Options And Corporate Finance Essay Example for Free

Options And Corporate Finance Essay In a perfect world, the stock price will drop by the amount of the â€Å"special one- time† dividend on the ex-dividend date. If we ignore taxes as we do in this mini- case the wealth of the shareholders doesn’t change if the company pays a special one-time dividend or not because it is reflected in the stock price. As we also saw in class that a dividend policy for a company is irrelevant since investors can convert share to cash or create their own homemade dividends payments if they prefer an income stream. In essence, paying the dividend is transferring money from the company to the shareholders but net the wealth of the shareholder stay the same due to a similar drop in the share price, but the value of the company will decrease. 2. The proposal of Jessica could go both ways, it could increase the value of the company or decrease the value, for the simple reason that we don’t have any information about leverage, the amount of debt, capital structure etc. If the company is overleveraged that will result in extra costs of financial distress, which consist of direct, indirect and agency costs. An overleveraged company goes past the optimal point and will decrease in value as you can see from the red line. If this is the case then it would be a good idea to reduce the amount of debt which results in a reduction of costs related to financial distress and invest the money in new facilities to increase the overall value of the company. If the company didn’t reach it equilibrium point than it would be a bad idea to reduce the amount of debt because it will decrease the value of the company due to the tax advantages (tax shield), so it would be better to keep the amount of debt to and maybe even increase the debt to reach the maximum company value. This are two options which can increase or decrease the value of the company. Another point could be that we don’t know about future prospect of the current technology and if there is enough demand, and if they now use their full production capacity. If not the case then it would be a bad idea to upgrade and expand, but it would be better to invest in research for new technology. 3. Nolan is correct in the sense that all three indicators will increase due to share repurchase. It will increase the P/E ratio because there are less shares available and it will reduce the denominator of both ROA and ROE which will result in an increase in both ratios. However, a share repurchase will not have any effect on the value of the company for the reasons we discussed in question 1, which is that the dividend policy is irrelevant to the value of the company and it won’t have any effect on the wealth of shareholders. 4. When a company starts with a dividend policy it gives a signal to the shareholders/investors that they are committed to distribute part of their income to their shareholders. If they would start with regular dividend payments they should be sure that they are able to continue that forever, because a reduction in dividend or if they stop paying dividend at all at a later stage will send a negative signal to the market and shareholders/investors. So, they need to make sure that they have enough cash to keep the dividend policy going. To come back to the question, I would evaluate it regarding the company’s ability to pay the dividend for an infinite time period and I they will have enough cash in the future or generate enough cash in the future to pay the dividends. 5. If the company wants to expand (and it is able to do so) the trade-off is lower dividends to their shareholders than when they are a mature company who has no growth potential than they would pay dividend. The implications of the formula are that the company should make a trade-off/decision between company growth or pay the dividend to its shareholders. To please its shareholders and to maximize the company’s value, the company should deliver the required rate of return which is wanted by the shareholders or deliver a higher return to make the shareholders happy. If the company can have a higher rate of return than wanted by the shareholders it should retain earnings to invest in the growth to increase the rate of return, when this is not possible it should pay the shareholders their dividend to give them their required rate of return. But if the company retain its earnings when the rate of return is lower than wanted by the shareholders it lowers the company’s value .

The Topic Of Tourism In UAE Tourism Essay

The Topic Of Tourism In UAE Tourism Essay The main aim to provide this study on the topic of tourism in UAE is to provide an overview of the condition in the United Arab Emirates. The below paragraphs given are divided into five chapters to study all about tourism in UAE which gives an overall information related with the tourism sector of United Arab Emirates. Chapter 1 is the Introduction which gives basic information about the things which we are going to do in our study. Chapter 2 consists of the Data collection and analysis of the data which tells about the nature of tourist and tourist destination place. Chapter 3 includes approach and methodology which is applied to get the data and Chapter 4 is included to analysis and interpret the data which is collected. At the end Chapter 5 consists of conclusion, recommendations and suggestions for the topic covered. CHAPTER-1 Introduction- INTRODUCTION- The country United Arab Emirates has a unique property that it is governed by the seven self governing sheikhs namely Sharjah, Umm al Qaiwain, Dubai, Ajman, Ras al-Khaimah, Abu Dhabi, Fujairah. As we all know that UAE is the favorite tourist destination around the globe and mostly in Middle East for both leisure travelers and business persons. There has been boost observed in the tourism industry of United Arab Emirates which is basically a result of development or production of different modes of communication. There are many reasons for the favorite tourism destination place of many business person due to crime free environment, traditional Arab hospitality and most importantly highly developed infrastructure. There are many tourist places which are worth admiring which have given boom in the tourism industry. RATIONALE OF THE STUDY- The basic principle to study the tourism sector of the United Arab Emirates is to learn about the destination places and the background of the tourism which indicates start of the tourism sector of the country. The study will be mainly focus on the nature of tourist that is where they prefer to go, number of tourist arriving and leaving and much more. There is comparison with the United States of America and United Kingdom of UAE tourism which can make them think about the situation about how they can cope up with the rising problems in the tourism sector. The most important reason for the base of the study is to remove the negative impacts of the sector. RESEARCH QUESTIONS- There are many questions which arise related with the tourism sector in the United Arab Emirates. Some of them are- What are the elements which contribute to the study of tourism in UAE? Why we are performing study on the tourism sector of United Arab Emirates? What is the position of tourism compared according to the countries like USA and UK? What are the negative impacts on the tourism sector of the United Arab Emirates? What are the famous places which are usually visited by most of the tourists? STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM- The main thing which comes in the way of tourism sector of United Arab Emirates is the comparison between USA and UK which has comparatively larger hub as a tourist place. Some negative impacts can also be counted from the tourism in United Arab Emirates which are stones on the way of success in United Arab Emirates. EXPLANATION OF THE TERMS- The main term which was used in the coming paragraph is Sustainable Tourism which is an industry committed towards maintaining the standard of the tourism industry making less impact on the environment and the local culture. Sustainable tourism cannot be related with the Ecotourism as it ensures that development can bring positive experience in the local people. OBJECTIVE OF STUDY- The main objective behind the study of tourism in United Arab Emirates is to study the deep concept of tourism in Middle East by studying about the incoming and outgoing of the tourists, favorite destination place of the tourists and historical attraction for tourists. There is comparison done between the tourism of countries UK and USA with the tourism sector of UAE. There are various factors which imposes negative factor on the tourism industry of UAE. DELIMITATION OF STUDY- Delimitation of study is basically the study which defines the scope or boundaries of the study. The proposals of development of the tourism sector of the country by the exclusionary and inclusionary decisions among which the choice of objectives and questions, alternative theoretical perspectives and variable interests can be adopted. There are various steps involved in the study which are described in the form of coming paragraphs in our study of tourism sector of United Arab Emirates. SCHEME OF CHAPTERIZATION- There are basically five chapters included in the study of tourism in United Arab Emirates in which first chapter consists of Introduction part which consists of the introduction of the study or issues which we will be going to raise in our further paragraphs. Second Chapter includes the review of literature related with the UAE tourism in which reviewing of international or local studies has been done and implications of review for the present study has been proposed in coming paragraphs. Third Chapter consists of Approach and Methodology which is clear from its name as the approach and method required for performing study. Fourth Chapter is included to make analysis on the data and provide with an interpretation which includes Data collection and analysis and major findings related with the topic. Last chapter consists of Conclusion, Recommendations and suggestions which will help in doing further studies on the tourism sector of United Arab Emirates. Chapter 2- Literature Review- INTRODUCTION- There are various types of studies done on the tourism sector of UAE in which basically we will be discussing about the two main types that are International Study and Local Study. The studies have been done on various factors which affect the tourism industry of the United Arab Emirates. Basically the literature review shows summary of some of the key literature underlying the framework report. The literature review is included as the three supplementary documents in the framework report and the other two are Indicators of Sustainability and Indicators and Sustainable tourism. As according to the sustainable development there is freedom to accept the shades of green in approaching sustainable tourism and based on this approach which holds development of tourism and tourists together and consider satisfaction of operator as central aim to the darker green which carry precautionary principle and concept of carrying features highly (Hunter, 1997). As we have discussed about Sustainable tourism which is taking place in most of the country including United Arab Emirates which means when we combine the term sustainable with the tourism then the latter must take on the social, environmental and economical considerations that are inherent in the former. There are many other factors included under three headings which are described above that is Social, environmental and economical. Butler in 1980 proposed a model of the evolution of development of tourism popularly known as tourist-area life cycle in which he tries to introduce the notion of carrying capacity which means that at any tourist place there is a limit to tourist members beyond which they are damage to the future capability of the area as a tourist attraction. Although tourism carrying capacity is a useful concept in the prevailing view of literature but it helps us to understand the practical and theoretical application of the sustainable tourism. INTERNATIONAL STUDIES- There are various studies being proposed in order to study the concept of tourism in the United Arab Emirates in which according to expert Dubai is the most favorite destination to the attract the foreigners to itself which is one of the seven emirates comprising the United Arab Emirates located on the Persian gulf. Various studies have shown that Dubai is the premier tourist destination place in the whole region which is complemented with the worlds largest man-made harbor by the bustling port industry of Jebel Ali. (Welcome to Dubai Travel guide) The writers have defined the city with innovation at its finest as it is getting much popularity and income from the tourist attraction which comes from real estates, massive infrastructure, breaking of Guinness Records and other activities related to sports, leisure, beaches and many more. However compared to other countries Dubai too comprises of share good travel spots to which most of people unwind and settle down for the time being. Dubai is considered as the important part of the governments strategy to maintain the flow of cash into the emirates from the foreign country. Mainly the tourists arrive in this city for shopping but also to attend other ancient and modern attractions of the country. According to the people, Dubai is basically considered as the shopping capital of the Middle East which draws a large number of shopping tourists from other countries within the region and as far from Europe also. LOCAL STUDY- When we talk about the local study then the main thing which comes into the mind of people is of a month long festival which is known as Dubai Shopping festival which is held during the month of January every year and during this time whole of the Emirates is observed as the shopping mall and additionally to attract the tourist and give rise to tourism this festival brings together folk dances, music shows and art exhibition. According to the localities, Sightseeing is considered as poor second for most of the visitors who basically comes considering Dubai as a shopping paradise. In the boom of economic development in the city like Dubai, various aspects of Dubais old culture overshadowed the former and some of the tourists can be found visiting the places around creek which makes Dubai split into two halves which are known as Bur Dubai and Deira. IMPLICATION OF REVIEW- As we have talked about the Sustainable tourism in the review which basically tells about the factors such as environment, economical and social, this comes into effect when we add tourism with the Sustainable. There are two types of studies done on the tourism sector of the United Arab Emirates which tells about the various factors related with the tourism industry and the places which are famous for the tourist destination. The suggestion for the review to improve the drawbacks which are coming on the way of the tourism of UAE is to improve the judicial procedure and improvement in tourist places should be done. Chapter 3- Approach and Methodology- INTRODUCTION- The approach used for finding the tourism information of the UAE is survey performed on the people of United Arab Emirates. There are various projects being run by the government in order to promote tourism in the country and especially in Dubai which has a mission of comprising of 86 percent of tourism related construction projects all over gulf in the next coming eight years which was reported by a newspaper of the UAE. (Abu Dhabi and dubai to lead the region tourism projects) The approach which is used for determining the information about the tourism sector of the country is to perform survey on the foreign tourist as well as the local tourist as well as performing analysis on the data collected. The nature of data is in the form of number which will be representing the nature of the people and reaction of the people with respect to their attendance to various destination of tourist and basically mostly survey could be performed in the Malls where most of the tourist are found as Dubai is considered as the Shopping destination of the Middle East. Sources of Data is basically aimed at viewing two section which comprises of National people and foreign tourists which are chosen for survey in order to get reaction over the destination places of tourists. Sample are considered as the surveys which are performed on the people which have come to visit the tourist places and the procedure to make survey is to perform survey in the Mall as mostly tourist come for shopping, famous tourist destination places and beaches. Data collection is based on the survey which we got from conducting on the people and analysis is done based on that survey. There are basically findings which are related with the tourism sector of the United Arab Emirates. DATA ANALYSIS- The analysis done through survey is basically used to find out the starting of the tourism industry in the United Arab Emirates, the comparison between the tourism industry of United Arab Emirates and United States of America and United Kingdom. The negative impacts which are coming on the way of tourism in the United Arab Emirates and the suggestion for removing the negative impacts on tourism. There is discussion on the famous and favorite destination places of the United Arab Emirates which is mostly attained by the tourists on coming to the UAE. Mostly the tourism sector is being promoted due to the relaxed and wealthy nature of the Arab city which is also known for its oil fortunes. There is basically overview of the tourism being described through collection of data and analysis done on the data collected. Questionnaire- Do negative impacts affect tourism of the country? Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree Are relation with the USA and UK strong as seen with the perspective of tourism industry? Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree Do you agree with more and more tourist coming to your country? Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree There is major change which can be seen in the infrastructure and maintenance of the tourist destination place. Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree Have you provided any contribution in the welfare and security of the tourists in your country Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree Services provided to the foreign tourist are worth admiring Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree Proper messages and treatment is given to the tourist which are coming across the globe Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree Is there any racial discrimination done in the country with respect to the tourists. Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree Chapter 4- Data Analysis and Interpretation- INTRODUCTION- As we have collected data surveying on various kinds of people which provides their view over the destination places, shopping malls and other heritage sites present. There are major findings on the data collected which represent the view of the survey presented by the people on the tourist places. The comparison between USA and UK and United Arab Emirates which provides the scope of improvement in the tourism sector and positive and negative impacts which are effecting the tourism in the United Arab Emirates. DATA ANALYSIS- The table represents the reaction of people on various kinds of questions asked to them. QUESTION NUMBER STRONGLY AGREE AGREE NEUTRAL DISAGREE STRONGLY DISAGREE Question 1 40 30 15 5 10 Question 2 10 40 20 10 10 Question 3 80 1 1 3 15 Question 4 15 45 5 10 25 Question 5 40 10 5 25 20 Question 6 90 2 1 2 5 Question 7 10 6 5 4 75 Question 8 25 50 10 5 10 As we have collected the data from surveying the people we have found out that the concept of tourism started in the 20th century in United Arab Emirates which is getting raise day by day through the huge infrastructure present in the seven emirates. Abu Dhabi which is capital of UAE is considered as the richest city of its existence which consists of scenic wave front Croniche and the overgenerous Emirates palace hotels which are hard to miss by any tourist and the beauty present in the city takes the capital of the country to the next level. (World guides, 2010) At a cost of US$ 30 million, Abu Dhabi is basically trying to compete with the glitz of Dubai by building the Saadiyat Island which means Island of happiness which comprises of museums, parks, beaches, golf courses which is not scheduled to complete before 2018. There are all kinds of destination place within Abu Dhabi suiting all tastes and ages. The Al Ain Zoo is preferred to spend the afternoon exploring the animal attraction where families and mostly children are used to spend time and the hill fun city amusement park is also famous for its roller coaster ride. The city also offers a village known as Abu Dhabi Heritage Village which offers the history of Abu Dhabi represented in a peculiar manner. There is much history present inside the city of Abu Dhabi and home to innumerable impressive sites in which most famous is White fort which is considered as home of many of the citys leaders. The Eastern fort is another citys prominent landmarks and Al Manhal Palace which is just short from the downtown of Abu Dhabi and surrounded by the expanse of parkland. Mostly Dubai and Abu Dhabi is famous for its Shopping where huge malls and festivals are created for attracting the tourists from all over the world. The real estate sector of Dubai also attracts the people from all over the world where separate man-made islands are created for the people at very handsome rates. There are around 24 tourist destination places within Dubai which attracts the tourists which includes five star rating and four star ratings from the government in which some of them are Burj Al-Arab, Bur Dubai Museum, Al Maha Desert Resort and Spa, Mall of the emirates, one and only Royal Mirage Resort, Jumeirah Mosque, Jumeirah Beach hotel, Majlis Ghorfat Um-al-sheef, Bur Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum House. These are the places which are given five star rating which means that it is highly recommended attractions to visit in Dubai. The places such as Deira Al-Ahmadiya School, Bur Heritage and Diving Village, Jumeirah city, Wild Wadi, Deirah Spice Souq, Deira heritage house, De ira gold Souq, Deira Dubai creek golf and yacht club, Oud Metha Wafi city are given four star ratings which is recommended for visiting in Dubai. (Top rated dubai tourist attractions, 2010) MAJOR FINDINGS- The major findings in the study of tourism basically turn our attention towards the relation between the USA and UK and UAE. The tourism sector is basically compared within these countries and the help which is provided by the USA and UK to United Arab Emirates for developing the tourist destination places to attract more and more tourist across the world. As we all know about the United States contribution of $733 million to the United Arab Emirates tourism economy in 2008 in a challenging economy environment through which international tourism remains flexible according to the new Tourism Outlook in United States of America. As to travel in United States the person coming from States has to purchase average amount of $139.69 while an Emirati travelers has to spend around $262 million on their visa branded payment cards which was observed as 49 increment over 2007. United States also analyzed attitudes and intentions of the traveler which was basically based on 11 key source markets. There is decrement in the travelling of US people due to socio-economic climate which is creates inside the country but somewhere it is not affected by the economic environment where 83 percent adjust their international travel plans while 52 percent opt for travelling during off peak season and around 33 percent choose the place where cost is comparative ly less. (US contributed $733 million to UAEs tourism economy in 2008, 2009) There are various positive and negative impacts on the tourism industry of every country but the country here is United Arab Emirates. We all know about the positive impacts which affect the tourism in the positive manner but the negative impacts can be in the form of crime which will affect the tourism. The other thing is about the maintenance of the tourist destination places which gives the first impression of the place. When we talk about the Negative impacts then the primary source of these impacts is environment present in the country as some of the places may be polluted which can be harmful for the tourists as they are not use to that kind of environment. These were some of the negative impacts on the tourism sector of the country as it can affect the position and reputation of the tourism department of the country. DISCUSSION- As we have collected the data from the people at the tourist place which gives their view over the tourist facilities being provided by the government to the people coming from outside. There are well established shopping malls for the tourists which are fully filled with facilities. The relation with USA and UK are also emerging as the main topic for the tourism industry in which various steps has been taken by both the countries to lure the people of both the countries toward each other. The negative impacts of the factor discussed above are tried to be minimized taking efforts towards it which will be helpful in building a strong base for the tourism sector of the United Arab Emirates. CONCLUSION- The conclusion which allows us to take the best move to take our tourism sector to the sky heights is to maintain the tourist places well to attract more and more people towards it. Mainly United Arab Emirates is famous for its shopping festival which should be marketed around the globe which attracts the people to take part in it from other countries. Chapter 5- Summary, Findings, Conclusions and Recommendations SUMMARY: United Arab Emirates is controlled by seven sheikhs and it is the place which is known as favorite tourist destination around the world. This increment of tourism is due to the factors like crime free environment and highly developed infrastructure and there is various worth places due to which tourist industry is at boom. To learn the destination places and the background of the tourism sector of the country is basic principle to study the tourism sector of the United Arab Emirates. The study is about the tourists nature that is their preferences of going, collection about the arrival and leaving of tourists and various other things. There are very much differences in the United States of America and United Kingdom of UAE tourism which makes them think and ways of coping up with the problems in the tourism sector. This is done for removing the impacts of the sector which are negative. Many questions arise which are related with the sector of tourism in the United Arab Emirates like the contributing elements for the study of tourism in UAE? Other important question that is raised is that what is the position of tourism compared according to the countries like USA and UK? In United Arab Emirates, some negative impacts can also be included from the tourism which is bottlenecks on the way of success in United Arab Emirates. The main objective of study of study of tourism in United Arab Emirates is studying the concept of tourism in the Middle East and by studying the incoming and outgoing of the tourists. There is large number of chapters included in the tourism study in United Arab Emirates and these chapters consist of introduction. These chapters also contain the approach and methodology. There are various types of studies and the two major studies are international study and the local study. It is noted that Dubai is considered to maintain the flow of cash. There are drawback suggestions like the improvement of judicial procedure and the improvement in tourist places should be done. Surveys performed on the people of United Arab Emirates are an approach used for finding the information about tourism. The main aim of sources of data is to view two sections which consist of National people and foreign tourists. FINDINGS: After reading all the points about the whole process of tourism, employment, and various other growths in UAE and after doing various surveys in between the local people and the tourists in UAE, it is found that all the programs except a few problems launched by the government are helpful and favoured by both the local people and the tourists. Various programs and schemes like with 2 tickets of adult a free ticket of child is provided during the tourist season which is liked by majority of the tourists and this type of schemes attracts the tourists. When the tourists come to UAE, most of the hotels, bars etc are totally booked and this helps in the employment of various people. When a survey was done recently for the comments of the tourists and the local people of UAE, it was found that about 90% of the people and the tourists were satisfied with the policies of government and the behavior of the local people with the tourists. According to tourists the behavior of the people of UAE is very supportive and there are no problems of crime and cheating. But some of the tourists and the resident people have some problems from the increment in tourism. It is found that one of the major problems that are faced is of environmental pollution like destruction of forest, noise and air pollution which harms the health of the local people of UAE and due to this a little decrement has taken place in the tourism industry in UAE. It is founded that most of the developments in UAE is because of the growth of tourism industry. CONCLUSIONS: From all the discussions above it is concluded that the main reason for the development of UAE is tourism and without tourism UAE would not have been grown as much. From the above discussions about tourism in UAE, we have come to know that tourism is not only the purpose of recreation but it also a source of service. UAE depends heavily on the foreigners travel expenditure as a great source of taxation and income for various enterprises. Therefore in UAE, tourism is a strategy of promoting a particular region with a purpose of increasing commerce through the export of goods and services. In UAE, the tourism provides employment to the people in the form of Hotels bars etc and due to this it is concluded that tourism in UAE increases the standard of living of people and decreases the unemployment. But tourism has some disadvantages in UAE in the form of environmental damage like forest fires, destruction of sand dunes and pollution. This increased pollution disturbs the local residents and this pollution discourages the tourism in future. Though, the government of UAE has launched various programs for the control of the pollution but all these programs were not good enough to control the pollution. The traditional culture of UAE is very unique and very vast but the tourist does not always give respect to the traditional culture which is very sad to hear but it is true. Finally it is concluded that tourism is a very profitable process especially in UAE as development in UAE depends vastly on this industry because there is no requirement of lot of literacy and it yields very much profit with very little investment SUGGESTIONS: There are many advantages of tourism and the tourism in UAE is perfect up to a certain level but there are some drawbacks of tourism in UAE. Some suggestions for the removal of these drawbacks are- first of all the tourism in UAE causes pollution which damages the environment so control measures for pollution like noise and air should be taken by the government like use of CNG more than petrol and diesel. As the tourism provide employment to many people in UAE through bars, hotels, tourist guide etc so to increase the employment more and more hotels and bars should be opened by the government of UAE. Due to high employment the economy of the country increases at a rapid rate which further leads to the growth of UAE. Many factories should be opened by the government of UAE because the tourism in UAE provides indirect employment in terms of workers of the factory that helps in producing goods and services in the economy which helps in meeting the demand of the population in tourism. To promote the tourism in UAE government should give various offers to the tourists like discount on the packages given during the tourist season and large number of packages should be taken out during the festivals in UAE. The main problem in UAE is of security so more police forces should be appointed only for the tourism. More tourism in UAE will lead to more and more development of the country.

Violence in the American Workplace Essay -- Business Management Essays

Violence in the American Workplace The American workplace has become a battle ground. Each year thousands of worker’s fall victim to workplace violence, or are at least threatened with acts of violence. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA): Workplace violence has emerged as an important safety and health issue in today's workplace. It's most extreme form, homicide, is the second leading cause of fatal occupational injury in the United States. Nearly 1,000 workers are murdered, and 1.5 million are assaulted in the workplace each year. The threat of violence in the workplace is a growing phenomena that affects all levels of the work force from taxi drivers to stock traders. According to information provided by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH): Crime, harassment, and internal violence has created a strikingly visible safety and health problem for the workplace. Recent figures from NIOSH and the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that people at work are increasingly exposed to lethal violence. Homicide accounts for 17% of all deaths in the workplace. It was the leading cause of death for women in the workplace in ..... These figures, now well publicized, create a perception that the workplace is not safe. The picture of the angry worker bent on revenge has become the symbol for the sense of betrayal and loss felt by the American worker in the face of the sweeping changes affecting all levels of the workforce. We must now add to this the frightening picture of gas station attendants, store clerks, and taxi drivers who are dying at work in unacceptably high numbers. Although crime statistics are dropping nationally across the board, violence in the workplace... ...o. 8, Pg. 54 - 57, August 1998, American Hospital Publishing, Inc. Fesseden, Ford, et al. "Rampage Killer’s: A Statistical Portrait". New York Times 9 April 20000, pg. 1, col. 1 National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health Web Page; http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/violcont.htm; Current Intelligence Bulletin 57: Violence in the Workplace. Risk Factors and Prevention Strategies. July1996, n.p. National Crime Center for Victims of Crime Infolink Web Page; http://207.222.132.10/infolink/info54.htm. Infolink: Workplace Violence - Employer Information. March 8, 2000, n.p. Occupational Safety and Health Administration Web Page; http://www.osha.gov/oshinfo/priorities/violence.html. n.d., n.p. Robinson, Janet L. "10 Facts Every Employer Should Know About Workplace Violence", Smart Business Supersite. Internet Search Engine: Google.com, n.d., n.p.

General Support for Class Size Essay -- essays papers

General Support for Class Size â€Å"Of course class size is important. You have to find the child before you can teach the child (Archived†¦ 2000).† Though this opinion may seem radical to most people, you can see the underlying theme in the argument. Smaller classes allow students to have more personalized, individual attention from teachers. Many teachers and smaller class size advocates believe that such classes will allow for more constructive group activities, strengthen students’ problem solving and critical thinking skills, and accommodate for a wide range of learning paces. These advocates also believe that a reduced student to teacher ratio will give teachers more time to be innovative and develop new ideas, lead class discussions to further understanding, and give more practice exercises. For parents who want the best education for their children, these proposed effects of small class size make you wonder where the hard evidence is to back them. Project STAR Case studies have been key in generating research information on the effects of smaller class size. Similar results have been attained from studies in Tennessee, California and Wisconsin. Project STAR (Student/Teacher Achievement Ratio) in Tennessee is â€Å"one of the most important educational investigations ever carried out (HEROS, 2001).† In 1985 the Tennessee passed the proper legislation to put into effect a four year class size study of students in grades K-3, using three million state dollars. The study chose a cross section of inner city, suburban and rural schools to participate as experimental and comparison groups. The groups were divided into classrooms with small enrollment (13-17 children), regular enrollment (22-25 children), and regular en... ... The growing case for smaller classes.(2001). American Teacher v.85(no.8), p.2. Retrieved 10/9/01 from WilsonSelect database. This short resource takes a general look at project STAR in Tennessee. It also discusses how to close the racial achievement gap. Study confirms value of small class size.(2001). American Teacher v.85(no.6), p.2. Retrieved10/6/01 from WilsonSelect database. This resource discusses project SAGE. It describes why class size reduction was successful in Wisconsin. Toch, T.(1997). Does class size matter?. U.S. News & World Report v.123, p.22-5. Retrieved 10/9/01 from WilsonSelect database. This periodical discusses whether or not class size matters in achievement. This resource discusses class size in specific cases in which class size matters. It takes a look at Tennessee and California class size reduction initiatives.

Prologue Of History :: essays research papers

Prologue of History Until statehood, Hawaii was ruled economically by a consortium of corporations known as the "Big Five": C. Brewer and Co., sugar, ranching, and chemicals, founded in 1826; Theo. H. Davies & Co., sugar, investments, insurance, and transportation, founded in 1845; Amfac Inc. (originally H. Hackfield Inc.-a German firm that changed its name and ownership during the anti-German sentiment of WW I to American Factors), sugar, insurance, and land development, founded in 1849; Castle and Cooke Inc., (Dole) pineapple, food packing, and land development, founded 1851; and Alexander and Baldwin Inc., shipping, sugar, and pineapple, founded in 1895. This economic oligarchy ruled Hawaii with a velvet glove and a steel grip. With members on all important corporate boards, they controlled all major commerce, including banking, shipping, insurance, hotel development, agriculture, utilities, and wholesale and retail merchandising. Anyone trying to buck the system was ground to dust, finding it suddenly impossible to do business in the islands. The Big Five were made up of the islands' oldest and most well-established haole families; all included bloodlines from Hawaii's own nobility and ali'i. They looked among themselves for suitable husbands and wives, so breaking in from the outside even through marriage was hardly possible. The only time they were successfully challenged prior to statehood was when Sears, Roebuck and Co. opened a store on Oahu. Closing ranks, the Big Five decreed that their steamships would not carry Sears's freight. When Sears threatened to buy its own steamship line, the Big Five relented. In the end, statehood, and more to the point, tourism, broke their oligarchy. After 1960 too much money was at stake for Mainland-based corporations to ignore. Eventually the grip of the Big Five was loosened, but they are still enormously powerful and richer than ever, though these days they don't control everything. Now their power is land. With only five other major landholders, the Big Five control 65 percent of all the privately held land in Hawaii. Why was the 1946 Strike so important? Before 1946, Hawaii's economy, politics and social structures were completely dominated by a corporate elite known as the Big Five (Alexander & Baldwin, American Factors, Castle & Cooke, C. Brewer, & Theo. Davies). The leaders of these factor companies exercised absolute control over Hawaii's plantation workers and the majority of the islands multi-ethnic workforce. The 1946 strike forever changed the balance of power between workers and the plantations. No longer would living and working conditions be set unilaterally by the plantation owners or their parent corporations. Nor was the lesson lost on the workers outside the plantation either. As sugar workers were now successful in

West Side Story

In the context of 1960s, chain gangs and gang wars are prevalent between Latin and White American adolescents. For the reason that the White American adolescents despise and discriminate against the Latin Americans (particularly the Puerto Rican race), the Whites resort to bully the minorities and they even ostracize the Latin Americans by depriving them of their rights to use recreation places like the street’s basketball court, food houses, and the like upon believing that the White Americans are the most superior and the better race than the Latin Americans; and in so doing, the White Americans perceive and believe that should not mingle with those inferior and minority race (such that of the Latin Americans as an example) who were different from them (Brian 2005). Moreover, in this movie directed in 1961 by Jerome Robbins & Robert Wise entitled: West Side Story, the conflict between the two opposing races namely the White and the Latin Americans was further described through presentation of some prevailing scenarios that the Latin Americans unjust encounter and experience with the White Americans. Body The West Side Story is a movie adapted from Broadway’s musicale. It was an adaptation of the infamous Shakespearean play, Romeo and Juliet (UAPI 2009). Starred by Natalie Wood as â€Å"Maria,† Richard Beymer as â€Å"Tony,† and George Chakiris as â€Å"Bernardo,† the rest of supporting characters of the film includes: Russ Tamblyn as â€Å"Riff,† Rita Moreno as â€Å"Anita,† Simon Oakland as â€Å"Lieutenant Schrank,† Ned Glass as whom they call â€Å"Doc,† William Bramley (as the notorious police of the street) named, â€Å"Officer Krupke,† Tucker Smith as â€Å"Ice,† Tony Mordente as â€Å"Action,† Eliot Feld as the â€Å"Baby John,† and lastly, David Winters, as the one who portrayed the character of â€Å"A-Rab (Shulman 1961). † The Plot of the West Side Story The Movie West Side Story was depicted in the life of the citizens of the White and Latin Americans living in the 1950’s in Manhattan streets of the United States. A division was clearly evident as it was created and recognized by the adolescents of the east coast and west coast of Manhattan. The setting begins in the mentioned streets of Manhattan as a self-gratifying and self-centered musical song was sung by the Jets (the name for the White Americans’ gang and clique). Throughout the song sung by the Jets, the Puerto Ricans/Latin American adolescent gang led by Bernardo were discriminated and ostracized. First instance was when a fruit held by one of the Sharks (the name of the Latin adolescent Americans)–it was abruptly grabbed by another member of the Jets without consent and respect to the quiet Latino. Moreover, the Latin Americans/ Puerto Ricans were mostly driven away and out of establishments and public leisure places. It was evident in the entire film that the height of discrimination and prejudice occurred in the late 1950s to early 1960s and it was shown how the Latinos were mostly bullied by the White Americans (Dirks 1961). The setting of the West Side Story is at the basketball court of Manhattan. Even if the scenario in the court, it was obvious that the Latin Americans were discriminated as they were not favored to play in the same court with the White Americans. It was evident however, that there was a rival even in basketball for the two different races. Furthermore, a representative member of the Jets (White American adolescents) vandalized a wall and wrote: â€Å"Sharks stink! Upon catching this adolescent in the act, the Sharks saw what the White American adolescent did and so they chased after him and the riot between the White and the Latin Americans began (Howe 2003). The Sharks (East side) and the Jets (West side) A hot-tempered and authoritative cop was assigned in monitoring the activities of the two distinct groups, The Sharks and Jets. The cop’s name was Officer Krupke, played by the actor William Bramley. Officer Krupke’s major task and obligation is to control and to minimize the rate of crime and therefore maintain peace and order in the streets of Manhattan. Meanwhile, the Jets (West side) were preoccupied in praising themselves with all pride and self-centered egoism. According to the Jets, they walk tall as they consider themselves the kings of the streets in Manhattan. The Jets perceive that the east side, Sharks (the Latin Americans) were a threat to their dream of being the king of the streets, in so doing, the Jets consisting of the White Americans just would not stop throwing mock at the Latinos and drive them away wherever the Jets hang out. Further, the Sharks or the Latin Americans led by Bernardo just kept themselves mum at a time just to keep their group away from trouble. However their threshold of patience was reached at a certain point of them when Bernardo was mocked by the cop, Officer Krupke himself—showing that he was in favor of the White Americans. In this case, Bernardo decided he would stand up for his group and race and they decided to fight in defense of those Jets and other White Americans who interfere with their freedom and right of peace (RC 2008). Upon Bernardo’s (leader of the Sharks in west side) and his group’s implicit decision to fight for their right of freedom, respect, and peace in Manhattan, they resort to fight with the Jets in a dance showdown. From that dance, the difference of the two cultures was shown in terms of their specialties in music genre: the Latinos were good dancers of boogie, salsa, twist, and cha-cha, whereas for the white Americans, they are good dancers but not as good and as creative dancers as the Latin Americans. During the dance showdown, two eyes met as if they were magnetized to notice each other inspite of the numerous Sharks and Jets dancing on the floor. The two love birds were Maria (played by the famous Natalie Wood) and Tony (as portrayed by Richard Beymer). Maria (a Puerto Rican/ Latin American woman) fell in love at first sight with Tony ( a member of the Jets, a white American) during the first dance showdown between the White Americans and the Latin American adolescents. Further, the dance showdown halted as soon as Bernardo (Maria’s brother) noticed the undesirable scene. Bernardo obviously did not want his sister to fall in love with a White American especially with belonging in their opponent Jets (Shulman 1961). In the next scene of the film, the West side Jets claim they have departed the social norm that is why they are anti-social and juvenile delinquents. According to the songs they sing, they need help and they could not be blamed for their behavior since each one of them have their issues and problems in their families. Most of them were misunderstood and belonging in broken family set-up. At the end of their song, they address officer Krupke (RC 2008). The climax of this move is when the conflict between the Jets and the Sharks became intense up to the point that both parties decided to pick a fight and end their rival in duel. ON the other hand, Maria (Bernardo’s sister and Tony’s girlfriend) secretly meet with Tony even she knows that it is dangerous for the both of them. Since Tony was madly in love with Maria, he took the risk and courted Maria. However, Maria requested and pleaded her Tony to try to stop the war between the two groups. Tony, hesitant at first for the difficult request of Maria, agreed to do his best and try to stop the fight as soon as possible (Shulman 1961). The West Side Story: A grand slam receiver of Academy Awards Having been released by the United Artists in 1961, the West side story gained praise and at the same time critiques from the viewers and it also achieved the title of: â€Å"the 2nd highest grossing movie† in 1961. The West side story received a total of ten Academy awards and it achieved several nominations and recognitions in the United States. This award winning movie, West Side Story achieved success in depicting the current existing culture of the Americans (both for the White and Latin Americans) during the 1960’s. The West side story achieved several honors and Academy awards namely for the following categories: for Best Picture, considering Robert Wise is the producer; Best for Supporting Actor played by George Chakiris as â€Å"Bernardo;† Best Supporting Actress for Rita Moreno who portrayed the role of â€Å"Anita;† another Academy award for the film’s Best Art Direction category considering the aspects of the right choice of set color and design, claimed by Victor Gangelin and Boris Leven; Best in Cinematography category: good choice and quality for the film’s color which induces the movie’s theme, claimed by Daniel Fapp; another award of Best in Costume Design for Irene Sharaff; Best in Directing for Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins; Best Academy award in Film Editing for Thomas Stanford; Award for the film’s Original Music Score and of the Musical Picture credited to Johnny Green, Saul Chaplin, Sid Ramin, and Irwin Kostal; and last but not the leas t, the West side story also gained the Academy award Academy for Best Sound as credit to Fred Hynes (Todd-AO SSD) and Gordon Sawyer (Samuel Goldwyn SSD) (Howe 2003). In addition, the West side story achieved further recognitions, awards, and nominations were the result of the cooperation of the cast and those working staff behind the scenes. In 1997, the film was promoted by the United States Library of Congress (USLC) as it has been considered as a film that is being â€Å"culturally significant† and it was chosen to be preserved in the collection of the National Film Registry. Similarly, the West side story achieved further awards and recognition as Best in Writing and Screenplay based on material from another medium, as credited to Mr. Ernest Lehman; another received award by this film is the Academy Award for Brilliant Achievements in the Art of Choreography on Film credit to and for Jerome Robbins (one of the directors of the West side story). Furthermore, the west side story achieved 1998 American Film Institution Recognition (AFI) as rating number 41 out of 100 movies in the United States. In 2002, it also gained American Film Institution Recognition (AFI) as rated number three in the Passions of the United States for 100 years. The songs used in the West side story also top rated the charts especially for the songs: Somewhere (rated number 20 for 100 years), also for the song America (rated number 35 for 100 years), and also including the song, Tonight (rated number 59 for 100 years) consecutively as recorded in 2004 charts. In 2006, it achieved recognition of100 Years of Musicals rating number 2 from AFI and apparently, the West side story achieved the recognition of 100 Years for 100 Movies in its tenth (10th) Anniversary Edition rating number 51 from AFI, as put into account in year 2007 (Howe 2003). The Soundtrack used in the West Side Story In order for a great multi-million dollar winning movie to become possible, the choice of songs as background music for the movie’s soundtrack plays a very important factor in determining the success of the movie. Originally, the West side story was a musical created by Johnny Richards. In 1961, West side story was adapted and recorded by the Stan Kenton Orchestra as musical collection jazz orchestra using Bernstein scores. However the Stan Kenton Orchestra’s version was viewed and evaluated by the film directors of the West side story, it was the different version of musicale from the musicale included in the ongoing film. In fact, upon seeing the Stan’s orchestra jazz version, the directors claim that they should have used Stan’s version as soundtrack of the film but it was too late and a new and different version was created by the song directors to be used in the West side story. Although The Stan Kenton’s version was not used as the basis of musicale background of the film, it gained a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Recording of a large group in 1962 (Shulman 196). This is not saying that West side story was free from flaws and considered therefore as perfect, but it was generally agreed by majority that the film was a good and timely musicale reflecting the current cultural norms and values of the Americans in 1960s. In manner of clothing, perception of power, basis for conflict, the prevalent prejudice and discrimination, and the diverse nature of language, music, and dance steps. The difference between the White and Latin Americans was explicitly described and presented in the portrayal of the main and supporting characters of the movie (RC 2008). Characteristics of the Characters in West side story Described as â€Å"New York’s classic of the 1960s,’’ West side story was astoundingly studded with magnificent and good starts who sang the songs like Tonight, Maria, I Feel Pretty, America, Officer Krupke, A Place for Us, and I Have Love (citation). Although Maria was criticized for delivering some lines the songs with uncertain accent, the musicale was a success for its overall success in portraying the life and culture of the adolescent, White and Latin Americans in 1960s. The characters of the West side story played a major role in making the film on of the best musicale created in the United States. First and foremost, Rita Moreno (girlfriend of Bernardo) and the one who played the role of â€Å"Anita,† delivered a great portrayal of her character in the movie. Anita, as a Latin American, was a graceful and flexible dancer, and at the same time, was good singer as she sang some songs in the film. Similarly, Russ Tamblyn, who played the role of Rif, was the persuasive leader of the Westside Jets and portrayed his character fairly as well. Having been playing the role of Maria, Natalie Wood portrayed her character as an innocent-looking, young, and a graceful dancer and singer, Maria. The character Maria fell in love with Tony, the member of the Jets gang in the west side. On the other hand, George Chakiris playing the role of Bernardo, as the brother of Maria and leader of the Sharks in the East side, portrayed the role of a discriminated leader of a minority group of the Latino adolescents in Manhattan. Bernardo could be quiet and soft spoken at times but he has the tendency for aggression to assert himself and represent his group in defending their race against discrimination and prejudice of the white Americans. Most and the rest of the characters exerted their best performance level in portraying their roles for the West side story (UAPI 2009). The Significance and Recommendation of the West side story Thought the West side story was just presented in such a simple way, it successfully addressed the important issues and problems in the society existing long, long time ago at the onset of 1960s and still exists nowadays. The social issues of family set up of the adolescents (particularly as sung by the Jets), the lack of attention parents and school personnel who should aid the personality development of the disturbed adolescents, the racial issues, conflict, discrimination and prejudice existing among culturally-diverse communities, increased the awareness of the viewers (who may be a parent, a policymaker, or district guidance counselor) and so, they could devise ways and create programs for the benefit of the currently growing adolescents. Even if the culture describe in the film was during the 1960’s it is obvious that discrimination and prejudice is still occurring in some communities in the United States; in so doing, this film may serve as a guide for the adolescents and the adults to address and provide solutions to current problems in the society and its members—especially for the benefit of the adolescents who are in pressing need of guidance, understanding, attention, and advice from the adults. In such case, the West side story is must-seen (UAPI 2009). Indeed, the West side story is a re-tell or a remake and a musical version of the popular novel/movie Romeo and Juliet (citation). It is a musical drama with soul-inspiring and enervating song lines sung by the stars of the film. Just like the tragic Shakespearean play Romeo and Juliet, the West side story ended with a tragic accident of killing the major characters in the movie namely Bernardo and Tony. Maria was left alone by her two loved ones due to the hatred built between the Jets and the Sharks of Upper West side Manhattan, New York City (RC 2008). Compared between the rival between Montague and Capulet families of Romeo and Juliet, the gangs Jets and Sharks hate could not stand each other as well. And so the gang wars between the two different races began (war existed between the Latin and White Americans in Manhattan, New York). Thus, the creation of the West side story was just in time to support the cinema/ silver screen in competition with the shows on television popularized during the 1960s (UAPI 2009). The Staff behind the Scenes of the West side story The film version of the West side story was based from the book of Arthur Laurents having the same title. Further, the musicale collection based from the collection of musical scores of Leonard Bernstein. The lyrics of the songs sung by the stars in the West side story were composed by Stephen Sondheim. Moreover, the choreography and the musical concept were contributed of Jerome Robbins. Further, the screenplay was written by Ernest Lehman. Producers of this film were Walter Mirisch, Robert Wise, and Saul Chaplin respectively. The cinematography on the other hand, was powered by the creative mind of Daniel Fapp. Color for the film was also powered by Technicolor and thus, the film itself was taken in Panavision 700. This movie was astoundingly directed two of the greatest directors of the era: namely, Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise (UAPI 2009). The Relationship of the West side story to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet The West side story was indeed a vibrant film which is full of life among the characters. Further the Broadway musicale style of the 1961 film written by Laurents and directed by Robbins was a â€Å"hit† top-notching the charts of the best movies in 1960s in the silver screen. Replicating the tragic, Shakespearean novel, Romeo and Juliet, the West side story has the same characteristics of the play Romeo and Juliet since the lovers in the story, Tony and Maria attempted to risk the danger of having a relationship despite of their difference in their races. Maria was Puerto Rican and Tony was a White American making them members of the two opposite races (UAPI 2009). The two opposing and distinct races and ethnicities, White and Latin Americans were the focus of this movie. In order to present the differences in culture of the White and Latin Americans, the movie was able to show the attitude of White, European adolescents towards the Latin, Puerto Ricans. Further, the story was presented by producing the story using a ground-breaking, exhilarating musicale with an astounding well-performed choreography by the various outstanding artists. The West side story poses the emerging conflict present among the inhabitants of the Upper West Side Manhattan in New York City during the 1960s. The movie poses the problems of the adolescents in engaging in criminal chain and gang wars which obstructs the peace and order in the community of Upper West side New York. Moreover, in order to present such existing culture and social problems of the United States in 1960, the entire movie was taken and shot in the streets of Upper West side New York City and in Manhattan. However, some of the parts and scenes in the movie were shot and recorded on the improvised sets and studios prepared by the floor directors (UAPI 2009). In comparison of the West side story in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, The Montague family came to be the counterparts of the White American Jets in the West side story. Similarly, the Capulet family was the counterpart of the Puerto Rican/ Latin American Sharks. Relatively, Bernardo’s abduction of Riff in a gang fight (Tony’s elder brother), simulates the similar scenario of the tragic accident of Mercutio (Romeo’s friend in Romeo and Juliet) being killed by Tybalt, who appears to be Juliet’s cousin. As a result, Romeo resorted to kill Tybalt as well as a revenge for the death of his friend Mercutio. Apparently, the same related scenario of revenge in a fight simulates the scene where Tony abducted Bernardo after stabbing Tony’s elder brother, Riff. Furthermore several characters in the west side story have their counterpart or equivalent characters that portrayed similar roles in Romeo and Juliet and these are the following: Anita in the West side story portraying the â€Å"Nurse† (Juliet’s confidante in Romeo and Juliet) and Doc in the West side story portraying the role of â€Å"Friar Lawrence† in Romeo and Juliet novel. But it is to put into account that the tragic suicide of Romeo and Juliet at the end of the story was not the same with the ending of the West side story since Maria, after the death of her beloved Tony, did not kill herself but she just furiously pointed the blame to the pointless, mad desire of the Shark and Jets gang (citation). Critiques argue for the West side story that the movie was a similar recreation of other classic hit musicales like the â€Å"Gypsy† and the â€Å"Dolls. However it was interpreted that way by critiques and viewers, The West side story is considered as one of the America’s masterpiece production in the global silver screen. The West side story was a hit for it was a divergence from the current popular culture of movies in the 1960s. The unique musicale of the West side story discussed social problems in the United States: gang wars, racial discrimination, juvenile delinquencies and family problems through the songs sung by the adolescents, Jets in the entire movie (Zoglin 2009). Salient points to consider and some important scenarios in the West side story Focusing on Maria and Tony’s love affair, they seem to risk what danger could happen the moment the other members of the Sharks and Jets the get to know the forbidden relationship of Maria and Tony. When the lovers hear the arrival of Anita (Bernardo’s girlfriend) Tony quickly escaped his way out of the house and he said Maria that they should meet at the drug store owned by Doc to elope and get married. However, Anita accidentally caught the presence of Tony quickly escaping the house. Anita was startled and reacted negatively at first but she listened when Maria explained how she loved Tony so much. Inspite of Anita’s grievance over Bernardo’s death she resorts to help Maria arrange their plan of eloping and getting married. Moreover, Anita gave Maria a hint that Chino of the Sharks is after Tony to kill him with a pistol (Zoglin 2009). As the officer, Lt. Schrank arrived at Maria’s house he questioned Maria for the riot/gang wars that recently occurred between the Sharks and the Jets. Maria was careful enough for covering up Tony in order to protect him from the further questioning and investigation of the officer. Maria lured the Lt. Schrank by se nding Anita as an errand to Doc’s drugstore to buy a medicine to relieve the pain she is feeling in her head. Such action of Anita was for the purpose of delivering a message to Tony at the drugstore that Maria could not come and meet her for Maria was held as a detainee a under investigation of Lt. Schrank. However, upon entering the drugstore, Anita did not expect that she was going to be mocked by the White American, Jets. Not only this, the Jets tried to harass her as an insult to her being a â€Å"Puerto Rican. † Maria was disrespected by the rest of the Jets not giving her a chance to deliver Maria’s message for Tony. In so doing, the circumstance really made Anita really furious. Consequentially, Anita distorted the real message that she has to deliver (that Maria was detained due to Lt. Schrank’s queries) and she imparted that her message was to tell Tony that Maria was shot dead by Chino with a gun. The chaos was stopped by Doc as he yelled to them inside the drugstore and also, for the Jets to stop harassing and making fun of the Puerto Rican lady, Anita. The jets stopped and listen to the old man (Doc). However, Doc went down to the basement and checked out the hiding Tony. Further, he relayed Anita’s untrue, bad news to Tony that Maria was shot dead by Chino. So, Tony abruptly ran his way up and out of the drugstore’s basement and then he searched for Chino with desolation and hopelessness and how he’d wish that Chino would kill him as well (Zoglin 2009). While searching for Chino, Tony saw Maria on the road. The lovers were so happy to see each other again especially Tony when he thought that his beloved Maria was already dead. Suddenly, Chino appeared in the scene and shoot Tony. Maria was so startled as her lover fell on his knees and landed on Maria’s arms. Maria, trying to comfort her dying lover sang a song for him so that he will not be afraid. The lovers affirmed that if their love was not possible here, they should continue their love somewhere place as they should see each other again in their next life and in the other world. The White Jets and the Puerto Ricans Sharks ran towards the death scene together with the cops (including Officer Krupke in the scene). Maria was infuriated with the mere presence of officer Krupke and she yelled at him not to even dare to come closer the dead body of his beloved Tony. Maria took the gun from the suspect Chino and there she pointed the gun ate everyone: the Sharks and the Jets. She blamed that the death of Riff, Bernardo, and Tony was the fault of the both gangs and the result to all their selfish hatred. So for the reason that Officer Krupke was hindered by Maria to get even closer to Tony, some of the members of the Jets and Sharks took the initiative in carrying Tony’s corpse. After the tragic killings of the leaders of the Jets and Sharks in the streets of Manhattan, New York, the gang war between the two gangs was considered over (Zoglin 2009). Realism was shown and achieved in the West side story since the songs used in the entire movie were a mixture of English and Spanish songs. In order to reflect the underlying multicultural theme of the story, the songs were carefully selected and very well performed by the actors/singers. Together jam-packed with a set of dance steps, pirouette, leaps in its choreography, the overall mood of the movie was an exciting one (citation). The West side story was indeed a must-seen movie since it is very substantial and culturally significant. In order for people to understand the nature of conflict in different groups, and the reason for discrimination and prejudice, the West side story successfully presented the conflicts occurring among the adolescents resulting to their behavior problems and maladjustment in the society. In the form of musicale of songs and dances, the message of the film was carried out through the innovative and creative performances of the carefully-selected artists of the film (Zoglin 2009). Modified by Ernest Lehman, the rewrite version of the West side story had remained a striking and filled with energetic and enthusiastic songs reflected from its lyrics. Furthermore, the book version of the West side story play was containing songs which are mostly composed by Stephen Sondheim and Leonard Bernstein. The talented directors of the West side story are Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. Considering Robert Wise’s expertise I the field of directing, the collaboration with the professional dance choreographer, Jerome Robbins was a very intelligent decision and resulted to make the movie a real big hit in the silver screen (Zoglin 2009). Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins respectively gained recognition for the West side story. However, Jerome Robbins was pulled out of the West side story project since he was frequently the reason for procrastination of the shoots, budget-exceeding production rates, and also, Robbin’s frequent disagreement with Wise was a reason for the rest of the staff to remove him from the direction of the West side story. Robbins’ ideals for the completion of the West side story were becoming overwhelmingly expensive just for his wish to make the movie close to perfection. Four of the dynamic dance steps which Robbins choreographed in the West side story were the following: â€Å"Something’s coming,† â€Å"Prologue,† â€Å"Cool,† and â€Å"America. † The West side story is also focused on the love story of two different people having different races. However love was the foundation, Tony and Maria were separated due to hatred and violence. Tony was Maria’s first love. She loved the man inspite of the fact that they were belonging in different race and that her brother and their group of minority Puerto Rican gang (Sharks) not in good terms with the White American gang (Jets). When Maria first set her eyes with Tony, she fall (right then and there) madly in love with Tony and vice versa; these first encounter of Maria and Tony happened during the dance showdown between the Jest and the Sharks. Tony’s on the other hand, who was previously preoccupied with the activities with his gang in the West side has diverted his attention to Maria when he fell in love with her. However, considering the obvious fact that Maria’s brother, Bernardo was a leader of the Sharks and his prospect lover Tony was member of the opponent Jets, Maria still persists to pursue her forbidden and controversial love affair with Tony. Maria knows that Bernardo would never approve of her love affair with Tony for Bernardo knows how cruel, prejudicial, and discriminating the White American race was. Meanwhile, Jets Sharks just would not stop claiming right over the west side streets of New York for their gang’s territory. At first, the Sharks could be observed that they do not have any intention of keeping the streets to their own, but the Jets just would not stop bullying and discriminating, and driving them away wherever they see them. The Sharks think, especially Bernardo (as their leader) that this was too much and they believe they deserve a right to whatever the White Americans enjoy doing and hanging around. So what the Sharks did is to engage in a fight with the Jets most of the time to defend themselves from the unjust dominance of the Jets. Consequentially, the rival lead to a fight between the Jets and the Sharks and this caused the death of Riff, Bernardo, and Tony as well (Zoglin 2009). Maria requested Tony if he could no something to stop the mad fight between the two gangs. At first, Tony hesitated to give in to Mari’s request but because he loves her so much and he would love to marry her, he agreed with Maria and he said he would do everything he can to stop the war between the two gangs. The sad thing is, Tony did not expect that his brother Riff was going to be killed in the gang war. So, to avenge the sudden death of his brother in Bernardo’s hands, Tony resorts to abduct Bernardo as well due to the sudden rage of his emotions (Zoglin 2009). The 1960s showed a great importance to the subculture created by adolescent Americans. Although the Americans are a culture in itself, it has different influence of subcultures branching out and one example of this subculture is the Puerto Ricans. The multicultural society of the gangs among the adolescent White Americans and Puerto Ricans in the New York, West side community was emerged during the 1960’s where gang wars chain gangs had become eminent and widely spread in the local news (Zoglin 2009). The West side story was indeed an enticing film by Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise. Similar to the tragic story of Romeo and Juliet, the west side story successfully addressed the social problem of juvenile delinquency and discrimination in the multicultural society of the United States during the 1950s to 1960s. Relatively, the love story of Maria (Natalie Wood) and Tony (Richard Beymer) is similar to the love story of Romeo and Juliet that the lovers crossed boundaries despite their difference in ethnicity, race, and culture. This shows that the heart does not choose the one to love. For Tony, It does not matter if Maria is a Puerto Rican, discriminated and a member of their enemy, Sharks. Same for Maria: she does not care if Tony is a white American, a mocker, discriminating, and a member of the Jets gang which is the opponent of Maria’s brother, Bernardo. The west side story was able to accomplish a creative, upbeat, and ardent choreography of dance steps and overwhelming lyrics of the songs sang by the characters in the West side story (Zoglin 2009). This invigorating and elating film is dazzling with the combination of songs and dance steps interpreting the lifestyle and culture of adolescent Americans in the United States during the 1960s. It was plausible to the extent that the prevalent gang wars among the diverging culture of the Puerto Ricans against the White Americans was portrayed in such a way that it seems less violent and therefore, there was no violent bloodshed in the movie. However, there was no need for blood-shedding, serious fight in the entire film in order to present how serious the outcome would be for engaging in gang wars of the New York streets (Zoglin 2009). Officer Shrank warned both the Jets and the Sharks to avoid fighting on his streets or else, Officer Shrank threatened the boys that he would beat the boys up. After the encounter with Officer Schrank and Officer Krupke, Riff led his group to sing a song which is praise for the Jets. The Jets despise the Sharks for they were a threat to the streets in which the Jets wants to own. He persuaded the rest of his Jets members to perceive that their gang is the most strenuous, invincible, and superior team and that they deserve the right to everything especially in the streets of the Upper West side New York. Riff was very anxious to control the spreading volume of the Sharks since it was a tendency that the Sharks might dominate the streets of New York, should the latter multiply its members. In so doing, Riff persuaded his gang mates that they should fight against the Sharks/Puerto Ricans and kill them if they have to so as to control their proliferation in the streets. The one who should win the fight would be declared as the winner and therefore, would have the right to dominate in the Manhattan streets of New York. Moreover, Riff resorts to fighting their rival gang, Sharks with deadly weapon like a dagger for instance (Zoglin 2009). Overall, the story shows that there is both a similarity and difference in the culture of the Puerto Ricans and the White Americans. Though they are different in race, color, and ethnicity, both races was shown to have the same interests like in dancing, singing, basketball, and favorite hang-outs. Because of such similarity and interests, the White American Jets, led by Riff was pissed off upon always seeing the Puerto American Sharks wherever they go and spend their time. Further, it was explicitly shown that the Jets are more confident than the Puerto Ricans since they are the majority of inhabitants or citizens in New York during the 1960s (Zoglin 2009). From a challenge to a dance night out with the Sharks, the Jets just would not stop pissing the Sharks and driving their rivals away so that the Sharks would not be a threat to their desire of keeping their authority and ownership of the streets of New York west side. But what happened in the dance was overlapped with the instance when Maria and Tony saw each other and locked each other’s eyes for long time as if they are not seeing anybody but the two of them. Bernardo caught the both of them in the act that is why he did not decide to finish the dance; hence, he took his sister’s hands and pulled her off the dance floor (citation). Because of pride, the Jets boosted their egos by singing themselves song of somewhat victorious melodic songs as if they were the superior race and the others are just second class. Riff (the current leader of the Jets) decided that Tony should be the one to coordinate the challenge of the Jets to the Sharks. At first, Tony was hesitant to give in to the request. However later on, Tony agreed to tell the message to the Sharks. For the reason that Tony was once the leader of the gang since Tony was also a mastermind in co-founding the group of White Americans. On the other hand, Maria was conversing with Anita at a bridal shop where Maria is working. Maria told Anita (Bernardo’s boyfriend), how much Maria loves Tony and that she explained to Anita that his brother Bernardo, should not be that too much, extreme protective of her (Zoglin 2009). Inspite of the distinct difference of the Puerto Ricans from the White Americans, the two divert gangs were shown to be enjoying themselves using their talents in dancing and singing which makes them similar in their interests. The gang members Sharks and Jets may have experienced conflict between their groups because of their overt difference. The majorities of the White Americans dislike the minorities of Puerto Ricans because the Whites believe and perceive that they are the strongest race, invincible, and therefore, they should walk tall and act like kings! For the Jets: they should own, rule, and dominate the streets and they should have the right to the territory no matter what it takes (Dirks 1961). Conclusion The West Side Story highlights the following scenarios which had occurred in the 1960’s: During the 1960’s, juvenile delinquencies are rampant among adolescents. Similarly, there is also prevalence of discrimination and prejudice among the White and Latin Americans. Puerto Ricans are disliked and bullied by the White Americans upon thinking that the White Americans are the superior race that should own the streets and that the Latin Americans, specifically the Puerto Ricans, have no right to be in places where the White American adolescents hang out and play. In so doing there were chain gang fights are everywhere. Emerging in late 1950s and early 1960s, the streets of Manhattan had become a place where there is no peace and order due to the frequent gang wars that occur between the two distinct races of the Whites and the Puerto Rican adolescents. However, the love story of Maria and Tony having the opposite race shows that love does not choose the color, race, and ethnicity of a person as a basis of whom it should love. Works Cited Brian, Paul. 28 November 2005. Leonard Bernstein: West Side Story. 29 April 2009 . Dirks, Tim. 1961. West Side Story. American Movie Classics Company LLC. 29 April 2009 . Howe, Matt. 03 April 2003. West Side Story Impresses. 29 April 2009 . Shulman, Irving. A Novelation by Irving Shulman: West Side Story. New York: Simon & Schister Inc, 1961. â€Å"West Side Story (1961). † 16 December 2008. Reel Classics, L. L. C. 29 April 2009 . â€Å"West Side Story. † 1961. United Artists Pictures, Inc. 29 April 2009 . Zoglin, Richard. 25 March 2009. Is West Side Story Overrated? 29 April 2009 .

Compensation and Benefits Plan

Compensation and Benefits Plan November 20, 2011 Compensation and Benefits Plan In this submission Learning Team B (LTB) supports and expands on one team member’s proposal to add a school psychologist at Manzano Day School in Albuquerque, New Mexico to fill an operational gap. LTB outlines a proposal for compensation and benefits plan that meets the needs of the employee and the organization. Specifically, the proposal recommends and justifies an approach for direct pay, incentives, security and health benefits, pay for time not worked, and employee services; moreover, it identifies any obstacles or potential resistant in implementing each recommended approach. Direct Pay When developing a set salaray for the position of School Pshcycologist at Monzano Day school. One must consider the demographics and comparison of other schools in the area. For many years New Mexico public schools have been ranked worst in the country as a result of over crowding, lack of funding, lack of staff, lack of resources and corupt behavior. When comparing the pay scale for a school psychologist working for the Albuquerque Public School(APS) system an individual with a PhD. in Pschology starts at an annual salary of $54,000 (www. aps. edu/human-resources/salary-schedules/salaries/a4-salary-schedule) which is based on a 208 days (8hrs/day) work schedule and then is adjusted according to years of experience and other skills according to a grade step in pay. Manzano Day School would match the same payscale and grading as the public schools offer, in addition to non quanitative incentives as small classroom sizes, multitude of resources, adaquate funding for education and a strong support from the community, board of directors and administration. Incentives Nonprofit organizational goals differ from for-profit firms and require different types of leaders and reward systems. Inability to distribute profits prohibits profit sharing, gain sharing, and stock-ownership incentive plans (Roomkin & Weisbrod, 1999). Firms are increasingly sing variable-pay systems such as pay-for-performance plans to control costs and increase employee efficiency (Cascio, 2010). Such a system is not a good fit for the school psychologist because it would likely reduce intrinsic motivation and could influence objective failure (Bregn, 2010). The major purpose of a school psychologist is â€Å"to achieve positive outcomes for students and systems† (Shriberg, Satchwell, McArdle, & James, 2010, p. 8). Position activities do not have sole influence over outcomes making it difficult to identify conditions to meet to attain a specified bonus incentive (Bregn, 2010). The change in social, emotional, or psychological outcomes is difficult to target, measure, and reward (Roomkin & Weisbrod, 1999). When the link between performance and rewards are weak, the merit-pay system fails (Cascio, 2010). The school psychologist is an intended change agent who leads the charge â€Å"toward positive ends for children, families, schools, and communities† (Shriberg et al, 2010, p. 20). Thus, employee involvement in decision making, empowerment, recognition, training opportunities, and offerance of a supportive nurturing company culture are important nonfinancial rewards (Cascio, 2010). Manzano Day School operates nine calendar months annually; providing the school psychologist a 12-month salary is a unique yet feasible incentive that will help the company attract the right candidate and enhance his or her job satisfaction. Another inherent incentive that produces the same effects is free tuition for the school psychologist’s children if he or she has any. Security and Health Benefits †¦ Randa’s part†¦ Pay for Time Not Worked †¦ Lacy’s part†¦ Employee Services The Age Discrimination in Employment Act requires employers to offer the same group health insurance to every employee no matter what age they are. Employers offer a wide variety of benefits. For companies to be successful in the competitive labor market, firms are fair when offering benefits to employees. This year is the first year employers are offering domestic partner benefits regardless of the person’s sexual orientation and marital status (Casico, 2010). For many years insurance companies only paid out benefits to married couples of the same sex, but because of the diversity of the labor market, firms are being more diverse. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 29 % of private sector workers, and 33% of local and state government workers have health care benefits for domestic partners of the same sex. The benefits vary, depending on the employer and employee characteristics, and whether the domestic partner is of the same or opposite sex (Bureau, 2011). In March 2011, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported paid leave benefits to be the largest available benefit offered by employers, and employers offers 91 % of paid benefits to full-time workers in private industry (Bureau, 2011). Employees offer other work life benefits such as Elder care, child adoption, onsite childcare, subsidized childcare, the ability to convert sick days into personal days, and flexible work schedule (Casico, 2010). Benefits are important and people are committing more to companies because of the benefits. Conclusion Ultimately†¦ need to add some summarized thought that ties the paper together†¦ LTB outlined the compensation and benefits plan proposal for a school psychologist position at the Manzano Day School in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Specifically, the proposal recommended and justified an approach for direct pay, incentives, security and health benefits, pay for time not worked, and employee services; furthermore, it identified any obstacles or potential resistant in implementing the recommended approach. References: Bregn, K. (2010). The Logic of the New Pay Systems Revisited-in the Light of Experimental and Behavioral Economics. International Journal Of Public Administration, 33(4), 161-168. doi:10. 1080/01900690903304175 Bureau of Labor Statistics (2011), Employee Benefits in the United States, Retrieved November 17, 2011 from http://www. ls. gov/news. release/ebs2. nr0. htm Cascio, W. F. (2010). Managing human resources: Productivity, quality of work life, profits (8th ed. ) Roomkin, M. J. , & Weisbrod, B. A. (1999). Managerial Compensation and Incentives in For-Profit and Nonprofit Hospitals. Journal Of Law, Economics, & Organization, 15(3), 750-781. Shriberg, D. , Satchwell, M. , McArdle, L. , & James, J. ( 2010). An Exploration of School Psychologists' Beliefs About Effective Leadership Practice in School Psychology. School Psychology Forum, 4(4), 8-21.