Attitudes Towards War in A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway Essay

Ernest Hemingway was one of the most influential writers of the Modern period. After being rejected from the army, Hemingway entered the war in 1917 as an ambulance driver on the Italian front. Hemingway’s relationship with the war could have been his reason for writing his novel A Farewell to Arms. A Farewell to Arms takes place in Italy in World War I. The novel tells of the conflicts of an American ambulance driver on the Italian front, Frederick Henry, and his difficulties with war, love and death. In this particular novel, Hemingway expresses several different attitudes towards war through the characters Frederick Henry, Lieutenant Rinaldi, and Gino. World War I has no extreme effect on Frederick Henry. He feels as though it is not his war to fight since his country has very little to do with it. Henry does not even realize the seriousness of the war until it takes its toll on him. Frederick Henry mentions, â€Å"Well, I knew I would not be killed. Not in this war. It did not have anything to do with me. It seemed no more dangerous to me than war in the movies† (37; ch. 7). The war is no more than another adventure to Frederick Henry. It seems he is in the war just to have something to do. Catherine says to Henry † ‘Why did you join up with the Italians?’ ‘I was in Italy,’ I said, ‘and I spoke Italian'† (22; ch. 5). Clearly Henry does not care much for the war. He feels uncomfortable with the passion others feel for it, such as Gino, and Henry exemplifies this when he mentions, â€Å"I was always embarrassed by the words sacred, glorious, sacrifice and the expression in vainâ₠¬  (184; ch. 27). He goes on to say, â€Å"I had seen nothing sacred, and the things that were glorious had no glory†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (185; ch. 27). Lieutenant Rinaldi’s outlook on the war is depressing, and he feels as thought he war has torn his entire world apart. Rinaldi used to the happy go lucky man who always had a couple of drinks and a good time until the war truly takes its toll on him. â€Å"The war is killing me. I am very depressed by it† (167; ch. 25). He is telling this to Frederick Henry after a long separation period when Henry was in the hospital. Rinaldi has clearly changed and Henry notices right away. Unlike Henry, Lieutenant Rinaldi seems  to get a sense of belonging from the war, and he felt like he was needed as a talented surgeon. As soon as Rinaldi is no longer needed for operating anymore, he no longer feels he is needed in the war, and his place in society becomes unclear. Rinaldi comments to Henry, â€Å"I don’t operate now and I feel like hell. This is a terrible war baby. You believe me when I say it† (167; ch. 25). Gino is the man who shows Henry around Gozoria after Henry’s return from Milan. Gino thinks of the war as a big opportunity to show loyalty for his country. All he wants to do is make a difference in the army, and he almost refuses to admit to the harsh realities of war. Gino believes that all great acts are done strictly out of the goodness in people’s hearts and are done only to be loyal patriots. Gino says to Henry, â€Å"We won’t talk about losing. There is enough talk about losing. What has been done this summer cannot have been done in vain† (184; ch. 27). Gino clearly thinks all men should be as patriot as he is, and does not seem to understand those who are not. Henry realizes this and respects Gino’s opinions and beliefs. â€Å"Gino was a patriot, so he said things that separated us sometimes, but he was also a fine boy and I understood his being a patriot. He was born one† (185; ch. 27). Frederick Henry, Lieutenant Rinaldi, and Gino are very different characters with very different attitudes towards the war in the novel A Farewell to Arms. Hemingway uses his unique style to show the different opinions through his Hemingway heroes. All of these characters have different views on war, and this shows Hemingway’s respect for all of these opinions.

Business Law: Man U Break Clause Rooney Essay

‘Manchester united Footballer Wayne Rooney signs new contract worth  £30 million’. Discuss the essentials of such a contract with particular reference to the function and efficacy of the ‘break clause’ and ‘confidentiality agreement’ it contains. 1,500 words. Guidance: You do not have to discuss Wayne’s actual contract; you do have to discuss the essentials of a contract. You must discuss express terms. What is a ‘break clause’? What is a ‘confidentially agreement’? What is the purpose of such clauses? Do they protect the parties to the contract? Do not forget to cite case law. The issue that will be discussed in this essay is the break clause/exemption and confidentiality agreement with regards to Wayne Rooney’s contract with Manchester United. An exemption clause, like any other term, will be incorporated into a contract if it is contained in a signed document; this was shown in the case of L’Estrange v Graucob (1934) where the purchaser of a vending machine was bound by a very wide exemption clause contained in the small print on the order form which she had signed. A break clause is a term in a tenancy agreement that allows a tenant to leave before the tenancy period comes to an end, without incurring any financial penalty. It is not unusual for a contract clause regarding proprietary information to also be included in many types of agreements. Break clauses are inserted as standard in contracts in Spanish football, and are generally related to the total wages the player will earn throughout his contract. The insertion of a break clause gives the player (Rooney) the freedom to move if his valuation is met, but it also protects the club against players who try to force cut-price deals’. In terms of Wayne Rooney and Manchester United FC, ‘Wayne Rooney is thought to have negotiated a break clause in his new five-year contract with Manchester United’ says an article in the Times. The striker can leave for as little as  £30 million if certain targets are not met on a year-by-year basis. Article 17 of the FIFA Transfer Regulations states that players can unilaterally cancel their contract with their club after a certain protected period has expired if an amount of compensation is paid to their original club. For players over the age of 28 the protected period for their contract is two years, meaning they will be able to unilaterally terminate their contract when they are two years into it. This rule applies to footballers under the age of 28. Rooney is 24 and therefore his protected period for contract is three years, meaning he will be able to unilaterally terminate his contract once he is three years into it however Rooney is not bound by this because he has his own break clause within his own contract that allows him to leave at any time if he is offered a minimum of  £30 million. Some contracts have what is known as a confidentiality agreement, this is a written legal contract between an employer and employee. The confidentiality agreement lays out binding terms and conditions of which prohibit Wayne Rooney from disclosing company confidentials on Manchester United. The purpose of a confidentiality contract is that it; creates certainty, establishes a contractual obligation, ensures enforcement and supports a claim under general law because it creates the relationship of confidence that is the basis of many claims and it sets out in detail the conduct which the disclosing party expects from the recipient). A confidentiality agreement is in effect for the duration of an employee’s employment and for a period of time following employment termination of which is the period of 5 years in this case. In the following case by Seager Limited v Copydex Limited [1967] 2 All ER 415, Lord Denning MR established the principle that even if you do not have a confidentiality agreement in place, under equity law a person who has received information in confidence cannot take unfair advantage of it. That person must not make use of it to the prejudice of the person who gave it without obtaining his or her consent. A contract is an agreement between two or more parties. A contract is defined as, an agreement made between two or more persons or entities with specific terms made between two or more persons or companies promising to do something in return for money or money’s worth. A contract begins with an offer. The offer is an expression of willingness to contract on certain terms. It allows the other party to accept the offer and provides the basis of the agreement. To be effective, an offer must be communicated, this is to say that there cannot be acceptance of an offer without knowledge of it. A valid contract requires: an agreement; an intention to create legal relations as shown in the case of Balfour v. Balfour [1919] 2 K.B. 571, here the courts found that both parties must intend that an agreement be legally binding in order to be an enforceable contract; and consideration (unless the Contract is made by deed). Whilst each of these three requirements receives separate treatment, they must in reality be looked at together. The rights and duties of both employers and employees are to be found in the contract of employment, they are referred to as terms of a contract. Some of these terms are express terms; that is they are expressly or specifically stated, either orally, say at the initial interview, or in writing. Express terms include things like pay, hours and holidays. The law states that certain express terms must be put in writing and handed to the employee in the form of a written statement of particulars within 8 weeks of starting work. There are other contractual terms called implied terms. These are not expressly or explicitly stated because, in the main, they are fairly obvious to both parties to the contract of employment. Occasionally the courts will imply a term in a contract of employment where an important term has been left out. Implied terms include statutory rights, such as the right to equal pay and duties such as a duty of care. Each contract clause contained within an agreement is aimed at defining the rights, privileges, and commitments that each party has determined represent the terms govern their working relationship. This is the purpose of such clauses. For example, in this football employment contract, Manchester United agrees to provide Wayne Rooney with a specific set of benefits, such as salary, health insurance, a retirement plan, a football team transfer and any other benefit that both parties have agreed is necessary. At the same time, the contract will contain clauses that determine the range of services that Rooney will provide in exchange for these benefits. The idea is to include as much detail as possible, so that there is very little room for misinterpretation of what is expected of each party.

Make any topic pls Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Make any topic pls - Essay Example In this post modern time, when one is showing his discomfort in news of Taliban’s imposed restrictions on girls in Afghanistan, no one expects even something least to happen in a country like US, a proclaimed leader of democracy. Despite of difference in gender, the uniqueness stands above. We all are born as human beings notwithstanding the sex. The difference is for the totality of human being. It should not be a measure in rewarding rights. The qualities of both male and fair sex may vary but none stands ahead. Both are the best in their own. The women in this egalitarian period of time have come up to forefront standing along with their male counterparts in almost all the fields. They have shared better parts in most adventurous and risky situations from combat war field to a journey to the space. Nothing holds the modern girl from involving into what a decade back thought to be unattainable by fair sex. A fair number of countries came up with a decision to include women in the armed forces across the world. And given the chances, they have proved their ability to achieve nothing lesser to their male counterparts could

Statements on Standards for Tax Services Assignment - 1

Statements on Standards for Tax Services - Assignment Example The SST section that will apply to Marie’s situation is number 5 which stipulates that if the applicable authority lacks written standards in reference to the recommendation of the position of a tax return. The signing or recommendation or even the preparing of the tax return is pegged on section (a) which is only recommended when the position taken can either be sustained judicially or even administratively on its advantages when challenged. SST number 7 can also be incorporated. In this number, the member can’t recommend prepare or sign tax return position since the member may be exploiting the taxing authority’s audit selection process. It may also serve as arguing platform for the purpose of gaining leverage while negotiating with the authority (AICPA 10). Ashley’s action of not reviewing the original receipts may pose the danger since there is no absolute certainty that the list provided was authentic. In the event of advocating for the taxpayer according to SST, number 8 may be hampered if the receipts produced are not authentic. Besides SST number 8, number 10 can also be incorporated where the effectiveness of the function of the assessment is either true or complete or even correct. The preparation of the tax return is validated when the facts are represented by the taxpayer through the standard tends to differ among clients (AICPA 11). SST number 6 mandates members with the responsibility of giving advice to the taxpayer on the likely penalty effects such as opportunity and position of the return tax. In the events that the standards are altered, the members still are obliged to inform the taxpayers of the happenings.

Exemplification Essay, Kozol, Zinsser, and MacFarquhar Essay

Exemplification , Kozol, Zinsser, and MacFarquhar - Essay Example In my teens, I helped unearth mysteries and solve crimes with the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew. Later on, I sat in the courtroom and watched Atticus Finch deliver a riveting closing argument in defense of Tom Robinson in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. Recently, through Freakonomics by Steven Levitt, I learned that what passes for conventional wisdom in the society is not necessarily truth. This reading albeit for fun was quite instrumental in laying a foundation for more serious academic work as well as arming me with knowledge that helped me make sense of the various issues I encountered in life. Having profited from the knowledge I gained, I second Mark Twain in his classic assertion that he who cannot read good books has no advantage over him who cannot read at all. College students today are more concerned with grades than they are with acquiring knowledge. Students have realized the importance of having good papers in order to succeed in the outside world. They therefore endeavor to ensure that the grades they get are spick and span, which is often in great detriment to the knowledge gained in the courses that they pursue. As a result, untold hundreds of students roll out of campus half-baked but with excellent grades at which most employers cannot help but marvel. Zinssner quotes a fellow professor who bemoaned that in previous years, the key question he would get from students was on how they could make a difference in the world. However, over the years, this question changed to the kind of subject combinations that would be favorable to enable one to pursue a particular kind of course. Such students almost certainly end up not benefiting the society one single bit since all they did was to cram for the sake of passing an exam. He further highlights such problems by pointing out to students pursuing reputable courses such as

Film Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Film - Term Paper Example Review of Chungking Express by Wong Kar-wai in 1994 Chungking Express was a film that was produced in 1994 by Wong Kar-wai. It was made in Hong Kong and this was during the period when they were handing over to China. The movie has so many thing going on because there were political matters along the way and again it was during a time when the citizens were starting to embrace freedom in the sense of a change in lifestyle and the economy. Chungking Express sough to express what Hong Kong was going through in a manner that was relating to them. As a result, this period also brought about the global spread of modern commercial culture to East Asia. This definitely had its advantages and disadvantages because with lifestyle changes, traditional values were abandoned and the people started to adopt new moral and modern values. According to the movie, the story revolves among two police officers; Takeshi Kaneshiro and Brigitte Lin Ching-hsia who have been abandoned and left lonely where t hey try to acquire individuals that they fall for. Kaneshiro is described as lonely because his girlfriend abandoned him and he still cannot believe that it happened and she left forever. Lin is related to drugs and the life she was living was not worthwhile as she sought to escape the country because she was in a deal that went sour. At this instance is when Kaneshiro meets Lin and tries to get to her. Another scene would be the one where the officer meets Faye Wong who falls for a police officer, who had broken up with his girlfriend, a flight attendant. During that time, the cop was very lonely and he was portrayed as a n individual who had already lost touch of his life. Faye becomes the person that cares for him as she sneaks into his house and the result is that she hopes that what she was doing for him would change his mind and focus on her. With no reason what Faye did with her heart did not deem successful and as a result she ditched that thought of getting to the cop. With regard to the movie, there is also a rise in the number of entertainment joints. Apparently, the people of Hong Kong were portrayed as people who love karaoke’s and music and this trend was apparently increasing thus the traditional thought of such traits was starting to disappear as the people were starting to adapt to a new culture and lifestyle. For example, Faye met with the cop when they were in the bar. Traditional culture was not based on love in that manner. A man would not meet their potential girlfriend or wife in entertainment places, but the movie sought to eliminate that gap and allow for love to be felt in a variety of places and that if why the characters were set to meet in a bar. With regard to sexual relationships, it can be concluded that Faye had an intention to have a sexual relationship with the cop. According to traditional values, traits such as pre-marital sex and one-night stand were not acceptable in the culture and the only way that one could indu lge in sexual relationships was when they got married. In addition to that, the movie portrays aspects such as loyalty when the officer is abandoned by his girlfriend but he still thinks about her and feels for her. The Personals by Chen Kuo-fu The Personals was a movie directed by Chen Kuo-fu. It is based on an opthamologist by the name of Du Jiazhen (Rene Liu) who goes ahead to critically search for a

Stragegic management of human resources Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6500 words

Stragegic management of human resources - Essay Example A customised version of Integrated Management Process (IMP) used by SAB to set the ball rolling relies on the same set of principles, techniques and practices as the case study demonstrates. Evidently, performance depends not only on hard and attenuating work of the personnel, but also on such essential characteristics as competence and ability to learn and develop. Despite the visible simplicity, the problem of effective training and development of employees faced by SAB during the attempt to solidify and further reinforce their market positions was exceptionally complex. A failure to properly, effectively and continuously train and educate the human resources in the right areas of the business, at the right time and at the right cost would have inevitably result in serious inefficiencies, considerable operational difficulties and even collapse of the organisation (Buckle & Caple, 2004). In order to evaluate the programme implemented by SAB one must be aware of the basic theoretical principles an effective programme must rely upon. An effective SHRD programme should be built around three basic theoretical concepts: organizational development change; leadership development; individual, group and organizational learning (Reid, Barrington & Brown, 2004). Although IMP focuses primarily on business planning, communication and performance management processes, the key element of the company's transformation was apparently learning since new skills and attitudes were required. In the past, learning focused primarily on individuals: people worked in large bureaucracies or assembly lines and, consequently, the goal of learning under such circumstances was training of the skills required for their functioning. However, since approximately three decades ago, the focus of learning in organisations began to shift from individuals to groups, and, what was even more important, the meaning underlying the constructs 'learning', 'training' and 'development' transformed dramatically. Scholars started conceiving these constructs as continuous rather than occasional while the purpose and the process of learning were also reformulated and recognised as vital for effective organizational performance (Harrison, 2005). Such continuous perception of learning as the key element of business transformation was probably the main factor of SAB's success: heavy investments in learning and development to support change turned systematic rather than being occasional. The systematic approach toward training, learning and development of employees emphasises such crucial element of the process as continuity while the earlier perspectives often viewed the process as linear and discrete with clearly defined beginning and end (Armstrong, 1996). Systematic approach to organizational development implies clearly identification of what employees should know and how they should act to be effective at a particular job; it also ensures that employees are adequately prepared in terms of the necessary knowledge, skills, and attitudes to fulfil their responsibilities (Kenney & Reid, 1994). Such systematic strategy implemented by SAB helped managers and supervisors get

Development and Economic Sustenance in the Third World Context Essay

Development and Economic Sustenance in the Third World Context - Essay Example The "Third World" is seen as being a victim to the class struggle imposed from the top. There were strong roots in dependency theory which implies that developed regions continue to exploit developing regions for sustained growth. WAD theory adopts a rather mechanistic outlook on the role of women in development. It thus states that women are and have always been part of the process of development. The participation of women in the process of development is said to be in the form of both paid and unpaid labour considered an essential part of development. (Ramji: 1997). There is also a generalized inequity in role distribution in the WAD approach which assumes that women will contribute more in their traditional roles of home and hearth with supplemental roles being added through the forces of modernization. There is an implied inferiority-superiority dyad by which the determining role for development is not accorded to women. A detailed analysis of the other approaches to development will enable clarification of this concept. The â€Å"Women in Development† approach arose from the liberal trend in feminism. It recognizes the importance of roles and status of women in the process of development. Thus women are provided with a special role and status when development assistance is provided. Active involvement of women in the implementation of assistance is also underlined by aid-giving countries as Japan. The enhancement of opportunities for participation of women is said to lead to the improvement of the status of women in society in general.

Industry Clustering Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Industry Clustering - Essay Example Some of the general deductions that can be made from the clustering phenomenon in business location involve synergy in operations where conglomeration facilitates efficient industry-specific microeconomics. To illustrate this, it is an economic fact that an industry relies on a support economy including supplies and other secondary support services. In a clustered environment, it is certainly possible for the entire cluster, working as a system, to influence the market forces of the ancillary system. The influence exerted increases the bargaining power of the firms in attracting the relevant support systems in that location. Among the most definitive determinants of clustering, including supplies and labor as briefly discussed below. Despite the fact that there are different levels of dependence on suppliers across firms as dictated by the nature of business engaged, firms may cluster together o take advantage of supply dynamics. It can be projected that firms with a higher reliance on supplies in the running of their operations would be a favorable business opportunity if they were located together. Pulling suppliers’ attention towards a centralized market reduces costs for their operations and facilitates in increasing the firms’ bargaining power thereby creating a favorable environment for the players. In addition, labor intensity in the operations of industries is varied across business types, but it affects the location considerations by firms across the various levels of their labor demand. Labour supply is influenced towards the clusters as a center of interest for the labor market where high specificity across the skills levels is likely to be met. Such a setting dramatically changes the dyn amics of the labor market by attracting its availability and quality.  Ã‚  

Prejudice Examples Prejudice Essay Example for Free

Prejudice Examples Prejudice Essay Prejudice means pre-judging, and is defined as having a bad opinion of a group without sufficient evidence, by thinking of that group in terms of unverified stereotypes. Prejudice is a preconceived judgment or opinion. Strictly speaking, prejudice can also be favoring a group without justifiable grounds or sufficient knowledge. But the most common definition of prejudice is an irrational attitude of hostility directed against an individual, group, or race. 2. Why are people prejudiced against others? Some factors are: ignorance, fear of someone different, low self-esteem, insecurity, a need to feel superior, or negative personal experiences with individuals from that group. Some people are prejudiced because they have a need to protect and maintain their self-image. Some people have the need to express their identity by excluding others. It makes them feel good to put others down through name calling, such as nigger, honky, kike, chink, faggot. Prejudice is learned behavior and is usually passed down to people from their family or is derived from their friends. 3. Most psychologists have long believed that fear is a prelude to hatred. 4. Some common types of prejudice: a) misogyny Hatred of, or hostility toward women (As an example of how pervasive male dominance has been in human history, the word for hatred of men (misandry) is still not a common word, in fact most dictionaries do not even include it. ) b) xenophobia fear or dislike of strangers or the unknown, often used to describe nationalistic political beliefs and movements c) homophobia fear of homosexuals, or people thought to be lesbian, gay, or bisexual. d) anti-semitism hatred of Jews. e) racism a form of discrimination based on race, especially the belief that one race is superior to another. Racism may be expressed individually and consciously, through explicit thoughts, feelings, or acts, or socially and unconsciously, through institutions that promote inequality between races. f) bigotry the intolerance and prejudice of a bigot, that is, a prejudiced person who is intolerant of any opinions differing from their own 5. Recent experiments were conducted at Dartmouth College with the help of brain-imaging equipment and some undergraduates. They found that racial prejudice makes you stupider. According to their findings, the more biased people are, the more their brain power is taxed by contact with someone of another race, as they struggle not to say or do anything offensive. The effect is so strong, that even a five minute conversation with a black person left some of the white subjects unable to perform well on a test of cognitive ability PREJUDICE (ITS FUNCTIONS) As an attitude, prejudice can function as a schema for organizing information about members of a group Information that is consistent with our prejudices (rather than inconsistent). Tends to receive more attention, is rehearsed more frequently, is more likely to be remembered Even though prejudice can be positive or negative, lets focus on the negative Prejudice involves negative feelings when they are in the presence of,or even think about, members of the group Prejudice often involves stereotypes, suggesting that all members of a group behave in certain ways and have certain characteristics Therefore, prejudice has both cognitive and affective components Affective component is the positive or negative attitude/feeling Cognitive component contains stereotypes. Origins of Prejudice Direct intergroup conflict Social learning Social categorization: Us vs. them Cognitive sources: stereotypes, illusory correlations, outgroup homogeneity Direct Intergroup Conflict This research is based on , or lead to, realistic conflict theory Idea is that real disparities or competition between groups leads to hostility (negative prejudice). Even perceived threats (relative deprivation) can lead to prejudice Think about strife existing between early Mormons and other groups. Can partly be explained in terms of realistic conflict theory, accounted for in terms of real deprivation or perceived deprivation. Some would argue that this theory applies to increasing prejudice (and discrimination) currently prevalent here in Utah Robbers Cave study (Sherif et al. , 1961) Rattlers and Eagles in separate cabins formed close attachments to others in own group (Week 1) Groups brought into competition with one another (Week 2) Groups developed strong prejudices Superordinate goals introduced (e. g. , fixing bus) (Week 3) Conflict reduced. Hovland Sears (1940) correlation between economic conditions and racial violence Most of 4761 lynchings in US between 1882 and 1930 occurred in the South, and most victims were African Americans Farm value of cotton and per-acre value of cotton each year was strongly correlated with the number of lynchings in each year Again, think about realistic conflict notion in light of current levels of prejudice (and discrimination in the U. S. ). As economic conditions worsen, prejudice and discrimination are on the rise. Social learning as source of prejudice. Children acquire negative attitudes toward various social groups through direct and vicarious learning experiences Parents, teachers, friends, the mass media all play roles in the development of prejudice Consider how minority groups or the two genders have been portrayed in the media Some even argue that we are born with a bias to perceive dark stimuli as more fearful than lighter stimuli (shown with babies and toddlers using neutral stimuli) Social categorization as source of Prejudice: Us vs. Them People tend to view us in favorable terms and them more negatively Ingroup-outgroup distinction affects attribution. We tend to attribute desirable behaviors of ingroup members to stable internal causes, but tend to attribute desirable behaviors of outgroup members to unstable or to external causes- sometimes called theultimate attribution error How does social categorization result in prejudice? Tajfel (1982) proposes that that individuals seek to enhance their self-esteem by identifying with social groups. This is successful to the extent that persons perceive their group(s) as somehow superior to other group(s) Basking in reflected glory (BIRGing) Chap. 3. Even if there is an inferior ingroup member, this leads to considerable derogation so as to preserve value of the group Cutting off reflected failure (CORFing) Chap. 3 Branscombes research in Chap. 5 This notion of social categorization bears on Tajfel and Turners Social Identity Theory, which predicts, among other things: higher ingroup favoritism when self-esteem threatened on a situational basis heightened levels of ingroup favoritism when the group is really small (a minority) heightened levels of ingroup favoritism when one feels a marginal member of group. PREJUDICE EXAMPLES Prejudice has been defined as an outlook towards a community or an individual, based solely upon a preconceived idea or preference and devoid of any objectivity and reasoning. The examples mentioned in this article will help the reader in understanding prejudice in a better way. Prejudice is described as a preconceived notion harbored against a particular group or a person based on the nationality, race, caste, color, sex, sexual preferences, creed or other personal preferences. The concept has been debated ferociously by psychologists and social researchers. Some have called it a personality trait or habit, while others have described it merely as an emotion. Studies and experiments which have been conducted in this regard, go on to prove that more often than not, prejudice comes about due to conformity to social norms. In this regard, the words antipathy and discrimination are closely linked with prejudice. Though prejudice may not always be negative, over the last century, prejudice and discrimination have been spoken of in the same breath. This has led to a negative connotation of prejudice. Examples of Prejudice # 1: If someone is walking in a secluded area in the night, and a group of senior citizens who are walking with canes in hand, come from the opposite side, the person will not feel threatened. However, if instead of senior citizens, three teenagers dressed in jeans and t-shirts with lots of metal chains around their neck are approaching from the other side, the person might feel threatened a bit, even without any kind of provocation from their end. # 2: It is a general perception that people with mental illnesses are prone to violence. This perception has developed from the stereotypes portrayed in movies or written about in books, wherein a mentally ill person becomes violent and goes on a rampage. Although, there are a few isolated cases of mentally ill people, who have a tendency towards violence, yet, if we look at the statistics, they show that mentally ill people are no more violence prone than the normal people. # 3: Human beings are categorized into a number of races, based on their geographical location, physical characteristics, culture, language and history. It is a social concept, not biological. For example, in America, there are Caucasians, African-Americans, Asians etc who differ from each other physically. However, being different no way makes a race superior or inferior to another. Yet, there are certain people who think, believe and act in ways that suggest that their race is superior to others. Racists as they are referred to, are prejudiced and if you look at history, they have even resorted to violence against the races they considered inferior. # 4: Gender discrimination, whether at the workplace or at home is another commonly observed prejudice that exists in todays society. An organization which hires more male candidates and rejects women (or vice versa), due to their gender, is said to be prejudiced. One more example is of an organization where women are hired equally, but not given top jobs. Such organizations are practicing gender discrimination too. # 5: Instances of prejudices based on religion are found all over the world. Although, most religions preach tolerance and acceptance of other religions, yet, fanatics are found everywhere. Usually, it is seen that people who believe more in following the rituals and religious practices, rather than taking religion as a means to reach God, are more likely to engage in discrimination and prejudice against people who follow a religious belief other than theirs. # 6: People belonging to one nation may sometimes discriminate against those that belong to some other country. This is especially true in case of a war or other conflicts between the two countries. In such circumstances, people belonging to the other country, with whom one is in conflict with, are considered outsiders and may even have to face hostility, especially if they happen to stay in the your country. Looking at the various prejudice examples, it can be concluded that we are prejudiced against people, when we assume that they have certain characteristics. These assumptions develop when we do not have direct contact with them or we fear them due to they being a minority and different from us. Some might also be passed on from one generation to another such as those against women. Since prejudices are so widespread, in order to combat them, understanding their nature is very important. By spreading the message of brotherhood, developing understanding in people, educating people, making them aware, and promoting inter-group dialog, small steps towards a more tolerant and egalitarian society can be taken. Read more at Buzzle: http://www. buzzle. com/articles/prejudice-examples. html Prejudice derives from Prejudge, which is to judge someone or something without out all the available facts. Some times this can be good and some times not so :- Example One. He was prejudiced to give her the job solely on her looks. Great you think she got the job! but what about her qualifications? Example Two The guy suffered from racial prejudice and so didnt let the man into his house to fix the boiler. The guy lost out just cause he didnt like the colour of his skin and is now sat in a cold house. Example Three The jury were prejudiced towards the defendant because they already knew he was guilty of other crimes, but were not pertaining to the case in hand. The mans past had nothing to do with what he was standing trail for but the jurors had already a predetermined what type of man he was. A: The word prejudice, meaning literally pre-judgment, is defined as having a preconceived opinion about something or someone. It has acquired its current popular definition, of bias against a particular group of people, during the civil rights movement of the mid-20th century. Under that latter definition, here are three examples of prejudice: * Asking to be seated (or re-seated) in a restaurant or theater, away from a group whose ethnic or religious heritage frightens or offends you; this could be anything from Italian businessmen (might be mobsters) to a Middle Eastern family (could be terrorists). * Seeking out a male auto mechanic, under the belief that a female mechanic would be less qualified; or hiring a female kindergarten teacher, thinking that a male teacher wouldnt be as compassionate. * Denying a gay couple the right to rent an apartment. But its important to keep in mind that 1) everyone has prejudices, and 2) not all prejudices are negative. For example, you may decide to see a new movie because you heard that one of your favorite actors is starring in it; this is an example of positive prejudice, or prejudice forsomething. Prejudice Each of us is unique with our own talents and skills and experiences to offer. There are many ways that people can be different from you: * moral or spiritual beliefs * cultural background * intellectual strengths and weaknesses (e. g. being better at languages or math) * social skills and preferences (e. g. being shy instead of outgoing) * tastes, interests and hobbies (e. g. liking sports or music) * physical features (e. g. sex, size, skin colour, body shape) * sexual and/or gender orientation or preferences. While we all benefit by being surrounded by people with different beliefs, skills and experiences, these differences can sometimes cause people to be targets of hatred and prejudice. To understand what prejudice is, its important to be able to define words like stereotypes and discrimination. Prejudice can have some serious effects, but there are many things you can do to recognize and reduce prejudice in your own life. If you have more questions about prejudice and discrimination, talk to a trusted adult (like a parent, relative or teacher) or call Kids Help Phone at 1-800-668-6868. Looking for something specific? Go straight there. * Definitions and examples * The effects of prejudice * What you can do about prejudice Definitions and examples Stereotypes are generalizations When we assume that people of shared physical, religious, cultural or other characteristics have certain behavioural attributes, this is called a stereotype. Some examples of stereotypes are: * Men are more adventurous than women * Women are more emotional than men * Aboriginal people are all alcoholics * Gay men are all effeminate Prejudice is a belief. Prejudice is often based on stereotypes. It divides people into inferior and superior groups based on what one person thinks about another person or group. Some examples of prejudice are: * Racism or Anti-Semitism believing that race, skin colour or culture makes certain people inferior (e. g. believing that whites are superior to people of colour or people who practice Judaism) * Classism believing that certain economic classes are superior (e. g. the rich are superior to the poor). * Sexism believing that sex and gender determine status (e.g. boys and men are superior to girls and women) * Lookism believing that appearance and looks determine status (e. g. unattractive people are inferior to attractive people) * Homophobia/Heterosexism believing that sexual or gender orientation makes one group inferior (e. g. heterosexual people are superior to homosexual people) * Ableism believing that physical and/or mental ability makes one group superior (e. g. that differently abled people are inferior to typically abled people). * Ageism believing that age determines status (e. g.adults are superior to young people and the elderly) Discrimination is an action When people act based on their prejudices, they are discriminating against others. Some examples of discrimination include * A rich-looking person getting served before a poorer-looking person at a restaurant * A woman getting turned down for a job promotion in favour of a man * A police officer keeping a closer watch on a black teenager than a white teenager hanging out in front of a store * An woman in her 30s getting treated better than a woman in her 70s by a store? Staff The effects of prejudice Prejudice and discrimination are harmful behaviours that limit the opportunities of certain groups of people by reducing or withholding access to people defined as inferior and by increasing or extending access to people defined as superior. Some of the opportunities that prejudice and discrimination limit include: * approval and popularity * rights and privileges * power * knowledge * employment * promotion. Prejudice and discrimination also leave people open to a variety of social risks including: * victimization (violence, abuse, theft and bullying) * suspicion (blame or assumed guilt for crimes and harmful actions) * rejection, alienation and isolation (which all can lead to low self-esteem, self-hatred and self-destruction) * exploitation and oppression One of the worst things about prejudices is that over time people may come to believe what they hear and may start to believe that they are superior/inferior. This can lead to: * emotional suffering * reduced self-esteem * sense of futility or lack of control * blaming victims * losing hope in the future * fear/mistrust of others * lack of respect for authority What you can do about prejudice There are many ways that you can help reduce prejudice and discrimination. Here are just a few suggestions: * refuse to laugh at racist or sexist jokes * refuse to be allowed to jump ahead in a line-up and point out that people who have been waiting longer have a right to be served first * refuse to see movies, read books, play video games or participate in actives that promote violence or discrimination against certain groups * confront your friends or peers who express prejudiced or discriminatory beliefs * support associations or organizations whose mission is to help address the roots or effects of prejudice * confront prejudice in schools by working with a diverse group of people * confront prejudice at work by refusing to work in an environment that supports discriminatory policies or practices. If you have more questions about prejudice or discrimination, talk to a trusted adult like a parent, relative, teacher or religious leader, or call Kids Help Phone at 1-800-668-6868 and talk to one of our professional counsellors. BEYOND PREJUDICE REDUCING YOUR PREJUDICIAL BEHAVIORReducing prejudices needs to be more than an organizational goal; it needs to be a personal goal for each of us. The following list contains things we can do as individuals to help reduce prejudices within ourselves and in those around us. 1. Acknowledge that you have learned prejudicial information about other people. Without this acknowledgment nothing can change. Only through an acknowledgment of the prejudicial learnings can the misinformation be openly discussed and dealt with in a way which is likely to bring about change. It is clear that if we can’t talk about it, we surely can’t change it. 2. Confront without guilt or blame the stereotypes that you have learned. Guilt for having learned information is not really appropriate. It would have been difficult or nearly impossible to avoid learning this information. You probably learned it before you were able to think about the information critically. To focus on either blame or guilt distracts one from the need for change. It also focuses ones attention from the present into the past and leaves one feeling helpless or powerless to make any changes. 3. Enter a supportive group or a supportive relationship for making the needed changes. We tend to change our interpersonal behaviors and beliefs most effectively in an interpersonal context. Another person or other people can help us to test new learnings, gain new information, hold us to our insights and our commitments. They can do all this while providing us with support as we try new ideas, behaviors and beliefs. 4. Make a commitment to change and make a commitment to a process of change. The commitment made to others is a stronger commitment than the one made alone or to oneself. The commitment should be to working on a change process. Simply making a commitment to change is not as likely to result in the modification of behavior as a commitment to change that includes a commitment to a process. It is most effective to make an agreement to meet regularly with someone to discuss how you are both changing. Mutual commitments are both powerful and healthy. In this way, people approach the process as equals and are more likely to adhere to the process of changing. Keeping these commitments in a log, along with notes on the actions that one has taken, is a helpful way of sharing and supporting each other in a process of mutual prejudice reduction. 5. Become aware of your own self-talk about other groups of people. Becoming aware of ones own self-talk is critical in the process of changing the early stereotyped beliefs that one has learned. Talk about where those messages came from and the messages limiting effect with a person who will be accepting and non-judgmental. Knowing what those messages are is critical to changing them and replacing them with positive messages. 6. Challenge the irrationality of the prejudicial thoughts or self-talk statements. Get information to disprove each prejudicial thought. Most general statements about a population of people are untrue. One only needs to look more closely to see that almost any statement about them will fall apart under examination. Take the time to examine and challenge the thoughts that limit or devalue other people. 7. Increase your exposure to or contact with those who belong to the group(s) toward which you have learned some prejudicial stereotypes. Misconceptions remain effective only when you avoid contact with those about whom you have misconceptions. It is always helpful to increase your exposure to people that belong to the group about which you have stereotyped thoughts. When you are doing this, besure that you are not making contact in a way which will only affirm your stereotypedbeliefs. In finding people who are representative of this group, you might ask yourself, Is this the method I would want someone to use who wanted to learn about people of my nationality, race, age, religious belief, or culture? As you enter this process, keep in mind the tremendous diversity within any group. 8. Thought-stopping is a valuable process for changing ones self-talk about others. It is often helpful to have a pleasant image to focus upon to use as an abrupt interruption to your thoughts whenever you discover that you have started to think stereotypical thoughts about a member of another group. If you plan what image to focus upon and shift to that image very suddenly each time you think the stereotyped thought, it weakens the stereotyped thought. Your replacement image might be of something strongly positive about this group of people or about the absolute absurdity of the stereotype you learned. In building these images, it might be helpful to try making generalized statements about all the people who might be seen as like you in some aspect. Experience the difficulty in this process. 9. Make use of the Premack Principle, a small rule that has power for change. Making something one does often or something one likes to do contingent upon doing ones positive practice is one of the most effective ways of ensuring it gets done. For example, one might agree to meet with or report to ones partner each week before taking out the trash or filling the car with gas or some other task. Tying the two tasks together in an agreement is an effective way of making and keeping a commitment. One might also use this principle in changing ones self talk. To do this, one might agree to say an affirming statement about a group of people every time he or she sees a member of that group. 10. Learn how other groups see your own identity group. Learn from those in other groups how your own group is seen. This may take time because one needs to develop a trusting relationship. When their stereotypes about your own group are shared, don’t defend or deny them; instead, hear them as being as likely and as valid as your own stereotypes about other groups. Let yourself understand and accept how this view might be shared and believed by those who don’t have your experience. 11. Feeling good about ourselves is important in being able to accept people who are different from us. We need to develop a strong sense of security. People need to feel secure enough to be self-critical and to accept and learn from critical feedback by others. Those who are unable to accept critical feedback often project blame onto those who are different from themselves. 12. Accepting indecision is an important learning style. We need to develop an acceptance within ourselves for indecision. To be undecided is not only acceptable, but often desirable over having fast answers before all the needed information is available. To be in a position of not knowing and not reaching a conclusion is a valid position. This often requires a sense of self-acceptance and personal security. The need to have a correct answer quickly and not accepting the uncertainty of not knowing is strongly associated with being prejudiced. 13. Developing empathy skills is an effective way of increasing our acceptance of others. The ability to empathize with others is a teachable skill and is highly related to tolerance. There is no other skill that has been so clearly shown as being related to acceptance of others. The work of Gerard Egan, George Gazda, Norman Kagan and others is important here. Some of these peoples books are very usable. 14. Develop listening skills so that we can really hear other people. We need to develop listening skills and an appreciation for listening to other people. 15. Develop an appreciation for the complexities of the universe. Knowing that one truth does not preclude another is an important concept. We need to develop and nurture our own appreciation for the complexities of theuniverse. Our ability to accept contradictory truths is related to our tolerance for others. It is important to accept that there are truths that, I won’t understand. It is also important to recognize that what may appear to be conflicting and contradictory at first glance are not always so. One example of this is, I am like all other humans, while at the same time, I am like no other human. 16. Developing our own ability to experience caring about other people Is not only important for them, but allows us to be touch with our own connectedness and adds meaning to our lives. We need to show caring, even for those people who are unable to return the caring at this time. Because our lives are interconnected, the world is simply too small for us to not care anymore. 17. Learning about other groups is an important way to develop understanding. We need to learn about those groups we might feel prejudice toward. It is helpful to read about these groups in books the members of the groups have written, and its also helpful to go out of our way to visit with members of these groups. 18. Valuing diversity in human appearance and in nature is important. Diversity is the reality of nature and the strength of a species. We need to think and behave in ways which value and learn from diversity. This is not only in the area of racial diversity, but also in diverse ways of thinking, problem-solving and the many other ways in which people differ that affect human interactions. We cannot expect ourselves or others to value one type of diversity and reject others. 19. Seeking self-understanding increases the ability to accept oneself and others. We need to personally value and seek self-understanding. Those who are self-aware and self-critical are less likely to blame others. They know their own shortcomings and capabilities and have the self-esteem to accept responsibility for their behaviors. 20. Responding to prejudicial jokes is critical if we are to stand for something and identify ourselves. Initially, we need to respond to prejudicial jokes in a way that clearly communicates two things: 1) That we do not believe the person intended to harm others. 2) That we personally find meaning in the joke that is harmful. It is nearly impossible to make general statements about prejudicial jokes, but it is helpful to speak up and it is helpful not to read intent into a situation where it may not exist. A response is needed when the joke is at the expense of any group. It is this type of humor which is harmful. Initially it is most effective to use a minimal non-response. That means that we make it clear that we do not appreciate the humor or find it funny, but we do not alienate the person or lose our position for future influence by overreacting. If the other person’s prejudicial joke telling continues, it is appropriate to continue protesting the jokes and making the protests stronger. I know one person who starts by simply saying he does not find the joke humorous. 21. Responding to negative terms about groups of people helps us to know what we stand for and helps others to know us as well. We need to respond to static terms or names for other groups of people in ways which show that we feel that the use of these terms is inappropriate. (This should be the response when the term is at the expense of any group. Its the process which is harmful. ) It is most effective to use a minimal non-response. We are of little value in helping another person to reduce their prejudice if we reject or define them as a worthless bigot. 22. Research your investments so that you are only investing in firms with strong policies of affirmative action and respect for human rights. Many of us may have our savings in tax shelters which may not be socially responsible. I discovered that while one state university had mission statements about both education and health, it invested much of the employees retirement funds in the tobacco industry. I suggest that you check your investments in The Better World Investment Guide| What Is Prejudice? Prejudice is a baseless and usually negative attitude toward members of a group. Common features of prejudice include negative feelings, stereotyped beliefs, and a tendency to discriminate against members of the group. While specific definitions of prejudice given by social scientists often differ, most agree that it involves prejudgments (usually negative) about members of a group. Types of PrejudicePrejudice can be based upon a number of factors including sex, race, age, sexual orientations, nationality, socioeconomic status and religion. Some of the most well-known types of prejudice include: * Racism * Sexism * Classicism * Homophobia * Nationalism * Religious prejudice * AgismPrejudice and StereotypingWhen prejudice occurs, stereotyping and discrimination may also result. In many cases, prejudices are based upon stereotypes. A stereotype is a simplified assumption about a group based on prior assumptions. Stereotypes can be both positive (women are warm and nurturing) or negative (teenagers are lazy). Stereotypes can lead to faulty beliefs, but they can also result in both prejudice and discrimination. According to psychologist Gordon Allport, prejudice and stereo types emerge in part as a result of normal human thinking. In order to make sense of the world around us, it is important to sort informati.

The Relationship Between Customer Satisfaction And Organisational Profitability Finance Essay

The Relationship Between Customer Satisfaction And Organisational Profitability Finance Essay It is well known fact that the goal of any organisation is to meet the needs and the requirements of its stakeholders. Satisfying this need will not only ensure the survival of the organisation but also allow it to flourish. Among the several stakeholders, customers are presumed to be one of the most important stakeholders as no organisation can survive and succeed without them. Accordingly, marketers emphasize on research in the area of consumer behaviour and particularly behavioural intention. Knowledge of consumer behaviour will go a long way in ensuring effective marketing policies towards the interest of customers which will eventually facilitates positive customer attitude towards the organisations. More especially, since customer behavioural intention is a strong indication of his actual behaviour. 2. As a result of financial sector liberalization in Sri Lanka in the 1979, the banking sector experienced a boom. Low entry requirements such as capital of Rs 10 million by the regulatory authority and the high premiums that could be earned through foreign exchange business led to the quick entry by new players into the lucrative banking industry. In Sri Lanka between the period of 1979 to 2011 the number of commercial banks rose from 11 to 32 (Central Bank of Sri Lanka- CBSL)  [6]   3. The banking industry is highly competitive, with banks not only competing among each other; but also with non-banks and other financial institutions (Hull, 2002)  [7]  . Most bank product developments are easy to duplicate and when banks provide nearly identical services, they can only distinguish themselves on the basis of price and quality. Therefore, customer retention is potentially an effective tool that banks can use to gain a strategic advantage and survive in todays ever-increasing banking competitive environment. The majority of Sri Lankan commercial banks are owns by Sri Lanka Banking companies and the States and they are not much diversified in terms of the products and services they offer. Therefore almost all banks are offered almost identical products to their customers. Mendzela, was of the view that it is an indication of bank reaching the maturity phase of the product lifecycle and has become commoditized. One strategic focus that banks can implement to remain competitive would be to retain as many customers as possible  [8]  . 4. As discussed earlier, financial sector has shown unprecedented growth after deregulation in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan financial markets have experienced drastic changes after financial liberalization during 1979 and that provokes competition among financial institutions especially in banking sector. This competition leads to the introduction of customer oriented products in the market to meet the expectations of customers. Satisfaction is a multidimensional construct which has been conceptualized as a prerequisite for building relationships and is generally described as the full meeting of ones expectations (Oliver, 1980). 5. The most significant trend, relevant to all industries, which characterizes in 21st century, is severe competition between companies. In current operational environment, defined by constant change and uncertainty, organisations are forced to seek new ways to achieve the competitive advantage. This is particularly true for financial services industry where deregulation has brought a considerable choice for customers in satisfying their needs. Banks have high financial leverage capital structure, where customers bank deposits are considered as a bank debt. Therefore, customer turnover may result not just in diminishing profit margin but also in financial services provider existence. Apart from that, loyalty and satisfaction resulting in switching to another financial services provider may be used as a competitive advantage for acquisition new market share enticing consumers of the competitor. 6. Customer satisfaction has become interesting tool for commercial banks with the competition and it has become a practice to keep customer satisfied by banks, as satisfied customers will enhance customer loyalty towards their banks which will ultimately improve banks performance and profitability. The importance of customer satisfaction cannot be dismissed because happy customers are like free advertising. Many of us have heard of the current trend for businesses to become highly customer-centric, that is to put the customer at the centre of our business in terms of our strategies, actions and processes. For most of us, old truths still hold well, such as it is easier and more profitable to sell to existing customers than to find new ones. In practice, organizations are increasingly setting themselves strategies to measure and ensure customer retention, and charging their staff to be more customer-focused and service-oriented. BACK GROUND OF THE STUDY 7. According to Central Bank of Sri Lanka the overall performance of Licensed Commercial Banks (LCBs) remained healthy due to improved profitability and the strengthening of their capital position. The activities of LCBs expanded at a moderate pace in the first half of 2010. Total assets of the LCBs expanded by Rs. 139 billion or 5.5 per cent due to a growth in lending activities coupled with an increase in investment in government securities and the equities market. Meanwhile, deposits increased by four per cent or Rs. 74 billion as against 9 per cent in the previous year due to the lower interest rates that prevailed in the market during the period  [9]  . 8. As mentioned earlier, banking sector has shown unprecedented growth after deregulation in Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan financial markets experienced drastic changes after liberalization during early 1979 that provokes tough competition among financial institutions especially in banking sector. This competition leads to the introduction of customer orientedd products in the market to meet the expectations of customers. 9. According to the Fitch Ratings (2012)  [10]  , Sri Lankan banking sector is concentrated and dominated by public-sector banks that accounted for about half of sector assets at end of 2010. The six large banks identified as Systemically Important Banks (SIB)  [11]  accounted for 64 per cent of sector assets at end of 2010. They are Bank of Ceylon,Commercial Bank, Hatton National Bank, Peoples Bank, Sampath Bank and Seylan Bank. Fitch ratings has further pointed out that the Sri Lankan banking system experienced a strong upturn in profitability in 2010, with ROA increasing to 1.8 per cent, significantly above the 1.1 per cent average in 2000-2009, largely due to a reduction in credit costs. However, profitability decreased in 2011, with the sector posting an ROA of 1.6 per cent, largely due to the contraction in net interest margins (NIMs) with intensifying competition. 10. Almazari(2011)  [12]  was of the view that financial performance of a bank is its return on investment, return on assets, value additions and net assets value of a bank evaluates how the bank has used it assets to generate revenue. Further Almazari has pointed out that total assets of a bank also help to evaluate how well a bank is using its resources to make a profit. Total assets of commercial banks in Sri Lanka for the periods 2007-2011 is given below. The modern business world has expanded and competition has been created among businesses based on the profit. Financial services and assistance provided by the banking sector in Sri Lanka is at the top. These banks provide facilities not only for ordinary people but also for businessmen. Customer satisfaction plays a vital role in any successful business organization in todays business strategy. To go forward through this business banks have to compete with each other to achieve their goals, while fulfilling the basic requirements to satisfy their customers. At the very beginning, the main purpose of establishing banks were to give benefit for selected rich people, but at present, all levels of people are benefited and obtained the services from banks which have being expanded all over the country. The current banking industry in all over the world is going through turbulent times. In Sri Lanka with the lowering of entry barriers and blurring product lines of banks and non-banks since the financial sector reforms, banks are functioning increasingly under competitive pressures. This situation has created banks to maintain loyal customer base for individual banks. In order to maintain a loyal customer base and improve their market and profit positions, almost all the banks are directing their strategies towards increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty through improved service quality. In the present competitive Sri Lankan banking context, characterized by rapid change and increasingly sophisticated customers, it has become very important that banks in Sri Lanka as well to determine the service quality factors which are pertinent to the customers selection process. Therefore the current problem for the banking industry in Sri Lanka is to determine the dimensionality of custome r perception of service quality. This is because if service quality dimensions can be identified, bank should be able to improve the delivery of customer perception of quality during the service process and have greater control over the overall outcome. In relation to customer loyalty all banks in Sri Lanka has adopted various programmes to keep customers satisfied but according to discussion carried out earlier, public domestic banks are performing better than the government owned banks in the country. 12. Basically, Banks Profitability is measured with two major ratios that of Return on Average Assets and Return on Average Equity. Return on Average Assets and Return on Average Equity of five large commercial banks are for the period of five years from 2007 given below. Table 1:1 Return on Average Assets   Year BOC Peoples Bank Commercial Bank HNB Seylan ROAA ROAA ROAA ROAA ROAA Per Cent Per Cent Per Cent Per Cent Per Cent 2007 1.11 1.4 1.67 0.87 0.67 2008 1.13 1.5 1.55 1.04 0.1 2009 0.82 1.4 1.43 1.42 0.38 2010 1.6 1.7 1.6 1.04 0.87 2011 2.01 2.5 1.98 1.78 0.64 Table 1:2 Returns on Average Equity   Year BOC Peoples Bank Commercial Bank HNB Seylan ROAE ROAE ROAE ROAE ROAE Per Cent Per Cent Per Cent Per Cent Per Cent 2007 14.59 20.5 20.63 35.9 13.84 2008 16.13 18.8 17.13 33.6 2.22 2009 12.85 19.7 15.83 28.9 6.2 2010 24.01 26.9 17.87 28.5 10.88 2011 33.74 42.9 20.76 24.1 6.78 (Source: Annual Reports year 2007 to 2011) 13. When ROAA and ROAE averaged for the last five years ranks of the banks on both ratios are given below. ROAA ROAE Commercial Bank Hatton National Bank Peoples Bank Peoples Bank Bank of Ceylon Bank of Ceylon Hatton National Bank Commercial Bank Seylan Bank Seylan Bank 14. From the above information it could be seen that two state owned banks has ranked number 2 and 3 in both ROAA and ROAE while a private bank has been the number 1 in ROAA and ROAE. This gives a mixed signal about the profitability of commercial banks in Sri Lanka. RESEARCH PROBLEM 15. According to the indication given in table 1 and further analysis, in terms of major measures in bank profitability, public domestic banks were headed in both measurement and two states banks were maintained second position. Therefore, the research problem for this study is as to why public domestic banks were headed in profitability and how two states banks were maintained second positions and whether it is customer satisfaction of the respective banks. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY 16. Following objectives should be achieved at the end of this research. a. To discover the reasons that is attributed to the higher profits in public domestic commercial banks than the state owned commercial banks in Sri Lanka and, b. To ascertain whether it is due to customer satisfaction of the private commercial banks or any other reason. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 17. Discovering the performance between public domestic commercial banks and the state commercial banks will be more significant to the banking industry as well as to the government to introduce required mechanism to overcome the present problem if any prevailing in states banks in relation to the performances. Almost all financial institutions try to attract customers to them in the business environment .In that case commercial banks try to fulfill their customers needs in most efficient manner. Financial institutions should have the ability to identify the customers needs to give their service in efficient manner. Therefore, they have to provide good products, in good time to achieve profitability in the competitive environment. 18. The end results of this research that of customer satisfaction and commercial banks profitability in state owned and public banking companies will be of great contribution to the field in the academics and for the practitioners. This study will also assess and evaluate the level of satisfaction of the customers in the banking business in Sri Lanka which will contribute to the industry as well as to the policy makers. It will also reveal areas and factors that need consideration for improvement. Further at the end of the research, it is expected to cerate a good knowledge about what customer needs can be gained. With an understanding about the change of customer satisfaction which is depend on nature of customer, the bank can provides suitable services to their own customers. If the customer gets the service continually, the institution may also introduce innovations to their own customers. SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY 19. Scope of this study is to analyze all data that are available to find out as to why state commercial banks are earning less profit than the public domestic commercial banks including service quality and customer satisfaction and non-performing assets if necessary arises. Accordingly, the study will be using both primary and secondary data. In studying service quality and customer satisfaction data have to be collected through a questionnaire but in analysing NPA banks actual information which are recorded in financial statements have to consider. There is no limitation in acquiring secondary data as all information are available in the annual reports of the banks. For the purpose of collecting data there is a limitation of selection of banks. Also, when considering the profit of the banks, only internal factors that are related to the banks leaving external factors as they are beyond the scope of the study.

Antony and Cleopatra Essay examples -- Antony and Cleopatra

As a onetime outpost of Rome, England was greatly influenced by Roman genealogy-ancestors that were god-like (Mars), superhuman (Hercules), fearless warriors (Pompey) who flourished in a patriarchal society (ancient 4). I would like to discuss how Shakespeare uses these characteristics in his Roman tragedy Antony and Cleopatra, as a means to express sixteenth century England's cultural upheavals, one of which was the transformation of masculinity defined in terms of power to masculinity rooted in humanism. Traditionally, the monarch of a country is the "head of the nobility"(Giddens 2) and skilled in weaponry so as to fight side by side with his soldiers. Queen Elizabeth shattered this tradition with her femininity and physical inability to fight a war. As Eugene Giddens points out, Elizabeth was viewed as "conflict-shy". Because she did not "enter war lightly", a great anxiety arose within the military and the English nobility. After all, their major source of honors and promotion in the monarch's court--great military feats--was constricted by the lack of war (Giddens 2). Shakespeare's emphasis on Rome's martial society in Antony and Cleopatra addresses the importance that a martial society held for men in England during Elizabeth's reign. Military prowess defined masculinity by power and honor. Giddens highlights a Francis Bacon quote from "Of the True Greatness of Kingdoms and Estates" in which Bacon writes "No body can be healthful without exercise, neither natural body nor politic: and certainly to a kingdom or estate, a just and honourable war is the true exercise . . . for in a slothful peace, both courages will effeminate and manners corrupt" (Giddens 13). Note the same sentiment for the relationship between war, ... ...age and Literature 15 (1990): 79-107. Carducci, Jane S. â€Å"Brutus, Cassius, and Caesar in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar; Language and the Roman Male.† Language and Literature 13 (1988): 1-19. Giddens, Eugene. â€Å"Honourable Men: Militancy and Masculinity in Julius Caesar.† Renaissance Forum 5.2 (2001): 34 pars. 6 Oct. 2006. http://www.hull.ac.uk/renforum/v5no2/giddens.htm Shakespeare, William. â€Å" Antony and Cleopatra† The Necessary Shakespeare Second Edition. Ed. David Bevington. New York: Pearson Longman, 2005. 752-800. Vaught, Jennifer. â€Å"Masculinity and Affect in Shakespeare’s Winter’s Tale: Men of Feeling from the Renaissance through the Enlightenment.† 1650-1850: Ideas, Aesthetics, and Inquiries in the Early Modern Era 10 (2004): 305-325. Wofford, Susanne L. ed. Shakespeare’s Late Tragedies A Collection of Critical Essays. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. 1996. Antony and Cleopatra Essay examples -- Antony and Cleopatra As a onetime outpost of Rome, England was greatly influenced by Roman genealogy-ancestors that were god-like (Mars), superhuman (Hercules), fearless warriors (Pompey) who flourished in a patriarchal society (ancient 4). I would like to discuss how Shakespeare uses these characteristics in his Roman tragedy Antony and Cleopatra, as a means to express sixteenth century England's cultural upheavals, one of which was the transformation of masculinity defined in terms of power to masculinity rooted in humanism. Traditionally, the monarch of a country is the "head of the nobility"(Giddens 2) and skilled in weaponry so as to fight side by side with his soldiers. Queen Elizabeth shattered this tradition with her femininity and physical inability to fight a war. As Eugene Giddens points out, Elizabeth was viewed as "conflict-shy". Because she did not "enter war lightly", a great anxiety arose within the military and the English nobility. After all, their major source of honors and promotion in the monarch's court--great military feats--was constricted by the lack of war (Giddens 2). Shakespeare's emphasis on Rome's martial society in Antony and Cleopatra addresses the importance that a martial society held for men in England during Elizabeth's reign. Military prowess defined masculinity by power and honor. Giddens highlights a Francis Bacon quote from "Of the True Greatness of Kingdoms and Estates" in which Bacon writes "No body can be healthful without exercise, neither natural body nor politic: and certainly to a kingdom or estate, a just and honourable war is the true exercise . . . for in a slothful peace, both courages will effeminate and manners corrupt" (Giddens 13). Note the same sentiment for the relationship between war, ... ...age and Literature 15 (1990): 79-107. Carducci, Jane S. â€Å"Brutus, Cassius, and Caesar in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar; Language and the Roman Male.† Language and Literature 13 (1988): 1-19. Giddens, Eugene. â€Å"Honourable Men: Militancy and Masculinity in Julius Caesar.† Renaissance Forum 5.2 (2001): 34 pars. 6 Oct. 2006. http://www.hull.ac.uk/renforum/v5no2/giddens.htm Shakespeare, William. â€Å" Antony and Cleopatra† The Necessary Shakespeare Second Edition. Ed. David Bevington. New York: Pearson Longman, 2005. 752-800. Vaught, Jennifer. â€Å"Masculinity and Affect in Shakespeare’s Winter’s Tale: Men of Feeling from the Renaissance through the Enlightenment.† 1650-1850: Ideas, Aesthetics, and Inquiries in the Early Modern Era 10 (2004): 305-325. Wofford, Susanne L. ed. Shakespeare’s Late Tragedies A Collection of Critical Essays. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. 1996.

The Crucible by Arthur Miller Essay -- The Crucible Salem Witchtrials

The Crucible by Arthur Miller The Crucible is a fictional retelling of events in American history surrounding the Salem witch trials of the seventeenth century, yet is as much a product of the time in which Arthur Miller wrote it, the early 1950s, as it is description of Puritan society. At that particular time in the 1950s, when Arthur Miller wrote the play the American Senator McCarthy who chaired the ‘House Un-American Activities Committee’ was very conscious of communism and feared its influence in America. It stopped authors’ writings being published in fear of them being socialist sympathisers. Miller was fascinated by the Salem Witch Trials and that human beings were capable of such madness. In the 1950s the audience would have seen the play as a parallel between the McCarthy trials and the Salem Trials. A 21st century audience would look at the play from the perspective of needless hysteria and accusations and would be amazed that human nature when put into these situations reacts the way it does in the play. In modern time we are able to appreciate the play without being concerned with the parallels of McCarthyism. Although my selected scene is only three-quarters way through the play it is very conclusive in the way that it shows the ability of the court to accept the condemnations of people looking for vengeance and the girls’ lies throughout the trials. The historical background to the play, although quite old still relates to human life and behaviour. It shows the willingness of human beings to blame anyone but themselves. It enforces the belief that humans are not ready to take responsibility for their actions and would rather find a scapegoat than be righteous. The key scene i... ...willing to do to get her way. Only the girls, Mary and Proctor know to what extent Abigail can manipulate a situation in her favour as well as people. Even when she appeals for help from Danforth they continue to echo her. E.g. Mary: â€Å"Mr. Danforth!† Abigail and the girls: â€Å"Mr. Danforth!† This may be because Abigail does not want Mary to tell Danforth the truth and Abigail’s plot. This therefore prevents Danforth from finding out about Abigail and her manipulation of the other girls. Mary has to show great willpower to oppose Abigail; e.g. â€Å"I have no power.† In the stage directions it shows Mary summoning all her determination from within to stand up to Abigail. In this scene we can see how powerful Miller’s characters can be. Our first impression of Abigail is accurate because she is clearly capable of sending people to death to save herself.

Background Essay -- essays papers

Background Information Warfare is defined as, â€Å" the offensive and defensive use of information and information systems to deny, exploit, corrupt, or destroy, an adversary’s information, information-based processes, information systems, and computer-based networks while protecting one’s own. Such actions are designed to achieve advantages over military or business adversaries† (Goldberg). Cyber-Terrorism is defined as, â€Å"the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives in the worldwide network of computer and/or computer networks that use the TCP/IP network protocols to facilitate data transmission and exchange† (Doyle). The two definitions are not formal and are not the exact definitions of either two terms. The reason for this is that there is no exact definition that constitutes information warfare or cybe r-terrorism. From these definitions above, we can conclude that a cyber-terrorist will use information warfare techniques to reach his goal. For example, if the United States understands the system that operates the scud missiles of Iraq, then through Information Warfare (hacking / cracking) they could make the scud missiles useless. This protects the Untied States pilots on attacks of chemical or biological weapons of mass destruction by reducing the chances of the pilots actually being shot down. Information Warfare has been around since the creation of the NSA. The first machine that deciphered code was created by United States scientists and was calls the Fish. However, the greatest advancement in our technology came when the United States stole the Enigma machine fr... ...Terrorism Introduction. < http://www.survivalguide.com/cyber_terrorism_introduction.htm> [2002, October 16]. Deutch, J. (25, June 1996). Foreign Information Warfare Programs and Capabilities. [2002, Sept12]. Ensor, D. Garrett, M. Smith M., & Williams, D. (February 20, 2001). FBI assesses 'grave' damage from latest spy scandal. < http://www.cnn.com/2001/US/02/20/fbi.spy.impact/> [2002, October 16]. Goldberg, I. (December 2, 2000). Glossary of Information Warfare Terms. < http://www.psycom.net/iwar.2.html> [2002, October 16]. Johnson, D. (2001). Computer Ethics. Prentice Hall, NJ. (November 2001) Cyber Protests Related to the War on Terrorism : The Current Threat. < http://www.nipc.gov/publications/nipcpub/cyberprotests1101.pdf > [2002 September 12].

Fast Food and Free Time Essay

MIt is common for university students to have a semester break in between each semester in a year. It usually lasts for about 3 to 4 months. Consequently, students will feel bored during the semester break because they have nothing to do. In my opinion, university students nowadays do spend their free time wisely because they will find some job to fulfil their semester break before starting their studies, doing a short semester and making small business to earn money for their expenses. Firstly, university students nowadays do spend their free time wisely because during semester break, they will find a job to fulfil their semester break before resuming their studies. Usually, their popular choice would be part time job in fast food outlets such as KFC, McDonald’s and Pizza Hut. By working, they learn the hardships of earning money and at the same time they are doing something beneficial. Besides, they can also use their salary to pay the fees for their next semester and thus they can reduce their parents’ burden. Secondly, university students nowadays do spend their free time wisely because some of students doing short semester for spend their free time in semester break especially for those repeaters, they can finish the repeat subject earlier and have no burden to take the subject again for the next semester. Beside that, repeater students will not taking a long time to finishing their studies and grading earlier. Lastly, university students nowadays do spend their free time wisely because most of them do a small business when semester break. For example they open a stall burger. They can help their family finance and also can pay for their expenses. Moreover they also can get more experience on how to make a business. At the same time, they also can spend some money for their personal saving. So, university students nowadays do spend their free time wisely.

Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw and William Golding’s Lord of the Flies Essay

Compare the ways in which children are portrayed in Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw and William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. How convincing do you find each author’s treatment of evil in relation to his characters? Everyone likes to think of childhood as a symbol of a time of innocence. People tend to look back on their childhood nostalgically, they remember it as carefree and often use the term ‘youth is wasted on the young’ these feelings have stayed with us for centuries and are incredibly deep rooted. These feelings therefore, create widespread outrage when evil becomes apparent in children or is inflicted upon them, For example the murder of James Bulger by ten year olds and also abuse and corruption of children. Children are thought of as vulnerable, when there vulnerability is taken advantage of, especially by another child a question is asked, is childhood innocence a myth? The Victorians were aware of the religious doctrine of original sin, yet they were shocked that there was the suggestion that the two young children in Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw could be evil. Golding presents children with a strong propensity to evil and disorder. Golding’s children are a mixture, from saintly Simon to barbaric Jack. The fact that the two writers have different aims to come of their stories should be taken into consideration. Golding has written a fable, whilst his characters are all boys, and are recognisably boys; they all possess different characters that are intended to represent humanity. They are all individuals, Ralph, Piggy, Simon and Jack but each one can be categorised. On the other hand James has written a ghost story, albeit of an unconventional kind. Also, the two children in The Turn of the Screw are never actually shown from a different point of view from that of the governess, we never see Miles and Flora as wholly rounded individuals we don’t gain access into their thoughts and feelings and therefore could interpret them wrongly. They could be the corrupted accomplices of Peter Quint and Miss Jessel, as the governess believes, or they could be the sexually obsessed fantasies in her head. In Golding’s novel there is not a definite narrator. Golding allows us to know what the boys are thinking and feeling; this is particularly true of Ralph and Simon. When Miles and Flora are first introduced into the novel they are seen through the romantic and idealising vision of the governess and therefore are portrayed to us as ‘innocent and beautiful; they have charm and perfect manners’ Yes, this is because the governess has a romantic imagination and is overwhelmed by her new responsibilities but it also could be because the children’s innocence portrayed in the first chapters of the novel makes their depravity later on seem all the more shocking to the reader as a contrast. When we first meet Golding’s boys however they are portrayed to us far more realistically, Piggy is an excellent example of this as he is the first most down to earth character we meet, you immediately get an image of piggy and the things he says are never questioned in the readers head to be unrealistic or fake about him. This is because his speech and manners aren’t perfect, which is what you would expect in a child. For me both authors treatment of evil in relation to his characters are convincing. James approaches the question of evil by being deliberately inexplicit. We are never actually informed as to what offence Miles was expelled from school ‘I said things’- Miles. Also, in chapter six the governess feels a ‘sudden sickness of disgust’ when she learns from Mrs. Grose that Quint was ‘too free’ with Miles. Again we don’t learn exactly what this means; it could refer to some sort of sexual abuse. I think this is a convincing and effective way of putting across the evil in the book because the novel seems to gain in power precisely because James refuses to spell things out for the reader. The ghostly apparitions are given a genuinely chilly impact ‘he slowly changed his place, looking at me hard all the while, to the opposite corner of the platform’ through the governess’s reaction the reader is made vividly aware of an atmosphere of evil. For Golding evil is first manifest in the gradual breakdown of order amongst the boys: they neglect things they agreed to do together, such as building shelters; they pick on or shun those who are different, notably piggy and Simon. Roger begins to discover that he enjoys wielding power over others and even inflicting pain; the lure of hunting turns into blood lust; the boys succumb to the fear of the ‘Beast’ and superstition. Simon the visionary is the only boy with the insight to see that evil is a part of Melanie Parkes human nature. The Beast is not an external creature to be feared, but it is inside each one of them. This evil is an enemy of reason and order and wishes to extinguish them. It results in murder, first of Simon, then of Piggy, and finally the boys intend to hunt and kill Ralph. I also find the evil in children implication convincing in Goldings writing as it implies that evil comes from within and is present in everyone, even children. The build up to children murdering each other in this story is convincing and therefore the evil in them is convincing as nothing on the island apart from a dead corpse was there to trigger the evil that came from only them. Overall the two writers manage to deal with ‘evil’ in different but effectively, whilst both stories are of a different genre they both deal with the fact that evil may well be present in children. The children are portrayed differently because evil because apparent them in different ways, in James’s novel through the ghosts and in Golding’s novel through ‘The Beast’ however in both books evil is seen as a force, which consumes and destroys. Miles is destroyed at the end of James’s novel though in ambiguous circumstances. In Golding’s novel, the entire island is turned from a paradise into a raging inferno.

Dissertation Research Design

Sample Dissertation Methodology: Quantitative Survey Strategy1 Research Methodology1.1 IntroductionThis research project has been one of the most thought-provoking and challenging feature of the master’s course. It provides a chance to endorse, simplify, pursue and even explore new facets of one’s research topic. The research approach adopted is an important aspect to increase the rationality of the research according to Cresswell (2007). The research ‘onion’ is a methodology that was developed by Saunders et al (2003).According to the research ‘onion’, as shown in figure 4.1, the entire process is in the form of an onion comprising of various layers. The research philosophy, research approaches, research strategies, time horizons and the data collection method form the different layers of the onion depicting each of the research process. The process involves peeling each layer at a time to reach the centre which is the actual question of the r esearch. For this research philosophy of interpretivism was chosen along with deductive approach and mainly using quantitative techniques for data collection and analysis (Saunders et al., 2009). The chapter details the research process adopted and continues with an explanation of the data collection and data analysis methods employed by the researcher including a justification for the approach and method. The sampling method used by the researcher is discussed and justified and the chapter continues with a commentary of the limitation of the study design. Finally the issues of observer influence are covered as in the ethical approach to the research and a summary of the chapter is presented1.2 The Research Philosophy Research philosophy forms the outermost layer of the research ‘onion’. There are three views based on the way knowledge is developed and corroborated. Individuals or groups rely upon their individual experiences, memories and expectations to derive logic from situations occurring in the society. This logic gets revised over a period of time with new experiences which in turns leads to different interpretations. Therefore it is essential to determine and understand the factors that impact, govern and affect the interpretations of individuals. According to Denzin and Lincoln (2003) interpretivists believe in multiple realities. Hatch and Cuncliffe (2006) have described how interpretivists try to draw meaning from realities and further creat new ones to analyse the different point of views and to validate them against academic literatures. Since the aim is to interpret the thinking of ‘social actors’ and gaining insights using their pointo of views, it cannot be generalised (Saunders et al. 2007). Remenyi et al. (1998) described an interpretivist as one who tries to ascertain the details of the situation with the underlying motive to unearth the working logic behind the situation. Eriksson and Kovalainen (2008) point out a flaw which researchers need to take care of while adopting the interpretivism. They say that because of the closeness of the researcher and the researched, there is a likelihood of a bias in the interpretation. The solution is self-reflection This research attempts to ascertain a relationship, if any, between knowledge management framework in an organisation and the behaviour resulting from the knowledge management practices. This approach adopted by the researcher requires to ‘get close’ to the participants and try and throw light on their acumen of the reality. Thus it can be said that the researcher adopts a interpretivism philosophy.The Research ApproachThe next layer of the research ‘onion’ is the research approach. The design of the research project determines the choice of research approach adopted. If the research involves developing a theory and hypothesis (or hypotheses) and design a research strategy to test the hypotheses then the approach classifies as a deductive approach. On the other hand the inductive approach involves data collection and developing a theory based on the analysis of the data. In an inductive approach a theory follows the data collection where as it is vice versa in case of a deductive approach. According to Saunders et al (2003), researchers in the 20th century criticised the deductive approach stating that deductive approach help establish cause-effect links between specific variable without taking in to account the human interpretation. Saunders et al. (2000) suggest that researcher should be independent of what is being observed, which the deductive approach dictates. Robson (1993) suggests that the deductive approach is a theory testing practice which arises from an established theory or generalisation, and tries to validate the theory in context to specific instances. According to Jashapara (2004) Knowledge Management, the central topic of the research, has been around since ancient Greece and Rome and it further mentions that knowledge management is growing at an exponential growth with a lot of literature available. As Creswell (1994) suggests that a deductive approach would be a better approach in such a scenario. Since the data collection for this research involves online surveys by professionals, time is a valuable commodity. In a deductive approach, data collection is less time consuming and works on a ‘one take’ basis, which is also beneficial for the participant of the survey. Following a deductive approach ensures a highly structured methodology (Giles and Johnson, 1997) and can also be basis for future research adopting an inductive approach.1.3 Research StrategyThe research strategy provides a rough picture about how the research question (s) will be answered. It also specifies the sources for data collection and hindrance s faced throughout the research like data access limitations, time constraints, economical and ethical issues. Saunders et al. (2003) explain that the strategy is concerned with the overall approach you adopt while the tactics involves the details like data collection methods (questionnaire, interviews published data) and analysis methods. There are several strategies that can be employed and they can be classified based on the approach, deductive or inductive, adopted. This research adopts deductive approach. Survey strategy is well suited for this approach. A large amount of data was required to determine the relationship, if any, between the constructs defined in the literature review. According to Saunders et al (2003) and Collins and Hussey (2003) surveys allows data collection and can be addressed to a sizeable audience in a very cost-effective way. Surveys are mostly done in the form of questionnaire, as questionnaire provides standardised data making it easy for comparison. One drawback is the time spent to construct and test a questionnaire. In a survey there is a huge dependence on the participants to answer the questionnaire causing unnecessary delays. There is also a limitation on the number of questions that can be included in the questionnaire. This limitation is from the respondents’ perspective if the researcher wants a high quality of response from the participants. Owing to the nature and amount of size required, statistical analysis of data, time available for the research and for economic reasons the survey strategy has been adopted for this research. Choice of research method According to Saunders et al. (2003) the research methods are in accord with the methods and used for data collection and analysis. Quantitative research is associated with numeric data collection and analysis while, ‘qualitative’ methods are inclined towards non-numeric or data that is gained from inference. However a combined approach can also be adopted as suggested by Tashakori and Teddlie’s (2003). The main advantage is that the researcher can get a different perspective while attempting to answer the research questions and also make more reliable interpretations, ’triangulation’ (Saunders et al. 2009). For this research data was collected via online questionnaire and was statically analysed and represented using graphs. Number crunching methods are generally used in business and management studies. This method is primarily contributed to quantitative analysis. To answer the research question data was also collected from theories and case studies and analysed qualitatively. To present the analysis in a structured manner and articulate the inferences from the theories and statistical analysis could only be done by means of words (Saunders et al., 2009). By making use of qualitative methods the data could be categorized under â€Å"knowledge management environment†, â€Å"organisational knowledge behaviour† and â€Å"Individual knowledge behaviour† and with the aid of narrative an attempt to establish relationships, if any, between them (Saunders et al., 2009, p.516).1.4 Time HorizonsSaunders et al. (2009) suggest that a research can be depicted in a snap look ali ke or can have a diary like perspective. A ‘snapshot’ horizon is termed as a cross sectional whereas the diary perspective is termed as longitudinal. Further Saunders et al (2003) suggest that the time perspective to research (cross-sectional or longitudinal) is independent of the research strategy. Longitudinal research is adopted when change or development that occurs over a period of time is to be studied. Adam and Schvaneveldt (1991) suggest that in longitudinal studies is very useful in studying human behaviours and development. Longitudinal studies do have a limitation when time is a constraint. In cross-sectional research, a certain phenomenon is studied at a particular point in time. This research tries to explore the relationship between organisational environment and its effect on organisational behaviours in the context of Knowledge Management. It is aimed to find the relation at the present time so a cross-sectional study is adopted. According to Easterby-Smith et al. ( 2002) surveys are preferred in cross-sectional studies. However Robson (2002) g=further says that qualitative methods can also be adopted in cross-sectional studies by considering interviews carried out in a short span of time. 1.5 Secondary Data Collection According to Saunders et al. ( 2003) secondary data includes both quantitative and qualitative data. Secondary data is usually used in the form of case studies or survey-based research in management and business research. Saunders et al. (2003) have classified secondary data under documentary data, complied data and survey-based data as shown in figure 3.1 For this research the primary data collection was using online questionnaires. However documentary secondary data was also unsed in conjunction to the primary data. The purpose of making use of secondary data was to explore the existing literature and explore the various facets of knowledge management. Documentary secondary data like books, journals articles were used in this research to define the three constructs explained in chapter 2. Also secondary data was used to explore the literature to define the research question. Books by noted authors and academic journals such as Emerald journals, swetswise e-journals, ebsco host were refereed for the purpose of data collection. The reliability and validity of secondary data relates to the methods by which the data was collected and the source of the data. A quick assessment of the source can ensure validity and reliability of the data. Dochartaigh (2002) suggests the testing of reliability and validity refers to testing the authority and reputation of the source. Articles and papers found in Emerald and Ebscohost are likely to be more reliable and trustworthy which can be inferred from the continued existence of such organisations. Dochartaigh (2002) furthers the point of assessment by looking out for copyright statement.1.6 Research SampleSaunders et al. (2003) differentiated sampling techniques as probability sampling and non-probability sampling based on their generalizability. Probability sampling meant that the research question could be answered and generalized across the target population, based on the responses from the sample size. Time was a constraint owing to the business of the participants who belonged to Knowledge intensive industry, selecting a sampling method was a challenge. According to Easterby-Smith et al. (2002), sampling methods must reduce the amount of data to be collected by focusing on the target population rather than a random sample population. Snowball sampling was selected to ensure that maximum participants could be reached. The research was carried within 7 organisations across 5 countries. The researcher could not personally know so many professional from IT and other knowledge intensive industry, so a few managers was contacted who subsequently forwarded the questionnaire to others with in their respective organisation resulting in to a homogeneous sample (Babbie, 2008). Manager also had to be contacted since all participants could not be addressed directly due company policies restricting external emails. Since the questionnaire was target at the users of knowledge management tools and practices with in the organisation, the researcher requested the managers to forward the questionnaire across the organisation independent of the managerial status. Sample selection was continued till 20 responses from each organisation were received. 140 samples have been considered for this study.1.7 Primary Data collectionQuestionnaire is a form of data collection in which all the respondents are asked the same set of questions in a pre-set order (deVaus, 2002). Robson (2002) suggested that questionnaires are not effective in a descriptive research as it is requires many open ended questions to be answered. All the participants should interpret the questionnaire in the same manner; the data collected can be reliable. If the questionnaire is worded correctly, less effort is required to administer the questionnaire (Jankowicz, 2000). Questionnaire can be classified as shown in the Figure below. The dif ferentiation is based on the level of interaction between the researcher and the respondents. The research has an international orientation to it. The respondents are based in 5 countries and it was not feasible for the researcher to meet each respondent. So a self-administered questionnaire was the most appropriate option. Time and monetary constraint further helped to narrow down the survey to an online questionnaire where the questionnaire was forwarded to the emails. Email offers a better reliability as the respondents would access their own emails and respond to the questionnaire (Witmer et al., 1999). In this case the questionnaire was sent to the managers who further forwarded the emails to their colleagues. In this scenario online questionnaire was a more feasible option because it is easy to forward emails, unauthorised access to emails would be difficult and the responses would go directly to the researcher without them being disclosed or discussed with. The questionnaire has been divided into two parts. The first part consists of information regarding demographics such as organisation location, age, tenure in the organisation and job role. The second part consists of questions related to organization’s knowledge management practices, knowledge behaviour and use of the knowledge. The data required for the research required responses from managerial and non-managerial employees working in a knowledge intensive environment. It was required to create an accurate cause – effect relationship of the KM practices with respect the organisational environment and behaviour of employees. This required honest responses about the KM practices. Appendix shows the questions that were asked to define the relationship amongst the construct defined in the literature review. Likert scale has been used to score each question and score will be given from strongly disagree(1) to strongly agree(5) to. In the questionnaire 1 question has been framed using negation and in a reverse order. Podsakoff et al. (2003) suggest that this should be done to ensure that respondent pay attention while reading the question. All questionnaires were returned within 72 hours. Considering the incentives and time constraints for the respondents the questionnaire was designed so that it does not take more than 8-10 minutes to be answered.1.8 Dota Analysis methodsQualitative and quantitative data has been used in this research. Qualitative data has been used to study the literature about knowledge manangement and define the constructs that for the basis of the research question. Quantitiative data was collected primarily with the help of questionnaire.1 .9 Methodological ReviewSaunders et al. (2003) emphasis on two aspects of data collection: validity and reliability. The validity and reliability of secondary data has been explained in SECTION. Saunders et al. (2007) suggest that in case of a questionnaire pilot testing should be done to ensure the validity of the question and the reliability of the data subsequently collected. The questionnaire used for the survey has been tested on a group, to test the comprehensibility of the content and the logic of the questions. Bell (1999) suggests that a trail run should never be compromised even if time is a constraint. While testing the questionnaire the respondent were asked regarding the time taken to complete, ambiguity of the questions, if any questions caused a uncomfortable feeling or awkward state of mind and the last was the structure. Validating the questionnaire ensures that the response for each question and the motive for the question are the relevant (Saunders et al. 2000). Reliability of the questionnaire depends on the consistency of the response to the same questions. To ensure this the questionnaire must be answered twice by the respondent at differing time (Easterby-Smith, et al. 2002). This may be difficult due time constraints but should be done. Mitchell (1996) suggests that the responses of the questions should be checked for consistency within the subgroup. In this research the questionnaire has been divided in to 4 sections. During the pilot testing the responses where checked for consistency with in each section to ensure the reliability. The results can be generalised to an extent due to the sample size and inferences are gathered based on the statistical analysis. Steps have been taken to ensure the anonymous nature of the questionnaire so that the responses are honest and unbiased.