Review of Related Studies Essay Example for Free

Review of Related Studies Essay A lot has been written about what supply management is, and how it relates not only to similar terms and to concept like purchasing, procuring, and sourcing, but also to concepts like management, logistics, and supply chain management. Most authors differentiate purchasing, procurement, sourcing, and supply management as follows: they start by stating that purchasing includes operational activities that are carried out more or less exclusively by one department, namely the purchasing department. The sequence of activities here usually starts with the need identification and ends with the tracking of purchasing activities. Procurement is then defined as being broader in scope and including some activities of strategic relevance. According to Dobler/Burt (1996), procurement includes not only purchasing but also tasks that are strategic in nature. The same logic is then applied to supply management as figure 1 shows. See on page 38 for the figure. Monczka/Trent/Handfield(1998) use the terms purchasing and procurement interchangeable throughout their book. In their view, purchasing and procurement are functional activities that â€Å"most often refer to day-to-day management of material flows and information†. They also define sourcing â€Å"a cross functional process that involves member of the firm other than those who work in the purchasing department, the sourcing management team may include members from engineering, quality, design, manufacturing, marketing, accounting, strategic planning, and other department† Kaufmann (1995) describe sourcing; â€Å"an integrative management approach to designing all supplier relations in the sense of a total relationship management† Arnold (1997) uses the term supply management as an umbrella term for the concept of procurement, materials management, and logistics. According to him, the latter includes inbound logistics, and internal logistics, as well as outbound logistics. Tempelmeier (1995) defines purchasing as contract-centered (as opposed to logistical activities implying the physical movement of goods). He defines procurement as all activities aiming at supplying the company with needed inputs. Corsten (1995) the process of purchasing denotes the act of acquiring the property right of the procurement goods. He defines procurement in a similar way as Tempelmeier. Sourcing is the process of planning and handling outside sources. He defines supply management as procurement with a strategic focus that acts proactively and contributes significantly to company performance. Koppelmann (1995) uses the term Procurement Marketing for nearly exactly the same set of activities as Dobler/Burt do for supply management. There is also some discussion about the types of purchases that fall under each of the definitions. International authors like Dobler/Burt (1996), Monczka/Trent/Handfield (1998), and van Weele (1995) restrict the scope of purchasing, procurement, sourcing or supply management to materials, services, and capital equipment. They do not include the supply of the company with financial resources or personnel. German authors like Arnold (1997), Fieten (1986), Pieper/Pfohl (1993), Tempelmeier (1995) argue differently: They say that from a theoretical standpoint all inputs have to be considered. Some of them like Arnold and Pieper/Pfohl however, pragmatically restrict the scope of purchasing, procurement, or supply management to materials.

The poverty trap

The poverty trap SHORT ESSAY Topic: Getting households out of the poverty trap requires a greater focus on the â€Å"demand† side rather than the â€Å"supply† side. Introduction Despite the substantial amount of research undertaken to study the economic growth and development and analyse how it facilitates the poverty reduction, there has not been still one remedy discovered to make poor countries rich. Poverty continues to be the cause of suffering of millions of people around the globe, who are caught in a poverty trap. Azariadis and John Stachurski (2005) define the poverty trap as â€Å"any self-reinforcing mechanism which causespoverty to persist†. Those mechanisms causing poverty to persist can include, for instance, limited access to education, inadequate nutrition, lack of public health care, limited access to credit and capital markets, inefficient governance, social instability and poor infrastructure. We can use one of the listed mechanisms to illustrate the emergence of the poverty trap. Limited access to education leads to an increased level of illiteracy among the poor, which further determines the niche the poor can take in the labour m arket. Being uneducated, the poor is restricted to perform unskilled labour, which does not pay high wages and brings the poor’s income level down. Income deprivation subsequently leads to inadequate nutrition, limited access to education, etc. That is the trajectory poor households follow towards falling into the poverty trap. What are the ways to get households out of the poverty trap? There are two types of policies, â€Å"supply† and â€Å"demand† side policy interventions, which are applied to break the poverty trap. â€Å"Supply† side policies aim to directly provide services to the poor that may focus among other spheres of concern on education, health, or infrastructure, whereas the â€Å"demand† side policy proponents argue that first poor should demand these services, otherwise they are going to be ineffective. The author of this essay shares the latter point of view as well. Evidence suggests that enabling poor people to participate in determining services they need, their quality and quantity is critical in ensuring policy intervention’s success. To guarantee sustainability of the results there should be social accountability in place, which allows poor people to hold the government accountable for the decisions and choices it makes for the poor. We also build our argument based on a country example from Bangladesh, where a â€Å"demand† side financing intervention has outperformed a â€Å"supply† side financing intervention in the healthcare sector. Hence, this essay aims to argue that getting households out of the poverty trap requires a greater focus on the â€Å"demand† side rather than the â€Å"supply† side. Voices of the Poor Mani et al (2013) argue that being preoccupied with pressing financial concerns the poor have fewer cognitive resources to guide their choice and action; therefore, they are unable to take informed decisions due to their poor mental capabilities. Thus, taking this fact into consideration â€Å"supply† side policies are designed to help the poor to get out of poverty without hearing their voices. It is believed that the government can decide better what is needed to get the poor out of the poverty trap on poor people’s behalf. However, according to the World Development Report (2004), â€Å"public services often fail people – in access, quantity, and quality†. The report emphasizes that the main reason of the failed efforts of the developing countries to make services work for the poor is the extent to which poor people themselves are engaged in determining the quality and the quantity of the services which they are entitled to. Services can work better if â€Å"poor people are put at the centre of service provision by enabling them to monitor and discipline services providers by strengthening their voice in policymaking and by reinforcing the incentives for providers to serve the poor† (World Development Report, 2004). However, the â€Å"supply† side proponents will argue that a well-targeted strategy of the â€Å"supply† side performance incentives could on its own be enough to achieve the desired outcomes, for instance, drawing upon an example from Nicaragua where a conditional cash transfer program showed â€Å"significant improvements in immunizations, growth monitoring, and reductions in stunting† (Regalà ­a, F. and Castro, L., 2009). Upon completion of the program an evaluation was conducted to identify the impact the combined â€Å"supply† and â€Å"demand† side intervention had. The evaluation showed that combining â€Å"supply† and â€Å"demand† side policies can significantly increase the use of health services among poor households and improve health outcomes. Furthermore, the evaluation aimed to assess the impact â€Å"demand† side incentives alone played in this intervention. For this purpose, an evaluation about ten months after â€Å"demand† side incentives had been stopped in certain areas was conducted, and it revealed that take-up rates for preventive health care services still remained high. The evaluation explained this result by the possibility that the program strategy dramatically improved provider outreach activities during the initial stage of implementation and thus the access of poor households to health services, reducing the costs of time and travel to reach healthcare service delivery points was also improved. It is possible, therefore, that a well-targeted strategy of â€Å"supply† side performance incentives could, on its own, be enough to achieve and maintain high levels of health care service use among poor rural populations in Nicaragua (Regalà ­a, F. and Castro, L., 2009). Although this example shows that â€Å"supply† side policies on their own can be efficient in helping the poor to get better access to health care services, we need to bear in mind that this is only one example and, therefore, it cannot be representative of all â€Å"supply† side policy interventions. It is also stressed by the evaluation that the success of the program might be because provider outreach activities were improved; thus, we question here that should â€Å"demand† side incentives, such as incentives for health providers to develop efficient plans to expand coverage rapidly in underserved areas, were not there from the beginning of the program the outcome of the program could have been less successful. Sustainability and Social Accountability Designing policy interventions based solely on the â€Å"supply† side approach ensures less sustainability. When the poor are not knowledgeable enough about the policy intervention and, therefore, less concerned about maintaining the results of the policy once it is completed, the intervention will have a short-term impact. This is one of the concerns often raised by aid agencies (International Labour Organization, 2001). A policy intervention is regarded as sustainable in case it carries on indeterminately with no further donor involvement or support, whether it be financial or otherwise. With a greater focus on the â€Å"demand† side, this concern is more likely to be addressed. In particularly, focusing policies on capacity building of the poor in terms of educating them about their rights, public services they are entitled to receive, the role they can play in improving their livelihood, providing more information about the stakeholders involved in policy design and implementation, etc., can be conducive to poverty reduction and, hence, to sustainable development. For instance, Economic Development Institute (1996) suggests that non-governmental organizations can assist the poor to identify their needs and identify their priorities. These measures will build poor people’s capacity to demand services they need and hold policymakers accountable for their actions and policy choices. In other words, this will strengthen social accountability that relies on civil engagement, i.e. in which â€Å"the poor can participate directly or indirectly in exacting accountability† (World Bank, 2004). This mechanism can function only through the demand side approach as it operates from the bottom-up (World Bank, 2004). It can be though argued that poor people caught in the poverty trap will be less concerned about social accountability when, for instance, they lack basic access to nutrition and clean water in the first place. Therefore, it is inefficient to consider developing soft skills of the poor until they have basic infrastructure, which would allow them to sustain their living and only then they can take a next step to improving their capacity and benefiting from social accountability. Poor people need immediate help today. Building capacity of the poor will take longer time to show its results. Additionally, the â€Å"supply† side of governance already uses certain measures such as checks and balances, administrative rules and procedures, auditing requirements, and formal law enforcement mechanisms to tackle the challenge of accountability. Indeed, â€Å"supply† side policies aim to address immediate needs of the poor. However, the intervention can be considered successful if it is sustainable. Relying on the present-bias, i.e. immediate provision of services â€Å"today† rather than investment in developing capacity of the poor for greater results in the longer term, does not guarantee sustainability in the long run. As a result, the poor can only temporary get out of the poverty trap and then again be trapped into poverty once the intervention is completed. Empowering the poor through social accountability enables sustainable development. While the supply based approach is an intervention that is limited to provision of services only and does not spread much beyond to improvement in governance, social accountability serves a multiple purpose and, therefore, has a long-lasting effect. As such, social accountability facilitates improvement in governance, ensures development effectiveness through a more-pro -poor policy design and, lastly, empowers poor people to demand goods and services they need most. As to the accountability measures used by the â€Å"supply† side of governance, evidences suggests that â€Å"these â€Å"top-down† accountability promoting mechanisms have met with only limited success in many countries, both developed and developing† (World Bank, 2004). As a result, social accountability measures described above are preferred. â€Å"Demand† Side Financing Furthermore, having analyzed a number of â€Å"supply† side interventions and behaviors of the poor we can restate that it’s crucial to focus more on the â€Å"demand† side interventions. One of the main sectors covered by the â€Å"supply† side polices is a healthcare sector. Studies show that despite considerable subsidies allocated towards the supply side the access to the health care systems among the poor remains low. To address this drawback new â€Å"demand† side financing mechanisms are introduced (Schmidt, J., Ensor, T., Hossain, A. and Khan, S., 2010). These mechanisms transfer purchasing power to the targeted groups for defined healthcare goods and services. This measure is aimed to increase poor households’ access to specified goods and services. In particularly, such mechanism was applied in Bangladesh, where a maternal voucher scheme was implemented. The scheme provided vouchers to poor women that entitled them to receive skille d care at home or a facility and also provided payments for transport and food (Schmidt, J., Ensor, T., Hossain, A. and Khan, S., 2010). The evaluation of the program suggests that the take-up of vouchers was more rapid when the scheme was implemented through the â€Å"demand† side financing than previously through the â€Å"supply† based financing. Authors of the report describe the earlier implemented scheme through the â€Å"supply† side financing as an â€Å"apparent failure†, when all resources were allocated to the supply side and it was assumed that those with need will be able to access services. While â€Å"supply† side financing schemes can improve their outreach to the poor by constructing hospitals in the remote rural areas or providing funds for transport or transport itself to reach hospitals in cities, and improving service quality, so that people can have easier access to public healthcare services. However, as practice shows that is rather challenging. Gupta, I., Joe, W. and Rudra, S. (2010)state that policymakers in developing countries have come to realize that public health services have not been achieving desired outcomes due to â€Å"a significant lack of efficiency, fairness in service provision and its quality†. Although, the â€Å"demand† side financing can be questioned with regards to the quality of healthcare services left to the providers’ discretion, the â€Å"demand† side interventions are implemented with an assumption that service providers are responsible for the service quality assurance, and if intervention beneficiaries are left to choose from a set of service providers, it is assumed that there is a considerable number of service providers to choose from. However, returning back to the example from Bangladesh we conclude that demand-side financing schemes are more effective based on the available data, which suggests that the rise in the voucher take-up appeared to be more rapid through the â€Å"demand† side financing scheme than through other non-demand side financing (â€Å"supply† side financing) areas. Conclusion In the course of this essay we aimed to emphasize that getting poor households out of the poverty trap requires a greater focus on the â€Å"demand† side interventions rather than the â€Å"supply† side interventions. In particularly, we highlighted the evidence proving this argument through examples of the assumed cognitive poverty of the poor, where practitioners on the contrary bring evidence that those interventions that involve the poor in determining the quantity and quality of services they need prove to be more efficient. We also brought up the idea of social accountability that is critical not only in ensuring effectiveness and efficiency of the poverty alleviation programs, but also in improving governance and maintaining sustainability of the policy outcomes. Finally, we dwelled into a particular example of a policy intervention from Bangladesh, which aimed to provide vouchers to poor women that entitled them to receive skilled care at home or a facility and also provided payments for transport and food. The evaluation of this intervention helped us to analyze the results of both â€Å"demand† side financing and â€Å"supply† side financing. We reconfirmed that evidence from Bangladesh also proves that â€Å"demand† side policies are more effective in reaching the poor and addressing their needs. Bibliography: Azariadis, C. and Stachurski, J. (2005). Poverty Traps,Handbook of Economic Growth. World Bank, (2004).World Development Report 2004: Making Services Work for Poor People. Washington D.C.: World Bank. Regalà ­a, F. and Castro, L. (2009).Nicaragua: Combining Demand- and Supply-Side Incentives. Washington D.C. Economic Development Institute (1996).The Design and Management of Poverty Reduction Programs and Projects in Anglophone Africa: Proceedings of a Seminar Sponsored Jointly by the Economic Management Institute. Washington D.C. Mani, A. et al (2013). Poverty Impedes Cognitive Function. Science, 341(6149), p. 976-980. International Labour Organization, (2001).Mainstreaming Poverty Alleviation Strategies through Sustainable Rural Infrastructure Development. p.14. World Bank, (2004).Social Accountability: An Introduction to the Concept and Emerging Practice. Social Development Papers. Participation and Civic Engagement. Paper No. 76. Washington D.C.: World Bank. Gupta, I., Joe, W. and Rudra, S. (2010).Demand Side Financing in Health: How far can it address the issue of low utilization in developing countries?. World Health Report. Background Paper, 27. Schmidt, J., Ensor, T., Hossain, A. and Khan, S. (2010). Vouchers as demand side financing instruments for health care: A review of the Bangladesh maternal voucher scheme.Health Policy, [online] 96(2), pp.98-107. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2010.01.008 [Accessed 1 Nov. 2014].

impressionism Essay -- essays research papers

For the Love of Impressionism Impressionism is arguably the most beloved and famous of all the artistic styles to date, which is celebrated for its bright colour and new, imaginative view of the world and society. However, originally in Paris in the 1870s, this kind of art was viewed as controversial and undisciplined, it was considered to threaten the values that fine art was meant to uphold. Then in 1874, a group of artists got together to make their own exhibition, mostly of quite small, informal pieces of art that would not have attracted any notice in the Salon (the big annual art exhibition in Paris). They did eight shows altogether, the last one being in 1886. In the first show, the critics picked up on the title of one of Claude Monet's Paintings, Impression Sunrise, and decided to call the whole group 'Impressionists'. The name stuck, and what was supposed to be just a nickname, ended up being the accepted name of the group.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Impressionist artists tried to convey the look and feeling they perceived by the immediate world that surrounded them. Particularly for Monet, this meant painting out of doors, trying to capture the effects of weather, nature and light on the spot, which would be very difficult for a â€Å"normal† artist. A very rapid sketch, like Impression De Santis 2 Sunrise, looks as if it was entirely painted on the spot, but often he must have needed to finish his more elaborated pictures away from the scene, after the lighting effects had changed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To contrast Monet, Edgar Degas although having this look that gave the feeling the figures were just glanced at. painted his works entirely within his studio, but he arranged his objects and figures to portray this just glanced at look. He often showed figures in such informal poses as stretching or scratching themselves, and frequently used the borders of the pictures to cut off parts of figures, in order to give a sense of immediacy to them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Impressionists' technique complemented the anxiousness and speed of their subjects. In their landscapes, they treated their subjects very informally, using a flurry of rapid and varied brush strokes to capture the overall effect of the scenario, without detailed descriptions of the objects within it. More often, too, they expressed lighting effects with bold contras... ...y to shuttle between the two landscapes for which the Impressionists would gain notoriety in Paris and its suburban enviroments. The emerging fields of optics and photography informed the styles of Camille Pissarro, Georges Seurat, and Edgar Degas.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We tend to think of the history in terms of a few individual geniuses, acting as teachers for a number of small subsequent groups of artists, but the Impressionists were entirely different. They chose to develop their craft as equals, painting and learning from one another in small groups. One of the legacies of Impressionism is to leave the viewer with a profound sense of life captured on the canvas, through motion, light and colour. De Santis 6 And also life lived by these remarkable artists, always seeking to experience and to learn, to better capture on the canvas the reality before their eyes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When you look at the history of Impressionism, it makes you realize how tastes change, and an art that we, today, can easily enjoy and appreciate, could seem crude and controversial and undisciplined to its first viewers. We should remember this in our responses to the art of today.

Body Image :: essays research papers

Looking at the ad many obvious observations can be made. You see a female bent over a toilet. Then you notice the writing on the ad. Then you realize that it is an ad for the widely marketed perfume Obsession. Hey wait a minute. When did obsession start making ads where women were bent over on the toilet? Oh, I see. That’s when it clicks. Its not really an ad on the perfume obsession but really a joke or parody on the perfume name. It has become an Obsession for women to have the ideal body type. Looking at the picture from an examiners point of view, I notice the women and everything about her. You can immediately tell why she is sitting on the floor in a fetal position over the toilet. She is anorexic. You can tell mostly by her protruding spine. The spine is seen as the backbone of any human being. It is seen as what keeps us standing and walking everyday. It can almost be said to be our strength. Hers on the other hand is exposed which is a sign that her strength is exposed. This reminds me of the story in the Bible where Sampson exposes that it is his hair that gives him his strength. Now anyone could basically have control over him if they cut his hair. He is now vulnerable to any attacks, just like in the ad. The lady is now vulnerable to all outside attacks whether it be a disease or even death. To me the creators of this ad got the pathos right, in that they effectively engage the audiences’ emotions. They would probably be able to draw sympathy and concern fr om any typical person. In large font across the top of the ad it reads, â€Å"Obsession† and at the bottom in a smaller font it reads, â€Å"For women.† There is one main point that these words are trying to get across. It is that anorexia becomes an obsession for women. All around us to day are stereotypical images of how women should look. These images are usually images of models. Many women see these images and feel that they don’t live up to these standards of beauty and in turn take extreme measures in order to attain that beauty. The ad is sort of telling us that this is what happens when women try to look like CK models (logos).

Veitnam War :: War, History, Politics

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Vietnam War   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When most people hear the words Vietnam, what does it make them think about? The main answer most people come up with is death, or policing actions of the United States. The Vietnam War wasn’t about death it was about the French Colonial Rule of South Vietnam.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The Vietnam War was the legacy of Frances failure to suppress nationalist forces in Indochina as it struggled to restore its colonial dominion after World War II.† This is the start of Vietnam War. This is also one way that America was brought into the conflict of Vietnam.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The war was further escalated by North Vietnam trying to go in South Vietnam and turn them into a communist nation. Then America was brought more deeply into Vietnam as a policing effort to stop communism. â€Å"Military leaders viewed the Vietnam War as the Chinese doctrine of revolutionary war in action, (using Chinese and Russian arms to boot.)†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The United States had a geopolitical aim, they were to try and contain the spread of communism. This is one of the main reasons for America to go to Vietnam, to help stop the spread of communism the â€Å"United States supported the anti-communist regime known as the Republic of Vietnam,† or South Vietnam. The United States was in Vietnam to stop the North Vietnam communism movement by means of the U.S. staring air raids in the country. â€Å" Despite the U.S. military aid, heavy bombing, the growing U.S. troop commitment, and some political stability in South Vietnam after the election, the two countries were still unable to defeat the Viet Cong and North Vietnam forces.

The Vampire Diaries: Dark Reunion Chapter Nine

â€Å"†¦ And so, ladies and gentlemen, I give you the class of '92!† Bonnie threw her cap into the air along with everyone else. We made it, she thought. Whatever happens tonight, Matt and Meredith and I made it to graduation. There had been times this last school year when she had seriously doubted they would. Considering Sue's death, Bonnie had expected the graduation ceremony to be listless or grim. Instead, there was a sort of frenzied excitement about it. As if everyone was celebrating being alive-before it was too late. It turned into rowdiness as parents surged forward and the senior class of Robert E. Lee fragmented in all directions, whooping and acting up. Bonnie retrieved her cap and then looked up into her mother's camera lens. Act normal, that's what's important, she told herself. She caught a glimpse of Elena's aunt Judith and Robert Maxwell, the man Aunt Judith had recently married, standing on the sidelines. Robert was holding Elena's little sister, Margaret, by the hand. When they saw her, they smiled bravely, but she felt uncomfortable when they came her way. â€Å"Oh, Miss Gilbert-I mean, Mrs. Maxwell-you shouldn't have,† she said as Aunt Judith handed her a small bouquet of pink roses. Aunt Judith smiled through the tears in her eyes. â€Å"This would have been a very special day for Elena,† she said. â€Å"I want it to be special for you and Meredith, too.† â€Å"Oh, Aunt Judith.† Impulsively, Bonnie threw her arms around the older woman. â€Å"I'm so sorry,† she whispered. â€Å"You know how much.† â€Å"We all miss her,† Aunt Judith said. Then she pulled back and smiled again and the three of them left. Bonnie turned from looking at them with a lump in her throat to look at the madly celebrating crowd. There was Ray Hernandez, the boy she'd gone to Homecoming with, inviting everybody to a party at his house that night. There was Tyler's friend Dick Carter, making a fool of himself as usual. Tyler was smiling brazenly as his father took picture after picture. Matt was listening, with an unimpressed look, to some football recruiter from James Mason University. Meredith was standing nearby, holding a bouquet of red roses and looking pensive. Vickie wasn't there. Her parents had kept her home, saying she was in no state to go out. Caroline wasn't there either. She was staying in the apartment in Heron. Her mother had told Bonnie's mother she had the flu, but Bonnie knew the truth. Caroline was scared. And maybe she's right, Bonnie thought, moving toward Meredith. Caroline may be the only one of us to make it through next week. Look normal, act normal. She reached Meredith's group. Meredith was wrapping the red-and-black tassel from her cap around the bouquet, twisting it between elegant, nervous fingers. â€Å"Be careful with that; you'll ruin it,† she said aloud. Meredith's look of thoughtful melancholy didn't change. She went on staring at the tassel, kinking it up. â€Å"It doesn't seem fair,† she said, â€Å"that we should get these and Elena shouldn't. It's wrong.† â€Å"I know; it's awful,† Bonnie said. But she kept her tone light. â€Å"I wish there was something we could do about it, but we can't.† â€Å"It's all wrong,† Meredith went on, as if she hadn't heard. â€Å"Here we are out in the sunlight, graduating, and there she is under that-stone.† â€Å"I know, I know,† Bonnie said in a soothing tone. â€Å"Meredith, you're getting yourself all upset. Why don't you try to think about something else? Look, after you go out to dinner with your parents, do you want to go to Raymond's party? Even if we're not invited, we can crash it.† â€Å"No!† Meredith said with startling vehemence. â€Å"I don't want to go to any party. How can you even think of that, Bonnie? How can you be so shallow?† â€Å"Well, we've got to do something †¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"I'll tell you what I'm doing. I'm going up to the cemetery after dinner. I'm going to put this on Elena's grave. She's the one who deserves it.† Meredith's knuckles were white as she shook the tassel in her hand. â€Å"Meredith, don't be an idiot. You can't go up there, especially at night. That's crazy. Matt would say the same thing.† â€Å"Well, I'm not asking Matt. I'm not asking anybody. I'm going by myself.† â€Å"You can't. God, Meredith, I always thought you had some brains-â€Å" â€Å"And I always thought you had some sensitivity. But obviously you don't even want to think about Elena. Or is it just because you want her old boyfriend for yourself?† Bonnie slapped her. It was a good hard slap, with plenty of energy behind it. Meredith drew in a sharp breath, one hand to her reddening cheek. Everyone around them was staring. â€Å"That's it for you, Bonnie McCullough,† Meredith said after a moment, in a voice of deadly quiet. â€Å"I don't ever want to speak to you again.† She turned on her heel and walked away: â€Å"Never would be too soon for me!† Bonnie shouted at her retreating back. Eyes were hastily averted as Bonnie looked around her. But there was no question that she and Meredith had been the center of attention for several minutes past. Bonnie bit the inside of her cheek to keep a straight face and walked over to Matt, who had lost the recruiter. â€Å"Good.† â€Å"Do you think the slap was too much? We didn't really plan that; I was just sort of going with the moment. Maybe it was too obvious†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"It was fine, just fine.† Matt was looking preoccupied. Not that dull, apathetic, turned-in look of the last few months, but distinctly abstracted. â€Å"What is it? Something wrong with the plan?† Bonnie said. â€Å"No, no. Listen, Bonnie, I've been thinking. You were the one to discover Mr. Tanner's body in the Haunted House last Halloween, right?† Bonnie was startled. She gave an involuntary shiver of distaste. â€Å"Well, I was the first one to know he was dead, really dead, instead of just playing his scene. Why on earth do you want to talk about that now?† â€Å"Because maybe you can answer this question. Could Mr. Tanner have got a knife in Damon?† â€Å"What?† â€Å"Well, could he?† â€Å"I†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Bonnie blinked and frowned. Then she shrugged. â€Å"I suppose so. Sure. It was a Druid sacrifice scene, remember, and the knife we used was a real knife. We talked about using a fake one, but since Mr. Tanner was going to be lying right there beside it, we figured it was safe enough. As a matter of fact†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Bonnie's frown deepened. â€Å"I think when I found the body, the knife was in a different place from where we'd set it in the beginning. But then, some kid could have moved it. Matt, why are you asking?† â€Å"Just something Damon said to me,† Matt said, staring off into the distance again. â€Å"I wondered if it could be the truth.† â€Å"Oh.† Bonnie waited for him to say more, but he didn't. â€Å"Well,† she said finally, â€Å"if it's all cleared up, can you come back to Earth, please? And don't you think you should maybe put your arm around me? Just to show you're on my side and there's no chance you're going to show up at Elena's grave tonight with Meredith?† Matt snorted, but the faraway look disappeared from his eyes. For just a brief instant he put his arm around her and squeezed. D..j. vu, Meredith thought as she stood at the gate to the cemetery. The problem was, she couldn't remember exactly which of her previous experiences in the graveyard this night reminded her of. There had been so many. In a way, it had all started here. It had been here that Elena had sworn not to rest until Stefan belonged to her. She'd made Bonnie and Meredith swear to help her, too -in blood. How suitable, Meredith thought now. And it had been here that Tyler had assaulted Elena the night of the Homecoming dance. Stefan had come to the rescue, and that had been the beginning for them. This graveyard had seen a lot. This graveyard had been the beginning, and the end as well. And maybe there would be another end tonight. Meredith started walking. I wish you were here now, Alaric, she thought. I could use your optimism and your savvy about the supernatural-and I wouldn't mind your muscles, either. Elena's headstone was in the new cemetery, of course, where the grass was still tended and the graves marked with wreaths of flowers. The stone was very simple, almost plain looking, with a brief inscription. Meredith bent down and placed her bouquet of roses in front of it. Then, slowly, she added the red-and-black tassel from her cap. In this dim light, both colors looked the same, like dried blood. She knelt and folded her hands quietly. And she waited. All around her the cemetery was still. It seemed to be waiting with her, breath held in anticipation. The rows of white stones stretched on either side of her, shining faintly. Meredith listened for any sound. And then she heard one. Heavy footsteps. With her head down, she stayed quiet, pretending she noticed nothing. The footsteps sounded closer, not even bothering to be stealthy. â€Å"Hi, Meredith.† Meredith looked around quickly. â€Å"Oh-Tyler,† she said. â€Å"You scared me. I thought you were-never mind.† â€Å"Yeah?† Tyler's lips skinned back in an unsettling grin. â€Å"Well, I'm sorry you're disappointed. But it's me, just me and nobody else.† â€Å"What are you doing here, Tyler? No good parties?† â€Å"I could ask you the same question.† Tyler's eyes dropped to the headstone and the tassel and his face darkened. â€Å"But I guess I already know the answer. You're here for her. Elena Gilbert, A Light in Darkness,† he read sarcastically. â€Å"That's right,† Meredith said evenly. † ‘Elena' means light, you know. And she was certainly surrounded by darkness. It almost beat her, but she won in the end.† â€Å"Maybe,† Tyler said, and worked his jaw meditatively, squinting. â€Å"But you know, Meredith, it's a funny thing about darkness. There's always more of it waiting in the wings.† â€Å"Like tonight,† Meredith said, looking up at the sky. It was clear and dotted with faint stars. â€Å"It's very dark tonight, Tyler. But sooner or later the sun will come up.† Just like he showed Elena, Meredith thought. In a way she was enjoying this verbal fencing, but she never lost sight of what she had come here for. Her cold fingers dipped into her jacket pocket and found the tiny sprig of vervain there. â€Å"That's all right, Tyler. I think I'd prefer to stay here.† â€Å"You sure about that? A cemetery's a dangerous place to be alone.† Unquiet spirits, Meredith thought. She looked right at him. â€Å"I know.† He was grinning again, displaying teeth like tombstones. â€Å"Anyway, you can see it from here if you have good eyes. Look that way, toward the old graveyard. Now, do you see something sort of shining red in the middle?† â€Å"No.† There was a pale luminosity over the trees in the east. Meredith kept her eyes on it. â€Å"Aw, come on, Meredith. You're not trying. Once the moon's up you'll see it better.† â€Å"Tyler, I can't waste any more time here. I'm going.† â€Å"No, you're not,† he said. And then, as her fingers tightened on the vervain, encompassing it in her fist, he added in a wheedling voice, â€Å"I mean, you're not going until I tell you the story of that headstone, are you? It's a great story. See, the headstone is made of red marble, the only one of its kind in the whole graveyard. And that ball on top-see it?-that must weigh about a ton. But it moves. It turns whenever a Smallwood is going to die. My grandfather didn't believe that; he put a scratch on it right down the front. He used to come out and check it every month or so. Then one day he came and found the scratch in the rear. The ball had turned completely backward. He did everything he could to turn it around, but he couldn't. It was too heavy. And that night, in bed, he died. They buried him under it.† â€Å"He probably had a heart attack from overexertion,† Meredith said caustically, but her palms were tingling. â€Å"You're funny, aren't you? Always so cool. Always so together. Takes a lot to make you scream, doesn't it?† â€Å"I'm leaving, Tyler. I've had enough.† He let her walk a few paces, then said, â€Å"You screamed that night at Caroline's, though, didn't you?† Meredith turned back. â€Å"How do you know that?† Tyler rolled his eyes. â€Å"Give me credit for a little intelligence, okay? I know a lot, Meredith. For instance, I know what's in your pocket.† Meredith's fingers stilled. â€Å"What do you mean?† Meredith backed away a step. â€Å"You think that's going to help you, don't you? But I'm going to tell you a secret.† Meredith's eyes measured the distance between herself and the path. She kept her face calm, but a violent shaking was beginning inside her. She didn't know if she was going to be able to pull this off. â€Å"You're not going anywhere, babe,† Tyler said, and a large hand clasped Meredith's wrist. It was hot and damp where she could feel it below her jacket cuff. â€Å"You're going to stay right here for your surprise.† His body was hunched now, his head thrust forward, and there was an exultant leer on his lips. â€Å"Let me go, Tyler. You're hurting me!† Panic flashed down all Meredith's nerves at the feel of Tyler's flesh against hers. But the hand only gripped harder, grinding tendon against bone in her wrist. â€Å"This is a secret, baby, that nobody else knows,† Tyler said, pulling her close, his breath hot in her face. â€Å"You came here all decked out against vampires. But I'm not a vampire.† Meredith's heart was pounding. â€Å"Let go!† â€Å"First I want you to look over there. You can see the headstone now,† he said, turning her so that she couldn't help but look. And he was right; she could see it, like a red monument with a shining globe on top. Or-not a globe. That marble ball looked like†¦ it looked like†¦ â€Å"Now look east. What do you see there, Meredith?† Tyler went on, his voice hoarse with excitement. It was the full moon. It had risen while he'd been talking to her, and now it hung above the hills, perfectly round and enormously distended, a huge and swollen red ball. And that was what the headstone looked like. Like a full moon dripping with blood. â€Å"You came here protected against vampires, Meredith,† Tyler said from behind her, even more hoarsely. â€Å"But the Smallwoods aren't vampires at all. We're something else.† And then he growled. No human throat could have made the sound. It wasn't an imitation of an animal; it was real. A vicious guttural snarl that went up and up, snapping Meredith's head around to look at him, to stare in disbelief. What she was seeing was so horrible her mind couldn't accept it†¦ â€Å"I told you it was a surprise. How do you like it?† Tyler said. His voice was thick with saliva, and his red tongue lolled among the rows of long canine teeth. His face wasn't a face anymore. It jutted out grotesquely into a muzzle, and his eyes were yellow, with slitlike pupils. His reddish-sandy hair had grown over his cheeks and down the back of his neck. A pelt. â€Å"You can scream all you want up here and nobody's going to hear you,† he added. Every muscle in Meredith's body was rigid, trying to get away from him. It was a visceral reaction, one she couldn't have helped if she wanted to. His breath was so hot, and it smelled feral, like an animal. The nails he was digging into her wrist were stumpy blackened claws. She didn't have the strength to scream again. â€Å"There's other things besides vampires with a taste for blood,† Tyler said in his new slurping voice. â€Å"And I want to taste yours. But first we're going to have some fun.† Although he still stood on two feet, his body was humped and strangely distorted. Meredith's struggles were feeble as he forced her to the ground. She was a strong girl, but he was far stronger, his muscles bunching under his shirt as he pinned her. â€Å"You've always been too good for me, haven't you? Well, now you're going to find out what you've been missing.† I can't breathe, Meredith thought wildly. His arm was across her throat, blocking her air. Gray waves rolled through her brain. If she passed out now†¦ â€Å"You're going to wish you died as fast as Sue.† Tyler's face floated above her, red as the moon, with that long tongue lolling. His other hand held her arms above her head. â€Å"You ever hear the story of Little Red Riding Hood?† The gray was turning into blackness, speckled with little lights. Like stars, Meredith thought. I'm falling in the stars†¦ â€Å"Tyler, take your hands off her! Let go of her, now!† Matt's voice shouted. Tyler's slavering snarl broke off into a surprised whine. The arm against Meredith's throat released pressure, and air rushed into her lungs. Footsteps were pounding around her. â€Å"I've been waiting a long time to do this, Tyler,† Matt said, jerking the sandy-red head back by the hair. Then Matt's fist smashed into Tyler's newly grown muzzle. Blood spurted from the wet animal nose. The sound Tyler made froze Meredith's heart in her chest. He sprang at Matt, twisting in midair, claws outstretched. Matt fell back under the assault and Meredith, dizzy, tried to push herself up off the ground. She couldn't; all her muscles were trembling uncontrollably. But someone else picked Tyler off Matt as if Tyler weighed no more than a doll. â€Å"Just like old times, Tyler,† Stefan said, setting Tyler on his feet and facing him. Tyler stared a minute, then tried to run. He was fast, dodging with animal agility between the rows of graves. But Stefan was faster and cut him off. Stefan was dragging Tyler back. â€Å"I always knew you were a jerk,† he said, shoving Tyler against a headstone, â€Å"but I didn't know you were this stupid. I'd have thought you would have learned not to jump girls in graveyards, but no. And you had to brag about what you did to Sue, too. That wasn't smart, Tyler.† Meredith looked at them as they faced each other. So different, she thought. Even though they were both creatures of darkness in some way. Stefan was pale, his green eyes blazing with anger and menace, but there was a dignity, almost a purity about him. He was like some stern angel carved in unyielding marble. Tyler just looked like a trapped animal. He was crouched, breathing hard, blood and saliva mingling on his chest. Those yellow eyes glittered with hate and fear, and his fingers worked as if he'd like to claw something. A low sound came out of his throat. â€Å"Don't worry, I'm not going to beat you up this time,† Stefan said. â€Å"Not unless you try to get away. We're all going up to the church to have a little chat. You like to tell stories, Tyler; well, you're going to tell me one now.† Tyler sprang at him, vaulting straight from the ground for Stefan's throat. But Stefan was ready for him. Meredith suspected that both Stefan and Matt enjoyed the next few minutes, working off their accumulated aggressions, but she didn't, so she looked away. In the end, Tyler was trussed up with nylon cord. He could walk, or shuffle at least, and Stefan held the back of his shirt and guided him urgently up the path to the church. Inside, Stefan pushed Tyler onto the ground near the open tomb. â€Å"Now,† he said, â€Å"we are going to talk. And you're going to cooperate, Tyler, or you're going to be very, very sorry.†

Occupational, safety, and security at work place

This boils to the fact that a rocker will perform his duties to the fullest only when he Is sure that even when an accident occurs he will be taken good care of. â€Å"One of the most important things that an employer should provide to his employees Is safety even at a low risk site† says Pushup Vela the human resource assistant at Prime Aluminum Ltd.Brief History of Safety and security is that one of the effects of the Europeans coming course of time it was discovered that it was absolutely necessary to safeguard the interest of both the employer and the employee, hence the introduction of the arioso means of regulating employer-employee relationship.Initially, it was thought that the employees were being made objects of servitude but in the long run it became apparent that this sort of relationship requires the incorporation of rules to avoid either party being cheated out rightly. Labor law which was fashioned to ameliorate the prevalent crisis engulfing the industry in Eng land at a time was adopted in Nigeria as a direct consequence of colonialism by the United Kingdom. 1. Purpose of the Study The purpose of this study is to seek and to find out whether there are challenges inherent in this area that a human resource manager faces in his day to day routine duties within the organization thereby suggesting possible solutions that sought to overcome some of the challenges and well as providing some recommendations for the organization and to discuss and understand how Prime Aluminum Ltd deals with their occupational safety, health and security policy and what process it uses to achieve the broad objective of getting the relationship between employee and the employer and based on Prime aluminum Ltd. . 3 Scope of the Study By working on the term paper, Vive been able to understand how the policy has been incorporated in the institution, the challenges faced in the human resource department in implementation of such a policy, the presentation of some of t he solutions as well as some of the recommendations Vive been able to come up in the course of my research. When I carried out this research, I experienced some scopes in the area of this report.Bearing in mind the acquaintance and time of the paper has been wide- ranging specifically within the revision challenges inherent in the area of occupational health, safety and security suggesting the possible solutions as this rear basically deals with the top management level and low management. Being a student of Human Resource Management class, I got a chance to work with the Assistant Head of Human Resource, Mrs†¦Pushup Villain, where I got a chance and experience to engage on a one on one interview where she took me through the occupational health, safety and security policy and processes and how it makes sure they achieve their goals in the organization. 2. 0 Focus on Organization 2. 1 About Prime Aluminum Ltd Prime Aluminum Ltd has over 40 years of experience in their team of s pecialists;Prime Aluminum Casements Limited (PACE) has built a reputation of providing high quality solutions for aluminum windows, doors, structural glazing, curtain walling, ceilings, partitioning, claddings, office fit-outs and external fade related requirements across all building sectors. It is located on Mambas road as well as Lemur road. Prime prides itself in accomplishments and finding high quality solutions for all aluminum windows, doors, structural glazing, curtain walling, requirements for clients in an equitable, environmentally friendly, socially responsible and economical manner.Improve working conditions that are necessary to ensure higher labor productivity, better quality work, healthier labor relations and compliance with quality standards. Health and safety in the workplace is no more a new thing or issue in organizations but it is still handled as a new topic in, Prime Aluminum of today all because of the way it is being practiced. However, there appears to be some gradual improvement in awareness and practice. This part of this research work is meant to examine and describe the law as it relates to health and safety at work 3. FindingsResearch Questions Analysis This part of the study presents the response of the HER of Prime aluminum on safety health and security policies distributed questionnaires and as obtained from the interview How do Security policy, health and safety help with strategic decision making? Pushup: Strategic decision making is all about risk management. Getting the right information on Security policy, health and safety improves the chances of success, and helps to prevent accidents – which every business needs to do because accidents are so costly, in all sorts of ways that many organizations do not realize before one occurs including Prime . He goal of the company is to focus on health of all the employees so as to get employers who are fit to do the Job. For example we had an employee who was injured where he was working in the site. He was a very potential employer but due to less safety we lost him. Thus we are now struggling to get one who did such a great Job which is costing us a lot. What is the perception of the employees on health and safety issues and policies? Pushup: This part of this research work is meant to examine and describe the law as it relates to health and safety at work.By law, employers have to protect employees' health, safety and welfare at work. They have to make sure the workplace is safe and without risk to health. As part of this duty, employers must: 1. Keep dust, fumes and noise under control 2. Make sure that plant and machinery are safe and regularly maintained, and that the systems used in the workplace are safe 3. Provide protective clothing where necessary 4. Report certain diseases and injuries to the relevant authority 5.Provide adequate first aid equipment and facilities At sites where heavy machinery are being used; it is certain that the level is higher cause of the mechanical movement of parts of such machinery and therefore for the employee that will be monitoring or operating such machinery will be exposed to accidents. In a case like this, it should be known that the level of safety that will be provided will be much more than that of a site where ordinary hand tools are been used.Based on the above, we now understand that the level of Safety and Health protection will be higher nowadays because of the rapid mechanization of the manufacturing industry and the accidents that may occur will definitely be more fatal elicits. Do health and safety career problems actually reach the top and directors? Pushup: Health and safety is one crucial element of the mix of skills, along with finance, marketing and human resources, for example. It is becoming increasingly important because this could cost the firm a lot. UT in most cases the top directors are hard to reach because they are normally out of own doing business and it get s difficult for the HER to focus both on the workers at the sites and at the office. But these problems are normally taken care of at the end of the day. Could you give some examples of the biggest safety risks being faced by leaders? Pushup: employees undoubtedly face their biggest risks while driving for work. There is a very personal effect on individual directors – a director can set an appropriate example – or an inappropriate one.For example, if they speed to reach yet another meeting, or if they work long hours and drive a long way home after exhausting meetings. Directors have the legal responsibility if things go wrong and police will prosecute if, for example, a driver falls asleep at the wheel because of an over-long working day. What can they do about it other than set an example? Pushup: One of Prime aluminum's key issues is the management of occupational road risk – driving for work – which is why we offer a full range of solutions which can be targeted at those deemed to be the highest risk.These range from consultancy to driver training, and also computer-based driver risk assessments, which can be the cheapest, but most effective, way to start. What comes after that? Pushup Consider again the director who is a keen motorcyclist – if he or she suffers an accident it could bring the business to its knees! From Prime aluminum's work with its key major award winners we know that one in five accidents occurs in the home or while at leisure, so if we can reduce those, then the negative cost that accidents cause the workplace can be greatly reduced as well. What sort of training is available to directors?Pushup: Because directors have limited time available they will often not be able to go on pre-scheduled safety training courses. Prime aluminum addresses this through two routes: Conferences, where directors can network and key new developments can be highlighted by top speakers such as leading personal injury arre sters and FETES 100 leading company case studies given by their chief executives Tailored consultancy and in-company safety training means that companies can have a day or two of intensive focus on health and safety which is exactly right for their business.All of these options make directors aware of their legal duties and responsibilities, as well as the savings they could make if safety is properly managed, and the positive benefits of doing it properly. 4. 0 Challenges and solutions at Prime Aluminum Ltd security of his employees. Health and safety form an integral part of work environment. A work environment should enhance the well -being of employees and thus should be accident free.The terms health, safety and security are closely related to each other. Health is the general state of well-being. It not only includes physical well-being, but also emotional and mental well-being. Safety refers to the act of protecting the physical well-being of an employee. It will include the risk of accidents caused due to machinery, fire or diseases. Security refers to protecting facilities and equipments from unauthorized access and protecting employees while they are on work.According to Folia, & et al (1993), asserted that a proper understanding of the various work situations in manufacturing, textile, mining, construction and other labor intensive industries reveal that workers are exposed to hazards. These include: physical contact with poisons, dust inhalation, exposure to organic and inorganic chemicals, extreme temperatures of hot or cold, accidents, injuries, falls, burns and scalds, other dangers and sudden death. However, the health and safety of the workers have been recognized as a fundamental human right.The need to foster a safe work environment, protect co-workers, family members, employers, customers, suppliers, nearby communities and other members f the public impacted by the workplace environment is the primary goal of all Occupational Health and Saf ety(OH)practice An integrated occupational health and safety policy is essential for developing a stable and productive work environment. The government has in recent time enacted laws regulating the labor market and it has also been revised to promote healthier labor relations, appropriate working conditions, equity in the workplace and improved skills.Improved working conditions are necessary to ensure higher labor productivity, better quality work, healthier Barbour relations and compliance with quality standards. The economic gains associated with occupational health and safety policy improvements include: a. Increased productivity and worker morale; b. Reduction of working time lost due to injury and disease; c. Reduced equipment down-time, reduced damages to materials and machinery, and savings in the costs of recruiting and training replacement employees; d. Reduction in transaction costs such as insurance costs and legal fees.Adequate occupational health and safety policy an d standards are required for a nation's continued integration into the world economy. International investors who subscribe to world- class occupational health and safety standards are reluctant to invest in markets in which local firms are able to compete unfairly through reduced occupational health and safety standards. Increasingly, African exporters particularly those who export to developed economies are being required to comply with international quality management standards.These standards require world-class performance in areas such as occupational health and safety policy, environmental protection and product safety A health and safety management system involves the introduction of processes designed to decrease the incidence of injury and illness in the employer's operation (Alberta, 2006). The successful implementation of this resources, and a high level of employee participation. The components of effective health and safety management system are briefly explained below : a.Management leadership and organizational commitment. For this system to be effective, management must show leadership and commitment to the program. To achieve this, management should put the organization's expectation around health and safety into writing by developing a health and safety policy. Employees who forms part of the health and safety committee, should be involved in writing the policy, and to be signed by senior operating officer, to indicate the commitment of management. B.