As Good As It Gets essays

As Good As It Gets essays In this essay review of As Good As It Gets I will discuss the genre of the film, the form of the film (narrative), and narrative elements within the film. One way to categorize a film is to determine what genre it is. Genres, by definition are various types of films that audiences and filmmakers recognize by their familiar narrative conventions (Bordwell et al. 503). The genre of the film As Good As It Gets would be classified as a romantic comedy. Genre conventions are common characteristics that reappear in a certain type of genre of a film again and again. In a romantic comedy one would anticipate a funny film with a romantic storyline between a man and a woman in a traditional sense. Genres can also be defined through conventional iconography, which are reoccurring symbols or images that carry meaning from film to film. Even certain actors can serve as iconography for a film. In this case, As Good As It Gets has many actors that are typically cast in comedies. Helen Hunt, who has been on a sit-com on television with Paul Riser, a real-life comedian, took her shot at the silver screen cast along side Jack Nicholson in the romantic comedy. Cuba Gooding Jr. who plays a small role in the film is best known for his comic roles. Nicholson who has an extensive resume in film has starred in many different roles from comedies, to drama, and horror. Therefore, one may associate certain actors with a specific type of genre of film. In addition to the genre of the film we can also consider the films form. As Good As It Gets is a narrative, or story where a chain of events takes place that are derived from a cause and effect relationship. The narrative will start with a certain situation and through a cause and effect relationship a series of events will take place in the film that brings about a new situation for the outcome of the film. In the film As Good As It Gets, the narrative begins with an obsessive-compuls...

Television is the most popular souse of information these days Essays

Television is the most popular souse of information these days Essays Television is the most popular souse of information these days Essay Television is the most popular souse of information these days Essay You can find out anything about anybody Just by switching the channels and watching the news. The bad part is that its getting worse everyday. First of all, in our days television is promoting people that have nothing relevant or important to say. More, you cant see something interesting on TV, Just useless shows that only teach you how to be a person with low intelligent level, like Paris Hilltops shows or Till Tequila. Secondly, television is a bad influence upon kids and teenagers, because there are no role models these days in our society, Just stupid celebrities with bad conception about life. They make teenagers think that everything is fine and that they will always live in a nice pink world as long as they have swag, money and fame. Thirdly, a lot of naive people are harassed by shows reporters because they invade their private lifes and put it on screen, telling lies and assuming things that may or may not be true. People have the right to immunity and television is not respecting this aspect. By contrast, there are some good things about television, things that should be pretty important for all people. Programs that have a lot of educational TV shows that teach us about important and interesting stuff, like Animal Planet, History, National Geographic. These kind of shows are great for kids and even for adults, because it improves your knowledge. My opinion is that there are some good parts about Television, but there are more bad parts of it and if the society would ask for more educational shows they would get it, but people are used to this and they live with it.

Japan's Postwar Foreign Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Japan's Postwar Foreign Policy - Essay Example Given that there are facts to support this argument, this paper will identify three ways in which Dower sees Japan’s postwar foreign policy shaped by the experience of defeat and occupation. The paper will also include insights into the ways of embracing defeat just as set herein by John Dower then summarize all the main points.  Analytical review of embracing defeat shows that occupation and defeat of Japan played a major role in shaping this country’s postwar foreign policy. This is because Dower explains absorbingly that after the American forces imposed democracy, the people of Japan experienced an atmosphere of uncertainty and flux. Effective archival, as well as Japanese academic sources, captured that the atmosphere came along with suicidal despair accompanied by surrender. It is of paramount importance to note that Japan and the United States share a mutual and long-lasting international relationship. Additionally, the presence of the GIs drew a huge spectrum of gratitude towards its generosity. Based on this observation, Dower set forth that defeat and occupation shaped Japan’s postwar foreign policy as democracy unleashed things like creative energy, black market entrepreneurship, and prostitution (79). Therefore, it is agreeable that America’s imposition of the revolution that led to six years of occupation and the undeniable transformation of Japan into a democratic country is indeed one of the major ways in which Dower sees Japans postwar foreign policy shaped by its experience of defeat and occupation.  For quite a long time, Japan has continued to struggle to attain favorable relations with her neighboring Asian countries. Ideally, this has been so because of the foreign policy set in place by the American occupation. Indeed, the other way in which Dower finds Japans postwar foreign policy shaped by the experience of defeat and occupation. Obviously, this goes with the pragmatic change in politics in this country. Having introduced the aspect of

Personal statement for admission Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Personal statement for admission - Essay Example I have always been interested in finance and made some of my college money trading on futures stock and the forex market. I interned at a family owned home appliance business and was able to observe some of the aspects covered in quantitative finance. On graduation from college, I was employed by HSBC private bank, working there for four great years. I believe my appreciation for Quantitative Finance was cemented there, as I was able to observe multi-national organizations and their take on finance derivatives. However, although I enjoyed corporate finance, financial engineering remained my passion. My best friend and I, therefore, left the bank mid last year to start a privately owned company, VevoTrader. I believe I have acquired sufficient experience as a professional to enroll for a master’s degree that hones my quantitative skills. With academic qualifications analysis, calculus and linear algebra, as well as experience in linear and differential algebra, C++ programming, and statistics, I believe this is the only logical step. I hope to get exposure to best practices and current techniques, and a derivatives market theory expert to push our company forward. My partner and I have been unsatisfied with the extent of derivative instrument use in Hong Kong. The current system is almost a copy of the US one, despite the differences in law regimes. We also took issue with the number of experts to work within the HK derivatives market. In fact, no university offers quantitative financial engineering at master’s or Ph.D. level. This is one of the reasons why I have applied for the program at Stanford University. I also would love to be accepted at Stanford for the internship, faculty, and especially the curriculum. From my research, I found that the curriculum offers broad mathematical studies that should be of much use to my prospective clients. I believe the curriculum offers me the opportunity

Economic difficulties of employees Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Economic difficulties of employees - Essay Example Even though the employee originally believed and aimed to refund the money after he or she addresses the inherent economic situations, the moral of the employee was further tested due to lack of identification of the embezzled funds. For example, the employee continued taking more cash on subsequent days without feeling the guilt. The economic situation of the employee and the weakness of the financial system created the original avenue of embezzlement doubled with the lack of identification of financial accountability by the relevant authorities within the organization. For example, if there were measures to identify the shortfall within the shortest time possible, the behavior of the employee would not have continued. Therefore, the lack of accountability and the changing behavior of the employee in terms of ethical and moral standards played an important role in sustaining the embezzlement behavior. According to Doris (2002), situations can change and transform the character of in dividual introducing new characteristics that are harmful. This is clearly illustrated through changing of moral standards by the employee and capitalizing on the loopholes to fulfill his or her financial difficulties. In general, the situations can be viewed from three angles: the economic difficulties of the employee, the loopholes in the financial system and the repeated ability of the employee to steal additional cash. Hence, if one of these situations were addressed, the chances of stealing or embezzlement would have been avoided.

Investigating the Factors influencing employee engagement

Investigating the Factors influencing employee engagement In today economic downturn situation, organization started to look into its people asset internal employee so that they can utilize the human asset to sustain the competitiveness in the industry. Employees who are engaged in their work and committed to their organizations give companies crucial competitive advantages including higher productivity and lower employee turnover (Robert, 2006). In addition, engaged employees may be more likely to commit to staying with their current organization (Ramsay Finney, 2006). Software giant Intuit, for example, found that highly engaged employees are 1.3 times more likely to be high performers than less engaged employees. They are also five times less likely to voluntarily leave the company (Ramsay Finney, 2006). Thus, it is not surprising that organizations of all sizes and types have invested substantially in policies and practices that foster engagement and commitment in their workforces (Robert, 2006). Indeed, in identifying the three best measures of a companys health, business consultant and former General Electric CEO Jack Welch recently cited employee engagement first, with customer satisfaction and free cash flow coming in second and third, respectively (Welch Welch, 2006) According to (Schaufeli et al. (2002)), work engagement is defined as a positive, fulfilling, work-related state of mind that is characterized by vigor, dedication, and absorption. Rather than a momentary and specific state, engagement refers to a more persistent and pervasive affective-cognitive state that is not focused on any particular object, event, individual, or behavior. Vigor is characterized by high levels of energy and mental resilience while working, the willingness to invest effort in ones work, and persistence even in the face of difficulties. Dedication refers to being strongly involved in ones work and experiencing a sense of significance, enthusiasm, inspiration, pride, and challenge. Absorption is characterized by being fully concentrated and happily engrossed in ones work, whereby time passes quickly and one has difficulties with detaching oneself from work. Employee engagement has been identified as a critical business driver that has the capability to impact an organizations overall success. Furthermore, engagement when understood and assessed gives organizations tremendous power to positively impact numerous areas of the company. Engagement has the potential to significantly affect employee retention, productivity and loyalty (Corporate Executive Board, 2004). 1.2 Study Background This study focuses on the factors affecting employees engagement in the Saudi National Oil Company (Saudi Aramco). Saudi Aramco is the largest oil producing company in the Middle East and invests hundreds of millions of US dollars to maintain its assets in order to ensure the well being of a reliable energy source for the whole world. Saudi Aramco is a leading player in safety and reliability metrics within oil industry sector, which is firmly rooted as the major venue of wealth in Saudi Arabia and recognized as the sustainable support to the national economy. Saudi Aramco is currently pursuing recent and rapid expansions to meet international energy demands. There are different factors that contribute to the employee engagement and can result in a better engagement and organizational commitment. What are the general factors (quote reference), then state that this study focuses on three factors i.e. PSS, POS Reward. Explain why these three has been chosen. The first factor is perceived organizational support (POS) which is defined as the degree to which employees believe that their organization values their contributions and cares about their well-being (Eisenberger, 1986). POS is generally thought to be the organizations contribution to a positive reciprocity dynamic with employees, as employees tend to perform better to pay back POS. Reference A sufficient consideration has been given as to why PSS and POS have both been found to be related to employee engagement. According to organizational support theory, PSS should increase employee engagement by increasing POS. The POS resulting from PSS would strengthen employees felt obligation to help the organization reach its goals and increase affective organizational commitment, with a resultant reduction in turnover and increase in engagement. Reference The second factor is perceived supervisor support (PSS). Just as employees form global perceptions concerning their valuation by the organization, they develop general views concerning the degree to which supervisors value their contributions and care about their well-being (Kottke Sharafinski, 1988). PSS should increase obligations to the supervisor and to the organization. PSS increased extra-role performance beneficial to supervisors, and PSS increased POS, which, in turn, led to greater extra-role performance beneficial to the organization. Concerning employee engagement, when PSS is low, employees would believe that they could deal with the unpleasant situation by switching to a new supervisor or minimizing engagement with the supervisor while continuing to carry out usual job responsibilities. POS would entirely mediate a negative PSS employee engagement relationship. Reference The third factor is rewards and recognition. Having a rewards and recognition program in place lets valued employees know that their contributions are important and their efforts are appreciated. Not only will the employees appreciate it, but customers may appreciate it as well. When employees are happy and satisfied with their work, their attitude will be reflected in the service they provide. When employers go the extra mile to keep employees happy and treat team members well, staff members will often go the extra mile to ensure customers are happy. Treating people well is very often infectious. Reference Kahn (1990) reported that people vary in their engagement as a function of their perceptions of the benefits they receive from a role. Therefore, one might expect that employees will be more likely to engage themselves at work to the extent that they perceive a greater amount of rewards and recognition for their role performances. In another words, while a lack of rewards and recognition can lead to burnout, appropriate recognition and reward is important for engagement. In terms of Social Exchange Theory, when employees receive rewards and recognition from their organization, they will feel obliged to respond with higher levels of engagement (Chapter 2). 1.3 Problem Statement Dramatic changes in the global economy over the past 25 years have had significant implications for commitment and reciprocity between employers and employees and thus for employee engagement. For example, increasing global competition, scarce and costly resources, high labor costs, consumer demands for ever-higher quality and investor pressures for greater returns on equity have prompted organizations to restructure themselves. At some companies, restructuring has meant reductions in staff and in layers of management. A study by YouGovSirajs (2007), the first Gulf People Index, a major employee engagement benchmarking study, designed to help companies improve productivity among staff showed that a fewer than half of Gulf employees think their organization manages to attract the best talent or engage them to perform once they are inside the corporation. Even fewer (just over one third of employees) think their companies are good at holding on to the best talent (YouGovSiraj, 2007). The region also has a weak spot when it comes to companies ability to retain and attract talent. This compounds and confirms the problems surrounding the lack of long-term employee engagement in the Gulf. Only 39% of respondent feel their company manages to keep the best staff. Less than half (47%) believe their organization manages to attract the best talent and manages to engage employees so they perform well (YouGovSiraj, 2007). According to the manager of HR communication department in Saudi Aramco, Mr. Brokaw in 2009, employee engagement is built in Saudi Aramco by giving the employees an opportunity to participate in key decisions, make it easy for all employees to give feedback (good and bad), show how employees feedback is being used, build a feeling of community and involvement, provide up to date information and tools, communicate and reinforce Saudia Aramcos mission and goals, promote employee development programs, communicate and measure employee values and attitudes to promote high performance across Aramco and Recognize good performers. (Halogen software, 2010) reported that Saudi Aramco win employee engagement through a well structured and timed employee orientation and rollout schedule. The above statements requires reference. In the Saudi Aramco, eventhough employee engagement has been recognized for its importance in fostering employee participation, till now there is no any study that examines the employee engagement and the antecedents factors influencing the employee engagement like perceived organizational and supervisor support in this organization. From this point of view, this study aims to examine a three of many factors influencing the employee engagement in one of the largest Saudi organizations which is Sauid Aramco. 1.3 Research Objectives This research will evaluate the current employee engagement and examine which among the variables contributes to employee engagement in Saudi Aramco. Specifically; the objectives of this study are: 1. To examine the extent of employee engagement in Saudi Aramco. 2. To examine the relationship between perceived organization support and employee engagement in Saudi Aramco. 3. To examine the relationship between perceived supervisor support and employee engagement in Saudi Aramco. 4. To examine the relationship between rewards and recognition and employee engagement in Saudi Aramco. 5. To identify which among the three independent variables (perceived organization support, perceived supervisor support, rewards and recognition) is the most important driver relates to employee engagement. 1.4 Research Questions This research will be conducted to find the relationship of the independent variables, which are perceived organization support, perceived supervisor support, rewards and recognition with the dependent variable, which is the employee engagement in Saudi Aramco. The Research questions that this research will try to answer are: 1) What is the level of employee engagement in Saudia Aramco? 2) Does perceived organization support influence the extent of employee engagement in Saudi Aramco? 3) Does perceived supervisor support influence the extent of employee engagement in Saudi Aramco? 4) Do rewards and recognition influence the extent of employee engagement in Saudi Aramco? 5) Which among the three independent variables is the most important driver relates to employee engagement and what are the relationship consequences? Research Significance Theoretical practical significance. The following are practical significance. What is your theortical significance (contribution on the body of knowledge about EE)? The significance of this study can contribute many advantages to many parties such as corporate strategy, business unit level in forming their business strategy and the analytical and empirical researches. This study can provide the management an understanding on which factors that could affect the employee engagement in the context of Saudi Aramco in which ultimately attempting to enhance organization performance and make organization a profitable entity. This research can support different organizational units in correlating employee engagement and performance factors to prove the importance of employee engagement strategy. Researcher hopes that this study will give an idea to the top management of Saudi Aramco on the awareness of employee engagement and also can be useful for them to understand the approaches to be taken in order to enhance the level of its employee engagement. This knowledge is hopefully would be useful as a source of information for the future research regarding this subject. Assumptions This research assumes that Saudi Aramco uses the industry unanimous definition of employee engagement as a standard definition. 1.7 Limitations of the research write in paragraphs This research is limited to one operational unit in Saudi Aramco and will not include any other units and thus results and findings cannot be generalized to the whole organization. This study is limited to three factors which are perceived organization support, perceived supervisor support, rewards and recognition (independent variables) that influence the employee engagement (dependent variable). 1.8 Terms Definitions Is this your operational or conceptual definition. Operational definition (are these your operational definitions?) Employee Engagement: employee engagement here is defined according to the International Survey Research (2003) as a process by which an organization increases commitment and contribution of its employees to achieve superior business results. The International Survey Research resolves that employee engagement is a combination of an employees cognitive, affective and behavioral commitment in the organization. Perceived organization support: is the degree to which employees believe that their organization values their contributions and cares about their well-being (Eisenberger, 1986). Perceived supervisor support: The degree to which employees believe that their supervisors, values their contributions and cares about their well-being. Rewards and Recognition: Employee recognition is a communication tool that reinforces and rewards the most important outcomes people create for your business. When you recognize people effectively, you reinforce, with your chosen means of recognition, the actions and behaviors you most want to see people repeat. Many types of rewards and recognition have direct costs associated with them, such as cash bonuses and stock awards. Other types of rewards and recognition may be non-monetary rewards like formal and informal acknowledgement, assignment of more enjoyable job duties, opportunities for training, and an increased role in decision-making. These are neither yoru operational or conceptual definition 1.9 Research Organization This is the first chapter out of the five chapters of the project paper which has presented the background of the study as an introduction, describes the problem statements, objectives and research questions in addition to the research significance limitations. Chapter 2 will review the employee engagement research findings done by other researchers and also the drivers of employee engagement. Chapter 3 will present the method for the study, which is the research design and procedure. The chapter mentions the selection of the respondents, sample types and size, the development of the questionnaire for the research and data collection procedure. Chapter 4 discusses the interpretation of the research findings and the results presentation. Chapter 5 concludes the whole research with discussion and some suggestions for future research directions.

How Useful Are the 4Ps to Marketing Managers Today ? Essay -- product,

Marketing managers use marketing mix as a business tool in marketing. Marketing mix synonymous with the 4Ps which were amended and listed by Eugene McCarthy as Product, Place , Price and Promotion. First of all, Product refers to the product should fit the task the target consumers want it for, it should work , and it should be what the consumers expected to get. For instance, its packaging, labeling and offering. Therefore, this always remind marketing managers need to do careful research on how long the life cycle of the product is likely to be and focus their attention on different challenges that they are facing when they are developing the product. Secondly, Place (distribution) means that the way in which the product meets customers’ needs, the product should be easy for the consumers to shop. This may be a high street shop, mail order through a catalogue or it may even be doorstep delivery. Various strategies such as intensive distribution, selective distribution, exclusive distribution and franchising can be used by the marketing managers to complement the other aspects of the 4Ps. Thirdly, Price refers to the product should always be seen as representing good value for money. However, this does not mean that it should be the cheapest available, one of the main tenets of the marketing concept is that customers are usually prepared to pay a little more for something that really works well for them. The price is very important as being determined , it may affect the demands, sales ,the company's profit and hence, survival. Adjusting the price has a profound impact on the marketing strategy. There are 3 basic pricing strategies : market skimming pricing, market penetration pricing and neutral pricing. The 'reference val... ...personnel who will be responsible for analysis, planning and implementation. "The enterprise set up marketing department or sales department to undertake the marketing functions ,sometimes it would hire some experts from outside to engage in certain activities, such as market analysts and advertising experts. As a result, people in other area in the enterprise would decoupling from the marketing area ,at the meantime, the marketing managers are not involved in product design, production, delivery, customer service,advice handling and other activities "(Christion Gronroos, 1994), thus leading to potential conflicts between each functional department. "If the company produces the appropriate products, set appropriate prices, use appropriate distribution channels, and supported by appropriate promotional activities, then the company will success "(Kotler, 2001).