Most Common Form Of Sexual Activity Essay Example for Free

Most Common Form Of Sexual Activity Essay Introduction As depicted in Salvador Dalis The Great Masturbator, masturbation is a fascinating and complex topic that affects each of us differently. Despite almost universal agreement by medical doctors that masturbation is a normal, safe, and common practice, masturbation continues to be associated with embarrassment, shame, and guilt, primarily due to societal perceptions of the act. Yet masturbation is a common and natural function that is practiced by individuals of all sexual orientations, genders, and ages. Masturbation is defined as sexual self-pleasuring that involves self-stimulation. According to recent studies, 97% of men and 83% of women have masturbated at some point in their lives. That is an increase from the 1950s Kinsey Report, which reported that 92% of men and 58% of women have masturbated. Although masturbation is statistically quite prevalent, it is still viewed by society as a taboo subject. Historical Background While there are no direct references to masturbation in cave paintings or other prehistoric artifacts, the practice of masturbation by Bonobo chimpanzees, which share 98.4% percent of our DNA, provides some confirmation that masturbation has likely been practiced since the dawn of mankind. The Ancient World In the ancient world, depictions of male masturbation are relatively common. The Egyptians, for example, celebrated masturbation as the process by which the sun god, Atum, created the first Adam and Eve equivalents, Shu and Tefnut. With the hand of God, Atum masturbated and brought forth the first pair of souls. The Sumerians, who invented the first written Western language, make reference to the Mesopotamian god Enki masturbating, his ejaculation filling the Tigris River with flowing water. Condemnation of masturbation is as old as fertility-worship and is probably based on early man’s realization that there is safety in numbers. A bigger tribe is more likely to gain new territory and expand its power base. In theory, this is this reason that any form of sexual pleasure unlikely to result in a population increase (e.g. masturbation, homosexuality, oral/anal sex) has routinely been denounced as wrong. While in today’s overpopulated world this rationale no longer makes logical sense, this belief structure continues to drive the moral attitudes of many people. In the Judeo-Christian tradition prevalent throughout Western society, the main Scripture quoted by Christians to denounce masturbation is Genesis 38. In biblical times, under Jewish law, a brother was required to procreate with his brothers widow. Onan of Judah refused, and spilled his seed (i.e. ejaculate), on the ground instead. This is the origin of the term Onanism (The Sin of Onan) which is incorrectly used in place of masturbation — in fact, what really happened was premature withdrawal (i.e. coitus interruptus). 18th 19th Centuries It was primarily during the 1700s and 1800s when masturbation was first associated with mental and physical deficiencies. Some prominent physicians, scientists, philosophers, and religious leaders believed that illnesses such as insanity, vision and hearing problems, epilepsy, mental retardation, and general health problems were caused by self-stimulation. In fact, over 60% of medical and mental illnesses were blamed on masturbation. The fear of masturbation was so great that throughout the world, extreme preventative measures were instituted including the use of mechanical restraints, genital surgery, and physical discipline. By the 19th century the cereal magnate John Harvey Kellogg declared sex for anything but reproduction to be sexual excess. Kellogg and others began advocating routine circumcision of males as a deterrent to masturbation. 20th Century In the 20th Century, individuals within the medical community began questioning whether or not masturbation was independent from the various psychiatric and medical illnesses to which it was historically linked. During the 1950s and 1960s, with greater discussion of sex and sexuality and lessening conservative social attitudes along with greater medical research on the topic of masturbation, the thought that the act of self-stimulation is associated with medical and mental illnesses dissipated. Beginning with the Kinsey Report of 1948, masturbation was demystified and even discovered to be beneficial. In 1966, Masters Johnson (see photo) revealed the practice to be virtually universal in North America, cutting across all boundaries of sex, age, race, and social class. In 1971 Goldstein, Haeberle McBride determined masturbation to be the most common form of sexual activity among humans. Today It is clear that masturbation has had a dynamic and varied history. It now almost universally accepted by the medical community that masturbation is a common, safe, and normal practice which occurs in infants, teenagers, and adults. Despite this new attitude, the actual practice and discussion of masturbation continues to be a social taboo within most societies. Former Surgeon General Jocelyn Elder was immediately dismissed by President Clinton in 1994 after she stated that masturbation â€Å"is something that is part of human sexuality and its part of something that perhaps should be taught.† Facts and Figures 1. Masturbation is not evil, dirty or harmful it will not make you go blind, drive you insane, turn you in to a pervert, stunt your growth, give you an STD, make you sterile or get you pregnant. 2. Both guys and girls masturbate, it is a normal and healthy part of sexual development. 3. Masturbation is a very personal thing and should not be done in public places or around people who are not willing partners (think safer sex activity). 4. You are normal if you masturbate, normal if you wonder about it but dont do it, and normal if you never give it a second thought and dont do it it is one of the few things in life that is normal if you do and normal if you dont. 5. Masturbation may make sexual intercourse more enjoyable because you will already know what it takes to please you. 6. Masturbation alleviates stress and releases endorphens (the pleasure hormones) in to your system making you more relaxed. 7. Masturbation as exploration of the body is common in children between the ages of 3 and 6, in teens masturbation becomes more sophisticated and sexually motivated. 8. Surveys have shown that 80% of males and 59% of females have masturbated by age 18. 9. Many experts believe that masturbation is more prevalent in the teen years due to a strong fluctuation of hormones; masturbation alleviates the strain of this build up and is a necessary part of development. 10. The only real problems that come with masturbation are psychological and are the result of unhealthy or weary attitudes toward doing it (if you do it but are ashamed) or abnormal practices (for example, public masturbation). Biblical View. One of the most prevalent rationalizations that people use is that the Bible never mentions masturbation and that it must therefore be alright. Is that logical? Is child molestation alright then? Its not specifically forbidden in the Bible. How about shooting heroin? Or how about torturing someone? Not mentioned! You see how illogical the argument quickly becomes. The most obvious biblical principle that is applicable to masturbation is found in Mt 5:28 where Jesus indicates that lusting after someone in the heart is the same as actually doing it. I am violating whomever I am picturing in my mind during the act of masturbation. It really doesnt matter whether it is a picture from a magazine, (Those are real people!), or someone Ive met or a memory of some act committed in the past. And if I can discipline my mind to think of no one, what of that? Attainment of such focus only serves to make obvious the desperation and obsession that drives us to such lengths. The principles found in 1 Cor 6:12; and Rom 6:14 clearly emerge as foundational to our plight that we are slaves to whatever masters us. When we get truly honest about the habit of masturbation, it is clear that it is a behavior that controls us one that we use to medicate pain, to alleviate stress or to forget rejection. In that way, it is similar to a drug habit just one more vehicle to avoid turning to God. Why wont we turn to God? We may be ashamed. We may believe that Hes going to judge and punish us. We may not trust Him. Or, it simply may never occur to us. We dont normally see God as being involved in the fulfillment of our sexual lives. Hes a Spirit after all and we are physical creatures. And yet, He is in fact the answer to every problem. He can quench our unholy desire and He can teach us to respond to problems by working through them rather than from running from them. Masturbating cultivates yearnings for sensations that differ from those generated by intercourse. Ju st how destructive to heterosexual relations this becomes will vary from person to person. Even in the mildest case, however, it would seem inevitable that masturbating when single will detract from one’s future enjoyment of, and appreciation of, the uniqueness of heterosexual relations. It is not uncommon for people to find themselves so addicted to solitary sex that they actually prefer it to heterosexual relations and it is even more common for people feel they at least occasionally need the unique sensations that solitary sex offers, despite having an eager sex partner readily available. Nevertheless, suppose your marriage partner somehow manages to fluke giving you sensations so like what masturbation has trained you to crave and expect that you do not actually find yourself preferring solo sex. Even then, your mind has been trained to connect those feelings not with intimacy with your marriage partner but with having sex with yourself. Want it or not, masturbation programs your mind to think of sexual feelings not as a precious gift from your partner, but as something you have generated yourself. So what will come flooding into your mind when your partner lovingly gives you those feelings will tend to be not thoughts of how wonderful your partner is, but of how much pleasure you used to give yourself. Despite what is actually happening, your mind will tend to register the sensations not as coming from your life partner but as if they were produced by yourself. Feelings that should be binding you to your marriage partner have already been locked in your mind as being associated with having sex with yourself. When making love, your mind will consciously and unconsciously flit from what is currently happening between you and your partner to what used to happen when you had solitary sex. For example, if your past history of masturbation had trained your mind to associate sexual feelings with fantasizing about an imaginary partner, that is what your mind will drift to, even though you now have a real partner who does not correspond exactly to your imaginary partner. Even if your partner somehow manages to exceed the heights of what you used to experience in solitary sex, masturbation will have cheapened the most precious sensual gift your partner could ever give you, to being something only ten or so percent more pleasurable than what you used to give yourself. Past masturbation will have robbed you of so much of the â€Å"magic† and bonding power of marital relations, thus weakening your marriage. Church View Roman Catholic The Catholic Church teaches that Masturbation constitutes a grave moral disorder and that both the Magisterium of the Church—in the course of a constant tradition—and the moral sense of the faithful have declared without hesitation that masturbation is an intrinsically and seriously disordered act. Although it is said that psychology and sociology show that masturbation is a normal phenomenon of sexual development, especially among the young, this does not change the fact that it is an intrinsically and seriously disordered act and that, whatever the motive for acting this way, the deliberate use of the sexual faculty outside normal conjugal relations essentially contradicts the finality of the faculty. For it lacks the sexual relationship called for by the moral order, namely the relationship which realizes the full sense of mutual self-giving and human procreation in the context of true love.' This is because the deliberate use of the sexual faculty outside of marriag e is, according to the teaching of the Church, contrary to its primary purpose of procreation and unification of the husband and wife within the sacrament of marriage. In addition, the Church teaches that all other sexual activity—including masturbation, homosexual acts, acts of sodomy, all sex outside of or before marriage, and the use of any form of contraception or birth control—is gravely disordered, as it frustrates the natural order, purpose, and ends of sexuality. To form an equitable judgment about the subjects moral responsibility and to guide pastoral action, one must take into account the affective immaturity, force of acquired habit, conditions of anxiety or other psychological or social factors that lessen, if not even reduce to a minimum, moral culpability. The traditional view of masturbation has been consistent for almost all of the Catholic Churchs 2,000-year history. Early Catholic theologians universally condemned both masturbation and contraception as sinful. One such example is Clement of Alexandria, considered a saint and a Church Father, who said of masturbation, Because of its divine institution for the propagation of man, the seed is not to be vainly ejaculated, nor is it to be damaged, nor is it to be wasted.. St. Thomas Aquinas, one of the most prominent Doctors of the Roman Catholic Church, wrote in the 13th century that masturbation was an unnatural vice which is a species of lust as bad as bestiality, sodomy, and pederasty, and that it by procuring pollution , without any copulation, for the sake of venereal pleasure pertains to the sin of uncleanness which some call effeminacy However, after a study commissioned by the Catholic Theological Society of America in 1972, a number of dissident Catholic theologians have come to hold that an act of masturbation should not be judged as an objective moral evil, but assessed within the life context of the person involved. Protestant Theologians toward the middle of the 20th century began revising previous teachings, and some today even take pro-masturbation viewpoints. Some view it as an act of self-indulgence and even a sin of the flesh, and believe that the practice is principally considered a sin because of its invitation to lust. Those who view it within the range of allowable sexual behavior encourage it as guard against adultery, pre-marital sex, or other forms of non-allowable sexual behavior, and as a method of balancing differing libidos between spouses. Arguments Masturbation decreases rather than increases vice. Objection 1: Masturbation is a squandering of human time and physical energy that could otherwise be used for Godly worship, self-improvement, or good works. Objection 2: Masturbation inflames carnal lusts, leading to worse sexual vices. Objection 3: As an indulgence of physical appetite, masturbation encourages indulgence of other appetites, such as gluttony. Reply to Objection 1: It is said that idle hands are the devils workshop. Insofar as masturbation occupies the onanist, it prevents him from engaging in vicious or destructive acts. Reply to Objection 2: Rather than inflaming carnal lust, masturbation dissipates it by a harmless release of sexual tensions. In doing so, it removes, rather than proliferates, the driving force that motivates acts of sexual vice. Reply to Objection 3: Pent up libido will seek relief through other channels, and without the relief of masturbation, might well find its expression through the satiation of other appetites such as gluttony, gambling, and other material vices. Masturbation is a salutary use of the reproductive organs and does not conflict with reproductive sex. Objection 1: Masturbation enervates the sexual organs. Objection 2: In the male, masturbation wastes sperm that would otherwise be used for conception. Objection 3: By providing an alternative release of sexual energies, masturbation cheapens and may even diminish the physical gratification to be found in reproductive intercourse. Reply to Objection 1: Masturbation exercises the sexual organs and assures that they are in good working order. It prevents stagnation of fluids and atrophy of tissues, and in the male, increases the quality of sperm by stimulating the production of fresh gametes. Reply to Objection 2: Science has shown that regular and frequent ejaculations increase the quality of a males sperm by stimulating the production of fresh and healthy gametes. Therefore men who masturbate regularly are more likely to father a child. Thusly, the spilt semen is but a sacrifice toward a more favorable chance of achieving conception. Reply to Objection 3: Especially in the case of women, by demonstrating the range of possible sexual pleasure that one is capable of experiencing, masturbation encourages one to enter into a sexual relationship with confidence in ones own sexuality, and with the expectation of a positive experience. Masturbation makes a positive contribution to human society. Objection 1: Masturbation is most often a solitary, private and antisocial act, and is therefore contrary to human interaction and community. Objection 2: As a act of self-gratification and self-indulgence, masturbation encourages selfishness and promotes the tendency to put ones own needs first above others. Objection 3: As a form of self-love, masturbation engenders narcissism, pride, and self-regard, which are detrimental to forming human relationships. Reply to Objection 1: Masturbation is an activity in which all sexually mature humans may engage, therefore it can serve as a commonality upon which to build understanding amongst those of differing nationalities, viewpoints, etc. Reply to Objection 2: After engaging in masturbation, an individual will be in a relaxed, fulfilled, and pleasant mood, and therefore more apt to extend charity and good will toward others. Reply to Objection 3: The act of masturbation can give a sense of mastery, self-confidence, and ownership of ones body. Healthy self-esteem and a clear sense of self are necessary for healthy emotional bonds. Bibliography * http://www.afraidtoask.com/masturbate/Introduction.htm * http://www.afraidtoask.com/masturbate/History.htm * http://teenadvice.about.com/library/bl10thingsmasturbation.htm * http://www.net-burst.net/christian-help/christian-masturbation.htm * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_views_on_masturbation *

Making Effective Business Decisions Through Accounting

Making Effective Business Decisions Through Accounting â€Å"The process of identifying, measuring and communicating economic information to permit informed judgments and decisions by users of the information†. According to American Accounting Association Committee, 1966. This may be considered as a good definition because of its focus on accounting as an help to decision making. Writing an essay on this topic brings an attention on how accounting helps manager in taking effective business decision. It is very important for any organization to take good business decision as to grow business by minimal cost. So, In order to make good decision People and organization need useful information. There is where Accounting plays a key role. Accounting helps management to determine whether a business is at a loss or a profit, how much company owe, and other such financial information. There are certain Accounting measures can helps managers in the right direction with effective information. Accounting Information helps management make sound business decisions on a timely and effectively manner. Performance Management’s measuring tool, Balance Score is effective in taking business decision through its four perspectives (Financial perspective, Customer Perspective, Internal Perspective and Innovation Learning perspective) According to Armstrong’s (2009, pg 10) Performance Management (Briscoe and Claus, 2008): It is the system through which organization set work goals, determine performance standards, assign and evaluate work, provide performance feedback, determine training and development needs and distribute rewards. So, the purpose of performance management is with the aim to improve performance. Overall its purpose is to make clear that how employees’ performance is related to performance of the business. Hence, Balance scorecard is used in this essay to understand the performance management in terms of helping managers taking business decision The balance scorecard (BSC) is a tool to measure the operational activities of small- and large-scale companies and their association with each others in terms of strategies and vision. It focuses on organizational strategies and the creation of balance for perspectives (financial, customers, internal processes, and learning and growth), and manages and evaluates complex organizations. (Abdullah S. Al-Mudimigh, 2009, pg 347) The Balanced Scorecard concept has been successfully employed by many companies in recent years to better measure their financial results. According to one study, fully 40 per cent of Fortune 500 companies were using this system to evaluate performance at the end of 2000. Hence, it is being adopted by many companies across the world today cutting across the nature of the industry, types of business, geographical and other barriers (Punniyamoorthy, R. Murali, 2008) BSC essentially is a means of focusing employees attention on desired behavior and desired results. By combining financial and non-financial measures in a single report the BSC aims to provide the managers with effective and more relevant information about activities they are managing than is provided by financial measures alone. The BSC approach provides a clear prescription as to what companies should measure in order to â€Å"balance† the implications in all the functional areas, arising out of the strategic intent. (Punniyamoorthy, R. Murali, 2008) The strategic content of the company can be grouped under different perspectives, which will cover the entire activity of the firm. Kaplan and Norton (1992) introduced four different perspectives through which the firms entire activity can be integrated. First is Financial perspective is about to succeed financially how should we appear to our shareholders? Timely and accurate financial data will always be a priority, and the managers will work necessarily to provide it. Typically financial goals have to do with profitability, growth and shareholders’ value. In the 1980, a chemicals company became committed to total management quality program, in this case the different managers and operating personnel who now had found their monthly financial reports to be irrelevant, But one enterprising department manager saw things differently. He created a daily income statement. Each day, he estimated the value of the output from the production process using the estimated market prices a nd subtracted the expenses of raw materials, energy, and capital consumed in the production process. To approximate the cost of producing out of conformance product, he cut the revenues from off-spec output by 50% to 100%. So we can say that the daily financial report gave powerful feedback and managers to take decision. The customer perspective represents a significant area of concern for managers in the hotel sector and indicates a need for performance measures which can adequately reflect such important customer oriented factors as the quality of services provided and the increasing incidence of non-financial competition between hotel companies. For example, A semi-conductor company asked each major customer to rank the company against comparable suppliers on efforts to improve quality, delivery time, and price performance when the manufactures discovered that it ranked in the middle, managers made improvement that moved the company to the top of customer’s rankings. (Kaplan and Norton, HBR, 1992). Customer satisfaction is the most important aspect of an organization; it is related to the service and the value of the product. The customer must get its worth for buying and getting services, therefore through the financial report of total revenues indicates the product state in the market, th is is the way that managers get the current market information and helps their company by taking right steps at right time. Innovation and learning perspective ,If hotel organizations are to be successful – and, it is to be hoped, remain successful – they must continually make improvements both to their existing services and to their operations and processes, as well as developing and introducing new ones. It is only by this continual process of improvement and innovation that companies can grow. As the Rockwaterw was plagued by long closeout cycles at the end of many of its construction projects. Some customers delayed their final payment by the more that 100days, leading to high accounts receivable and low return – on – capital employes. Rockwater executives specified, as the result customer were delaying in payment. So Rockwater identified, as an entirely new internal process, that project managers should continually be communicating with the customer about the progress and expected completion of the project, and asking the customer for prompt payment. Balance score’s financial perspective also focus on Internal perspective its also helps in deciding which operations, processes, competences and skills their organizations must excel at if customer demands are to be met adequately. Moreover, it is essential that such internal measures relate to those areas which are most likely to have the greatest impact on customer satisfaction. For example, a major office products manufacture, wanting to respond rapidly to changes in the marketplace, set out to reduce cycle time by 50%. Lower levels of the organization aimed to radically cut the times required to process customer orders, order and receive material from suppliers, move materials and products between plants, produce and assemble products, and products to customers. Thus, In the conclusion the evidence presented in the essay state that Balance score card result into very important business decision making tool through its four perspectives. It gives accurate finding and on which managers are able to find effective ways to implement the new ideas by taking better business decision. References Abdullah S. Al-Mudimigh, 2009 pg 347, ‘CRM score card-Based management system: Performance evaluation of Saudi Arabian Bank, 2009, Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1743-6540 Journal of Digital Assets Management Vol. 5, 6, 347-351, EBSCO database Michel Armstrong’s, 2009 4th ed., Handbook of Performance Management evidence – Based guide to delivering high performance, Kogan Page Limited. M. Punniyamoorthy, R. Murali, (2008), Benchmarking: An International Journal, Vol. 15 Iss: 4, pp.420 – 443, Emertald Database Meena Chavan, 2009, Journal of Management Development, Vol. 28 Iss: 5, pp.393 – 406, , Emerald Database Robert s. Kaplan and David Norton, The Balance score card –Measures that Drive performance, Harvard Business Review, January –February 1992 http://www.slideshare.net/gangappalogged/harvard-the-balanced-scorecard-measures-that-drive-performance-foundredsamaracom Gary Porter, Curtis Norton, 7th Edition, Financial Accounting: The Impact on Decision Makers, CengageBrain.com, According to American Accounting Association Committee,1966 Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton, â€Å"The Balanced Scorecard† Harvard Business school press Boston, Massachusetts. Handbook Assessment Criteria – Essay/Report

Great Teachers, Bad Students :: essays research papers

Great Teachers, Bad Students "I have a student in my second hour class who is an idiot ." Students probably have never heard their teachers complaining about them in the halls. In contrast, a person could roam Jefferson and hear conversations about how terrible teachers are from every corner of the school. "I got an F- on the final but it's only because Mr. Doe* is a crappy teacher." This a common attitude among students who fair poorly on a test. It is not bad teaching that causes a student to fail a class, it is bad learning. Laziness, foreign substance abuse, and truancy are a few characteristics of a bad learner. The word "lazy" is frequently used to describe high school students who do not turn in their homework, study for tests and are constantly ill prepared for class. One form of laziness is the dreaded disease that only affects seniors, "Senioritis." The symptoms include lack of motivation and falling grades. Yet the seniors who have the most severe case of "Senioritis" are the same ones who complain about poor teaching. Of course all lazy students are not seniors. There are students from every grade level who do not do their homework or study. Effort must be put forth by the student in order for learning and retention to occur. Students who use illegal substances show the characteristics of a poor learner. The abuser may consistently forget homework assignments and do poorly on exams. Recovered drug user Bob* explains, "The pressure from your friends and society to use drugs is sometimes overwhelming. Once I started, everything went downhill, especially my grades." Drugs soon consume the student's life, leaving no time for studying or homework. Truancy is obviously going to produce a poor learner. By not showing up at school there is no possible way he or she can get assignments or take tests. Even skipping only once or twice in a semester can be detrimental. "I skipped one day when we had a pop quiz. My teacher never let me make it up because he said I skipped," said Susie* a junior at Jefferson. The teacher had every right to not let Susie make up the quiz that she missed because she skipped class. This is a classic example of a student who is a bad learner. Every day the teachers show up prepared to teach their classes.

Rebecca :: Essays Papers

Rebecca Henry Ford was born on July 30, 1863 to William and Mary Ford. He was the first of six children. He grew up in a rich farming household in Dearborn, Michigan. He enjoyed a typical childhood, spending his days in a one-room schoolhouse and doing farm chores. Ever since he was young, he showed an interest for the mechanical aspect of things, and how they worked and functioned. He used to take things apart and put them back together to get an idea of the inner workings of basic mechanical tools (Nevins, 47 - 50). In 1879, at a young age of 16, he left his home to travel to the near by city of Detroit to work as an apprentice for a machinist. He occasionally returned home to work on the farm. He remained an apprentice for three years and then returned to Dearborn. During the next few years, Henry divided his time between operating and repairing steam engines, finding occasional work in Detroit factories, and working on his fathers broken down farm equipment, as well as lending an unwilling hand with other farm work. Henry got married to Clara Bryant in 1888 Henry supported himself and his wife by running a sawmill (Collier, 145 - 152). In 1891, Henry became an engineer with the Edison Illumination Company. This was an important event in his life because it signified that he had made a conscious career move into industrial pursuits. He was promoted to Chief Engineer in 1893. This gave him enough time and money to devote attention to his personal experiments on internal combustion engines (Lacey 13 - 14). The high point of this research came with the completion of his own self-propelled vehicle, the Quadricycle. This bike had four wire wheels and was steered with a tiller, like a boat. It had two forward speeds, and no reverse. Although this was not the first self-propelled vehicle, it set Henry Ford as one of the major pioneers whom helped this nation become one of motorists (Head 22 - 24). Ford decided that he wanted to become an automobile manufacturer. After two unsuccessful tries, Ford motor company was finally incorporated in 1903 with Henry Ford as the Vice President and Chief Engineer. When the company first started it was only producing a few cars a day at the Ford factory on Mack Avenue in Detroit. A group of two or three men would work on one car from components made to order by other companies (Lewis 99 - 100)

Electronic Communication and the Negative Impact of Miscommunication Es

Electronic communications, improve efficiency and productivity, but poorly written emails can cause internal strife, low morale, and loss of clients. Effective written communication will enhance internal communications as well as external communications. The ability to write effectively is a core skill that all employees, no matter what their title is, should master. If the content of an email is unclear, grammatically incorrect or is full of typos, the email will cause misunderstandings and the possible loss of business. A chain reaction of emails or letters will occur, questioning the next course of action and clients will undoubtedly believe that we will treat them with the same carelessness we took in creating that correspondence. Case in point, a letter was recently sent to one of our clients misquoting our fees, a second letter was sent to the client correcting the fee, but was addressed to the wrong person. We have since lost this client. Jonathan Hershberg, president of Opus Associates, a communications training developer based in New York, states, "If I get an e-mail that's full of errors and I know nothing else about you," Hershberg says, "there's no reason for me not to think you'll handle my business in the same way you handled that writing.† (Moerke, A, 2004) We have seen an example of this kind of writing. A benefit distribution memo was created for the wife of a deceased participant. The salutation of the letter addressed the deceased, not the wife. Correspondences regarding death benefits require special attention. Correspondence should never be addresses to the deceased. All writers should use the method of prewriting, brainstorming, writing and organizing, revising for style, and proofreading to produce memos, letters, emails, and reports The suggested percentage of time spent on each writing step is as follows: (Jaderstrom, Miller, and Office Pro June 2004)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Prewriting 12.5%   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Brainstorming 25.0%   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Writing and organizing 25.0%   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Revising for style 25.0%   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Proofreading 12.5%   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Emails are less formal then letters or memorandums; and the authors of emails tend to abbreviate words and use slang to get his or her meaning across quickly. This may be acceptable for communication inside the company, but it will confuse external clients. John Patrick, President of Attitud... ...ding and spellchecking the content before sending to our internal or external clients. The clients will notice the change in the professionalism of our writing. Overall, the outcome can only benefit the company and its employees. References Crainer, Stuart, Dearlove, Des, Across the Board (2004) Making yourself Understood – The New Language of Business, 41, Issue 3, Retrieved September 28, 2004 from the EBSCOhost database Jaderstrom, Susan, Miller, Joanne, Office Pro (2004) - Writing with Purpose Business Source Premier , 64, Issue 5 Retrieved September 28, 2004 from the EBSCOhost database Moerke, Amy, (2004) Business Writing Brushup Sales & Marketing Management, 156, Issue 5 Retrieved September 28, 2004 from the EBSCOhost database Shea, Gordon F, Training & Development, (1992) A Case for Clear Writing, 46 Issue 1, p63, Retrieved September 28, 2004 from the EBSCOhost database Hudson Valley Business Journal (2001) Email underlines need for better business writing skills,. 11, Issue 26 Retrieved September 28, 2004 from the EBSCOhost database Reed Business Information Ltd. Personnel Today, (2004), p18, 2p Retrieved September 28, 2004 from the EBSCOhost database

Most striking thing about the poem Kubla Khan Essay

What do you find most striking about the poem Kubla Khan?†Works of imagination should be written in very plain language; the more purely imaginative they are the more necessary it is to be plain.† – Samuel Taylor Coleridge. In this essay I am going to discuss one of the most famous and very striking poem Kubla Khan which was written by Coleridge. The poem is about the nature of creativity. Coleridge describes the dome of pleasure which he sees in his dream while he is opium- induced. While he was sick, doctor prescribed a drug that made him drowsy. He could remember only couple of images, which he later developed into a beautiful poem. During his sleep knocking on the door interrupted him, and he could never recapture the dream because he lost the inspiration. This poem is considered to be a fragment but it seems that Kubla Khan is carefully worked using illusions from the works Coleridge was reading at the time. Kubla Khan has slow plodding metre, which is achieved using iambic tetrameter that consists of 8 syllables. This is where the musicality comes from. The poet uses this in order that we could imagine more clearly the pleasure dome in the dream like surrounding. Each stanza differs a little bit in rhyme scheme. First stanza is written in iambic tetrameter with a rhyme scheme of ABAABCCDEDE, whereas second stanza follows the rhyming pattern, which is expanded ABAABCCDDFFGGHIIHJJ. The third stanza has shorter rhyme scheme of ABABCC. The fourth stanza continues the tetrameter of the third stanza and rhymes ABCCBDEDEFGFFFGHHG. This kind of rhyme scheme represents the flow of river ‘Alph’ which symbolises Colereidges imagination. The poem Kubla Khan starts with first five lines that sound like chant. The quote: caverns measureless to man suggest that the place is very supernatural and mysterious. In this line Coleridge tells us that imagination has no restrictions. Coleridge describes not only mental part of the creativity but also physical one: And there were gardens brights with sinious rills, /Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree . These two lines show us that senses such as smell are awakened by the imagination.  Coleridge also uses colours to give increased impact: Down the green hill athwart a cendarn cover!, these lines help us see very strikingly vivid image. However the peacefulness changes in the second stanza, which creates an atmosphere of good versus evil. In the first stanza Coleridge describes, pleasure dome in Xanadu, where we see more positive vocabulary gardens brightspots of greenery, whereas second stanza contain more dark vocabulary A savage placemoon was haunteddemon lover. Coleridge uses images of paradise in the second stanza, which is considered to be more evil. An example of this is the demon lover that has bewitched the woman. The second stanza tends to be more magical than the first one: use of words holy and enchanted associates with dome being haunted by mystical powers. When Coleridge describes the women wailing using onomatopoeia, it awakens the sense of hearing, making the process more physical. As the poem progresses so does the amount of intensity and activity. And from this chasm, with ceaseless turmoil seething,/As if this earth in fast thick pants were breathing,/A mighty fountain momently was forced:. The level of excitement increases dramatically, by involving more and more emotions such as confusion and anger. Coleridge introduces personification when describing earth which tell us that not only the poet is affected by intensity but also elements around him. When poem reaches climax which in this poem appears to be fountain, Coleridge spills all of his feeling and thoughts to the surface. To make the image more clear the climax is prolonged: Huge fragments vaulted like rebounding hail,/Or chaffy grain beneath the thresher s flail:And mid these dancing rocks at once and ever/ It flung up momently the sacred river. Coleridge explains how the imagination made rock, fragments and grain active. Huge boulders being moved by a river seems to be very light or even weightless . This makes us to be aware that the imagination of poet is uncontrollable. When the poem is saturated with climax, the excitement and enthusiasm decreases. Five miles meandering with a mazy motion/Through wood and dale the sacred river ran,/Then reached the caverns measureless to man,/And sank  in tumult to a lifeless ocean: The tempo decreases, and the mood changes as-well. Coleridge carefully chooses words: meandering, mazy and sank that makes the rhythm slower losing its life and recreation. This happens because before and during climax poet got very tired because his imagination was physically and mentally demanding. Therefore, the second part of the poem represents exhausted behavior of Coleridge. The clause: prophesying war shows the negative side of the poem, where pleasure dome may be affected by war. Coleridge again describes the pleasure dome but in negative way: A sunny pleasure dome with caves of ice connoting that its magicality is tarnished and no-one can see and feel that place like him. The fourth stanza is dream like but very inspiring describing heavenly maid sitar – dulcimer playing damsel about Mount Abora, the mountain of Gods. The damsel acts like a muse for Coleridge: Could I revive with me/ Her symphony and song,/ To such delight t would win me. Poet cannot pass even the most inspiring image to us the way he could feel himself so he tries to explain how he felt about it saying: I would build that dome in air,/ That sunny dome! Those caves of ice!. Even the caves have been negative aspect of the poem, Coleridge still tries to make us undergo the same experience even if it is negative. The last part of the poem is very magnificent and awe inspiring. The poem end with poets predication of destiny: All shouldholy dread. Coleridge thinks that his powerful imagination may be not understood and fully appreciated. The last few lines are very pleasant and nice: For he on..paradise. Romantics in the past were viewed as very peculiar human being because they could get in touch with their emotions very closely. Kubla Khan describes process of creativity which Coleridge inspires though his imagination. The process is very powerful mentally and physically. Poet uses very clever techniques such onomatopoeia, metaphors, alliteration to emphasize the process of creativity. The first stanza is and introduction to whole vision of Coleridge and second one develops into mysterious atmosphere reaching climax. The third and fourth stanza slows down in tempo but has some very inspiring imagery, which Coleridge finds hard to pass to us. The  whole poem may be considered as a metaphor because poem contains many wild and supernatural dream like images that we may not be able to comprehend in real life. Biography http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/stc/Coleridge/poems/Kubla_Khan.html

Case Study: Ryanair Essay

1) What’s your assessment of Ryanair’s launch strategy? In 1986, the Ryan siblings are getting ready to start competing against British Airways and Aer Lingus on the Dublin-London route. This route was one of the most traveled air routes inEurope, which meant that Ryanair was taking a big risk by deciding to enter this market. At the moment the airline passenger market was a complex one, since the governments would highly control it. Additionally, the airline industry has high fixed costs, which was something that Ryanair needed to take into account if the company wanted to face its already experienced competitors. However the Ryan brothers knew that it was important to fly this route, and so they decided to follow an aggressive strategy: sell cheaper Dublin-London tickets (PRICE). The problem with this strategy was that they did not highly differentiate from their competitors, and as a result a â€Å"price war† took place. By 1989 prices were as low as 70 pounds, and even though Ryanair started flying other routes, by 1991 it seem ed that bankruptcy was around the corner for the airline. The main problem that led Ryanair to this poor performance was that the company’s strategy focused on competing on operating efficiency, without altering its cost structure against experienced and somehow protected companies by some of their stakeholders.The strategy followed by the airline could hardly enhance the â€Å"competitive advantage† Ryanair had (operational efficiency), because at that moment the airline did not have a good amount of customers; andadditionally it did not realize that its competitors could easily reduce their price to the marginal cost, which they were already able to cover. The strategy was not sustainable by any means. Another problem that arise thanks to the poor strategy chosen by the company, was that it did not gave the client a certain level of added value that would be attractive for him/her. Therefore Ryanair lacked a clear competitive positioning, which  enabled a quick retaliation from BA and AL. And as a result, if Ryanair wanted to continue in business, it had to completely change its strategy and revise is goals by figuring out a way in which the perceived added value they could give to the customers was good enough to, later on, capture value from them. 2) How do you expect Aer Lingus and British Airways to respond? Why? Both Aer Lingus and British Airways were already well-established in the Dublin-London route and this route provided a high-volume of business and return on capital, especially for Aer Lingus. But then†¦Ryanair appeared and, as we know, the entry of a new competitor represents an entry price below the market’s price. So now what? What should these two companies do? Aer Lingus and British Airways have two options: either they maintain their current level of prices, or start a price war. In order to decide which way to go, they have to think how costly it would be for them to retaliate against Ryanair’s launch rather than accommodate it. Both companies have a significant disadvantage, they have a cost structure very difficult to cut (staff + accommodation, ground†¦+ selling + handling and catering represents more than 45% of the costs per passenger, approximately 90 £ and they need to add landing fees and oil). As if this wasn’t enough, it is also very difficult to start a strategy based in differentiation because Ryanair, at that time, was trying to offer a service of a similar quality to these companies (first-rate customer service.) Both Aer Lingus and British Airways are supported and hence policies are also controlled by respective governments. Offering low cost airfare requires whole systemic change which is not practically possible just for the reason of retaliating Ryanair. However, these two companies are competitors with deep pockets and there’s a possibility of them driving Ryanair out of business by reducing price to their marginal cost, even if that marginal cost would be higher than marginal benefits. So, considering all of this plus the fact that Ryanair is a very nascent to fully fledged airline service and the very volatile revenues of Airline industry, we think that Aer Lingus and British Airways will not retaliate on Ryanair’s price strategy. 3) How costly would it be for Aer Lingus and British Airways to retaliate against Ryanair’s launch strategy rather than accommodate it? Both for British Airways and Aer Lingus, retaliating against Ryanair’s launch strategy would end in a price war as Ryanair’s only focus is cost leadership. The costs of entering this  price war would be higher than potential advantages. British Airways calls itself â€Å"The world’s favorite airline† – a clear differentiation statement – and has a successful flotation and privatization as one of its mail goals. Entering a price war would show its abilities to fight against competitors, however price pressures can cut profit margins to the bone, especially as the airline might have to face not only Ryanair but more low-cost competitors in the future. Restoring its high fares might result in operating losses. After Colin Marshall joined the company, British Airways focused on satisfying full-fare business customers. If it were to retaliate against Ryanair, it might lose those business class customers and its reputation for safe, reliable flig hts and an outstanding customer service. International journeys accounted for two thirds of British Airway’s sold seats and 90% of its revenue. As Ryanair is focusing on short-haul, intra-Europe flights, British Airways’ focus should be on overseas flights which typically generate more money. British Airways has the advantage of an extensive network and its location at London Heathrow Airport which distinguishes it from Ryanair as a low-cost operator. Exhibit 4 in the case shows that British Airways had  £140.9 cost per passenger. So if it were to retaliate against Ryanair, it would have to cut costs by almost 30% which would result in a harsh decline in perceived value by its high-end customers. If the airline accommodates Ryanair’s launch strategy, it can focus on its differentiation strategy and experience in international flights which makes Ryanair a less dangerous competitor as target groups are different. The costs of retaliation are similar for Aer Lingus. If it enters a price war, it will pro bably lose more money because it cannot even operate profitably with the prices charged above Ryanair levels. Furthermore, it would need high capital expenditures to modernize its fleet. Although it might lose some passengers to Ryanair, the disadvantages of retaliation would still exceed possible gains. The airline’s goal is mostly to promote national interests and be safe, efficient, reliable and predictable. As Aer Lingus can be seen as a public good, it can count on extensive government support. Furthermore, it even has the chance to break even with its diverse portfolio that includes maintenance services and engineer trainings to other services. In order to keep its good reputation, accommodating Ryanair’s launch strategy would be the best thing to do despite potential lost  customers. Aer Lingus would, just like British Airways, be confronted with a tough price war which it can barely win because of its inefficient cost structures and its differentiation strategy appealing to its loyal customers.