The American Dream By Dave Eggers - 1992 Words

Dave Eggers, author of A Hologram for the King, Heroes of the Frontier and The Circle, among many other books, often comments on the American dream. Eggers believes that the American dream has changed over time, and is no longer an achievable goal. The American dream was initially the ideal of each man and women being able to reach their full potential and have equal opportunities (Amadeo). Yet this ideal slowly morphed into the necessity of owning a house and having a happy, prosperous family. In order to achieve this, people have tried to force themselves into unhappy marriages, spend money they can t afford to lose and change others actions in order to help their own selves. The American dream was for people during a time of†¦show more content†¦In his old age, he realizes he will never have the organized life he wanted, and while he hopes for the best he know he must expect the worst. This ability to brag is what Eggers argues drives the quest for the American dream, and he argues that it does not bring true content. Another example of Clay’s need to fulfill the dream was his creation of bicycles. As he created bicycles, he believed selling them was what could make him rich. Yet this was not the case, because as the world became more technology based, he was sticking to the old ways of life. A bicycle is often a symbol of freedom, as it provides the freedom to go wherever whenever. As Alan attempts to create a new and improved bicycle, he is trying to enhance the old way of life, and has not yet comprehended that the old way of life has changed, and if he wants to prosper he must change with it. This again is a comment on the evolution of the American dream and how people are trying to control things they no longer can. Clay tries so hard to be a business owner in order to be successful, but has never found what his true passion is. This leads him to a very unhappy life with many health problems, similar as to many others in the world. Anoth er extreme view of the American dream is forcing equality. In The Circle, Mae Holland begins working at the Circle, a company that uses technology to be able to share everything everyoneShow MoreRelatedZeitoun Essay example973 Words   |  4 PagesZeitoun By: Dave Eggers After September 11, 2001 I’ve had trouble finding what makes me more angry; the way the authorities handled the hurricane of Katrina or the way the Arabs were treated. I have herd countless stories related to the 9/11 attack and until today I see the way that has affected the lives of many. Through Eggers story, I was able to comprehend more about the tragedy in New Orleans and even though I thought I already knew about the aftermath that Katrina brought, Eggers grabbed myRead MoreEssay about America: A Class Divided2707 Words   |  11 Pagesnot known, could not even afford to fix her car. Although she worked harder than anyone who I had ever met, almost 60 hours a week, it was she who was struggling to pay the bills. This is not our ancestors’ America. Over the last 100 years American has been beseeched by a seemingly benign transformation that has led us astray from our national values and has led us to ignore our individual senses of right and wrong. The United States was founded upon the idea that if you are willing to workRead MorePostmodernism in Literature5514 Words   |  23 PagesArtists associated with Surrealism, which developed from Dadaism, continued experimentations with chance and parody while celebrating the flow of the subconscious. Andre Breton, the founder of Surrealism, suggested that automatism and the description of dreams should play a greater role in the creation of literature. He used automatism to create his novel Nadja and used photographs to replace description as a parody of the overly-descriptive novelists he often criticized. Surrealist Rene Magrittes experiments

Control Process in Management Free Essays

†¢ Home †¢ About Site †¢ Preserve Your Article †¢ Content Quality Guidelines †¢ Disclaimer †¢ TOS †¢ Contact Us †¢ Skip to content 4 main steps in control process in management 4 main steps in control process in management are: Control as a management function involves the following steps: 1. Establishing standards: Standards are criteria against which results are measured. They are norms to achieve the goals. We will write a custom essay sample on Control Process in Management or any similar topic only for you Order Now Standards are usually measured in terms of output. They can also be measured in non-monetary terms like loyalty, customer attraction, goodwill etc. Some of the standards are as. a. Time standards: The goal will be set on the basis of time lapse in performing a task. b. Cost standards: These indicate the financial expenditures involved per unit, e. g. material cost per unit, cost per person, etc. c. Income standards: These relate to financial rewards received due to a particular activity like sales volume per month, year etc. d. Market share: This relates to the share of the company’s product in the market. e. Productivity: Productivity can be measured on the basis of units produced per man hour etc. f. Profitability: These goals will be set with the consideration of cost per unit, market share, etc. 2. Measuring performance Measurement involves comparison between what is accomplished and what was intended to be accomplished. The measurement of actual performance must be in the units similar to those of predetermined criterion. The unit or the yardstick thus chosen be clear, well-defined and easily identified, and should be uniform and homogenous throughout the measurement process. The performance can be measured by the following steps: (a) Strategic control points: It is not possible to check everything that is being done. Feature article about  Production Management So it is necessary to pick strategic control points for measurement. Some of these points are: (i) Income: It is a significant control point and must be as much per unit of time as was expected. If the income is significantly off form the expectation then the reasons should be investigated and a corrective action taken. (ii) Expenses: Total and operational cost per unit must be computed and must be adhered to. Key expense data must be reviewed periodically. (iii) Inventory: Some minimum inventory of both the finished product as well as raw materials must be kept in stock as a buffer. Any change in inventory level would determine whether the production is to be increased or decreased. (iv) Quality of the product: Standards of established quality must be maintained especially in food processing, drug manufacturing, automobiles, etc. The process should be continuously observed for any deviations. (v) Absenteeism: Excessive absenteeism of personnel is a serious reflection on the environment and working conditions. Absenteeism in excess of chance expectations must be seriously investigated. (b) Meclzanised measuring devices: This involves a wide variant of technical instruments used for measurement of machine operations, product â€Å"quality for size and ingredients and production processes. These instruments may be mechanical, electronic or chemical in nature. (c) Ratio analysis: Ratio analysis is one of the most important management tools. It describes the relationship of one business variable to another. The following are some of the important ratios: i) Net sales to working capital: The working capital must be utilised adequately. If the inventory turnover is rapid then the same working capital can be used again and again. Hence for perishable goods, this ratio is high. Any change in ratio will signal a deviation from the norm. ii) Net sales to inventory: The greater the turnover of inventory, generally, the higher the profit on investment. iii) Current ratio: This is the ratio of current asset (cash, receivables etc. ) to current liabilities, and is used to determine a firm’s ability to pay the short term debts. iv) Net profits to net sale: This ratio measures the short-run profitability of a business. v) Net profits to tangible net worth: Net worth is the difference between tangible assets (not good will, etc) and total liabilities. This ratio of net worth is used to measure profitability over a long period. vi) Net profits to net working capital: The net-working capital is the operating capital at hand. This would determine the ability of the business to finance day-to-day operations. vii) Collection period on credit sales: The collection period should be as short as possible. Any deviation from established collection period should be promptly investigated. viii) Inventory to net working capital: This ratio is to determine the extent of working capital tied up in inventory. Generally, this ratio should be less than 80 per cent, ix) Total debt to tangible net worth: This ratio would determine the financial soundness of the business. This ratio should remain as low as possible. (d) Comparative statistical analysis: The operations of one company can be usefully compared with similar operations of another company or with industry averages. It is a very useful performance measuring device. (e) Personal observation: Personal observation both formal and informal can be used in certain situation as a measuring device for performances, specially, the performance of the personnel. The informal observation is generally a day-to-day routine type. A manager may walk through a store to have a general idea about how people are working. 3. Comparing the actual performance with expected performance This is the active principle of the process. The previous two, setting the goals and the measurement format are the preparatory parts of the process. It is the responsibility of the management to compare the actual performance against the standards established. This comparison is less complicate if the measurement units for the standards et and the performance measured are the same and quantified. The comparison becomes more difficult when these require subjective evaluations Ralph C. Davis identifies four phases in the comparison. 1. Receiving the raw data. 2. Accumulation, classification and recording of this information. 3. Periodic evaluation of completed action to date. 4. Reporting the status of accomplishment to higher line authority. At the third phase, deviations if any are noted between standards and performance. If clear cut deviations are there, then management must study the:- (i) Causes for deviation ii) Effect of deviation (iii) Size of deviation (iv) Positive or negative deviation. 4. Correcting Deviations: The final element in the process is the taking corrective action. Measuring and comparing performance, detecting shortcomings, failures or deviations, from plans will be of no avail if it does point to the needed corrective action. Thus controlling to be effective, should involve not only the detection of lapses but also probe into the failure spots, fixation of responsibility for the failures at the right quarters, recommendation of the best possible teps to correct them. These corrective actions must be applied when the work is in progress. The primary objective should be avoidance of such failures in future. The required corrective action can be determined from the qualified data as per the standards laid out and the performance evaluation already done. This step should be taken promptly, otherwise losses may be cumulative and remedial action will be all the more difficult to take. Corrective action must be well balanced, avoiding over controlling and at the same time letting not things to drift. You May Also Like: †¢ 3 Elements of an Organisation suggested by Allen †¢ 14 principles of management suggested by Fayol Advertisement Free Subscription Top of Form [pic][pic] Do you want some more information on this topic? Enter your email id: [pic][pic] Bottom of Form Do you like this site? If you enjoy reading PreserveArticles. com, please share this site with your friends.? Guidelines †¢ About Site †¢ Content Quality Guidelines †¢ Terms of Service †¢ Privacy Policy †¢ Disclaimer †¢ Copyright †¢ Recent Articles spellingerrors Report Spelling and Grammatical Errors Suggestions †¢ Suggest Us Testimonials †¢ Users Testimonials Preserve Articles is home of thousands of articles published and preserved by users like you. Here you can publish your research papers, essays, letters, stories, poetries, biographies, notes, reviews, advises and allied information with a single vision to liberate knowledge. Before preserving your article s on this site, please read the following pages: 1. Content Guidelines 2. TOS 3. Privacy Policy 4. Disclaimer 5. Copyright Search Articles Top of Form How to cite Control Process in Management, Essay examples

Rup vs Scrum free essay sample

We can still make an absolutely perfect product regarding its features, its internal quality and architecture, but if there is no room for it in the market it has no business value. Furthermore, it is pretty clear that Scrum is mainly focused on day-to-day tasks in contrast with RUP which approach the project as a whole from the beginning. Scrum uses a backlog where all the desirable features are gathered after several discussions and brainstorming with the Product Owner. This procedure happens before every Sprint and defines the next Spring backlog. Scrum is mostly concerned with team management and a little bit with requirements. Hence, there is no longterm project scope and estimations for project duration and costs are difficult. Scrum does not say much about releases or a project as a whole. Its main concern are the current and the next Sprints. On the other hand, RUP methodology has a clear formal definition of scope and major project deadlines are associated with specific dates. We will write a custom essay sample on Rup vs Scrum or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In RUP the project lifecycle is divided into 4 main phases. These are the Inception, elaboration, Construction and Transition phase. Requirements are pre-defined in contrast with Scrum, however they are called Vision. Despite the fact that the so called Vision, requests definition of requirements, RUP remains fully aware of their evolving nature and can adjust them anytime. Because all of the above statements, RUP’s documentation is heavy compared to Scrums. One more difference between the two methodologies is that project features are prioritized in Scrum according to Products Owner and Scrums team judgment. Ergo, the planning is mainly based in this prioritization. In contrast, iteration planning in RUP is also based on risk in addition to priority. Lastly, the formal profile of RUP make it suitable for really big projects which are tight on deadlines. On the other hand Scrum is more suitable for small and medium sized projects , although it can be applied on larger projects as well. The formalistic nature of RUP refers to the developers as â€Å"workers† in its manifesto. Scrums manifesto refers to them as team members and promotes a more team oriented environment. We could say that RUP is more bureaucratic and SCRUM is more democratic.