Condition of African-Americans in the late nineteenth century Essay

Examine the condition of African-Americans in the late nineteenth century and explain why the Thirteenth Amendment, the Fourteenth Amendment, and the Fifteenth Amendment, which were enacted to aid the new freedmen, actually did little. In the late nineteenth century after the civil war the U.S. was over, there were about 4 million people that were once slaves that were now set free. The big question for President Lincoln and the presidents that followed was what to do with them? Even though the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments were passed to free and aid the freed slaves it actually did very little to help them at all because many other events that took place, which prevented them from working. The white southern government passed restrictive black codes, which was mostly just revised sections of the slave codes and replaced the word slaves with freedmen. The codes made former slaves carry passes, observe curfews, and live in housing provided by landowners. There were certain jobs that blacks still could not get into. Labor contracts even bounded the freed people to plantations and laws would punish anyone who tried to lure workers away from the plantations to other employment opportunities. Since most blacks lacked money to buy land many had to rent the land they worked. They had to rent land from white owners, which turned into sharecropping, where the black farmers kept some of their crop and gave the rest to the landowner for payment of the land. This ...

Compensation: Employment and Internal Alignment

1. Define compensation and discuss the variety of returns people received from their work? (8 marks) Compensation refers to all forms of financial return and tangible services and benefits employees receive as part of employment relationship. Other than that compensation means something that counterbalance, offsets, or makes up for something else. However in the different language the compensation itself have richness of meaning, which combines entitlement, returns and reward.Compensations are related with the employee and the employer performances, it means by employee performance of their works and the employer as the organization performance. Compensation need to be consider in all aspect especially in internal or external factor such as technology advancement, human capital, economic, government and others because it may affect the organizations itself. Other than that, the benefit of compensation toward the employees is it may increase the employee morale and it’s also a way to attract and retain employees.The variety of returns people receive from their work that are categorized as total compensation and relational returns. The total compensations are transactional and the relational returns are psychological. Total compensation can be divided into two. First is cash compensation that means by they include pay directly as cash such as base, merit/cost of living, short term incentives and long term incentives. That normally employer pays for the work performed based on their result in performance appraisal.Second is indirectly as benefits such as income protection, work/life balance, and allowance. That is non-monetary benefits for the employees, for example all female employees are entitled for maternity allowance, transportations allowance, EPF or SOCSO and others. The relational returns are involved learning opportunities, status, challenging work and so on. By means the compensation is intangible. For example for recognition and status, as human being normally people are loved to be respect by the others because that is a human nature.The increase of status means position of the employee may improve their morale and individual self-esteem. It also may influence other people to compete and improve their performance and gain the competitive advantages. 2. Pay system are designed to achieve certain objective, list and briefly describes the three compensation objective? (10 marks) i. Efficiency ? Performance ? Quality ? Customer and stockholder ? Cost ii. Fairness iii. Compliance iv. Ethics †¢ EfficiencyCan be stated more specifically first in improving performance, increasing quality, delighting customers and stakeholder and second is controlling labor cost. It also means by the pay of the employees are equivalent with the employee performance. When the employees are satisfied with their payment it will improve the quality of work indirectly will also increase the product quality. When the employees feels satisfied with their payment it will make the organization stable and it will help for the customer and stockholder loyalty (good image of organization).The organization also my control labor cost because they are able to attract and retain their employees. †¢ Fairness It is call as a fair treatment for all of the employees by recognizing both employees contributions for example higher pay for greater performance, experience, or training and employees needs for example fair wage as fair procedures. The procedural fairness is refer to the process used to make pay decisions. It suggested the way a pay decision is made be equally as importance to employees as the result of decisions.For example, the CEO position are received the higher pay in organization it is because the decision that been made may give a big impact towards the organization rather than the decision that had been made by the operator that may give a little impact only in department. †¢ Compliance As a pay objective means c onforming to federal and state compensation law and regulations. If laws change, pay system may need to change, too to ensure continued compliance. As compliance go global, they must comply with the laws of all the countries in which they operates.It means by, even they are same position but in different country, the employees cannot have the same pay. It is because every country has own currency. So, it is not suitable to use the same compensation system in different country, it also may cause dissatisfaction among employees. 3. Discuss four perspective of compensation? (12marks) i. Society Some people see pay as measure of justice. For example the comparison of earning between men and women highlights what many consider inequities in pay decisions. Benefits given as part of total compensation package may also be seen as a reflection of equity or justice in society.The society also may see that involved job losses or job gain in a country over time. It means by the compensation may increase the employee morale (job gain) or decrease employee morale (job losses) because of dissatisfaction. Some consumers know that pay increase often lead to price increases. It’s because the employer need to pay the employees by using their profits. ii. Stockholders They are also interested in how employees are paid. Some believe that using stock to pay employees creates sense of ownership that will improve performance, which will, in turn, increase stockholder wealth.It is because, the employee will feel more responsible as they feels that the organization as their own. iii. Managers For manager, compensation influences their success in two ways. First it is major expense. Competitive pressures, both global and local, force manager to consider the affordability of their compensation decision. Other than that, managers also used it to influences employees behavior and improve the organization performance because they have an authority to evaluate the employees’ pe rformance that relate to the compensations and benefits. v. Employees The pay individuals receive in return for the work they perform is usually the major source of their financial security. Employees may see compensation as a return in an exchange between their employer and themselves, as an entitlement for being an employee of the company, or as a reward for a job well done. The employees see pay as the important things in their live because it determines the standard of living and the money that they need to plan for their future. 4. Elaborates four steps in developing a compensation strategy? 12 marks) i. Assets Total Compensation Implications Think about any organizations past, present, and its future. What factors in its business environment have contributed the company’s success? Which factor that become more or less likely important as company looks ahead? The company classifies the factors as business strategy and competitive dynamic, HR strategy, culture/values, soc ial and political context, employee/union needs and others HR system. Which is the employer itself must have clear understanding about their business. i. Map a Total Compensation Strategy Mapping is often used in marketing to clarify and communicate a products identity. A strategic map offers a picture of company compensation strategy. It can also clarify the message that the company is trying to deliver with its compensation system. The comparison with competitors using the diagram based on element on pay model such as, objective, internal alignment, external competitiveness, employee contributions and management. iii. Implement strategyInvolve implementing strategy through the design and execution of compensation system. Where implement the system that had been created. iv. Reassess Reassess and realign, closes the loop and recognize that the strategy must be changing to fit the changing conditions. Thus the periodic reassess is needs to continuously learn, adapt, and improve. The result from using the system need to be assessed against objectives we are trying to achieve. 5. Define an internal alignment and briefly discuss any four factors which shape internal alignment? (10 marks)Internal alignment can be define as internal equity, refers to the pay relationships among different jobs/ skills/ competencies within a single organization. It also means by how to structure the position in organizations. For example, if a person holding degree, he will be measure under competencies, which is he has a good qualification than others. Factors which shape internal alignment :- i. Government policies, laws and regulations. The equal employment legislations forbids pay system that discriminate on the basis of gender, race, religion or national origin.The equal pay for equal work with considers under equal if it is equal skills, equal effort and equal responsibility and is performed under equal working conditions. ii. Organization strategy It may influence the internal alignment. The belief is that pay structure that are not aligned with organization strategy may become obstacles to the organization success. iii. Organization Human Capital Human capitals are based on education, experience, knowledge, abilities and skills require performing the work. It is a major influence in internal alignment.The greater the values added by the skills and experience the more pay those skills will command. iv. Overall HR policies The organization other human resource policies also may influence internal pay structures. Most organizations tie money to promotions to induce the employees to apply for higher-level position. If organization has more levels, it can offer more promotions, but there may be smaller pay differences between levels. The belief is that more frequent promotions (even without significant pay increase) offer sense of career progress to employees. [pic]

What motivates people at work? Essay

There have been a large number of theories looking into motivation at work and the factors which affect it. In this essay I will be exploring three key theories in the area, each provides a very different angle on what motivates employees at work. To begin I will look at a need theory of motivation, Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory (1959), as the name suggests need theories concentrate on the need’s of the employee as the main source of motivation. Herzberg built upon Maslow’s hugely influential Hierarchy of Needs (1954). Conducting research on 203 American accountants and engineers he looked at what makes employees satisfied and dissatisfied at work. Contrary to Maslow’s theory Herzberg suggests that motivation is not measured on one linear scale from satisfied to dissatisfied, but rather the two are independent of each other and form separate scales. The first group which determines dissatisfaction (or de-motivation) are named Hygiene factors which include our basic needs such as our pay and safety. The addition or improvement of hygiene factors can only lead to contentment in employees and not motivation. The second group which determines satisfaction are named Motivators, these include our internal needs such as our need to achieve, to be recognised and given responsibility. A decline or lack of motivators will not de-motivate employees, but adding them can lead to increased motivation. Research on the theory has provided both support and criticism. To begin with the theory is supported by the number of successful replications as reported by Hodgetts and Luthans (1991), these replications have taken place across the world and in a wide variety of different job sectors and still achieved the same results. The main area of criticism for the Two-Factor theory targets the methodology of the research it was derived from. Soliman (1970) pointed out that the tendency of subjects to give socially desirable answers would have impacted the answers participants gave to Herzbergs open ended questions. In addition there is a tendency for people to attribute negative situations to others and posit ive to themselves e.g. â€Å"I felt satisfaction  when ‘I’ achieved and was recognised for it† or â€Å"I was dissatisfied when ‘the company’ paid me late†. This biased attribution of satisfying and dissatisfying situations is another example of a problem with the methodology. More problems with the methodology are shown by House and Wigdor (1967). After re-analysing Herzberg’s original results they concluded that factors described as being either a hygiene or motivator were not mutually exclusive. In many cases the addition of Hygiene factors can act to motivate people, likewise a lack of Motivator factors can causes dissatisfaction. However as well as looking at the empirical research on the theory we must also think about its value when practically applied to the workplace. In support of the theory it does, to a certain extent makes sense. If one month you miss out on pay or are required to do something dangerous you would be dissatisfied. At the same time employees do not feel satisfied or motivated by safe working conditions or being paid on time because it is what they expect. The same goes for Motivator factors, an employee would feel more satisfied if they received a personal compliment from the boss but it is unlikely that they would feel dissatisfied if it didn’t happen. They certainly wouldn’t expect it every day. Yet one key problem with the theory is that it fails to take into account the difference between satisfaction and motivation. An employee may be satisfied at work, they may obtain all the ‘motivator’ factors outlined in the theory but this does not mean they will automatically be motivated to be as productive as they can be. Another criticism is that the theory does not account for individual differences, employees are not all the same, some may be more materialistic and be motivated more by monetary reward. Some strive for achievement and are willing to do anything to gain the respect of their peers and high status within the business while others may be content with their job and just wish to keep their heads down and get on with it. Put simply, while being given responsibility may satisfy some people others may find it an unpleasant addition to their job. In summary the Two-Factor model and its supporting research have been found to have good re-test and cross cultural reliability but has been heavily criticised for its validity and methodology. Although this weakens the value of the theory it has still been extremely influential and can be practically applied in most organizations as a method by which staff motivation can be monitored and improved. Next I am going to look at the Goal Setting Theory Locke (1969). The basic premise of the theory is that by setting a goal you can increase a person’s motivation and performance. This increase in performance is due to the motivational influence of goals in 4 key areas (as cited in Woods 2010). The first is that goals help to focus a person’s attention and behaviour in the correct direction. Secondly goals have the effect of increasing the effort a person is willing expend. Thirdly the addition of a goal increase the amount of a time a person will spend on a specific task. Finally they motivate an individual to seek out and apply relevant knowledge and skills in order to complete the goal. This is how the goal setting theory explains why we are motivated by goals. In addition to this Locke and Latham (1990) put forward 5 key features of a goal which determine how motivating it is, to be effective goals must be; 1) Specific, a goal which gives a specific target is more motivating then goals which simply require a person to ‘do your best’. 2) Measurable, a measurable target enables a person to track their progress towards the goal and alter their effort and method accordingly. 3) Time-Bound, applying a deadline to achieving the goal enables a person to better manage their time and effort. 4) Challenging, it is unlikely that an easy goal will motivate a person to put in maximum effort. By making the goal challenging people are push and required to work harder in order to achieve. 5) Attainable, having a goal which is impossible to achieve is likely to de-motivate a person, why would a person put effort in if they have no chance of success. It must be realistically possible to achieve goals. The theory provides a good detailed description of both how and why people are motivated. It has been one of the most widely researched areas within motivational psychology and is still very much an evolving area. Research by Latham and Baldes (1975) put the core assumption of the goal setting theory to the test in a real world setting. They introduced the goal of reaching 94% efficiency in the loading of trucks (previously at just 60%) to a group of employees in a logging company. The employees were motivated by the goal and successfully achieved (and often surpassed) it and continued to work consistently at the target rate. To have achieved the same increase in efficiency without Goal theory (by purchasing more trucks) would have cost the company $250,000. Another example of research supporting the Goal  setting theory comes from Blumenfeld and Leidy (1969). They found that 55 engineers in charge of soft drinks machines checked considerably more machines when set a goal then when no goal was set. Furthermore it was found that engineers checked more machines when set a challenging goal then if set an easy goal. A key problem with the methodology of both pieces of supporting research above is that there was little control over extraneous variables. For example Latham and Baldes (1975) did show a huge increase in productivity, but this may not have been due to the addition of a goal. Perhaps the competitive nature of the loggers lead to an increase in efficiency, it may also have simply been down to the increased supervision the workers received at the time. Again it is important to look at the theory in terms of its practical application in the workplace. Its key strength is that it does appear to work as a method of increasing motivation, however again the theory fails to account for individual differences. Employees who are already highl y motivated at work would benefit from goals being set; it would push them and enable them to prove themselves. However other less confident employees may not enjoy the competitive nature of workplace goals and targets, it could even cause stress and discomfort and leads to a reduction in motivation. In addition, when you direct a person’s attention and effort towards one specific goal you may get a decrease in performance in other tasks. A goal may not increase motivation but just direct it. For example if you give hospital staff the target of seeing all patients within 10 minuets they may achieve the target but at the cost of service and quality of treatment. This would obviously be detrimental to the quality of work on the whole. A final point to consider is that all employees have different levels of ability so in order for goals to push an employee but still remain achievable they must be individually tailored. As well as being impractical in a large business Equality theories (discussed next) would suggest that giving some people easier targets than others may actually lead to a reduction in motivation. On the whole Goal Theories are very useful and practical when applied in the right circumstances. Perhaps one weakness of both the theory and supporting research is in its inability to account for causes of demotivation in an organization. However the research shows that goals do motivate people at work, yet when applied to an organizational environment we see possible  drawbacks and potential difficulties which are difficult to overcome. The final theory I am going to examine is the Organizational Justice Theory which builds upon the equity theory put forward by Adams (1963). The Organizational Justice theory has been constructed from theory and research contributed by a significant number of psychologists, certainly too many to list in their entirety. However two key contributors worth noting are Greenberg (1987a) who coined the term Organizational Justice and conducted much of the early research and Mowday (1987) (cited in Greenberg 1990) who has had a significant impact on the theory. The core belief of the theory is that employees can be motivated (or de-motivated) by their perception of how fairly they are being treated at work in comparison to their colleagues. The theory suggests three different types of justice which can be perceived. The first is Distributive Justice, which looks at the extent to which an employee thinks they are being fairly rewarded for the work they put in compared to others, the theory s uggest that a person will either increase or decrease their level of input in order to balance out and restore equality. The second is Procedural Justice, this looks at how fair a person feels the procedures and systems are within a business, for example is holiday date allocation fair. The third is Interactional Justice, this is the least researched area and compromises of two parts; Informational Justice describes how well informed a person is about the decisions taken within a business, using holiday as an example again it may be explained to an employee why they can not have the holiday they asked for. Interpersonal Justice describes the extent to which someone feels they are treated with respect. As with the Goal setting theory there has been a considerable amount of research put into Organizational Justice theory. In a recent study Zapata-Phelan, Colquitt, Scott and Livingston (2009) (cited in Woods 2010) looked at how procedural and interaction justice effected motivation and in turn performance. They found that when a person perceived high procedural justice in an organization there was an incr ease in motivation, leading to an increase in performance.

The Biomedical Mode of Health

The biomedical model of health Introduction In health psychology it is seen that health is defined by different models. One such model is the biomedical model of health which revolves around the aspect of a healthy body. The model was introduced in the nineteenth century and has been used widely to diagnose diseases by the doctors. According to the model every disease or disorder is caused by a physical harm. In other words the diseases or disorders are caused by germs or genes which might be changing the internal environment of the body to cause the disease.Although it has been introduced in the nineteenth century, the roots of the model date back to the 17th century when Cartesian dualism existed. After its introduction the model replaced the previously famous Humoral paradigm in the twentieth century. The discovery of antibiotics proved to be a breakthrough in the approval of the model. However in the late twentieth century some of the sociologists again started questioning the in tegrity of the biomedical model of health as they considered the social wellbeing of an individual to be as important as the biological well being (Curtis 2002; Taylor 2008; Lovallo 2005; Havelka et al 2009).Biomedical Model of Health The biomedical model of health takes its roots from the Cartesian Dualism which is dated back to the seventeenth century in the times of Descartes. Cartesian Dualism revolved around the aspect that both mind and body are two separate entities irrespective of their functions. In a similar fashion the model considers physical causes to be the main reason for the disease. The model has replaced the previously followed Humoral Paradigm which was formed by the Greeks.According to this paradigm the diseases in a human body are caused by a certain abnormality in the four basic fluids of the body. In those times the four basic fluids of the body were believed to be blood, black bile, yellow bile and phlegm. The treatment of this paradigm also revolved around t he maintenance of these four basic fluids. One thing that the Humoral paradigm and biomedical model of health have in common is that both of them consider bodily factors to be the cause of the disease (Curtis 2002).The biomedical model of health revolves around certain factors which have to be present. The model states that for a person to be unhealthy they have to have some sort of biological abnormality. It also states that every disease has some specific cause which has to be diagnosed by the doctor in order to cure the patient. It also involves the process of treatment and states that the human body can be reversed back to the normal condition if the right treatment is served to the diseased person. It states that psychological and social processes do not take part in the disease causing process.Moreover it also assumes that mind and body are two different entities that have no such relation with each other and lastly the health of the whole society is dependent on the resources that are available to the medical society as a whole (Taylor 2008). The model is largely followed all over the world and its principles are also seen to be the most convincing these days. It is because of this model that researches are being conducted on the biochemical and genetic processes of the body to find out about the different diseases.Moreover all the doctors being trained these days are trained on the principles of this model as they have to learn about the internal environment of a human being so that they can treat them. In other words they have to understand the human body so that they can intervene in the process of disease that may be causing harm to the patient (Curtis 2002; Taylor & Field 2007). It has helped to carry out several projects have proved to be a breakthrough in treating various diseases occurring in the society. The Human Genome Project is an example of the advantages of this model.Human Genome Project was a project launched in the year 1990 by interna tional authorities to find out the sequencing of the human genome along with the identification of the chemical base pairs. Human genomes are the genes which contain information about the hereditary characteristics that an individual would possess. In human beings these are found in the form of genes located on the chromosomes. It is this human genome project which allowed the doctors to learn a lot about the structure of chromosomes, the proteins coded by the genes, and the number of genes in a human being.It has also made the surgeries safe and effective. Moreover it has also assisted in controlling the diseases occurring all over the world and this can be noticed in the statistics of morality in the different nations. The diseases which were previously considered to be untreatable can now be treated because of the knowledge acquired after the introduction of this model. As an example the cases of pneumonia and appendicitis can be considered which previously were untreatable. Pneu monia is a disease caused by the bacteria Pneumococcus and affects the lungs whereas appendicitis is the inflammation of the appendix.Pneumonia is a life threatening condition which could not be cured previously but nowadays it can be cured with the help of antibiotics. Appendicitis is also a lethal condition which can be cured with the help of surgery. (Taylor & Field 2007; Havelka et al 2009; Robbins et al 2005). Limitations of the Biomedical Model of Health The biomedical model of health has its own shortcomings and is termed as reductionist by the opponents. In other words it does not broaden its concept towards the factors other than genes and chemicals for example the factors relating to economic or social environment of the individual.This however is covered by the holistic approach which takes the whole situation in consideration before taking a step. Similarly another factor that is mentioned is the relation of the model to the physical causes of the diseases concerned. The opponents point out that not all the diseases are related to physical causes but some of them are caused by a multitude of the factors. An example of the heart disease atherosclerosis can be cited here in which the factors of genetics, diet, and lifestyle play a role (Curtis 2002).It is also criticized to be more related to the aspect of curing rather than preventing the disease. It is believed to be totally ignoring the aspects of social and psychological variants which do have a role in the progression of a disease. The treatment process is also related to these variants and again this model does not take into consideration these variants because of which some treatments do not go successful (Taylor 2008). Lastly, the model emphasizes on the body in particular irrespective of the role that mind plays in the health of an individual.This aspect of the model can be denied because the research these days show that the mind plays a great role in influencing the body. Some diseases may be caused because the person may be living in unstable economic conditions and these conditions are not taken into consideration by the model. An example can be cited here in the therapies that are recommended for people who are suffering from different diseases. For example the cognitive therapy recommended for patients suffering from cancer. Cognitive therapy is recommended in the treatment of certain cancers as individuals undergoing he treatment suffer from symptoms like pain, memory loss, lack of concentration, irrational behaviour and mood swings. Cognitive therapies can help in relieving all these symptoms as shown by different researches. (Curtis 2002; Scipio et al 2006). Conclusion The biomedical model of health has been questioned by many sociologists as it does not take the aspect of social well being in its definition. Health is a factor which is dependent on all the aspects of life as put down by the sociologists.Economic and social factors should also be considered wh en analyzing the health of an individual. These factors also determine the emotions of an individual and hence the person can be sociologically unfit. In other words it is not necessary for a healthy person to be sociologically fit in the current definition of the biomedical model of health. In the latter half of the twentieth century it was realized that the biomedical model of health can be applied to the ones who are diseased biologically but not the ones who are unfit by other means.This approach therefore led to the adaptation of a new approach known as holistic approach. It is seen that nowadays the biomedical model is adopted for curing purposes along with other factors of society when curing a disease (Curtis 2002; Taylor & Field 2007; Derick & Halligan 1970; Checkland et al 2008). References Lovallo, W. R. , & Lovallo, W. R. (2005). Stress & health: Biological and psychological interactions. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage Publications. Checkland, K. , Harrison, S. , McDonald, R . , Grant, S. , Campbell, S. , & Guthrie, B. (January 01, 2008).Biomedicine, holism and general medical practice: responses to the 2004 General Practitioner contract. Sociology of Health & Illness, 30, 5, 788-803. Havelka, M. , Lucanin, J. D. , & Lucanin, D. (January 01, 2009). Biopsychosocial model–the integrated approach to health and disease. Collegium Antropologicum, 33, 1, 303-10. Taylor, S. E. (2008). Health psychology. New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Curtis, A. J. (2002). Health psychology. London: Routledge. Taylor, S. , & Field, D. (2007). Sociology of health and health care. Oxford: Blackwell Pub.Wade, Derick T, & Halligan, Peter W. (1970). Do biomedical models of illness make for good healthcare systems?. BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. Kumar, Vinay, Abul K. Abbas, Nelson Fausto, Stanley L. Robbins, and Ramzi S. Cotran. Robbins and Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease. Philadelphia: Elsevier Saunders, 2005. Abernethy AP, Keefe FJ, McCrory DC, Scipio CD, Matchar DB. Behavioural therapies for the management of cancer pain: a systematic review. In: Flor H, Kalso E, Dostrovsky JO, editors. Proceedings of the 11th World Congress on Pain. Seattle: IASP Press; 2006. p. 789–98.

Chick-fil-A Customer Service Essay

Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy greeted employees at the newest Charleston area restaurant with a Bible verse, a prayer and a message about doing business the â€Å"Chick-fil-A Way. † Most people recognize the famous Chick-fil-A cows and their misspelled pleas to â€Å"Eat Mor Chikin. † But not everyone may be aware of Chick-fil-A’s unique way of doing business. With a focus on quality food, superior customer service and dedicated employees, Chick-fil-A has built a restaurant empire. Another freestanding restaurant opened Sept. 29 on Dorchester Road near the Ashley Phosphate Road intersection in North Charleston. Two days before the opening, new employees—called â€Å"team members† in the Chick-fil-A world—served dinner to their family members and listened as Cathy explained the importance of smiling and treating customers with honor, dignity and respect. Chick-fil-A’s mission, he said, is â€Å"to glorify God by being a faithful steward of what is entrusted to us. † Sandwich history Cathy is the son of Chick-fil-A founder S. Truett Cathy, who entered the restaurant business in 1946 when he opened Dwarf Grill in an Atlanta suburb. It would be another 20 years before the world was introduced to Chick-fil-A. In 1961, Truett Cathy accepted leftover pieces of chicken breast from Goode Brothers Poultry. The poultry company provided airlines with boneless, skinless chicken breasts that would fit in the plastic trays used to serve food on airplanes but had plenty of leftover pieces to sell. Truett Cathy had considered adding chicken to his menu and decided to take the poultry company up on its offer to take the leftover pieces too big for the airline trays. Truett Cathy spent months perfecting the recipe and figuring out the best way to cook the chicken quickly. After four years, he had a boneless chicken sandwich. According to Chick-fil-A history, Truett Cathy originally called it a chicken steak sandwich but began thinking of something that could carry a trademark. The best cut of a steak is the fillet, so why not call the sandwich a chicken fillet, he thought. The name morphed into chick fillet and eventually became Chick-fil-A (with a capital â€Å"A† to emphasize quality). The first Chick-fil-A opened in Atlanta’s Greenbrier Mall in 1967. The first freestanding restaurant opened in Atlanta about 20 years later. The restaurant has continued its incredible growth, expanding heavily into the western United States, introducing a breakfast menu and healthier menu options. The Chick-fil-A Way Certainly Chick-fil-A isn’t the only quick service restaurant to make billions, but what sets Chick-fil-A apart is the company’s corporate philosophy, its emphasis on values, customer service and treating employees like family members. Dan Cathy attributes the company’s success to his 84-year-old father, whom he describes as a tremendous influence, a â€Å"patriarch† and â€Å"Moses figure† in the family and in the company. Thanks to his father’s influence, Chick-fil-A has â€Å"stayed the course,† Dan Cathy said. Despite the many potential distractions, the company stays focused on its recipes, hot food, clean restrooms—the things that are important to customers. Interestingly, Dan Cathy refers to his company as being in the hospitality business—not usually the first description that comes to mind when thinking about fast food. But Cathy said the idea of being in the hospitality business began when his family opened its first diner. â€Å"That’s our heritage, our roots,† he said. When the focus is on the customers and employees, success will follow, according to Chick-fil-A’s philosophy. â€Å"It’s all about the people,† Dan Cathy said. â€Å"You can’t have great tasting food until you have a good relationship with your employees. † Chick-fil-A offers $1,000 college scholarships to its employees, having awarded about $20 million during the past 30 years. The company also has a unique agreement with its operators, providing franchisees with the chance to sublease a restaurant for $5,000. Each month operators pay the corporate office 15% of gross sales and 50% of net profits as a franchise fee. Operators are assured a minimum annual income of $30,000. The company continues its long-standing tradition of being closed on Sundays, so employees can spend time with their families and attend a worship service. Despite opportunities to go public, Chick-fil-A remains a private company so it can retain control over its key values. Chick-fil-A has proven a business with values and principles can do well. And not just survive but thrive, Dan Cathy pointed out. In 2004, Chick-fil-A achieved sales of $1. 74 billion—an increase of 13. 8% over 2003. The company is opening 61 new restaurants this year, and customer satisfaction scores are the highest they have ever been, Cathy said. The company will introduce milkshakes to its menu next summer. And a spicy chicken sandwich is being tested in the Tampa, Fla. , area. Family ties have local roots Operating the new Dorchester Road location is Daniel Dickerson, whose family has been operating Chick-fil-A for years. His father was one of the first Chick-fil-A operators, and his brother, Patrick Dickerson, is the operator of the Mount Pleasant Chick-fil-A. Raised in Charleston, Daniel Dickerson previously ran a store in Ocala, Fla. Dickerson said he looks up to the Cathy family and also tries to live up to the legacy his own father left behind. Dickerson oversees 72 part- and full-time employees at his North Charleston store. Many of the employees are teenagers, and Dickerson—following a company tradition—employs students who are involved in their schools and extracurricular activities. Chick-fil-A promotes involvement and works around students’ schedules. Dickerson said he would rather have 20 students with less availability than students who aren’t involved in their schools. At the family night celebration, Dan Cathy assured the parents of the many teenage employees their children would be working in a supportive environment. If grades aren’t maintained, students’ work schedules could be cut back. From providing scholarships to closing on Sundays, Chick-fil-A continues to do business its own way, based on principles Truett Cathy instilled in the company more than 50 years ago. In 2002, Truett Cathy published Eat Mor Chikin: Inspire More People, a book that explains â€Å"Doing Business the Chick-fil-A Way. † Truett Cathy opens a chapter on priorities and commitment by recalling when a reporter asked him how he would like to be remembered. Cathy responded, â€Å"I think I’d like to be remembered as one who kept my priorities in the right order. We live in a changing world, but we need to be reminded that the important things have not changed, and the important things will not change if we keep our priorities in proper order. † Holly Fisher is the supplements editor for the Business Journal.

Analyze a Catholic Mass Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Analyze a Catholic Mass - Essay Example The priest used incense to reverence the alter before each one of the ministers proceeded to their seats but remained standing. The priest greeted the congregation â€Å"in the name of the father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit† to which people responded by chanting the same words and making the sign of the cross, followed by â€Å"Amen†. The priest proceeded to speaks the words of the grace to which the congregation responded. Part of the mass involved the blessing and sprinkling of water. The priest made a brief prayer thanking God for the gift of water and asking Him to bless the water in the name of â€Å"Christ our Lord† to which the congregation responded with an â€Å"Amen†. The priest proceeded to sprinkle the blessed water on the congregation using what looked like a flywhisk. As he did this, the congregation engaged in singing a song. The conclusion of this rite was marked by a brief chant or prayer from the priest asking God to cleanse our since and worthy to partake of heavenly riches. Part of the mass involved reciting of the acclamations â€Å"Lord have mercy† and the singing of the song â€Å"Glory to God in the highest†. After singing and chanting the songs, someone went to read the bible for the first reading and a minister read the second reading. Between the readings, the congregation engaged in singing a psalm. The priest then proceeded to elaborate on the sc riptures that had been read followed by the proclamation of faith which involved the chanting of the apostle’s creed. The priest presided over the Eucharist which involved the breaking of break, Holy Communion, prayer, meditation and singing. The mass ended with the priest proclaiming a blessing upon the faithful. The Catholic mass involves a lot of rights and rituals which fall within the seven dimensions of religion that were postulated by Ninian Smart. Smart noted that the dimensions of religion include

Technology in our everyday life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Technology in our everyday life - Essay Example If someone from the last century, or even the fifties, were to be picked up and dropped smack in the middle of any modern city today, they would surely feel what a science fiction film viewer would, albeit a higher degree of shock. I think life today has become a hodge-podge of gadgetry and mad science. We use something fantastically gimmicky for nearly everything we do: we swipe our fingers over sleek slabs of glass and aluminum to communicate with each other; we laugh or smile or cry while we stare at luminous surfaces of yet more slates of cool metal; and, we gain access into buildings by speaking magic words into the air. This is exactly what it would seem like to someone who had never come across a touch-screen phone, a personal computing tablet or modern-day voice recognition technology. It is often seen that one type of technology, out of a freak chance, may behave erratically in the presence of other appliances. I would quote the example of mobile phone interference. Mobile c ommunication technology, while one of the greatest breakthroughs of science is considered dangerous and hence prohibited for use on aircraft or in gas stations! The mobile signals responsible for carrying voice and data may interfere with an aircraft’s sensitive navigational equipment and can cause a spark enough to ignite gasoline fumes. Furthermore, they must not be brought into close proximity with pacemakers and medical equipment.