Transitional Living Program Internship Essay - 2516 Words

My internship placement is a non-profit organization that provides a comprehensive range of programs to address and end intimate partner violence. During the week I split my time between two locations; the main building in downtown Boston, and at an 18-month long transitional living program for young women (ages 15-21) who are either pregnant or parenting. The transitional living program, that I will refer to as ABC, is a house that can accommodate up to 8 moms and 13 children at any given time. The majority of the young women who are currently guests of ABC have been living there for at least 6-8 months, if not longer. Only 2 of the 8 women have moved in within the last 6 months. While acknowledging that each young lady has come to ABC†¦show more content†¦The median household income per year was between $60,000 and $70,000, approximately $10,000 higher than the average household income in Boston . I always find it interesting to walk around a new place in the autumn, when the leaves are changing color and starting to fall; despite the fact that both the side walk and front lawns are littered with giant trees, all of the yards in Gross Point are green, absent of fallen leaves. To me, this suggests that the individuals who live in the neighborhood have the time, energy, and/or money to remove the fallen foliage. Walking around, the area feels residential and I feel very safe. In many ways, the neighborhood is very similar to where I grew up. In the middle of the day the blocks are quiet and not highly trafficked. At 3 pm in the afternoon, they are occupied with kids carrying backpacks; roughly one quarter of the neighborhood is young people under the age of 18 and 5% is under the age of 5 . Until I saw the faces of these adolescents and teens walking home, the best indication that I had available to speculate on the racial composition of the neighborhood were the pictures and products in the window of a hair salon a few blocks away; I assumed that members of the community are predominantly African America, Caribbean, and Latino. In addition, from passing a few individuals on the streets, I also assumed that there are some CaucasiansShow MoreRelatedAn Internship Is Tremendously Beneficial To Applying The1592 Words   |  7 PagesAn internship is tremendously beneficial to applying the acquir ed classroom knowledge to the professional learning experience. During a student’s junior or senior year in undergraduate studies of criminal justice at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, one can pursue an internship within the field. The criminal justice profession contains several career options including law enforcement, corrections, forensic science, homeland security, private security, academia, and legal services. The subfieldRead MoreSocial Work Skills For Beginning Direct Practice1239 Words   |  5 Pageslive in the community. The services that the Waivers provide are service coordination, independent living skills training, structure day programs, substance abuse programs, positive behavioral intervention and support, community integration counseling, home and community support services, environmental modifications, respite care, assistive technology, waiver transportation and community transitional services. The Hickok Center provides some of those servic es to their clients. At the Hickok CenterRead MoreChild Development Essay1163 Words   |  5 Pageslife. As the individual approaches school age, the student can enroll in the FCBDD Early Childhood Education and Family Center. FCBDD supports and hosts the Child Development Council of Franklin County Head Start programs at Early Childhood and the Northeast Center. These pre-school programs assist the participants in gaining/developing skills that will allow them to be mainstreamed in their school. Other partners at the Early Childhood and family center include: Columbus City Schools, YMCA, The OhioRead MoreStudents With Children With Disabilities1612 Words   |  7 Pagescalled a transition IEP which is a major part of a transition plan. A transition plan is a procedure used to link the student with services, agencies, and people that can help the student prepare for their post-secondary expectations in the areas of living, learning, and working. Post-secondary education, sheltered employment and supported employment through on-the-job training opportunities based in the community are three options students with autism have for post-secondary employment training. DuringRead MoreMy Summer At St. Louis, Missouri, Where I Interned At Epworth Children And Family Services2165 Words   |  9 Pagesgo through have a better understanding of their lives. For the duration of my internship, I worked directly with Older Youth Services, specifically with the Drop In Center. I worked Monday through Friday between the hours of 1 pm and 5:30pm. Most days I would come in early and stay late. I wanted to insert myself into the work to receive the best experience possible. During my first couple of weeks of my internship I was shadowing the other staff learning the ropes. I began being introduced toRead MoreProfession Of Social Work As A Career Goal Essay2183 Words   |  9 Pagesdo or who I can help, and it will set me up for my future goal of becoming a licensed clinical social worker. Being my own boss and changing my community is my dream job, opportunity and goal. I am currently on my way with changing my community and living my dream, because I am currently working for a non-profit organization name Samaritan Ministry of Greater Washington. While working with Samaritan Ministry of Greater Washington I am dictated to working five days a week, from 8:45 am to 5:45 pm, whichRead MoreAnalysis Of Mayor Muriel Bowser s Leadership Style1800 Words   |  8 Pages(Associated Press). These are also amongst some of the everyday pressing concerns of residents of Washington DC. Therefore, her leadership style is unique, due to the early influences in her love of living in Washington DC and working alongside of her father and Mayor Fenty with politics (Jaffee, 2014). Many of the qualities of compassion and understanding of the needs of citizens are derived from the sincerity she has witnessed her father provide. Leadership Recommendations: Mayor MurielRead MoreCommunity Needs Assessment : Domestic Violence Among Men1810 Words   |  8 Pagesimpulses. Our second interviewee named John Harris Ph.D.; LMSW specializes in research for a wide variety of oppressed populations. Most of his work in domestic violence has been with female victims, although he has supervised students who conducted internships at CAFV (Center Against Family Violence). The students worked with men who were admitted to the shelter as survivors of domestic violence. An example Harris mentioned was one case of an undocumented male, who experienced sexual, emotional, and legalRead MoreThe Social Work Profession And Career Interests1946 Words   |  8 PagesIntegrative Assignment Introduction My perspective about the social work profession and career interests have been evolving and gaining more depth since I entered the MSW program. I would like to contribute to the betterment of the lives of the disadvantaged or marginalized individuals, and I am confident that graduating from the UTSA MSW program will enable me to apply my knowledge to culturally competent practice. It was my career in teaching that directed me through the years of my professional experienceRead MoreAutism Spectrum Disorder ( Asd ) Essay1758 Words   |  8 Pagesservices which’s to independent skills, living skill, and vocational skills. The amount of support and services in this area are decreased. There is little support on the success of adult individuals in vocational placement. The purpose of this paper is to look at the quality of life domains by Schalock (2000) within the realm of employment. The domains with reported low and high qualities to improve the area and seek long-term empl oyment to meet their needs. Programs such as, Employ-able, which provides

Contract la w Free Essays

Businesses need to plan their affairs relying on the fact that contracts can be enforced In order to malting the web of Interdependent relationships. Contracts are a way of enforcing agreements. One needs to anticipate the future as In thinking what can go right and what can go wrong, cause It allows one to project into the future e. We will write a custom essay sample on Contract la w or any similar topic only for you Order Now G wanting things to work out a certain way in the future, and so a contract can be used to have people do things into the future or protect you from things that can go wrong in the future. It’s not Just a reactive thing but It gives one the possibility of planning Into the future. It has a wealth mastication function also since it is an exchange of goods and services to someone who values them the most such as one values the object In a store more than the money in ones pocket and the store values the money In ones pocket than the object they have in their store (objective and subjective approach egg when determining the value of something). This as such creates wealth in society by moving goods and services to those who value it more. One flaw however is transaction cost such as advertisement cost etc, so contracts do not come for free it takes time and effort. The biggest transaction cost in interact Is legal cost. Efficiency – certainty (structure) – needed for a proper contract. Is there and agreement? – Objective approach is taken, what would a neutral person think looking at the transaction. A Judge does not have to prove fault or negligence the only thing required in a contract case is one agreeing to do one thing in contract but fails to follow that agreement and as such one is entitled to sue the other in breach of contract. No need for fault or intentional wrongdoing. It all flows from agreement, not about fault, it is about agreement and breach of the said agreement. Is it legally enforceable? Some agreements are Just not enforced legally such as two friends making an agreement. Entitled to sue and get a remedy when another person to that contract fails to carry out their part. Contract is important due to the remedy that is given. Remedy – one remedy is being put back in the place you were before the contract was executed, another is where one is put in the expected position meaning the position one would be in had the contract been properly carried out usually wanted by the claimants, as it relates to the defendant one asks how much they have gained as in getting more money but the principle is that one should not gain from reaching a contract, another approach is the moral approach where it is immoral to breach a promise since a contract is where promises are made. Punitive (punishing for wrong performance) is usually non-existent however countries such as the USA suing for punitive damages is available. Contract law takes an expectation approach rather than a reliance approach. Hire someone agrees to pay a fee for their service, they spent some money advertising the event and selling the ticket, performer offered a better deal and so breach the contract by taking the other Job and as such they breached the contract for their original performance and so tickets needed to be refunded. As it relates to reliance approach one can claim money was waste don advertisement and service fee all of which are reliance loss however as it relates to expectation one looks at the money that they could have gained from the ticket selling whilst still taking into consideration the money paid for advertising and service and so one is claiming for the expectation loss for the ticket that could have been sold. Either they person performs what they promise or one is put in the position had he performed it properly. Expectation interest allows one to plan based on the contract. Reliance interest – expectation protect ones ability to rely on a contract. As it relates to reliance loss one has to prove that had he not made the contract with one he would have made the contract with the same benefit from another agreement. Reliance can be used also where the contract is formed in a unfair manner such as duress since one would not want to be put in the position had the contract been carried out one would want to be put in a position before the contract was made. How to cite Contract la w, Papers

Alzheimers Disease Health Promotion Case Study Essay Example For Students

Alzheimers Disease Health Promotion Case Study Essay Running Head: GENDER, CULTURE, AND DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES Alzheimers Disease Health Promotion Case Study Part 2: Gender, Culture, and Developmental Stages February 18,1999 Gender, Culture, and Developmental Stages Introduction This section will discuss the impact of Alzheimers disease on racial, cultural, and gender variables, with the focus being on the various approaches to care of the disease. Developmental stages and tasks will be discussed for both the client and the caregiver. Gender and Culture Alzheimers disease and related dementias affect all races, ethnicities and cultures equally. (Anonymous, 1998) Of people over 65 an estimated 6-10% will be affected by some form of dementia. (Hendrie, 1998) It is only in gender where we see slightly more women than men who are affected by this destructive illness. (Lautenschlager et al., 1996) The only controllable risk factor that is known at this point is cigarette smoking. In a large study in Germany smoking cigarettes doubled the risk of dementia in the older population. (Ott et al., 1998) Alzheimers disease patients can survive for 3-20 or more years. It is not the AD that kills the patient, rather it is diseases of aging and/or inactivity, with pneumonia being the leading cause at 70%. This is followed by heart disease, stroke, and cancer. (Thomas, Starr, Whalley, 1997) Cultural Differences Race, culture, religion and ethnicity all play a part in how we care for our elderly. Each family makes decisions based on background, experience, expectations, knowledge base, and economics. Most people would like to be able to care for their aging parent or spouse with as little disruption to lifestyle as possible. Alzheimers Disease, however, is a full time commitment, not just eight hours a day, but ;24/7;, as the current idiom implies, the patient needs continuous care. Sleep habits are disturbed, wandering is common, medications must be carefully controlled, safety is always important. Home care soon becomes frustrating and exhausting if left to one or two caregivers. When the primary caregiver has his/her own medical needs to see to, is also aged, or is the parent of young children as well, the burden can become overwhelming. In-home care is a possibility as is placement in a live-in facility, but both are expensive alternatives. In California ethnic minorities make up a large part of our population. In the book Culture and Nursing Care: A Pocket Guide, there are characteristics of these groups and generalizations are made about how they care for their elderly. (Lipson, 1996) The following table highlights some of these groups that are represented in the Bay Area. American IndianStatus of ;elder; begins in middle age. Great respect and veneration of elders. Extended family cares for elders. Prefer home care. (Only 10 SNFs on all US reservations.) African AmericanPrefer to keep at home. May want patient to die in hospital since death in a home brings bad luck to the home. ArabExtended family cares for patient. Will seek hospitalization to prevent death. CambodianExtended family performs home care. May attribute memory loss and depression to Khmer Rouge War atrocities. Central AmericansPrefer home care by extended family. Reluctant to place in SNF. May attribute dementia to supernatural or significant life event e.g. death of child or spouse. ChineseExpect home care by extended family. FilipinoExpect home care by extended family. Religion a large part of daily life. HmongHome care by female family members expected. Evil spirits can cause harm, so illness is not spoken of. JapaneseHome care expected by family. Shame associated with mental deterioration. MexicanHome care by extended family. Mental deterioration a sign of weakness. Southeast AsianHome care preferred. Want to die at home with family attending. .ua7762f477fe6d4fadbc197de1e92fe4d , .ua7762f477fe6d4fadbc197de1e92fe4d .postImageUrl , .ua7762f477fe6d4fadbc197de1e92fe4d .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ua7762f477fe6d4fadbc197de1e92fe4d , .ua7762f477fe6d4fadbc197de1e92fe4d:hover , .ua7762f477fe6d4fadbc197de1e92fe4d:visited , .ua7762f477fe6d4fadbc197de1e92fe4d:active { border:0!important; } .ua7762f477fe6d4fadbc197de1e92fe4d .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ua7762f477fe6d4fadbc197de1e92fe4d { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ua7762f477fe6d4fadbc197de1e92fe4d:active , .ua7762f477fe6d4fadbc197de1e92fe4d:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ua7762f477fe6d4fadbc197de1e92fe4d .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ua7762f477fe6d4fadbc197de1e92fe4d .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ua7762f477fe6d4fadbc197de1e92fe4d .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ua7762f477fe6d4fadbc197de1e92fe4d .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ua7762f477fe6d4fadbc197de1e92fe4d:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ua7762f477fe6d4fadbc197de1e92fe4d .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ua7762f477fe6d4fadbc197de1e92fe4d .ua7762f477fe6d4fadbc197de1e92fe4d-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ua7762f477fe6d4fadbc197de1e92fe4d:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: School Systems EssayRussianPrefer home care, but SNF OK if near home and family participates in care. Developmental Stages The task of the older adult according to Erikson is ;ego integrity versus despair;.(Boyd, 1998) At this stage the older individual values independence and self-care, keeping up their own household and maintaining friendships and family ties. Despair comes from losing that independence to illness or economics, and losing friends to infirmity and death. With dementia, independence is lost. The unreliability of short-term memory and confusion makes it difficult to be around the person. and leads to more isolation from friends. Support and comfort come from praising the tasks that can be accomplished and offering frequent reminders of place and time. The primary caregiver for the Alzheimer .

Knowledge Management Essay Sample free essay sample

When the individual acquire it’s foremost interested in cognition as a construct. and so knowledge direction. it was because of the connexions between surveies and the information. information. cognition. and wisdom. Finally that became interested to understatement as I’m by and large either non interested or possessed. and infrequently anyplace in between. Person managed to last the Formula Fifties. the antiphonal Sixties. the Strategic Seventies. and the superb Eightiess to be in the Nanosecond Nineties. and for a clip we thought that it was headed for the Learning Organizational of the following decennary. The misdirection that was fixed up in was a focal point on Knowledge Management non as a agency. but as an terminal in itself. We will write a custom essay sample on Knowledge Management Essay Sample or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Yes. knowledge direction is of import. and I’ll reference grounds why shortly. But knowledge direction should merely be one of many co-operating agencies to an terminal. non the terminal in itself. unless your occupation turns out to be corporate cognition direction manager or main cognition officer. I’m rather certain it will come to this. for in some ways we are inevitable reliable. Now. allow us take an illustration of the companies which are associate with the cause of my indirection and they are besides been associated with in the yesteryear. These companies had adapted TQM or reengineering. non in support of what they were seeking to accomplish. but as terminals in them because they merely didn’t know what they were truly seeking to accomplish. And. since they didn’t know what they were truly seeking to accomplish. the misdirection was really a alleviation. and pursued with a passion and shy it merely didn’t acquire them anyplace in peculiar. What are the of import to cognize about the cognition direction? Mission: What are we seeking to accomplish? Competition: How do we derive a spirited border? Performance: How do we present the consequences? Change: How do we pull off with alteration? So. eventually everything is of import if it helps the organisation ability and capacity to some extent. and besides develops in these four dimensions. Nonaka is the combination of term tacit cognition and expressed cognition. The cardinal to knowledge creative activity lies in the manner it is mobilized and converted through engineering. Harmonizing to Professor Ikujiro Nonaka. cognition creative activity is a gyrating procedure of interactions between explicit and tacit cognition. The interactions between the explicit and tacit cognition lead to the creative activity of new cognition. The combination of the two classs makes it possible to gestate four transition forms. Tacit to tacit communicating( Socialization ) : Takes topographic point between people in meetings or in team treatments. Tacit to explicit communicating( Externalization ) : Articulation among people trough duologue ( e. g. . brainstorming ) . Explicit to explicit communicating( Communication ) : This transmutation stage can be best supported by engineering. Explicit cognition can be easy captured and so distributed/transmitted to worldwide audience. Explicit to tacit communicating( Internalization ) : This implies taking expressed cognition ( e. g. . a study ) and infering new thoughts or taking constructive action. One important end of cognition direction is to make engineering to assist the users to deduce silent cognition from expressed cognition. The theoretical account assumes silent cognition can be transferred through a procedure of socialization into silent cognition in others and that silent cognition can go expressed cognition through a procedure of externalization ( top 2 squares of the theoretical account in Figure 1 ) . The theoretical account besides assumes ( bottom 2 squares ) that expressed cognition can be transferred into silent cognition in others through a procedure of internalization. and that expressed cognition can be transferred to explicit cognition in others through a procedure of combination. Therefore. the transforming procedures are assumed to be socialization ( mundane chumminess ) . externalization ( formalizing a organic structure of cognition ) . internalization ( interpreting theory into pattern ) and combination ( uniting bing theories ) . However. possibly knowledge transportation in administrations is much more complicated and convoluted than this simple matrix suggests. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DATA. INFORMATION AND KNOWLEDGE. That a aggregation of informations is non information. as Neil indicated. implies that a aggregation of informations for which there is no relation between the pieces of informations is non information. The pieces of informations may stand for information. yet whether or non it is information depends on the apprehension of the one comprehending the information. I would besides be given to state that it depends on the cognition of the translator. but I’m likely acquiring in front of myself. since I haven’t defined cognition. What I will state at this point is that the extent of my apprehension of the aggregation of informations is dependent on the associations I am able to spot within the aggregation. And. the associations I am able to spot are dependent on all the associations I have of all time been able to recognize in the past. Information is rather merely an apprehension of the relationships between pieces of informations. or between pieces of informations and other information. While information entails an apprehension of the dealingss between informations. it by and large does non supply a foundation for why the information is what it is. nor an indicant as to how the information is likely to alter over clip. Information has a inclination to be comparatively inactive in clip and linear in nature. Information is a relationship between informations and. rather merely. is what it is. with great dependance on context for its significance and with small deduction for the hereafter. Beyond relation there is pattern [ bat88 ] . where form is more than merely a relation of dealingss. Pattern embodies both a consistence and completeness of dealingss which. to an extent. creates its ain context. Pattern besides serves as an Archetype [ sen90 ] with both an implied repeatability and predictability. When a form relation exists amidst the information and information. the form has the possible to stand for cognition. It merely becomes cognition. nevertheless. when one is able to recognize and understand the forms and their deductions. The forms stand foring cognition have a inclination to be more self-contextualizing. That is. the form tends. to a great extent. to make its ain context instead than being context dependant to the same extent that information is. A form which represents cognition besides provides. when the form is understood. a high degree of dependability or predictability as to how the form will germinate over clip. for forms are rarely inactive. Patterns which represent cognition have completeness to them that information merely does non incorporate. Wisdom arises when one understands the foundational rules responsible for the forms stand foring cognition being what they are. And wisdom. even more so than cognition. tends to make its ain context. I have a penchant for mentioning to these foundational rules as ageless truths. yet I find people have a inclination to be slightly uncomfortable with this labeling. These foundational rules are cosmopolitan and wholly context independent. Of class. this last statement is kind of a excess word game. for if the rule was context dependant. so it couldn’t be universally true now could it? So. in drumhead the undermentioned associations can moderately be made: Informationrelates to description. definition. or position ( what. who. when. where ) . Cognitioncomprises scheme. pattern. method. or attack ( how ) . Wisdomembodies rule. penetration. moral. or original ( why ) . Now that I have classs I can acquire clasp of. possibly I can calculate out what can be managed. An illustration The best manner to understand difference between the information. information and cognition is an illustration of a bank nest eggs account to demo how informations. information. cognition. and wisdom relate to principal. involvement rate. and involvement. Datas: The Numberss 100 or 5 % . wholly out of context. are merely pieces of informations. Interest. principal. and involvement rate. out of context. are non much more than informations as each has multiple significances which are context dependant. Information: If I set up a bank nest egg history as the footing for context. so involvement. chief. and involvement rate become meaningful in that context with specific readings. Principal is the sum of money. $ 100. in the nest eggs history. Interest rate. 5 % . is the factor used by the bank to calculate involvement on the principal. Cognition: If I put $ 100 in my nest eggs account. and the bank pays 5 % involvement annually. so at the terminal of one twelvemonth the bank will calculate the involvement of $ 5 and add it to my chief and I will hold $ 105 in the bank. This pattern represents cognition. which. when I understand it. allows me to understand how the form will germinate over clip and the consequences it will bring forth. In understanding the form. I know. and what I know is knowledge. If I deposit more money in my history. I will gain more involvement. while if I withdraw money from my history. I will gain less involvement. Wisdom: Geting wisdom out of this is a spot slippery. and is. in fact. founded in systems rules. The rule is that any action which produces a consequence which encourages more of the same action produces an emergent feature called growing. And. nil grows everlastingly for Oklahoman or subsequently growing runs into bounds. If one studied all the single constituents of this form. which represents cognition. they would neer detect the emergent feature of growing. Merely when the form connects. interacts. and evolves over clip. does the rule exhibit the feature of growing. Now. if this cognition is valid. why doesn’t everyone merely become rich by seting money in a nest eggs history and allowing it turn? The reply has to make with the fact that the form described above is merely a little portion of a more luxuriant form which operates over clip. Peoples don’t acquire rich because they either don’t put money in a nest eggs history in the first topographic point. or when they do. in clip. they find things they need or want more than being rich. so they withdraw money. Withdrawing money depletes the principal and later the involvement they earn on that principal. Geting into this any deeper is more of a systems believing exercising than is appropriate to prosecute here. Knowledge web spouses provide development practicians with entree to cutting-edge cognition and information in their Fieldss and across sectors and subjects. They besides facilitate sharing of experience about what works and what doesn’t. These webs typically are established as a consequence of. or take up to. a learning plan or event—although they can stand entirely. They frequently use information and communications engineerings to ease on-going acquisition among people working on similar challenges from different geographical locations without anyone holding to go forth place. They bring together—virtually—communities of pattern in a broad scope of topics supplying electronic treatments and web sites to promote research and disseminate best pattern. Communities of Practice ( CoPs ) as a fact that have been around for many old ages but the term itself was non coined until 1991 when Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger used it in their geographic expedition of Situated Learning ( Lave and Wenger. 1991 ) . Situated acquisition is larning that takes topographic point through working patterns. for illustration. an apprenticeship where an employee learns accomplishments â€Å"on the job† . Lave and Wenger ( 1991 ) saw the acquisition of cognition as a societal procedure where people can take part in communal acquisition at different degrees depending on their degree of authorization or senior status in the group. i. e. whether they are a fledgling to the group or have been a member for a long clip. Central to their impression of a CoP as a agency of geting cognition is the procedure by which a fledgling learns from the group ; they term this procedure Legitimate Peripheral Participation ( LPP ) . COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE TODAY Lave and Wenger’s ( 1991 ) CoPs attracted a batch of attending and bit by bit other research workers and practicians extended the impression of a CoP and applied it in a Knowledge Management ( KM ) context in commercial scenes. Since so much work has been undertaken to detect CoPs. how they work and what kind of specifying features there are. Many definitions have been put frontward – so. in this book you will happen a figure of definitions in the chapters. In this Introduction. we do non mean to seek to make a individual definition that will cover the whole book. Rather we prefer to observe some of the features that might be found in a Bull: What it is about? This represents the peculiar country of activity/body of cognition that the CoP has organized itself about. It is a joint endeavor in every bit much as it is understood and continually renegotiated by its members. How does it work? Peoples become members of a CoP through shared patterns ; they are linked to each other through their engagement in certain common activities. It is common battle that binds members of a CoP together as a societal entity. What has it produced? The members of a CoP construct up an in agreement set of communal resources is over clip. This â€Å"shared repertoire† of resources represents the material hints of the community. Written files can represent a more expressed facet of this common depository although more intangible facets such as processs. policies. rites and specific parlances may besides be included. Common Land The term Common Ground is taken from the work of Clark and Brennan ( 1991 ) . For communicating to take topographic point. certain information must be shared ; this information is called common land. Similarly. for a CoP to work the members need to be sympathetic to the thoughts around which the group is based and will likely hold a common background or portion common a common involvement. Common Purpose/Motivation The CoP members will hold some kind of common end or common intent and it is frequently the instance that the CoP is internally motivated i. e. driven by the members themselves as opposed to some external driver. Development There is frequently some kind of development in a CoP. It may be that the CoP has developed because of a common involvement of a group of people. On the other manus. it may be that the CoP was a officially constituted group that has evolved into a CoP because of the relationships that have developed amongst the members. Relationships This is a cardinal portion of a CoP and is what makes it possible for a squad to go a CoP – as the informal relationships develop so the beginning of legitimation in the group shifts in accent. These relationships are cardinal to the issues of trust and individuality in a CoP. THREE THINGS WHICH I WILL AND I WILL NOT DO AS CHIEF KNOWLEDGEOF MY COMPANY A Chief Knowledge Officer is an organisational leader. responsible for guaranting that the organisation maximizes the value it achieves through â€Å"knowledge† . CKO duties include such things as: That’s rather a nice description. One particular thing about this systems is. that it is an Open Source company. therefore the boundary lines between internal and external communicating frequently do non be. In fact. an Open Source company is merely every bit much about an unfastened communicating as it is about unfastened package. This is really the portion I am most aroused about: to research the potencies of unfastened cognition direction. which includes the systems squad merely every bit much as the developers community. the spouses. etc. In an Open Source ecosystem. cognition direction is really much a joint attempt of all histrions involved and can merely follow a bottom-up attack. As a Knowledge Manager. I would wish to do my organisation as a Knowledge Resource along with the concern operation. The concern operation is prevailing since the being of the organisation. Looking at the possible demands of the organisation a scheme is planned to guarantee being of Knowledge Management. To heighten of cognition within the organisation. there is a necessity of supplying or accommodating Training and Development Strategies. This scheme will alter the mentality of employees by enforcing innovate and originative thought towards constitution of Knowledge Management. Second. by set uping the Social Communication Channels the employee are given an chance to show their thoughts to other employees. This will assist tacit cognition to be transformed into partly expressed cognition. The transformed explicit cognition is combined with invention and originative attack will go more absolute. The above mentioned attacks are gained as a consequence of preparation and development scheme. The developed advanced A ; originative attacks of transforming the cognition are to be stored either on a physical media or digital media. Here the physical media are referred to paper based certification and digital media are referred to electronic devices. Knowledge Management Essay Sample free essay sample It is hard to put to death the Practice of Knowledge Management given by MARA without the corporate committedness of MARA staff members. It requires a high degree of positive mentality and pro-active attack in pull offing to the mark groups. I would wish to show my extreme gratitude to the MARA Human Resource Director. Encik Ibrahim bin Ahmad for the trust given by him and of class to do this undertaking in the line of successful. To MARA Staff Training Institute. Encik Nor Hashimi bin Mahat for given me the opportunity for go toing this class and to put to death this undertaking. I would besides wish to thank the members of JT Frank Academy Sdn Bhd for their cordial reception and helpful in doing my undertaking successful. My particular thanks would decidedly goes to the Chief Knowledge Architect. Dr Frankie Ow for the most best counsel and every bit good to Mr Moi Kok Wah for the forbearance and great journey to the cognition direction. We will write a custom essay sample on Knowledge Management Essay Sample or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page I am so thankful to the members of CIKM and co-workers of ILHAM for their uninterrupted dedication. aid and committedness to allow the successful of POKM in ILHAM. I am certain. by the Grace of Allah. may all our attempts be sincere and the approvals of Allah be upon us. Footing OF REFERENCE The rational of this undertaking is to set up and implement the pattern of cognition direction in ILHAM in order to be an first-class preparation Centre and human capital development in MARA. The purpose is to edify and to raise the capacity for cognition and invention and fostering â€Å"Global Class Mindset† among the rehearsing community members in Human Resource Department. The responsible will takes the rehearsing community members to accomplish important and sustainable public presentation by following 8 cardinal ego driven mentalities and wonts. The internalization of these mentalities and wonts will transform persons. rehearsing community members. squads and organisations to be more self-driven. pro-active. collaborative and invention for invention strength. client reactivity and every bit good operational excellence. The early Practise of Knowledge in MARA Corporate Profile Majlis Amanah Rakyat. The Council of Trust for the Bumiputera or MARA is an bureau under The horizon of the Ministry Of Entrepreneur And Co-operative Development ( MECD ) . Malaysia. It was established as a statutory organic structure on 1st March 1966 by an act of Parliament as a consequence of the First Bumiputera Economic Congress declarations in 1965 to advance the engagement of Bumiputeras. peculiarly those in the rural countries. in commercial and industrial activities. In order to accomplish its aim. MARA provides Bumiputeras with commercial or industrial aid and preparation. Corporate Vision To be an outstanding. autonomous. independent and trusty organisation:? An active accelerator and driving force? A commercial and industrial web Centre? A resource. preparation. research A ; development Centre? A thought organisation Corporate Mission To be the keeper of trust. to raise the position and self-respect of Bumiputera though assorted economic sciences. educational and societal activities. Corporate Aim To make a competitory. sustainable and strong community of Bumiputera enterprisers. particularly those in the rural countries. though encouragement. counsel. preparation and aid to take part in the commercial and industrial activities. COPRORATE DEVELOPMENT To this terminal. MARA has developed a Strategic Plan ( PSM 2006 ) which will function as a beacon to construction our activities for the following 10 old ages until 2015. Our strategic purpose is focused on the â€Å"3K Concepts† . viz. to the development of the k-entrepreneur. the k-worker and set uping MARA as a k-based organisation. The PSM 2006 is a result-oriented action program to convey about alterations within MARA to accomplish three strategic aims. to spread out Bumiputera’s equity in national economic system. to increase the Numberss of competitory Bumiputera’s work force and to set up MARA as a competent and antiphonal organisation. The PSM reinforces MARA mission to set up a Bumiputera Commercial and Industrial Community ( MPPB ) and is aligned to the Third Outline Perspective Plan ( OPP3 ) within the Vision 2020 model. MARA has been in being concurrent with the First Malaysian Plan ( MPI. 1966 – 1970 ) . For about 40 old ages. MARA. together with other authorities bureaus. has been entrusted with the double aims of the New Economic Policy ( NEP ) that was to eliminate poorness and to re-structure the community based on the national integrity policy. The mission is even more relevant today as MARA have yet to accomplish the mark of 30 % Bumiputera-owned equity. MARA is researching new enterprises to foster the entrepreneurial traditions among the Bumiputera so as to ablactate so off fixed-salary civil service occupations. This is appropriate to the MECD’s tagline of Entrepreneurship id the Career of Choice. HUMAN RESOURCE DEPARTMENT OBJECTIVE To guarantee planning and staff enlisting are based on at least 95 % of the demands To program and guarantee that staff development preparation fulfills the competence demands so that 70 % of the MARA staffs can accomplish a minimal mark 80 % in their one-year work assessment To supply installations and public assistance services to benefits all MARA staffs harmonizing to their entitlement MARA STAFF TRAINING OF INSTITUTE OBJECTIVE To develop at least 70 % of the MARA staffs to be more competence and quaity in their occupation and undertaking To upgrade and develop the procedure for staffs developing system to be more systematic and efficiency To develop human capital intelectual accomplishments and expertness in assorted facet to upgrade their services To carry on studies on preparation and development into a dynamic preparation classs To transform human capital to be more positive consequently to public service moralss and spiritual demands To upgrade leading and organisational direction qualities ORGANISATION CHART OF MARA ORGANIZATION CHART OF ILHAM EDUCATION UNITTECHNICAL UNITMANAGEMENT UNITMANAGEMENT SERVICE UNIT EMERGENCE OF KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY AND ITS IMPACT A planetary economic system in which information travels at lightening-fast velocities is an of import factor. In the past 50 old ages. economic systems have changed from labor-oriented. production-valued systems to rational and skill-valued systems. The universe is rehearsing Agriculture Economy back in 1850s. Intense use of specialized cognition thrust people to stregthen a country’s capableness to introduce. adapt and create. Therefore. the revolution of industrial has changed where steam engineering was innovated by James Watt in 1860. After that. Henry Fayol and Federick Taylor introduced Scientific Management. The universe so changed to Production based Economy ( p-economy ) where people directed direction attack has been implemented. In 1977 to 1981. the Production based Economy has transformed the universe into Information Technology when first personal computing machine was introduced and it move from Production based Economy to Knowledge based Economy ( k-economy ) . This paradigm displacement in calculating following informations treating 1945 boulder clay 1965. The present accent on k-economy has been induced mostly by the rapid developments in information and communicating engineerings ( ICT ) in th1990s. Figure 1 shows the economic transmutation of the universe: The move forwards a k-economy is consistent with Malaysia’s aim of developing a strong and resilient economic system driven by high factor productiveness and efficiency. In extra. k-economy will complement and speed up he alter from an input driven to a productiveness driven growing scheme. a major policy push initiated under the Ninth Malaysia Plan. The 5 cardinal Pushs of Ninth Malaysia Plan: Malaysia started to put foundation for the k-economy in the mid 1990s. among others. with the launching of the National IT Agenda ( NITA ) and the Multimedia Super Corridor ( MSC ) . The aims of NITA is to explicate schemes and advance the use and development of IT. the cardinal enabler of k-economy. As the former Prime Minister of Malaysia. Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad ( 2002 ) had really perceptively pointed out: Recognizing the critical demand for cognition as input. Malaysia has embarked on the transmutation from the input-driven growing scheme that has served her well in the yesteryear to one that is progressively driven by cognition in order to accomplish sustainable high growing and development. Knowledge is information that is interpreted and used by determination shapers to run into their ends. There are four constituents of the cognition based economic system development. which is computing machine substructure. infostructure. instruction A ; preparation and research A ; development Technology ( R A ; D ) . These are the features of a cognition based economic system: †¢ Has abundant resources†¢ No location barrier†¢ A extremely educated labour force†¢ A high degree of per capita wealth†¢ Open cosmopolite society attractive to planetary endowment†¢ Well connected to other planetary cognition nodes†¢ A displacement from top-down hierarchal organisational constructions to blandish shared-structures such as webs of semi-autonomous squads†¢ Skills and cognition are cardinal assets†¢ Information and communications engineerings ( ICTs ) are pillars of the knowledge-based ecnomy There are six necessities for Malaysia’s successful operation as a K-based economic system: †¢ A contributing external environment†¢ A condusive domestic environment†¢ Sustained fight†¢ Productive partnership between the populace sector. the private sector and the community †¢ Private sector as the vanguard†¢ Good corporate administration In order to measure Malaysia’s preparedness to go a cognition based economic system. the Knowledge-based Economy Development Index ( KDI ) was developed. It compares Malaysia’s place relation to 21 other states which are chiefly developed. The KDI is derived from the four constituents of the knowledge-based economic system to drive a knowledge-based economic system. In footings of the KDI. Malaysia is in 17th place. as shown in chart below: Several enterprises have already commenced to ease the smooth development of a knowledge-based economic system. Malaysia accelerate its attempts during the Third Outline Perspective Plan ( OPP3 ) period. peculiarly in the country of human resource development ( HRD ) . scientific discipline and engineering ( S A ; T ) . research and development ( R A ; D ) . infostructure and funding to place itself conspicuously in the planetary map of cognition base economic systems. It besides undertake steps to guarantee that all sections of Malayan society have just entree to the new chances. As concluded. in a k-based economic system. human capacity edifice is a pertinent country of concern. In kernel. a k-based economic system propose that human scholars endeavour to seek cognition. physique. generate and use new cognition utilizing tools of acquisition and tools of engineerings. besides known as the difficult accomplishments of acquisition. WHAT IS KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT TO US Before I attend the CIKM at JT Frank Academy. my concern about cognition direction is all about ‘technology thing’ or a ‘computer thing’ . the elements that will speed up with my occupations. In respects of that. I understand a spot of the constructs of k-workers. k-economy. k-based administration and many others but for cognition direction. my head remains of engineering. After a few yearss of go toing the class. I find that cognition direction is more than engineering. In fact. engineering is merely one of the enabler from cognition direction. Knowledge direction is concerned with the full procedure of find and creative activity of cognition. airing of cognition. and the use of cognition so I am strongly driven to accept that cognition is much more than a ‘technology things’ and that elements of it exist in each of my occupations. OVERVIEW OF THE PRACTISE MANAGEMENT Knowledge direction is to get and indentify the right information to the right people at the right clip. and assisting people create cognition and portion and move upon information in ways that will measurably better the public presentation of an administration and its practise of cognition direction. The practise of cognition direction is to accomplish important and sustainable public presentation by following the 8 cardinal self-driven mentalities and wonts. The internalization of these mentalities and wonts transform persons. squads and administrations to be more self-driven. pro-active. collaborative and advanced.

How To Save Time Writing For Your Blog

How To Save Time Writing For Your Blog You cant invent time. No matter how appealing it sounds, it just isnt going to happen. But what if you could at least make a big dent in your efficiency and productivity? What if you really could save time writing for your blog? The number one thing that I hear over and over again from writers, bloggers, and marketers is that they simply  dont have enough time to write and create their content. Just take a look at this comment from blog reader Chuck Reynolds. He doesnt have the time either. See, youre not alone.   The question were all asking is how do I save time writing? I may not be the foremost expert, but here are a few of the strategies that I use to save time and write more content. There Are Only Three Ways To Save Time Not long ago, I hypothesized that there were only three ways to make a team more productive. Even now, I still believe that these are the only three ways to solve most productivity problems. They are: Add more tools (or in some cases people). Put in more time (or use it better). Eliminate something, and hone in on what matters. You can approach each of these differently, but they really are the only options at hand. Heres how you can apply them to your writing. Heres how to invent time and write more content. #contentmarketingOption 1: Add Better Tools One of the first places that we look for productivity improvements is in tools and talent. These are the tangible options with tangible solutions. With more people in seats, you can easily get more things done. The same goes for tools. It is easy to see why more efficient tools would help your productivity. If you can save a few minutes here and there, you can make more time available for writing, and creating the content that you want to be sharing on your blog. Here are five tools that might help your productivity right now: #1 – Evernote One of my all time favorite writing tools is most definitely Evernote. I use it to keep track of all of my blog post ideas and regularly add notes and outlines to my documents as I come up with new ideas or details for posts. With Evernote, I can easily take my blogging brain on the go, so time and location are never a limitation to my writing process. Heres this blog post in Evernote before it was a real thing. The beautiful thing about a notes application like Evernote (or OneNote, which  writer Julie prefers) is that there is nothing formal about them. They are the perfect place to literally dump your ideas on the page without making anything too final. This makes a good digital notes application the perfect option, as long as you have a system for managing these notes. Another option that you may want to consider is WordPress own SimpleNote. #2 – makes it easy to catalog and organize your blog post ideas. Using the drafts menu on the right side of the page, you can easily view blog posts that are currently in draft mode and unscheduled on the calendar. With an integrated search and filter option, post ideas are right at your fingertips. You can easily store and access your draft blogs posts with . *shameless plug, yes* At our office, we use drafts as the second level of idea cataloging. At least once each month we all get into the conference room and share our post ideas that weve created with the team. The good ones get added to the calendar or placed in the draft menu for another time. #3.  StayFocusd StayFocused is a free  Chrome extension that will help you to stay more focused on your writing by restricting the amount of time you spend on distracting websites. For exampleFacebook. You can decide to limit the amount of time that you spend on the site to 15 minutes per day. Once youve used your time up on the site, youre done for the day and have no excuses to not get back to work. How productive is that?   #4   Omm Writer OmmWriter is a desktop (Mac, Windows, or iPad) application that promises to give you your own private writing room where you can close the door behind you to focus on your writing in peace. Basically, it is an application that consumes the entire screen in an effort to block out the normal distractions that crop up in when youre writing. It provides a very pleasing experience, and can even be set to exclude sound on a desktop-based notifications. *Dont forget about WordPresss own full-screen option for writing you blog content. Its free, and even closer to home. #5 Draft Draft is another full-screen writing tools similar to Omm that works directly in your browser. It is worth mentioning because it almost combines the power of both Evernote and Omm together in one package, making it a simple place to store ideas and even write out entire posts. Save Time While Writing With These 5 Productivity-Boosting Tools Beware! New Tools Arent Always Productive It is important to keep in mind that not all tools will make you more productive. In some cases, they can even add more work, more process, and occasionally more down time. In our own office, we once added a new productivity tool to our office that felt more productive, but over time it slowly faded away because managing it was simply too cumbersome. It could do everything, and was unnecessarily complex. Sometimes, simpler tools are better tools. Option 2: Put In More Time The most basic and reliable method for  getting more done is to simply put in more time. This works, sure, but it may not always be sustainable. Most of us are struggling with time management in the first place, and putting in more time can even lead to writer burnout. The alternative is to make your time more efficient by improving your overall writing process, making your use of time much better. Here are few things you can do. #1 – Change When You Write I like to write first thing in the morning, but I didnt always know that these were some of my best hours for creativity.  For years I wrote most of my content during peak office hours, or even in the evening. I had no idea that I was missing out on some of my most creative thinking periods. By switching my normal writing time to the morning, I avoid common distractions and get things done  before the chaos of the day beings. Try experimenting with your own writing schedule. You might be surprised at what a difference a few small changes can make. #2 – Change How You Prepare To Write A while back when I was writing a new blog post every day, I started the habit of reviewing my post topic before I drove into the office. I would simply grab my iPad and open Evernote with my notes for the post that I was scheduled to write for the day. I ended up adding or  clarifying  a few things in my notes before  committing  the topic idea to  memory. Do everything you can to eliminate inefficiency from your writing process. This simple act would set off a chain reaction in my mind. I would spend the entire drive to work  reviewing  the post idea and coming up with new approaches or  additional  content, making double use of that drive time. The result was an efficient use of time, and a much faster writing process when it finally came time to begin writing.   #3 – Adjust Your Writing Process In the beginning, I used to sit down and write everything as if I was crafting the final draft. I would write (and then re-write) each sentence before finally moving on to my next point. This method was slow, and overly cumbersome, costing me precious time. I finally adjusted my writing workflow and began by creating an extremely rough version of post in a matter of a few minutes. This method allowed me to make progress quickly and get a big picture look at the post before I added final edits. As content creators, we can easily get ourselves in a rut where we follow the process without ever evaluating how we are getting there. By simply stepping back for a wider view, we might be able to eliminate inefficiency and save time writing for our blog. Your Writing Process Itself Is Preventing You From Saving Time While WritingOption 3: Hone In On What Matters The most difficult (and probably the most effective) method for saving time is to simply eliminate some things that you are doing. With less stuff to do, there is more time available for the things that matter. By making tough decisions now and cutting out activities or projects that might be otherwise good projects, you are better able to focus more closely on a few key goals and excel at them.

How to Create User Control Components in VB.NET

How to Create User Control Components in VB.NET A user control is just like the Visual Basic supplied controls, such as TextBox or Button, but you can make your own control do whatever you like with your own code. Think of them like bundles of standard controls with custom methods and properties. Whenever you have a group of controls that youre likely to use in more than one place, consider a user control. Note that you can also create web user controls but theyre not the same as web custom controls; this article only covers the creation of user controls for Windows. In more detail, a user control is a VB.NET class. The class Inherits from the Framework UserControl class. The UserControl class gives your control the base functions it needs so it can be treated like the built-in controls. A user control also has a visual interface, much like a VB.NET form that you design in VB.NET. Four Function Calculator Control To demonstrate a user control, were going to create our own four function calculator control (this is what it looks like) that you can drag and drop right onto a form in your project. If you have a financial application where it would be handy to have a custom calculator available, you can add your own code to this one and use it just like a Toolbox control in your projects. With your own calculator control, you could add keys that automatically input a company standard such as a required rate of return, or add the corporate logo to the calculator. Creating a User Control The first step in creating a user control is to program a standard Windows application that does what you need. Although there are some extra steps, its still often easier to program your control first as a standard Windows application than as a user control, since its easier to debug. Once you have your application working, you can copy the code to a user control class and build the user control as a DLL file. These basic steps are the same in all versions since the underlying technology is the same, but the exact procedure is a little different between VB.NET versions. Using Different VB.NET Versions You will have a small problem if you have the VB.NET 1.X Standard Edition. User controls have to be created as DLLs to be used in other projects and this version wont create DLL libraries out of the box. Its a lot more trouble, but you can use the techniques described in this article to learn how to get around this problem. With the more advanced versions, create a new Windows Control Library. Follow this link to see the VB.NET 1.X dialog. From the VB main menu, click Project, then Add User Control. This gives you a form design environment almost identical to the one you use for building standard Windows applications. Add the components and code for your control and customize the properties you need. You can copy and paste from your debugged standard Windows app. In fact, the code for the CalcPad control (more on this below) was copied with no changes.Build your solution to get the DLL file for your control. Remember to change the Configuration to Release before the Build for production use.To move the control to the Toolbox, right-click the Toolbox and select Add/Remove Items...Using the .NET Framework Components tab, browse to the DLL for your component (probably in the bin folder of the Windows Control Library solution). Click Open when the DLL file is selected to move the control to the Toolbox, then choose OK. See this screenshot of CalcPad in the VB.NET 1.1 Toolbox. To check out your work, you can close the Windows Control Library solution and open a standard Windows Application solution. Drag and drop your new CalcPad control and run the project. This illustration shows that it behaves just like the Windows calculator, but its a control in your project. This isnt everything you need to do to move the control into production for other people, but thats another subject! The procedure for building a user control in VB.NET 2005 is almost identical to 1.X. The biggest difference is that instead of right-clicking on the Toolbox and selecting Add/Remove Items, the control is added by selecting Choose Toolbox Items from the Tools menu; the rest of the process is the same. Heres the same component (actually, converted directly from VB.NET 1.1 using the Visual Studio conversion wizard) running in a form in VB.NET 2005. Again, moving this control into production can be an involved process. Usually, that means installing it in the GAC, or Global Assembly Cache.

Divine Roles Across Cultures Matrix Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Divine Roles Across Cultures Matrix - Assignment Example He was among the hateful gods in regard to his father Zeus. He used to get into battles in the company of his fellow gods. In the myth, he is described as having an attractive and charming personality. Huitzilopochtli is a male god of war whom he is shown to have dominated a number of features that are mainly. Huitzilopochtli promised to protect her mother and later on killed her murderers while he was in his mother’s womb. Within the myth of origin, how does this divinity compare with other divinities? How does this divinity interact with or compare to divinities of the same gender and to divinities of the opposite gender? Huitzilopochtli gained importance among Aztec gods at a slow rate. He was ranked similarly to Quetzalcoatl and others. He replaced the classical god of the sun later on in Nahua legends. His darkness struggle needed considerable sacrifices such as human blood to protect the continuous earth’s survival. Ares persisted in the unchanging fight together with his brothers and other Greek gods. He was very aggressive. He did a wonderful role during gods’ war in the Olympians victory. He was competitive despite being misled easily by female goddesses. Huitzilopochtli depended on weapons that need experience and enough skill to become proficient in. These weapons included swords and knives. His age increased at a slower rate although he was not immortal. Ares had powers of superhuman strength, regeneration, superhuman speed and fire manipulation power. He, in particular, had no signature weapon as he was a god of war. He commonly used either a sword or a spear together with a shield. Four-fire breathing horses depicted him towards the battle. . Identify one character from contemporary culture that shares characteristics of each divinity and explains why you chose each character. What real-life ideals does this divine role represent? How attainable are these ideals? Huitzilopochtli is regarded as a hummingbird.

Hospitality Industry Swott Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Hospitality Industry Swott - Essay Example One of the ways is having a reflection at the SWOT analysis of individual hospitality destinations and basing on the analysis for make informed and forecasting decisions for the future. I. Future As noted in the introduction, the agenda for which a lot of people travelled has now changed (Hotel Managers Group, 2011). Today, people travel for business purposes more than for leisure and holiday. As a way of meeting the future challenge and this new changing trend, hospitality agencies has to open itself up more to target major companies who would need their facility for business meetings. If this should happen, the implication to hospitality agencies for the future is that their traditional role of accommodating visitors overnight would have to change. Though the giving out of conference rooms and other facilities for meetings was originally part of the traditional role of hospitality companies, the latter would now have to take the fore front in commanding income and revenue. In order to utilize this changing trend well, managers are admonished to focus more attention on making their meeting outlets, receptions and services more improved and advanced. Even though people travel less for tourism purposes of late, patronage of leisure activities such as the use of casinos keep rising (McCain, 2008). Because of this, hotel managers are advised to consider as future innovation, the need to incorporate the operation of casinos into their services. This is because once casinos are added there will not be the need to attract only foreign visitors but domestic users as well. It would also make the overall functionality of the hospitality facilities expanded (Knowles, 2009). Knowing what the future would hold for their company if they invested more in casinos, it was reported that â€Å"Asia’s third largest casino company is paying $236 million for the 14 acres of waterfront land surrounding The Miami Herald† (Miami Herald, 2011). Other hospitality companies are admonished to make such moves for the future of their businesses. II. SWOT Strength A major strength for the hospitality industry is that it represents a very large portion of the American labor force. For instance there are figures like 12.7 employed workers in restaurants, 50,000 operating hotels, over 4.6 million hotel rooms and 1.8 millions employees in lodging industry (NDSU Fact sheet index, 2011). The implication of these statistics to insiders of the hospitality industry is that they can always have readily available human resources to take up duties. It is recommended that as rapidly as possible, the human resources be given needed training and upgrading that will make advanced human capital for the merging markets of tomorrow. Weakness Ironically, the weakness of the hospitality industry is directly associated with its strength. Unfortunately, even though the industry employs a lot of human resource, the pay for the industry is relatively low. This situation creates e mployee turnover, which eventually affects the successful management of businesses. There is however a way out to this. It is

A View from the Bridge Essay Example for Free

A View from the Bridge Essay Eddie Carbone, the protagonist of the play, is in many ways a tragic hero and like all tragic heroes has a fatal flaw. Eddie’s harmatia is his incestuous feelings for Catherine. Arthur Miller has used the character of Eddie as an everyman perhaps to show that any person can make mistakes with ones feelings. Through the character of Eddie we witness the downfall of a decent man who loses control of his actions.  In the early stages of the play, we see Eddie over protective of Catherine but possibly in a paternal way when he says ‘I don’t like the looks they’re giving youheads are turning like windmills’ although it is quite normal for a father to protect his daughter Eddie’s problem is really with how the men are looking at Catherine rather than her well beings. The reader is also made aware that Eddie has made a lot of sacrifices for Catherine ‘I took out my own mouth to give it to her’ clearly when it comes to his family Eddie puts other people before himself this is also evident as he allows Marco and Rodolfo, people he has never met before, to stay illegally at his home. Later in the play there are clues about his true feelings for example when Catherine lights Eddie’s cigar she does it eagerly saying ‘here! I’ll light it for you’ the cigar is a phallic image and hints Eddie’s subconscious desire for Catherine as it gives him unusual pleasure. Eddie is unaware of his attraction to Catherine so his feelings are manifested in hatred towards Marco and Rodolfo. Eddie’s dislike for Rodolfo is displayed almost immediately after they arrive as ‘he is coming more and more addressed to Marco only’ this suggests that Eddie has no intentions of getting to know Rodolfo as he feels threatened by him. Miller builds up the aggressive nature of Eddie’s behaviour and also how quickly he establishes how volatile he can be. In the middle of Rodolfo’s song the playwright shows us how unsettled Eddie is when the stage directions indicate that ‘Eddie rises and moves upstage’. When he interrupts Rodolfo he is very sharp. At no point does he use his name but instead calls him ‘kid’. Superficially it seems he is preventing him from singing for his own safety but already the reader is aware that there is something more bubbling under the surface, especially when Miller tells us that Eddie’s face is ‘puffed with trouble’. The shocking actions of Eddie when he kisses both Catherine and Rodolfo shows further evidence of their love for one another as Catherine screams ‘Eddie! Let go, ya hear me! I’ll kill you! Leggo of him’ here we can see that the love between Catherine and Rodolfo is much stronger than that of Eddie and Beatrice, and how it is taking over from Catherine’s affection for Eddie. At the beginning of ‘A View from the Bridge’ Eddie and Beatrice are presented as having a loving and close relationship. It is when in Act 4 Eddie is waiting for outside his apartment for Catherine and Rodolfo to arrive home that Beatrice is blunt with him and says ‘when am I gonna be a wife again, Eddie’ it shows us she doesnt feel like his wife because he is distracted by Catherine, it also suggests they dont sleep together as husband and wife. Beatrice is a good woman and a good wife. She tries to warn Eddie against his feelings for Catherine but it shows us that he cant do anything about them so therefore is basically doomed. At the end, there is reconciliation between Eddie and B when they come together and share their love with Eddies dying words ‘Then why – Oh, B!’ this is Eddies eventual realisation of his love for B. Eddie’s betrayal not only comes a shock to the audience but is incredibly ironic as in his previous dialogue Eddie retold the story of Vinny Bolzano and said to Catherine ‘ you think I’m blowing steam here’ this shows that Eddie thinks its unimaginable for someone to betray their own family. He gives his opinion and says ‘Him? You’ll never see him no more a guy do a thing like that? How’s he gonna show his face? Here Eddie is disgusted even by the consideration of telling on a fellow Italian. It also shows that he feels strongly about the ‘Italian law’ which makes it more surprising when he goes against it as it suggests that his incestuous feelings for Catherine turned him into a complete different person. Miller presents Eddie as a respectable image in the community, a husband and a guardian. Eddie feeling as a jealous lover leads him into conflict with his community. He placed his desires above family responsibilities. His respect and honour meant everything for him , but he was blinded by his love for Catherine, so everything else was forgotten. Eddie dies for, not that of the community values but for his own pride.

Ghost Story of the Landon House Essay examples -- Urban Legends Ghost

Landon House: Urbana, Maryland Urban legends and ghost stories play an important role in society. Supernatural and â€Å"uncanny† events are evident in the folklore of every culture. Stories of the supernatural, such as ghosts and magic, are typically passed down as oral traditions from generation to generation. With the advent of mass media, such as television and the Internet, ghost stories can become easily popularized. The realm of ghost stories and urban legends is divided among skeptics and believers. However, â€Å"the lack of verification in no way diminishes the appeal urban legends have for us,† (Brunvand 2). Whether one believes in ghosts or not, it is not uncommon for some people to blame peculiar happenings on the supernatural. This is not unlike the unexplained chill that goes up you spine or makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck. Regardless whether a ghost story is fantastical or ostensibly based in truth, the overall impact of the story on the listeners depends on t he delivery of the orator. When prompted for a ghost story or urban legend of our town, my girlfriend pointed to the Landon House as a source for several ghost stories and supernatural happenings. I was told this story while driving back from the movie theater at about one A.M. The route back to our homes ironically leads past the Landon House. We both also live approximately one mile from it. As we turned off the highway, onto the deserted back roads, she began the story: For as long as anyone can remember, late at night at the Landon house a white figure of an old woman carrying a candle has been seen walking through the hallways of the second floor. Passersby claim to witness the flicker of a candle in a window long after the fina... ... story and compare it to those that already exist. As any story gets passed along, the minor components will always vary with the stable elements will remaining the same. The symbols in the Landon House ghost story, specifically the old woman, the civil war soldiers, and the dogs, show that our society believes that repeated actions transcend time, that death leaves its mark, and that disturbing the peace of spirits tends to â€Å"awaken† them. Works Cited Brunvand, Jan Harold. The Vanishing Hitchhiker: American Urban Legends & Their Meanings. New York: W. W. Norton, 1981. Cannon, Timothy L., Nancy Whitmore. Ghosts and Legends of Frederick County. Frederick, Maryland: Studio 20 Inc., 1979. Dunne, Patrick. "Ghost Stories Haunt Landon House." The Frederick Newspost 27 Oct. 2005. 6 Apr. 2008 http://www.gazette.net/stories/102705/newmnew200912_31894.shtml.

Business Plan for Small Business Essay

Introduction While food trucks are very popular in the U.S, it seems under the strict by-laws in Ottawa as well as other cities in Canada as the government want to protect its citizens. With a growing demand for food trucks, the City of Ottawa has been forced to loosen restrictions on the mobile eateries, much to the approval of locals as well as chefs trying to make a mark on the culinary environment. In 2012, City Council approved the New Street Food Vending Program to encourage new, convenient and culturally diverse fare on City streets. There are now a total of 61 street food vendors permitted on Ottawa’s streets (32 trucks & 29 carts). In the spring of 2013, there was an addition of 17 new vendors (10 trucks & 7 carts). From oriental cuisine to Mexican treats, seasonal creations to sustainable seafood, these new vendors will complement the existing mix of street foods vendors and satisfy the diverse appetites of residents and tourists alike. According to the Ottawa’s new street food vending program, a food truck cannot be greater than 10 meters in length (33 feet), by 2.6 meters in width (8.5 feet), by 4.3 meters in height (14 feet). Refreshment trucks must: be clean and sanitary all the times be in compliance with size regulations be safe and stable condition and state of good repair have recycling and trash receptacles outside of the unit have a trade name written on both sides of vehicle with letters no smaller than 7cm in height be removed from City streets during non operating hours (11pm – 5:30am) not be left unattended for longer than 30 minutes during operating hours In addition, all licenses and permit holders must: dispose of grease and water in accordance with all laws and regulations ensure trash/recyclables resulting from the vending activity are collected and removed from the vending area before leaving for the day. Street Vending Insurance Information As a condition of being issued a mobile refreshment vehicle or cart license, you are required to obtain and maintain General Commercial Liability Insurance coverage which meets the following requirements: insurance for Public Liability and Property Damage for vehicles with a limit of not less than $2,000,000 per occurrence insurance for Public Liability and Property Damage for carts with a limit of not less than $1,000,000 per occurrence the City of Ottawa is named as an additional insured the policy must contain an endorsement to provide the City with 30 days prior notice of cancellation or change that would diminish coverage A mobile refreshment vehicle or cart license will not be issued until sufficient proof of insurance has been received and approved. Arrange for a vehicle or cart inspection Prepared to schedule for final inspection in time through By-law and Regulatory Services Branch. Contact Officer Jacqueline Mundy at 613 580 2424 EXT 33340 or by e-mail at jacqueline.mundy@ottawa.ca to arrange your on-site inspection. Food service inspection across Canada is generally carried out by these organizations: provincial governments, municipalities and regional health authorities Executive Summary The business is the restaurant/service industry. It is important for us to understand that customers are our top priority, and for this reason our business is entirely devoted to serving their needs There was recently an article in globe and mail about food allergies in Canada: â€Å"It is estimated that 5 to 6 per cent of young children and 3 to 4 per cent of adults suffer from food allergies. Nearly 1 per cent of the population is affected by celiac disease; for them, the consumption of foods containing gluten can lead to long-term complications.† (Galloway, 2012) The general public should not be worried for their health when they go out to enjoy a meal with loved ones, they should not have to concern themselves with counter-active measures every time they dine away from home. The Food Truck is a limited partnership and has both limited and general partners. The Food Truck will strive to provide the highest quality of food and service to their customers. This business idea had been put together by five people from different parts of the world, making a total contribution of $54543. The Food Truck targets a wide variety of markets, people from all parts of the world. Our number one goal is to make customers happy, no matter the cost, so that they feel happy, confident and motivated to recommend us to their friends, family and colleagues The Food Truck specializes in allergy free food. The menu that ‘The Food Truck’ has is all allergy-free products. However, we target all the potential customers but our biggest target market is people with food allergies or intolerance and these individuals are definitely going to love this food. People on limited diets experience challenges finding food that they can enjoy and The Food Truck will provide a simple and convenient dining experience. According to the analysis, a rough sketch of costs and expenses that are going to occur after selling 200 menu items a day will be: Due to the nature of our product, and the service our business provides to the community, our target market can be both broad and focused at the same time. It is broad in the sense that we will be serving the entirety of the Ottawa region on a region-by-region basis, a population that can be narrowed demographically to only an estimate of those people who have a food allergy or intolerance. For the first six months of business operations, we are simply looking to breakeven in terms of profitability. Any extra earned above and beyond our costs can be used to improve or upgrade our business, so that when our pricing objectives change, we can be one step ahead in terms of our ability to offer a better, more inclusive product. As our price objectives increase, we can further use the projected increase in profitability to both upgrade our primary location, and begin planning for  expansion. Based on initial investments by the management team, to create our start-up ownership spread in the business’ shares, we have $20,000 to apply to our beginning costs in this business venture (100 shares x $200/share). This will cover around half of the purchase of a food truck to use (Lagorio, 2010), or the total licensing fees and partial inventory needed to get started. This brings us up short around $60,000-$75,000 to cover our start up costs and first year expenses to ensure our business runs smoothly and has the time to begin showing its own profit. This report will analyze the very crucial information for the allergy food truck business. The information will be divided into different categories for better illustration. We will first discuss how our food truck business is unique and different from other types of food truck business. This report will give each individual or grouped investor better understanding of our unique food truck business and demonstrate great potential and opportunity that the allergy food truck has. And since the funding covers 90% of the start-up cost, it shouldn’t be hard for the owners to easily cover any unexpected expenses that can happen in business. And in case the funding is not granted, we have a backup plan (Plan B). So then we will be looking for other forms of financing, beginning with business loans from banks, and other investors. Manufacturing and Operation Plan The first step in our plan will be getting licensed from the City of Ottawa. Food truck design is also crucial. It’s almost like designing a new kitchen for a new restaurant. Because the food truck is smaller than most of restaurant kitchens, every inch of the space has to be utilized. A designated area for cooking, storing, and serving is needed. Dry goods, paper goods and other perishable items will be stored in the cabinets and cupboards which will be secured while driving. Built-in prep counter will be made of stainless steel and all the hazardous materials will always be kept away from food and serving utensils. Since we only serve specific items in our menu, we’ll use a medium size truck that can give us enough space to prep and serve. The serving window and the kitchen prep area will be made of stainless steel. All the freezers and coolers will be bolted for safety. In summer the ideal places are beaches and the Byward market. This truck will give enough space for employees to do their jobs and will also allow customers to order and get their food with ease. According to my analysis, a rough sketch of costs and expenses that are going to occur after selling 200 menu items in a month will be: Once the menu and business hits the market, the company will expand its business by buying a bigger truck which will have larger kitchen and serving area and where people can enjoy their food in the truck. So basically, it will be a mobile restaurant. Customers will have two choices, either enjoying their food on the roof or take out. The units will be equipped with proper ventilation and electrical outlets. The outside counter will hold sausages, napkins and all stuff like that as shown in first image. An awning over the window will also be handy in case of rain or bad weather (Mealy). The ownership and shares will cover the expenses for the first year and the licensing cost. The government funding will cover the cost of the truck and other expenses that cannot be covered by owners. And in case government funding is not granted, plan B will cover the cost of truck and other expenses. Once the business is up and running, the target is to sell between 7200-8000 items over the year, which means 15-20 items per day on average, which is easily achievable. After selling 7200 items, projected net profit after paying wages are calculated around $35000 which can be divided between the owners. Human Resources Plan The Key members of our business team are Suzanne Crabtree, Brent Grinstead, Phuong Anh Phan, Ding Sun and Amrinder Singh. Each member holds a varying number of shares for the company as detailed below: Name# Shares Held% Ownership Suzanne Crabtree40[40%] Brent Grinstead 30[30%] Phuong Anh Phan10[10%] Amrinder Singh10[10%] Ding Sun10[10%] Phuong Anh Phan graduated from Interior Decorating Program iscurrently completing Small and Medium Enterprise Management Program. Phuong Anh has worked 1 year as a designer at UMA, a design company. After that, 2 years of work experience were completed as an office administrator and designer at Markham Center Realty. Amrinder Singh completed high school in India before deciding to go overseas for higher studies and chose Algonquin College. He has worked as a cashier in a bank in India. In Canada, he has done roofing, worked in warehouses, mac’s as well as security positions. From all of this experience he has learnt how to run a business and things that we should and shouldn’t do. Ding Sun was originally born in China and at the age of fifteen came to Canada. Elementary and middle school was completed in China. High school was completed in Canada. Ding transferred from the University of Ottawa to Algonquin College for post-secondary studies. After an unhappy experience at the University of Ottawa, Ding decided to take business administration with a major in accounting. Ding Sun has worked in a dollar store as a store worker and cashier for one summer also as an assembler for a small factory. Outside of school Ding enjoys listening to music and playing video games. Brent Grinstead has switched educational goals twice in the last five years. Because of this, he has a diploma in Radio Broadcasting, a semester’s worth of pre-design courses, and his current program is Business Administration with a major in Accounting. Through his work in the Radio Broadcasting program, he has learned how to juggle multiple tasks at once. During his time as a radio station manager he was responsible for creating the structure for how the material was played over the air, scheduling students for air time, and both scheduling and approving commercial and music content. Business Administration has helped him learn new ways of looking behind the scenes of the business world, as well as providing many opportunities to gain new skills with those things in mind. He has learned how to do a wide range of new tasks such as writing fund proposals, how to write a variety of business reports, creating and presenting marketing strategies to help existing companies, and learning how to properly present financial statements at the end of fiscal periods. In his varied work experience with a mix of duties, Brent has learned a variety of skills including time management in an office setting, how to manage tasks according to importance, how to deal with the post public, and how client records and receivables were maintained. Suzie Crabtree completed her early education in the gifted program in Ottawa which helped teach her valuable learning and communications skills. After high school she began her post secondary education with three years at Carleton University. When she discovered that it was not the right fit, she transferred over to Algonquin College to complete Business Administration. In terms of work experience, she has worked for the City of Ottawa, the Federal Government, a toy store and McDonald’s. All of these experiences have provided her with exposure to a variety of different tasks. She has an excellent understanding of human resources and how to manage a successful team. She is a great communicator and is able to provide excellent customer service. These work experiences have also allowed her to have an inside look at the finances and other procedures involved in running a business such as inventory and payroll. Before we begin to hire staff for The Food Truck, each member of the management team will need to undergo some training in food allergies and intolerances so that they are better prepared to run the business and help  hire and train new staff. Due to a lack of relevant experience, menu creation and planning will have to be outsourced. As well, outside help will have to be brought in to train staff on new menu items. The Food Truck will require a total of eight (8) employees’ altogether. There will be one (1) full-time Manager, one (1) full-time Assistant Manager, one (1) full-time cook, one (1) full-time cashier, two (2) part-time cooks, and two (2) part-time cashiers. This balance of staff will allow The Food Truck to offer a reasonable range of working hours while still working to control labour costs. The Manager and Assistant Manager will be responsible for all of the day-to-day activities of the business and the business team listed above will oversee the overall running of the business. Our job application for The Food Truck is provided below. We are looking for employees with experience as a cook or cashier depending on the position applied for. Our Manager and Assistant Manager will need to have previous managerial experience in a food-related business. They should possess excellent administrative and analytical skills. They should be planning-oriented, cautious and focused on the short term. Our cooks and cashiers should have some previous experience in their related area and should be open to receiving training related to food allergies and intolerances. Experience is not mandatory and we are willing to train new individuals. Our cashiers must be friendly and outgoing and must possess excellent customer service skills. Experience handling money would be an asset for the cashiers. All individuals must be willing to work as a part of a team and must understand the close quarter’s nature of the food truck business. The cooks should also be friendly in nature since they will be working as a part of a team in a cramped space. All individuals must be responsible and committed to coming to work on time and doing a great job. To evaluate employees there will be periodic performance review sessions. The first review session will be a probationary session and will take place 60 days after hire. This session will determine whether or not the employee has a future with the organization. After the initial probationary session,  performance reviews will occur every 6 months. These performance reviews will allow employees’ to discuss ideas, questions, complaints and job expectations. Employee behaviour and attitudes will also be monitored on a daily basis and discussions regarding performance may take place at any point between review sessions. Wage increases will occur on a yearly basis with a performance review session at the end of the fiscal year. Employees will start off with a competitive wage varying from minimum wage to higher levels based on their experience, training and performance. Employees will be offered bonuses and incentives for working special events and help to attract and retain customers. Marketing Plan The Concept Our product is specifically targeted at people who have an allergy or intolerance to certain foods or food ingredients. We are striving to give them an alternative, healthy, safe option with respect to their needs with regards to these intolerances when they are looking for food options away from home. Because allergies are not a limited condition to a particular age group, the beginnings of our targeting will revolve around the population of Ottawa, from families with young children at home to college students to the elderly, anyone with an allergy or intolerance will fall within the realm of our market. We are looking to target those that are health conscious and looking for an alternative to the regular run-of-the-mill take-out food options in the city. Market Breakdown Due to the nature of our product, and the service our business provides to the community, our target market can be both broad and focused at the same time. It is broad in the sense that we will be serving the entirety of the Ottawa region on a region-by-region basis, a population that can be narrowed demographically to only an estimate of those people who have a food allergy or intolerance. The total population of the city of Ottawa was projected at  roughly 920,178 people for 2011, based on three possible scenarios the city officials examined, and an average taken of the results (City of Ottawa, 2001-13). Taking this number, we can further narrow our market by only targeting those that self-report an allergy or food intolerance, which is roughly 7% of Canadians (Health Canada, 2012). Using this percentage, we can limit our target market to around 64,412 people in the Ottawa region. Now, further, according to a study done by Statistics Canada, roughly a quarter of people in Ontario (26.8%) consume food from a fast food outlet on a regular basis (Garriguet, 2004), which further narrows our potential target market to around 17,262 regular users. The rest of the projected market (the remaining 47,150) can still be sought after as occasional users, but can’t be relied upon for a regular consumer or income base. Advantages and Disadvantages Because we will be operating a food-based business, there are a few advantages and disadvantages to consider, which include the following: Advantages Disadvantages We offer a unique product, and it is the sole product we market, making our niche market fill very focused We have analyzed and are trying to fill a very specific consumer need We can broaden our consumer base by reaching out to people who don’t have allergies, strictly on the premise that our food is a healthier alternative to regular take-out We are able to modify our menu as needed to better represent what our consumers are asking for or looking for in this kind of setting Alternatively, we can modify our menu based on profitability of items, trying new options with more inexpensive ingredients There are a wide range of food providers currently on the market (with some restaurants already offering allergy and intolerance alternatives) Allergy alternatives (making the same dishes with allergy conscious ingredients) can be more expensive to supply Starting up with one location may make it difficult to reach the broadest possible consumer base, until the foundation is reached and the business expands Proximity to other food providers may provide unnecessarily high levels of competition, making it difficult to  make an impact when starting up Environmental Analysis On top of these advantages and disadvantages, there are also a number of other environmental factors to be considered when evaluating our ability to make a strong market entry. Factors such as the competing businesses currently in the market, the legal climate and regulations specific to our business type, the political climate in the city (if relevant to our business), technological progress that may impact our business, the economic stability of the region, and any socio-cultural factors that may influence our target consumers either for or against our offerings. Some of the main points for each of these factors are summarized in the table below: Factor Description/Details Competition Based on a look at the food trucks around Ottawa that have reportedly been open recently (and can be considered our direct competition, due to the nature of business), only one in 22 boasts having gluten-free and vegetarian alternatives (and at least three are strictly dessert/snack style foods) (Street Food App, 2013), which further strengthens our niche, as consumers would need to venture into a restaurant to find other options. As well, 22 food trucks serving all of Ottawa makes it both an obviously lucrative venture, and a rather thinly spread one. Legal There are many regulatory acts in Canada concerning the sale of food, which is understandable, due to the consumable nature of food products, and the ramifications of bad foods. From acts concerning dairy products, to those concerning agriculture, to those that cover the licensing of food sales (Canadian Food Inspection Agency, 2013), all would need to be considered in beginning the start-up plans for our business. Political N/A Economic The average income of an Ottawa family in 2010 was $94,700 (Statistics Canada, 2012), which, when tied into the previous stated market size numbers, we can easily state with confidence that there are around 16,000 targetable families in the Ottawa region with this average income level. In addition, when tying the similar food economy to this, when taking into account that there are only 22 similar businesses open in Ottawa at any given time (most of which don’t offer allergy alternatives), the demand for a product similar to our own is fairly high, with a low supply. Technological The main technological factors that impact our business are any advances in allergy treatment. Elizabeth Landau of CNN reported that new experiments involving gradual exposure to allergens for people with severe allergies to foods such as peanuts has shown promise in increasing the tolerance of these people to the reaction-inducing foods (2010). With time, advances such as this could make allergy-free foods unnecessary, causing our business model to become obsolete. However, there is still no true cure for allergies. Socio-Cultural We are aiming to provide a location where the clientele can feel as though their allergies are understood as allergies and not as preferences (Hadley, 2006). As well, we are providing the assured cleanliness that people with allergies will come to expect, being assured that their food hasn’t come into contact with any risk factors, ensuring their comfort in dining out at our locations. The Plan We are looking to fill a very noticeable gap in the food market of the Ottawa region with a business that provides allergy conscious foods, foods that are provided with the guarantee that they have not come into contact with our individual consumers’ intolerances or allergies. We intend on doing this from a food truck style location, something that can be moved from location to location to better provide for our broadly spaced consumer base. This will also provide us with a higher ease of expanding the business as it begins to gain traction in the community, as we can simply purchase a new truck as the funds become available to better provide for our clientele. Pricing In terms of pricing, upon market entry, we intend on pursuing a penetrative pricing strategy, ensuring our prices fall slightly below the market average in order to encourage consumers to approach our business to satisfy their needs. As our client base increases, we can adopt a more aggressive pricing strategy like status quo to begin to increase our profitability as a business. Projections for this switch will fall around the six month after opening mark, in order to give our business the time it needs to properly establish a presence in both the market and the community it serves. Further down the line, we may adopt an even higher pricing strategy, leaning for towards premium pricing, to ensure we can offer the best product possible to our consumers. As we gain consumer base, and as their individual needs become prevalent, it may become clear that we aren’t equipped to satisfy all of their needs at the current cost point. Increasing our pricing in such a way shouldn’t discourage loyal consumers, but will enable us to better approach a broader, more inclusive menu of products that has the potential to vastly increase and improve our client relations. For the first six months of business operations, we are simply looking to breakeven in terms of profitability. Any extra earned above and beyond our costs can be used to improve or upgrade our business, so that when our pricing objectives change, we can be one step ahead in terms of our ability to offer a better, more inclusive product. As our price objectives increase, we can further use the projected increase in profitability to both upgrade our primary location, and begin planning for expansion. Distribution Our distribution plan is purely a point-of-sale endeavour. Consumers would come to our location, and we would serve them allergy free dishes there. As our business grows, however, we may begin to consider catering opportunities to help businesses with staff lunches and similar events. As well, we could delve into simply catering family events for families looking to be able to meet the needs of relatives, children, and so on who have food allergies or intolerances when planning larger family functions. These ideas would be pursued after a proper evaluation of the business model two or three years  into operations, based on how profitable the business is, where the demand for our product stands, how far our business has been able to expand, and whether we have the resources to pursue a venture such as this in addition to our standard operations. Advertising/Promotion Advertising efforts should be focused in the month prior to opening, for a huge push towards the grand opening of the business. The following outlines some of the standard rates available for advertising in Ottawa and the area: Advertising Method Costs Associated Newspaper Standard advertising with a newspaper such as the Ottawa Citizen ranges up to $60 an ad for their online site (Ottawa Citizen, 2013), something that would be worth considering as the online movement for news and newspapers has been fairly large, as traditional print media has started to decline in popularity. This would make it fairly easy to run an effective newspaper campaign for around or under $500 in the weeks leading up to the opening of our business. Radio Based on a contact at KISS FM in Ottawa, a standard rate for a 30 second radio commercial is $115, and they often offer one free for every one purchased (Tompkins, 2013). Because this is more expensive than newspaper advertising, within the last week before opening, we could run an effective campaign for $1150 (4 commercials per day x 5 days) Word of Mouth Word of mouth advertising is often the most important form that can be used, as people are far more willing to believe and trust what their friends have done or experienced than what an advertisement tells them. Following opening the business, it would be profitable to offer small incentives to the initial wave of consumers in order to encourage them to bring their friends out to the food truck (for example, offering 20% off their next dish if they bring a friend with them). The results of this marketing push can easily be determined through an assessment of weekly revenues when weighed against costs. If weeks go by consecutively where there is minimal or no profits showing, then it would be crucial to reassess the plan and make changes where necessary or able to. Though, when there are significant profits showing in the books, it may be wise at that point to continue as planned, to ensure the plan continues to be an effective means of profit generation. Financial Plan Based on initial investments by the management team, to create our start-up ownership spread in the business’ shares, we have $20,000 to apply to our beginning costs in this business venture (100 shares x $200/share). This will cover around half of the purchase of a food truck to use (Lagorio, 2010), or the total licensing fees and partial inventory needed to get started. This brings us up short around $60,000-$75,000 to cover our start up costs and first year expenses to ensure our business runs smoothly and has the time to begin showing its own profit. Funding we are expecting to receive include small business grants from the Government of Canada. This grant and loan system offers to cover up to 90% of the financing required to get a new small business started (Industry Canada, 2013). However, this funding isn’t guaranteed, so we will be looking for other forms of financing, beginning with business loans from banks, and other investors. According to our operating budgets, our two weeks first year costs will run at around $3,940, which will be more than covered with our projected sales numbers, which allow for peak season in the spring and summer months, and a slow season in the late fall and winter months (when people aren’t out on the street as much and running a food truck becomes costly and slightly impractical). In order to break even, we would have to sell 7200-8000 4,124 meal items over the course of the year, at a cost of $5 per item, or an average of 15-2011 items per day, which is a completely feasible goal to meet. With summer months bringing in more customers than the winter, the overflow would easily balance out those slow months, ensuring our goal was met and likely garnering some profits to put towards expansion and annual costs for our second year of business. And if the target is met, we can easily be able to pay a huge part of our debt or use the money in taking the business to the next level . The total projected yearly net income after paying wages are calculated to be around $35000 which can be divided by owners in their respective shares. Exit Strategy Our food truck concept is offering food alternatives without the reaction–including ingredients. Our service is serving the Ottawa communities from all range of different customers and different cultures as well. We hope to raise awareness of food allergies in the city, and demonstrate our own working solution to combat the shortage of allergy-friendly alternatives in the Ottawa area. As the business grows, we plan to turn our food truck shop into a franchise. According to Ottawa Public Health regulations related to food handling and storage, there are currently no restrictions on the types of food that may be sold on the street. On-street food vendors require a mobile refreshment vehicle business license and designated space permit issued by the City of Ottawa. The total annual fee for truck ranges from $4,703 to $6,748. The breakdown of these fees is as follows: Annual Business License Fee for Trucks: $2,981 6 Month Business License Fee for Trucks: $1,945 Annual Designated Space Permit Fee: Truck (Downtown Core): $3,767 Truck (Outside Core): $1,722 Permits and business licenses are issued annually and expire on May 15th. After the initial issuance of the permit and license, it is required to renew the permit and business license within the renewal period of April 25th to May 15th each year. Furthermore, we are aware of policies relating to food truck business as following: Public health oversight of food truck operations The operation of food trucks in public right-of-ways Policy statements pertaining to mobile food vending Economic development programs applicable to food trucks such as financial incentives, social media/technology tools or training Program for encouraging/promoting innovation in food trucks The Food Truck is a Corporation owned by five members. A Corporation Agreement is included to allocate the profits or losses in any ratio agreed to between the partners. Each partner will consult a separate attorney at the outset, and all members should agree on the set terms and conditions of the corporation. We believe that a food truck is a unique business niche; therefore we come up with a mini business review based on our business strategy, competitive landscape analysis, menu fit to consumer demographics, financial performance, management roles and responsibilities, employee qualifications, and community connection. We hope to expand our business to franchise in the next 3 years. However, we also look in consideration if there is an exit scenario for our business during the period or afterward. Because of this, we are focusing our energy on creating a business that buyers will want. We are working on our profitability, competitive edge, sustainability, scalability and corporate culture. In term of selling or passing on our business, we plan to hire the financial, legal tax and business advisor to help shepherd the sale through. This will prevent us  from stressful, time-consuming process fraught with moving parts and paperwork. Along with the financial, legal tax and business advisor, we will also find a business broker banker in the area. This will help us to set a realistic asking price and assembling the necessary marketing materials for our business. The broker will discreetly contact potential buyers on our behalf. When it comes to risks, we are looking into the matters with close focus to identify the current and future problems for further analysis and desired actions required to close the gap. There are vehicle risks, operation risks, and liability risks. For vehicle risks, the risks include auto accidents, fire, theft, flood, wind damage, hail damage and electrical breakdowns. These risks can be lessened through education and training. A commercial auto insurance coverage will help to mitigate the cost of damage and loss of operational readiness due to the physical structure of our business. For operator risks, we are faced with slips, falls, cuts, burns, smoke inhalation and back injury from all the heavy lifting that is required during the workload of the day. We are aware that our employees are our biggest asset and can also be our biggest liabilities. It is important to have them well trained for their jobs and duties. Worker’s compensation insurance will be added in their working contracts. For liability risks, food trucks pose liabilities to employees in many ways. Not only that they may hurt themselves during work, they are also at risk of food-related illnesses and auto accidents that are somewhat unique to food trucks. We are carefully considering investing in business insurance for liability, spoilage insurance, business automobile insurance and worker’s compensation in order to adequately cover their bases. We have also analyzed our competitive landscape that includes competitive food trucks, restaurants, and food carts in the regions of Ottawa. This will keep us up to date of the marketplace and our competitors. Beside the risks, we are building up our business strategy: Business physical location is the priority pick. We are in the process of choosing our business location. There are some options such as near office complexes, downtown urban areas, along busy roads, recreation destinations. We also cater private and public events if we can get the contract. Business physical design is an eye-catch for the first sight customers. Keeping the  menu simple that customers can read easily Keeping the menu at a degree of flavor familiarity which contain locally grown and allergy free ingredients Charging competitive prices. Budget discounts for bad weather (sales can falls up to 50%) Establishing a regular customer base by providing the same quality food and products Keeping a clean and welcoming business environment Having competent leaders and managers who guide the effort and monitor results Being flexible, with a willingness to re-evaluate based on performance feedback and to make necessary changes throughout the process in order to get the desired results As important as business strategy, marketing techniques are a must in this society of social and network. Using word of mouth Using social media (today’s special, chef tips, social only discounts, online to offline social gatherings), network to advertise our business (email marketing) Investing in business cards Hosting a grand opening event to establish our food truck as a member in the local community Having loyalty program for returning customers (Buy 10 get 1 free) Creating awareness by joining in charity funds Serving for holiday parties We are aware that customer service is the most signification investment that we should pay attention to in our business. We will show people that we love what we do. We will try to maintain a great product for a great price. Bibliography Canadian Food Inspection Agency. (2013, April 26). Acts and Regulations. Retrieved July 10, 2013, from Canadian Food Inspection Agency: http://www.inspection.gc.ca/about-the-cfia/acts-and-regulations/eng/1299846777345/1299847442232 City of Ottawa. (2001-2013). 1.4 Projection Results. Retrieved July 10, 2013, from Ottawa: http://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/get-know-your-city/statistics/14-projection-results City Of Ottawa. (n.d.). New street food vending program. Retrieved from http://ottawa.ca/en/business/business-licenses-applications-and-permits/business-licensing/new-street-food-vending City of Ottawa. (n.d.). Ottawa’s new street food vending program . Retrieved from http://ottawa.ca/sites/ottawa.ca/files/attachments/ottpage/nsf_vend_info_en_0.pdf Garriguet, D. (2004). Overview of Canadians’ Eating Habits. Retrieved July 10, 2013, from Statistics Canada: http://publications.gc.ca/Collection/Statcan/82-620-M/82-620-MIE2006002.pdf EMBO Reports: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1679775/ Hadley, C. (2006, November 11). Food allergies on the rise? Determining the prevalence of food allergies, and how quickly it is increasing, is the first step in tackling the problem. Retrieved July 10, 2013, from Health Canada. (2012, August 22). Food Allergies and Intolerances. Retrieved July 10, 2013, from Health Canada: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/securit/allerg/index-eng.php Industry Canada. (2013, April 2). Canada Small Business Financing Program. Retrieved July 17, 2013, from Industry Canada: http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/csbfp-pfpec.nsf/eng/h_la00007.html Lagorio, C. (2010, May 12). How to Open a (Successful) Food Truck. Retrieved July 17, 2013, from Inc.: http://www.inc.com/guides/2010/05/opening-a-successful-food-truck.html Landau, E. (2010, February 19). ‘Exciting’ advance reported in peanut allergy therapy. Retrieved July 10, 2013, from CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/02/19/aaas.food.allergies/index.html Mealy, L. (n.d.). Food truck design . Retrieved from http://restaurants.about.com/od/restaurantconcepts/a/food_truck_design.htm Ottawa Citizen. (2010-2013). Specs & Guides: Rate Card. Retrieved July 10, 2013, from Ottawa Citizen: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/about-ottawa-citizen/advertising/specs/rate-card.html Statistics Canada. (2012, June 27). Median total income, by family type, by census metropolitan area . Retrieved July 10, 2013, from Government of Canada: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/sum-som/l01/cst01/famil107a-eng.htm Street Food App. (2011-2013). Ottawa Food Trucks. Retrieved July 10, 2013, from Street Food App: http://streetfoodapp.com/ottawa Street food ottawa. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://streetfoodott.com/trucks-2/ Tompkins, J. (2013, May 21). quote (Email communication). Ottawa, ON, Canada.