward, like it was being controlled by an outside force. Nyx's eyes widened, eager and hungry. All of a sudden, a scream split the air. No, it was more than a scream. When Yasmine had destroyed Joel, that had involved screaming. This was more than that. It was the most horrible noise in the universe, a phenomenon that went beyond mere sound. Much as my eyes couldn't exactly perceive an angel's appearance, my ears couldn't fully comprehend this. My hand dropped from Nyx, and I jerked my gaze to the angels. Yasmine was still on her knees, and flames were starting to consume her. It was no ordinary fire, though. It reminded me of the light of her true form: all colors and none. Carter and Whitney watched, faces unreadable. Vincent also watched. He'd taken a few steps toward me, backing away from the fire. The look on his face was filled with a jumble of emotions, none of them good. I didn't understand what was happening to Yasmine yet, but I knew what would happen to him. â€Å"Get out,† I told him in a low voice. His face was pale, as pale as Nyx's. He looked like he'd aged a hundred years. â€Å"I can't†¦I can't leave her†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"You have to. They'll destroy you. Or if they don't, someone else will. Someone else in the city will have noticed this. You know I'm right.† His eyes were still on Yasmine. I could no longer see her, though. She was all flame – flame that had turned black. â€Å"Go!† I exclaimed. â€Å"It's what she'd want. She did this for you!† Vincent flinched at those words and finally looked at me. The full force of his grief made the held-back tears spill down my cheeks. â€Å"Go. Please,† I begged. Joel had been destroyed. Yasmine looked like she was about to be. I couldn't stand anymore death. He said nothing, but after several seconds, he turned invisible. I felt his aura go. Across the room, the flames were starting to fade. Yasmine was slowly reappearing, completely unscathed. She looked no different, but something about her signature had changed. I felt the same golden light, the impression of saffron and frankincense. But it was edged in something else. It no longer had the sharp, crystalline quality of angelic auras. That was gone, replaced by a dark and smoky feel – a smokiness that had nothing to do with the fire. The flames finally disappeared altogether, and Yasmine still knelt on the floor. Seconds later, another signature joined us, one I knew well. Jerome stood in the room, apparently back from whatever clandestine matters he'd needed to oversee. He looked from face to face, finally focusing on mine. â€Å"Jesus Christ. What have you done now?† I ignored him, unable to tear my gaze from Yasmine. She looked the same, exactly the same. And yet, she wasn't†¦ She'd noticed the change too. She held her arms out in front of her, studying them as though she'd never seen herself before. Horror flooded her features. â€Å"No,† she moaned. â€Å"No†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She began sobbing again. Carter finally looked away from her and met Jerome's eyes. â€Å"This is yours now, Charon.† Jerome nodded and stepped toward Yasmine. â€Å"Time to go.† She looked up at him, face glistening with tears. She said nothing, but she didn't need to. Her expression said everything. It was a plea, a plea that none of this was real, that maybe – just maybe – Jerome could make it all go away. He shook his head and touched her shoulder. They vanished. The room was quiet, an unnatural quiet that felt almost oppressive. My voice seemed strange and out of place. â€Å"Wh-what happened?† I asked Carter. I noticed now that Whitney was crying. â€Å"Yasmine has fallen,† he said softly. â€Å"She's a demon now.†