Nothing but the Truth Essay Example for Free

Nothing but the Truth Essay In Avis book, Nothing But the Truth, there is a quote from a Shakespearian play. Brutus says, No Cassius; for the eye sees not itself/But by reflection, by some other things. I think that in deeper terms, this means that a person cannot see how he or she acts unless someone acts the same way or describes it to them. This quote can be applied to the story because Philip Malloy, the main character cannot see himself clearly. In that way, I am like Philip Malloy. I have no perception of whether my actions have positive or negatives effects and always assume that I am right. In the story, Philip blames his Language Arts teacher for not teaching well and being uptight. He claims that she is the only reason that he does not have a passing grade in that class and therefore the reason that he cannot be on the track team. My opinion is that Philip does not even consider the possibility that he may be part of the problem. I think that if only Philip would try a little harder in Miss Narwins Language Arts class, he would be able to pass. The problem is, Philip is extremely stubborn and insists on believing that his teacher likes picking on him. He refuses to even try to even think about Miss Narwins side of the story. Miss Narwin, in Principal Doanes opinion is one of the best teachers at their school. Miss Narwin, however, thinks that her methods are too old-fashioned and wants to attend a workshop on new approaches to teach literature to students. Her request is turned down and she isnt very happy about that. I think that Miss Narwins desire to take this workshop has a little bit to do with Philip. She knows that Philip has great potential to learn and wants to find a way to connect with him. In what Philip sees as Miss Narwin picking on him is actually an attempt to get him to do better. Sometimes I do not see things clearly either. I have a one track mind. I think that everything I do is right and it is in that way that I am like Philip. When I am wrong, I do not see why and I get frustrated and angry. When this happens I blame it on another person. I do not think about whether there might be another side to the problem or not. To me, there is just no question of me being the cause of the trouble. But if someone would explain to me nicely and clearly, I am usually able to see the logic. In summary, the quote that is on page forty-eight of Avis book, Nothing But the Truth fits with the story nicely. The quote basically says that people need someone to tell them that not everything they do is right and that they may be the ones that are the problem. I am like that too, but as long as someone is there to help me, I will be able to understand.

Role of the RAF in second world war Essay Example for Free

Role of the RAF in second world war Essay You ask, What is our policy? I will say; It is to wage war, by sea, land and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us: to wage war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark lamentable catalogue of human crime. That is our policy. You ask, What is our aim? I can answer with one word: Victory victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory there is no survival. 1 The Allied air forces based in Great Britain had numerous tactical advantages over the Luftwaffe. These included the use of anti-aircraft guns, the home field advantage, preference in mission profiles, slight technological superiority, and the use of land-based radar. Ground-based anti-aircraft fire from friendly allied units provided support for allied fighter and caused another threat for Luftwaffe bombers. A statement issued by the Air Ministry on September 15, 1940 stated that four enemy aircraft were shot down by anti-aircraft fire by 2000 hours. 2 Friendly anti-aircraft units provided an extra threat for the Luftwaffe, gave direct assistance to the Royal Air Force and were a psychological disadvantage for the Luftwaffe. When Allied fighter pilots were shot down during air battles, they had the ability to either eject or crash in friendly territory where local residents were willing to help the pilots return to action; Luftwaffe pilots who were shot down were most likely done flying for the duration of the war. In August of 1940, the ratio of destroyed planes to pilots reported Missing in Action was 49. 14:1. The same ratio for the Luftwaffe during August of 1940 was 1:1. 39. 3 This is the combat equivalent to home field advantage. The Allied pilots were familiar with the terrain, cities and countryside so that if they were forced to bail out, the chances of them returning to combat were much higher than Luftwaffe pilots. The Luftwaffe had to worry about one more problem that was hardly bothering allied air forces. The high Luftwaffe casualties in comparison to allied forces were a large advantage for the Royal Air Force and its allies. The only objective for scrambled Allied fighter pilots was to intercept inbound Luftwaffe air raids while the Luftwaffe fighters had to stay with the bombers to provide escort. This gave the Allied fighters much more freedom in terms of the engagement and allowed the Royal Air Force to dictate the engagement. The Luftwaffe fighter pilots were bound by a number of other similar problems also. For example, a dogfight uses a lot of fuel as fighters raise their speeds, roll, and climb. Fuel was something that the Luftwaffe fighter aircraft simply did not have enough of as they had to fly to Britain, engage the Royal Air Force (RAF) aircraft and still reserve enough fuel for the flight home, keeping in mind running out of fuel would result in the Luftwaffe pilots being captured as they would be over British soil if they were to eject. The RAF did not have this problem because they could return to their airfield as soon as they reached bingo fuel (the state at which there is only enough fuel to return to base with a small reserve to orbit). This gave the Allies a significant tactical advantage; they forced the Luftwaffe to react to their actions as soon as they reacted initially with a scramble. There is no armed force that wants to react to another and the Luftwaffe was no exception. This is simply because it gives the other armed force a tactical advantage. The Royal Air Force and her allies also had a slight performance advantage over the Luftwaffe on an objective to objective basis. There are two major classifications of fixed-wing combat aircraft: the fighter and the bomber. Due to the differences between the classes, which are caused by their role, some aircraft are better at specific targets than others. This was no exception during World War II or the Battle of Britain. During the Battle of Britain, Hurricanes, for the most part, were tasked to intercept the inbound bombers. The Hurricane was a very efficient design for intercepting bombers as it sacrificed speed for heavier armaments. 4 The Hawker Hurricane MkIs maximum speed of 521 km/h was enough to intercept any bomber in the Luftwaffes inventory, the fastest of which being the Junker Ju88A/D/H/S/T and the Dornier Do215 which both reached speeds of 470 km/h. The Hawker Hurricane also had eight . 303 machine guns that were beneficial for tearing up Luftwaffe bombers. 5 However, because very few bombers can hold defend themselves against a fighter, they are usually escorted by fighter aircraft. In the case of the Battle of Britain, it was usually the dangerous Messerschmitt Me109 that performed the role of sortie escort. Unlike the Hawker Hurricane, the Me109E1 was a fighter aircraft, designed to kill other fighter aircraft. This meant that it had a faster maximum speed of 560 km/h, which was more than enough to engage the Hurricane. 6 To counter this threat, the Royal Air Force deployed the Supermarine Spitfire. The early Supermarine Spitfire Mk1 was the Royal Air Forces answer to the Messerschmitt Me109. With a maximum airspeed of 594 km/h, the Spitfire Mk1 had a slight speed advantage of approximately 34 km/h. 7 In terms of weaponry, the Spitfire Mk1 had eight . 303 machine guns (which is equivalent to 7. 6962mm) compared to the Me109Es two 7. 92mm machine guns and two 20mm cannons; However, Me109 pilots did not have to worry about fire convergence for their 7. 92mm guns as they were located in the upper fuselage8. The largest advantage the Spitfires and Hurricanes had was that they simply out-turned Luftwaffe fighters. According to Douglas Bader, a Group Captain in the Royal Air Force, the Spitfire and the Hurricane both had smaller turning radiuses than the Luftwaffe fighters did9. Therefore, in order to keep out of an enemy gun sight, RAF pilots simply had to turn hard. If the Luftwaffe pilots tried to follow, the RAF pilot would be behind them after a couple of full turns. In March 1942, the Luftwaffe began flying the Focke-Wulf FW190 which did have significant performance advantages over the Spitfire Mk1 and Hurricane; However the Royal Air Force quickly answered by creating Supermarine Spitfire IXA which was the equivalent to the FW190i. The only other aircraft that outperformed the Royal Aircraft fighters was the Messerschmitt Me262; however it was introduced too late in the campaign to make a significant difference. 10 These performance advantages allowed the Royal Air Force to control the engagement and forced the Luftwaffe to react. One advantage that can not be overlooked in any war or conflict, World War II being no exception, is the element of training soldiers have been given. The Allies recognised this and created the British Commonwealth Air Training Program (BCATP). The British Commonwealth Air Training Program was under the control of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and was a huge Canadian contribution to World War II and the Battle of Britain. Costing Canada $2 billion11 it trained 50,000 pilots, 25,000 navigators and 57,000 other aircrew members12. After the creation of the British Commonwealth Air Training Program, Royal Air Force pilots had a significant training advantage over the Luftwaffe pilots. The most significant advantage the Royal Air Force had was their Early Warning capabilities. The Royal Air Force made use of radar. Invented by Robert Watson-Watt, it allowed the Royal Air Force to find the speed and vector of inbound air raids by bouncing radio waves off airborne objects. 13 With a chain of radar stations along the southeast portion of England,14 it was very difficult, if possible at all, for the Luftwaffe to enter British airspace without being met by Royal Air Force fighter aircraft. This allowed the pilots in the Royal Air Force to stay in the air longer because they no longer had to hunt for the Luftwaffe aircraft; 15 they were given specific bearings based on intelligence gathered from the radar stations. This also made a reduction in Combat Air Patrols (CAP) possible because the RAF knew when and where the Luftwaffe bombers were. This allowed readiness to be increased as planes could wait as long as necessary at an airfield with a full loadout and full of fuel until it was most efficient to attack the inbound raid. The most important advantage of radar was depriving the Luftwaffe of the element of surprise, always a very important aspect of war. With the Luftwaffe lacking the element of surprise, yet another tactical advantage was handed to the Royal Air Force. The Luftwaffe had to fight the Battle of Britain with many disadvantages. These disadvantages included the Royal Air Forces training, the Royal Air Forces performance advantages, and having to fight away from home on another countrys ground. All of these factors led to the Luftwaffes defeat during the Battle of Britain, which ended officially on October 31, 1940. 16 However, combat has its price. Mary Kay Ash was correct in saying, People fail forward to success. 17 Endnotes18man, 1 Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965), 1940 during his first address as the Prime Minister of Britain.2 Battle of Britain, www. spartacus. schoolnet. co. uk/2WWbritainB. htm, May 29, 2004. 3 Truman, C. , The Battle of Britain, www. historylearningsite. co. uk/battle_of_britain_statistics. htm, May 25, 2004. 4 Harrison, Nigel Jackson. Andy, The Battle of Britain, www. battle-of-britain. com, May 25, 2004. 5 Chris Chant, Aircraft of WWII (Etobicoke, Ontario: Prospero Books, 1999), p. 110, 161, 197. 6 Ibid. p. 299 7 Ibid. p. 222 8 Ibid. 9 Battle of Britain, www. spartacus. schoolnet. co. uk/2WWbritainB. htm, May 29, 2004.i After the war, the Royal Air Force released the Supermarine Spitfire MkIXB which was superior to the Focke-Wulf FW190. 10 Battle of Britain, www. spartacus. schoolnet. co. uk/2WWbritainB. htm, May 29, 2004. 11 Bolotta ,Angelo et al. Canada: Face of a Nation (Toronto: Gage Educational Publishing Company, 2000) p. 167 12 Ibid. 13 Truman, C. , Radar and the Battle of Britain, www. historylearningsite. co. uk/radar_and_the_battle_of_britain. htm. 14 Ibid. 15 Ibid. 16 DeltaWeb International, www. raf. mod. uk/bob1940/bobhome.html, April 16, 2004. 17. The Quotations Page, www. quotationspage. com, May 29, 2004. Bibliography 1. Bracken, Robert. Spitfire II. Erin, Ontario: Boston Mills Press, 1999. 2. Chant, Chris. Aircraft of WWII. Etobicoke, Ontario: Prospero Books, 1999. 3. Delta Web International Ltd. www. raf. mod. uk/bob1940/bobhome. html, April 16, 2004. 4. Gurney, Gene, Major, USAF. The War in the Air. New York: Bonanza, 1962. 5. Harrison, Nigel Jackson, Andy. www. battle-of-britain. com, May 24, 2004. 6. Imperial War Museum. www. iwm.org. uk/online/battleofbritain/intro. April 20, 2004. 7. Meyer, Corky. The Best WWII Fighter. Flight Journal, August 2003, p. 27-36. 8. Moncur, Michael et al. The Quotations Page, www. quotationspage. com, May 30, 2004. 9. Simkin, John. The Battle of Britain, www. spartacus. schoolnet. co. uk/2WWbritainB. htm, May 29, 2004. 10. Truman. www. historylearningsite. co. uk/radar_and_the_battle_of_britain. htm, May24, 2004. 11. Truman, C. www. historylearningsite. co. uk/battle_of_britain_statistics. htm, May 24, 2004.

Jetstar Airline is an airline company that provides low cost flight

Jetstar Airline is an airline company that provides low cost flight Jetstar have their code of practice. They always want to be better and more informative relationship between their customers and insurers. They have improved their customer confidence towards their services. Each complaint they receive from a customer, they will find a way to resolve the problem by providing better services for their customers. They will keep their customer services standards as high as possible in order to get their customers coming back for it. Other than that, Jetstar has a cultural belief that they need to focus on providing their customers the lowest rate as possible so that more customers in the Asia Pacific region that takes their flight from Singapore and Australia. As a low cost carrier airline, they face a lot of challenges from their competitors especially their market in Australia, Singapore and in the other parts of the Asia Pacific but still they kept on fighting in the challenges they encountered. Due to the challenges, Jetstars income statements have been hard to remain constant. Jetstar needs to implement more strategies in order to stabilize their sales and get them increase higher. Their strategy of providing low cost fares to their customers really promotes themselves as one of the low cost airline leaders. Jetstar has had a unique way of selling that enables them to offer the cheapest fares compared to the other low cost airline in the industry. Marketing mix consists of the 7Ps which are Product, Price, Place, Promotion, People, Process and the Physical Evidence. By identifying these 7Ps it will be much easier for Jetstar to run and improve their business. Product The product that Jetstar Airline is selling is their flights destination. They offer their customers a destination that they could offer at a low cost. Price The prices they offer to their customers should be low and at a reasonable price. Since they are known as a low cost airline than they should do as what they say. Place The place where they sell their product is at the ticketing counter at an airport and also on their website which enables their customer to book and check their flight online. Promotion They always promote low prices when their customers book a flight in advance. They will give a very low price than the one they book on a near date. People The people are their target markets, who are their customers that favour to travel via airplane. They should focus on satisfying these people that have chosen to travel with their airline and they should try to attract others to chose their airline for travelling. Process The process they practice to sell their product is starting from checking their customers booking list and their flight availability to issuing the customers flight destination requests and checking in their luggage to their boarding time. Physical Evidence The only physical evidence that their customers have are their boarding pass. The boarding pass is a proof that the customer has purchase a flight destination with Jetstar Airlines. If there are any complaints to be made or an incident occurs on the flight they board, the boarding pass will be the proof that the customer is a passenger of Jetstar Airline. They have to know what to target and how to segment their market. Targeting and the segmentation of their market are important for them to enhance their business. Without focusing on these it will be hard for them to satisfy their customers. Jetstar target those who love to travel at low cost, and they have segmented their customers by knowing how to handle each customer differently and professionally. They have to really see the importance of targeting and segmentation. Understanding what their targeted customers needs and wants in the market helps them to provide better services for their customers. Segmentation will help them to spread their wings further and give them the opportunity to provide more flight destination to their customers. They should know where do travellers frequently travel to. At first their positioning strategy in the market was not really appealing to their target. They were not really perfect in some ways and that their fares were higher than the other low cost carriers that were operating in the Asia Pacific. In the Southeast Asia, their growths were held back by the regulatory environment of the region. Thus, Jetstar only gain losses from the start of their attempt to enter the Southeast Asia market. 3.0 Integration of Marketing Mix When the marketing mix are integrated, then only they can run their business smoothly because the already know what their products are, how much they are going to charge their fares, where they are going to sell it, what type of promotion are they going to offer to their customers, who are they going to sell it to, how are they going to process it and what type of evidence that the customer has purchase from them. This ensures them to Put the right product at the right place and at the right time. It might change based on the current changes of the market environment and economy. If there is a slight change in the economy such as an increase in the oil price, there will also be an increase in the fare price. A change in the environment will also affect their business, for example if there is a natural disaster or a war going on in a country that they frequently travel to; travellers would not want to travel to that certain country and their flight destination choice will be less. Their marketing mix must be able to adapt to certain changes that is occurring around them. 4.0 Target Market Segment In any business, they need to divide their market into smaller groups of customers that has a distinctive needs, characteristics, or behaviour that might need to be provided by a different product or marketing mixes; this is called market segmentation. (Armstrong G. Kotler P. 2003). Since Jetstar is a low cost carriage airline, they should turn their focus on the one segment that most of their customers prefer, even though they also offer a Star Class which gives much more comfort to the customer. They might have to improve on their services and their in-flight interior to make their customers feel comfortable at least when boarding their flight. Their in-flight services should really satisfy their customers by keeping them comfortable and providing them food and entertainment. When their customers are satisfied by what Jetstar has to offer them in their flights, surely they will suggest their other people to choose Jetstar for their travelling experiences. This way, they will be able to increase their sales. 5.0 Marketing Strategies Before building up a marketing strategy, they must look back into their marketing mix. They need to plan something that is out of the ordinary than the other low cost carriers. They can still offer a quite lavish service even though they are a low cost airline. They dont need to be the typical low cost airline where when a customer board it feels like they just boarded on a low cost bus but it does not have to be that way; customers have paid a fare that is much more expensive than taking a bus. Although, travelling by airplane is much more convenient and faster but it does not meant that customers should feel uncomfortable throughout their journey. Jetstar needs to be outstanding than the others in the industry if they want to be more profitable. They need to offer more flight destinations to their customers so that they have more choices of destination to choose from. They should also offer more departure time for their customers at least every 4 hours. By that it means Jetstar needs too buy more aircraft and hire more employees so that there could be more flights to more destinations; thus making it more profitable. In a short journey flight that is less than 3 hours, they should at least provide a complimentary drink from a choice of orange juice or carbonated drinks and not just by providing a water fountain and cups for the economy class  [2]  . Also they should provide some complimentary light snacks for the economy class customers such as peanuts or crackers. 6.0 Conclusion In order to conclude what has been written in this report, Jetstar should look into providing a service that is best for their customers. They should enhance every technology and services that they are practicing into a higher and upgraded level.

Use of Disguise in Homer’s Odyssey Essay example -- Homer Odyssey disg

Use of Disguise in Homer’s Odyssey   Ã‚  Ã‚   The difference between a wise and a foolish decision is often found in discerning when to conceal and when to reveal. This discretion in concealing and revealing is a major theme within The Odyssey. There is a proper time to deceive and a proper time to tell the truth; thus, it is crucial that one act accordingly. This importance is exemplified in Odysseus' life. When he is discreet in his timing, he achieves his goal. One example of this is the Trojan War. While the other men in the horse want to expose themselves when they hear their wives' voices being mimicked by Helen, Odysseus forces them to stay hidden within the horse (Book IV, lines 306-311). Because of this discernment and self-control, the Trojan War is won. However, when he is careless in his timing, troubles follow. In the situation with Polyphemus, Odysseus makes an improper decision. He gives his name to Polyphemus as he is leaving the island of the Cyclopes. Although his crew urges him to stop taunting Po lyphemus, he does not listen because of his pride in his skill of deception (Book IX, lines 519-552). As a result of this foolishness and pride, his return home is full of hardships and his companions die. Timing of concealment and revelation has such significant consequences because disguise is a powerful tool that needs to be handled carefully. From Books XIII to XXII, Odysseus uses it against the people of Ithaca to plan his revenge. In Book XIX, Homer employs the story of the scar and uses various literary techniques to highlight again on the power of disguise and importance of Odysseus' maintaining his disguise until the opportune time.    By beginning the story of the scar in the middle of a sentence, Homer... ...e. By Homer's art of story telling, the audience, like Odysseus, learns to discern from past experience when to conceal and reveal personal information.    Works Cited and Consulted Bloom, Harold ,   Homer's Odyssey: Edited and with an Introduction, NY, Chelsea House 1988 Crane, Gregory , Calypso: Backgrounds and Conventions of the Odyssey,   Frankfurt, Athenaeum 1988 Heubeck, Alfred, J.B. Hainsworth, et al. A commentary on Homer's Odyssey. 3 Vols. Oxford PA4167 .H4813 1988 Homer. The Odyssey. Trans. Robert Fitzgerald. New York: Vintage Books, 1989. Murnaghan, Sheila, Disguise and Recognition in the Odyssey, Princeton UP 1987 Rengakos, Antonios. Homertext und die Hellenistichen Dichter. Hermes. Einzelschriften, Heft 64. Stuttgart, F. Steiner, 1993. Van der Valk, Marchinus. Textual Criticism of the Odyssey. Leiden: A.W. Sijthoff, 1949. Use of Disguise in Homer’s Odyssey Essay example -- Homer Odyssey disg Use of Disguise in Homer’s Odyssey   Ã‚  Ã‚   The difference between a wise and a foolish decision is often found in discerning when to conceal and when to reveal. This discretion in concealing and revealing is a major theme within The Odyssey. There is a proper time to deceive and a proper time to tell the truth; thus, it is crucial that one act accordingly. This importance is exemplified in Odysseus' life. When he is discreet in his timing, he achieves his goal. One example of this is the Trojan War. While the other men in the horse want to expose themselves when they hear their wives' voices being mimicked by Helen, Odysseus forces them to stay hidden within the horse (Book IV, lines 306-311). Because of this discernment and self-control, the Trojan War is won. However, when he is careless in his timing, troubles follow. In the situation with Polyphemus, Odysseus makes an improper decision. He gives his name to Polyphemus as he is leaving the island of the Cyclopes. Although his crew urges him to stop taunting Po lyphemus, he does not listen because of his pride in his skill of deception (Book IX, lines 519-552). As a result of this foolishness and pride, his return home is full of hardships and his companions die. Timing of concealment and revelation has such significant consequences because disguise is a powerful tool that needs to be handled carefully. From Books XIII to XXII, Odysseus uses it against the people of Ithaca to plan his revenge. In Book XIX, Homer employs the story of the scar and uses various literary techniques to highlight again on the power of disguise and importance of Odysseus' maintaining his disguise until the opportune time.    By beginning the story of the scar in the middle of a sentence, Homer... ...e. By Homer's art of story telling, the audience, like Odysseus, learns to discern from past experience when to conceal and reveal personal information.    Works Cited and Consulted Bloom, Harold ,   Homer's Odyssey: Edited and with an Introduction, NY, Chelsea House 1988 Crane, Gregory , Calypso: Backgrounds and Conventions of the Odyssey,   Frankfurt, Athenaeum 1988 Heubeck, Alfred, J.B. Hainsworth, et al. A commentary on Homer's Odyssey. 3 Vols. Oxford PA4167 .H4813 1988 Homer. The Odyssey. Trans. Robert Fitzgerald. New York: Vintage Books, 1989. Murnaghan, Sheila, Disguise and Recognition in the Odyssey, Princeton UP 1987 Rengakos, Antonios. Homertext und die Hellenistichen Dichter. Hermes. Einzelschriften, Heft 64. Stuttgart, F. Steiner, 1993. Van der Valk, Marchinus. Textual Criticism of the Odyssey. Leiden: A.W. Sijthoff, 1949.

Essay --

Abortion is a major debate in society today and has been an impassioned topic for decades. At issue is whether or not abortion should be permissible. Generally I support the idea of abortion given specific circumstances. If a woman becomes pregnant due to rape, she has no moral obligation to carry the baby to full term. It is a gross expectation for society to think a woman should give birth to a baby conceived from rape and to take care of the child as her own. In this discussion I will argue that abortion is permissible if the mother was a victim of rape. Judith Thomson is a philosopher that supports abortion. Judith starts off with her debate stating that â€Å"a fetus is no more a human than an acorn is a tree†. When does an acorn become an oak (Thomson 37-56)? The answer is that no one truly knows, there is no direct moment when one thing becomes another, it is the same way as a fetus. When does a fetus become a baby? Thomson uses the â€Å"famous violinist† analogy. In this analogy you are kidnapped, when you wake up in the morning you learn that you are connected to a famous violist who needs your kidneys for nine months. It is stated the violinist is an innocent person with a right to life whereas separating yourself from the violinist would kill him/her (Thomson 37-56). I believe in this case it would be moral to unplug yourself from the violinist, even if it means his/hers death. You did not consent to supporting the violinist for nine months and therefore you do not have an obligation to do so. This scenario can be used to support the victim who has been raped. If you have been raped you did not consent to sex or make a conscience decision to accept the ramifications from forced actions of copulation. Furthermore y... ... unjust aggressor who has violated the woman's dignity. Rape is an act of force and violence, unlike the conjugal love in marriage whereby both spouses give freely of themselves in an act of love. The woman who was raped is not responsible for the action, and thereby has the right to prevent the pregnancy or even stop the pregnancy through abortion. However, I agree with any arguments that state killing is wrong. I do agree that killing is wrong from the time the fetus becomes a human being, up to any age of an adult. People should not be allowed to take the life of another person as this is a crime. I believe that abortion should stay legal for several reasons; because women should have the right to make decisions regarding their own body and especially if they are a rape victim, and because they have the autonomy to exercise that right regardless of state laws.

Union Organizing

Labor Relations Week 6 Final Paper Union Campaigning Process Campaigning is something that is done in many aspects of life. It breaks down to basically creating arguments to sell yourself or your company to a group of people. President hopefuls set out on a campaign trail every four years to try and get people to vote for them. I always thought that this was the only form of campaigning, but I was incorrect. Employers and Unions both use campaigning to get workers to either avoid, or join a union. Each side has their own tactics and goals to achieve. I plan to analyze both sides and show the pros and cons of each. Employer campaign tactics start with four key factors that determine voting decisions. These factors are job dissatisfaction, union instrumentality, general union attitudes and collective social identity. Employers try to provide information to employees consisting of pro-company, anti-union information. Employers use many tactics during their campaign process to attempt to get their workers to avoid joining a union. Some of these include sending out letters or email messages with negative aspects of the union organization, or supervisors meeting with employees individually or in small groups. Another tactic that works to the advantage of employers is utilizing its private property rights to prohibit outside organizations from entering the workplace and interacting with their workers. A drawback to that tactic is that they have to maintain the rule for all organizations, and not just unions. One of the more common tactics is the captive audience meeting. This is typically a group meeting held in the workplace during work hours, where employees listen to management describe their antiunion and pro-company presentations. These meetings are completely legal as long as they are not within 24 hours of an election. Employers need to be careful not to cross lines in regards to their tactics. Some of them can be considered illegal if they are overly aggressive or threatening. Some of these employer tactics are heavily debated due to their difficulty to measure and observe, so that kind of has the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) keeping an eye on employer tactics, and how they run their campaign. They want to ensure that there is no threatening of workers, or any other funny business going on. Union campaign processes also target the four key factors of worker complaints within a company. Union organizers use a vastly different set of tactics to get their information out, and attempt to get a union organized within a workplace. No matter how closely labor laws attempt to regulate the balance of rights during union and employer campaigning processes, the employers always seem to have more power over their property, and their employees. Unions need to get creative with their campaigning. Unions have some disadvantages against them because they cannot show workers instant results. Instead they make a lot of what seems like empty promises that they need to fulfill if they are successful during their campaign. One of their tactics that they use to get in contact with workers is by accessing the Excelsior List. The Excelsior List is simply a list of the names and addresses of employees eligible to vote in the election. Employers must provide this list to the union organizers to comply with a rule the NLRB established in 1966. Unions then utilize the list to send out mailings or set up home visits by a union representative to speak with the worker directly. A distinct disadvantage to using this list is that a lot of workers may view it as an invasion of privacy, and choose not to speak with the union representative. Alternatively, with the advance of technology, unions are now utilizing the Internet and web pages to help distribute information without violating an employee’s privacy. In comparison with employer campaigning, unions definitely have a more passive approach. Unions also have to recognize that different campaign tactics work better for different sets of workers. There is a lot to consider when establishing a campaign. Now, there can be significant problems with each side of the campaign process. Each side has to maintain their role while providing the necessary information desired, and stay within the legal guidelines set forth by the NLRB. Employers must be careful not to make any of their statements seem like threats of unemployment or wage deduction. Our textbook explains this perfectly. â€Å"Predictions based on objective facts that some events will likely occur because of forces beyond the employers control are legal; statements that convey the impression that these events are inevitable or at the discretion of the employer are threats. (McGraw-Hill, page 246) Employers tend to be watched more closely in these circumstances, since they have a more direct access to their workers, obviously. While the NLRB cannot monitor everything, the workers can report any inappropriate behavior should it occur. For instance, while a campaign is in process and an election is approaching, employers are not allowed to question workers on their stance regarding unions. This could lead to an employee giving his or her stance, and the employer terminating the employment to avoid them voting for the union, which is not allowed. Also, if employers choose to activate their privacy protection, and choose not to allow solicitors, they must remain active and apply that rule to all organizations, not just unions. Employers tend to have the advantage in the campaign process, since they can hire consultants and reach the workers directly, as stated. Some of these consultants can make matters worse, by starting rumors, telling lies and blowing things out of context. Our text outlines a particularly extreme case in which â€Å"a 17 year employee with no record of violence challenged his plant manager to let the employees talk to a union organizer. The following day the employer notified the local sheriff that this employee was threatening workers so the sheriff’s deputies surrounded him at gunpoint on his way to work and forcibly took him to the local hospital. Based on what the employer told the sheriff, the employee was involuntarily committed to a mental hospital. He was held for two weeks against his will and forcibly injected with anti-psychotic drugs until a lawyer could obtain his release. This happened in 1999, in South Carolina. † (McGraw-Hill, p. 248) Reading that is a real eye-opener to how serious this subject can get. The union side of campaign runs into fewer issues, mainly because of their lack of contact with workers. They are only permitted certain things, and often lack the funds to do much more than their mailings and home visits. One thing that they do have to their advantage is anonymity. Some unions are so bold as to send some of their paid union organizers into an employer to try to get hired as employees! They are referred to as â€Å"salts†, since the union thinks they â€Å"salt† or enrich the workplace by spreading news about union in non-work areas to attempt to organize the workers. I think this is actually a brilliant idea to get in under the radar and make some headway if you’re a union trying to organize. And actually, it is considered legal, after the Supreme Court ruled that they are employees protected against discrimination in hiring and firing. (McGraw-Hill, p. 247) Some states are considered at-will, or right to work states, and there are special rules for them regarding unions. â€Å"The Taft-Hartley Act outlawed the ‘closed-shop’ rule regarding unions. Closed shop referred to employees at unionized workplaces being required to join the union as a condition of employment. The Act did permit a new ‘union shop’, which required all new employees to join the union after a minimum period of time after their hire. Under ‘union shop’ rules, employers are obliged to fire any employees who have avoided paying membership dues necessary to maintain membership in the union; however the union cannot demand that the employer discharge an employee who has been expelled from membership for any other reason. † (Wikipedia) Some people think that there should be limits set forth to campaigning and union organizing. I agree that there should be some limits set to both sides of this debate. I think that unions should not be allowed to make home visits and invade their privacy. I also think that there should be more strict rules enforcing policies for the employers. I think that it is unfair for employers to discipline their workers simply for getting information on other options for their benefits and happiness. I don’t know how they can enforce these things in the future, but it simply is not fair for employees to be discriminated against, or put in fear of their jobs or benefits. That could be considered bullying. I think that maybe when it comes to union elections, the NLRB should send in more representatives, and maybe they can have a debate with employer management, and a union organizer, to allow both sides of an argument to be heard in a fair and dignified way, as opposed to simply campaigning, and talking bad about the other side. References: Wikipedia: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Taft-Hartley_Act Textbook: Budd, Labor Relations: Striking a Balance, Second Edition. McGraw-Hill 2008.

Evaluate Break-Even Analysis as a Decision-Making Tool

3. 3 Evaluate break-even analysis as a decision-making tool. The definition of the Break-even analysis: The break-even analysis is an analysis of a product or company’s sales required to neither lose money nor make a profit, but simply to cover costs. Explain in mathematical term: total revenues – total costs = 0. The methods: By using a break-even formula or by drawing a break-even chart. Why is it so important using a break-even analysis?Because it gives vital information about a business or a company’s financial status, not just for a simple break-even point. For start-up businesses, it determines how businesses are setting-up prices for their projections to achieve a reasonable level of break-even point and safety margin. For an on-going business, it equally vital for review analysis and forecast its break-even point; as, how can it improve the relationship between fixed costs, variable costs and revenues and justify a right decision to achieve an ultimate re sult for a healthy business.Although it’s simple and easy to set-up, yet fundamentally it’s an essential decision-making tool for analysing all forms of businesses. For example: 1. Increase prices to raise total revenues, it creates a lower break-even point and better safety margin. 2. Reduce fixed costs or variable costs and prices remain the same also can lower the break-even point. 3. Reduce selling prices and variable costs to generate more sale revenues; equally it can lower the break-even point.