Management Principles & Practice Essay Example for Free

Management Principles Practice Essay A group of twelve lifelong friends put together $1,200,000 of their own funds and built a $6,000,000, 48-lane bowling alley, near Norfolk, Virginia. Two of the investors became employees of the corporation. Ned Flanders works full-time as General Manager and James Ahmad, a licensed CPA, serves as Controller on a part-time basis. The beautiful, modern-day facility features a multilevel spacious interior with three rows of 16 lanes on two separate levels of the building, a full-service bar, a small restaurant, a game room (pool, videogames, pinball),and two locker rooms. The facility sits on a spacious lot with plenty of parking and room to grow. The bowling center is located in the small blue-collar town of Wallingford. There is no direct competition within the town. The surrounding communities include a wide-ranging mix of ethnic groups, professionals, middle- to upper-middle-class private homes, and apartment and condominium complexes ranging from singles to young married couples to senior citizen retirement units. Nearly 200,000 people live within 15 miles of Wallingford. The bowling center is open 24 hours per day and has a staff of 27 part- and full-time employees. After four years of operation, the partners find themselves frustrated with the low profit performance of the business. While sales are covering expenses, the partners are not happy with the end-of-year profit-sharing pool. The bowling center operates at 100 percent capacity on Sunday through Thursday nights from 6:00 P.M. until midnight. Two sets of men’s leagues come and go on each of those nights, occupying each lane with mostly five-person teams. Bowlers from each league consistently spend money at both the bar and restaurant. In fact, the men’s leagues combine to generate about 60 percent of total current sales. The bowling center operates at about 50 percent capacity on Friday and Saturday nights and on Saturday morning. The Friday and Saturday â€Å"open bowling† nights include mostly teenagers, young couples, and league members who come to practice in groups of two or three. The Saturday morning group is a kid’s league, ages 10 through 14. There are four ladies leagues that bowl on Monday and Wednesday afternoons. Business is extremely slow at the bowling center on Monday through Friday and Sunday mornings, and on the afternoons of Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. It is not uncommon to have just three or four lanes in operation during those time periods. The owners have taken a close look at the cost side of their business as a way to improve profitability. They concluded that while the total operating expense of $1,466,000 might appear to be high, there was in fact little room for expense cutting. At a recent meeting of the partners, James Ahmad reported on the results of his three-month-long investigation into the operating cost side of other bowling alleys and discovered that the Wallingford Bowling Center was very much in keeping with their industry. James went on to report that bowling alleys were considered to be â€Å"heavy fixed cost operations† and that the key to success and profitability lies in maximizing capacity and sales dollars . QUESTIONS 1. Apply the decision-making process described in the chapter to this case. What is the major problem facing Wallingford? List five specific alternative solutions that could be implemented to solve that major problem. 2. As general manager of this company, how could you utilize and manage the group decision-making process and technique to improve company profits? Which employees would you include in the group?

Carrie and Columbine: American Gothic :: essays research papers fc

Carrie, by Stephen King, and the Columbine High School Incident; looked at separately, they are to things that have nothing to do with each other. Carrie was Stephen King’s first major novel and a New York Times bestseller. Columbine was and incident in Colorado that happened in 1999, where two high school seniors orchestrated a bloody massacre at their high school. The two events occurred over twenty-five years apart, but when juxtaposed we can see many similarities between the book ant the incident, the fact that they are gothic in nature in particular. Gothic Literature is a literary style made popular during the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th . This style usually portrayed fantastic tales dealing with horror, despair, the grotesque and other "dark" subjects. Gothic literature was named for the apparent influence of the dark gothic architecture of the period on the genre. Also, many of these Gothic tales took places in such "gothic" surroundings, sometimes a dark and stormy castle as shown in Mary Shelly's Frankenstein, or Bram Stoker's infamous Dracula. These stories were romances, due to their love of the imaginary over the logical. Gothic literature gave birth to many other forms, such as suspense, ghost stories, horror, mystery, and also detective stories. Gothic literature wasn't so different from other genres in form as it was in content and its focus on the "weird" aspects of life. This movement began to slowly open may people's eyes to the possible uses of the supern atural in literature. This brings us to the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Here we see the emergence of writers such as Edgar Allen Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne. These writers used the gothic format in their writing but tweaked the traditional form to start a new style with an American twist, hence, â€Å"American Gothic†. These stories of darkness occur in a more everyday setting, such as the quaint house where the man goes mad from the "beating" of his guilt in Edgar Allan Poe's â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart† and the quaint little village in Shirley Jackson‘s â€Å"The Lottery†. The stories often involved farms and farmers and besides having a surprise twist at the end, usually some form of mass murder or death, they also used dark humor had and underlying theme, such as religion and social order. As we move even further down the timeline, we come across â€Å"new-age† gothic writers.

Developmental Theory, Moral Development, and Gender and Cultural Influences

Most people are confused about how humans grow, mature, and develop a unique personality. This research paper will discuss the two different theories of Kohlberg and Erikson pertaining to human’s personality, moral development, and their gender and cultural differences.It will further explain the role of each stage of human development in shaping a certain aspect of their behavior, and how it changes over a period of time. Developmental Theory, Moral Development, and Gender and Cultural Influences Human beings start to develop from the time of their birth and will continuously change and develop until they reach the stage of adulthood.There are many theories that attempt to explain how human beings develop their personalities and identities over a period of time. Looking at the different theoretical views in psychology, it can be very confusing and misleading in terms of how an individual matures and develops.However, these theories will further explain and somehow let people understand the whole process of maturation and development of an individual. Two developmental theories will be discussed in this paper, as well as their similarities and differences.The paper also aims to present how these theories affect the development of an individual from birth to adulthood. The theories to be discussed are Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development and Lawrence Kohlberg’s stages of moral development.Erikson's Model of Psychosocial DevelopmentErik Erikson is a developmental psychologist who believes that a person develops their personality in a series of stage and ages. Erikson’s theory describes the impact of social experience across the whole lifespan. Erikson's model of psychosocial development is a very significant, highly regarded, and meaningful thought.Erikson developed the eight stages of psychosocial development of an individual. In each stage, he believes that people experience problems and conflicts in life; thus, it serve s as a turning point in a person’s development throughout his or her life stages. These problems are expected to develop or impede the psychological ability of an individual (Wagner, 2008). The first stage of Erikson’s developmental theory is the Trust vs. Mistrust. This occurs between births and when a child reaches one year old. It is said to be the most fundamental stage in life.It is a stage where a child learns to trust the people around such as the mother or parents who are expected to be there and provide them with their vital needs like care, love, trust and food. Since an infant is absolutely dependent, developing trust is usually based on dependability and quality of the child’s caregivers.If a child finally develops trust, he or she will now feel secure living in the world. On the other hand, if trust is not developed in this stage, a child may develop fear and a belief that he or she lives in an unpredictable and conflicting environment (Chelsi, 2006 ). The second stage occurs when a child becomes a toddler.This stage is called Autonomy Vs Shame and Doubt. In this stage of development, early childhood is focused on enhancing a greater sense of personal control. For instance, when a child learns to control certain parts of his or her body like toilet training and learning how to walk, then he or she will have a sense of control.This child will feel independent as well and develop a sense of autonomy to do something on his or her own. However, if the child fails to attain personal control, it will result in feelings of shame and doubt (Wolfe, 2007). Stage three of Erikson’s theory is called Initiative vs.  Guilt.This stage happens when a child becomes preschool already between the ages of four and five. In this stage, a child become more active and will play and explore a lot. It is also where a child develops a conscience and begins to understand what is right from wrong.Support is extremely needed in this stage because if it is not present, feelings of guilt can develop and will be the source of conflict later in the child’s life (Wagner, 2008). Fourth stage in this theory is Industry vs. Inferiority. This stage occurs when a child reaches the age of 2-12 years old and when they attend early school.Every child needs to feel that he or she has achieved something in every work he or she does, most especially in school. That is why school is very important in this stage of development. If a child constantly successfully achieves something with the use of his or her own skill or ability, there will be a greater chance that the child will feel proud and confident within him- or herself. On the other hand, if the child fails to achieve something, it may result in feelings of inferiority and low self-esteem in the child’s personality (Wagner, 2008). Identity vs. Confusion makes up the fifth stage of Erikson’s theory.This stage takes place during the adolescence period of an individua l. Adolescents will try to discover their identity and figure out their personality and where they should belong in the world. It is the stage wherein a child begins experimenting since it is a way to discover him- or herself. If the child was not able to discover and know him- or herself, then there will be role and identity confusion in them. Consequently, he or she will be confused with his or her function in the world and can cause dilemma later on in the next stages of life (Chelsi, 2006).The sixth stage of this theory is Intimacy vs. IsolationThis happens during early adulthood between the ages of 18 and 40. It is a stage wherein a person explores personal relationship, specifically intimate relationships with other people. Thus, in this stage, people begin to date and find a partner to marry.Those who are successful will achieve a sense of intimacy and security from their partner or other people, while failure to do so may result in isolation and feeling of loneliness and dep ression (Wagner, 2008). Stage seven occurs at the age of 40 to 65, and it is called Generativity vs. Stagnation. In this stage, an individual continues to build lives but focuses now with career and family.This is where a person learns to care and be concerned for other people. Being active and participative in the world is what people feel if they succeed in this stage. However, having less self-worth is what people would feel if they fail to meet this stage successfully (Wagner, 2008). Lastly, the eighth stage in Erikson’s theory is called integrity vs. despair. This occurs in old age between ages fifty and up. It is a stage where people look back on their life and reflect on what happened.There may be a feeling of satisfaction or regret. They will have a sense of integrity when they feel happy and fulfilled with what happened in their life, while they may feel despair and bitterness if they think that their life was just a waste. Life is full of learning new things and cha llenges that help people grow and develop. This theory of Erikson is truly helpful for understanding a child and adult’s development (Wagner, 2008). The six stages of Erikson’s theory is related to the gender differences of an individual, with the fifth stage (Identity vs.Confusion) being the more crucial.This is because in this stage, it is said that people are try to seek their real personality and identity by choosing where they should belong and knowing their purpose in life (Streitmatter, 1993). Environmental, cultural, and ethnicity factors are present in the whole stage of a person’s development. These factors influence an individual over the period of time when a person matures and lives his or her life. Environment such as the family, school, and the whole society is always involved in the process.In addition, a certain culture and ethnicity of a person may give a great influence as well in shaping an individual’s personality, which makes them a certain persona living and functioning in the world. There may be a culture that is acceptable to the norms of a specific group of people, but then that specific culture may not be common and not acceptable to the other, so it is very important to know also where a person originated so that a person may understand why some people has different beliefs, values, and behavior in life (Child Development, 2006).Kohlberg’s Developmental Model of Moral Development Kohlberg’s theory is quite different from Erikson’s theory. His theory focuses on the moral development. It is divided into three levels with two different stages on each level, which gives a total of six different stages of moral development. Level one is the pre-conventional morality level, and it has two stages. The first stage is the obedience and punishment orientation. It is a stage wherein a child learns what is right and wrong actions and behavior.Children also learn in this stage that for every actio n they make they will gain a certain consequences of it. For example, if a child does something good, then they will be rewarded. On the other hand, if a child does something bad, then they will know that there will be a certain punishment and consequences for their actions. The second stage under pre-conventional level is called individualism and exchange. At this stage, a child learns to be concerned not only for himself or herself but for other people as well.Children start to learn reciprocity and stand in the position of doing something for other people if it is for his or her self-interest. Hence, the child will follow a certain rule if he or she knows that she or he will gain something from it. Children at this stage are very focused and concerned with fairness and equality. The justice here is â€Å"do unto others what as they do unto to you. † Thus, if a person does something good to somebody, then he or she expects that the person will do something good to him or he r as well.The same thing happens if a person does something bad to somebody; he or she then can expect that the person will do something bad to him or her in return (Crain, 1985). Level two is conventional morality, and the third stage is good interpersonal relationships.In this stage, children do something because they already know that it is good, and they will be able to have good relationship with family, classmates, friends, and neighbors. They now know the concepts of trust, care, love, and being concern with other people, giving them a good impression of themselves from other people’s perspective.In this stage, children aim to please people around them, and intentions are basically all good, since they are very concerned with having a good image to portray in the society, and since they are expected to behave in a way that the society asks them to behave. Fourth stage is maintaining the social order. It is still quite related to the third stage, but in this stage, a pe rson become fully concerned not only the people around them but the whole society and environment already.Now in this stage, a person learns about obeying laws and respecting the people and the authority, and they focus on performing a certain duty so that there will be a social order in the society. People at this stage will be knowledgeable about the societal law, and they are automatically expected to abide such laws that are imposed into their society and environment (Crain, 1985). Next is level three, and it is called the post-conventional morality where the last two stages lies ahead. The fifth stage is social contract and individual rights.During this stage, an individual believes and looks into his or her own moral values and principles in life and becomes aware that it should be also good for the society. People develop their own opinions, beliefs, and values in life in this stage.They also understand that codes of conduct are relative to their social group. This varies fro m culture to culture and subgroup to subgroup. A person enters into an agreement with fellow human beings to treat them fairly and nicely and to respect authority when it is equally moral and deserved. Lastly, the sixth stage is called the universal principles.This stage involves the universal ethical principles in an individual’s life. A person uses his or her conscience and their own ethical principles to decide what is right and wrong behavior and actions. Here people are motivated by their conscience that surpasses cultural, religious, or social convention rules (Uncgrad, 2007). Kohlberg’s theory and stages of moral development is said to affect the gender differences, environmental, cultural, and ethnic influences in ways. A research says that gender differences have no effect in the moral judgment of a person.However, they discovered that female are more likely to mature than male in the adolescent stage, making female more advanced when it comes to moral reasoni ng. Research states that girls are generally about two years ahead of boys in cerebral cortical and social-cognitive functioning (Silberman & Snarey, 2007). On the other hand, factors such as the environment, culture, and ethnicity of a person have a great effect also in developing a person’s moral judgment since these are factors that are always present in an individual’s life.For instance, when two different races such as Western people and Asian people are compared, the difference in culture and beliefs is very evident that it is only likely that they will have different moral judgment (Mulder, 1997). Both theories of Kohlberg and Erikson critically discuss and explain how a person builds their personality and moral development in the life span of an individual.Understanding both different stages of Kohlberg and Erikson will also prevent people from having conflicts and dilemmas in facing and dealing with life since people already know the sources and origins of hum an’s personality and moral development. References Chelsi (2006). Erik Erikson's Eight Stages of Psychosocial Development. Associated Content. Crain, W.C (1985). Chapter Seven: Kohlberg’s stages of moral development. Theories of  Development   (pp. 118-136). US: Prentice-Hall. Mulder, B. (1997). Moral Development's Development: Recent Research. Hope College.  Retrieved October 14, 2008 from http://www.hope.edu/academic/psychology/335/webrep/moraldev.html. Quintana, S. M. , et al. (2006). Race, Ethnicity, and Culture in Child Development:  Contemporary Research and Future Directions. Child Development, 77 (5), 1129-1141. Silberman M. A & Snarey J. (2007). Gender differences in moral development  during early adolescence: The contribution of sex-related variations in maturation. Current Psychology, 12 (2), 163-171. Streitmatter, J. (1993). Gender differences in identity development: An examination of  longitudinal data. Adolescence, 28, 55–66. Uncgrad, (2007). Kohlberg's Stages of Development. Associated Content. Retrieved October 14, 2008 from  http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/461832/kohlbergs_stages_of_development html?cat=7. Van Wagner, K. (2005). Stages of Psychosocial Development. About.com  Retrieved October 14, 2008 from  http://psychology.about.com/od/theoriesofpersonality/a/psychosocial.htm. Wolfe Good (2007). Erik Homburger Erikson's Grid of Psychosocial Stages of Childhood  Development. Associated Content. Retrieved October 14, 2008 from  http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/299357/erik_homburger_eriksons_grid_of_psychosocial.html?cat=58.

Samsume Sample Resume Sample - 915 Words

†¢ Worked as a QA Automation Test Engineer in an Agile team where participated in Sprint Planning, Daily Standup Meeting, Scrum meetings, and Review Sessions. †¢ Gathered specifications and requirements to develop Test Plans and to create Test Cases using Quality Center. †¢ Involved in handling the implementation and strategy of manual testing, and automated Regression testing across various functionalities. †¢ Expert in working in environments that includes lots of application, API’s and Data being passed. †¢ Interacted with developers, Business Management Teams and End Users. †¢ Developed Test Cases and Test Scripts for Integration Testing, System Testing and UAT Testing. †¢ Performed Functional and Non-Functional testing. †¢ Involved in†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ As part of compatibility testing, executed the workflow manager web application related test cases on different browsers like Internet Explorer and Mozilla FireFox on different Operating Systems. (validation). †¢ Used Maven to help and manage project’s build, document and report across the network. †¢ Carried deployments and builds on various environments using continuous integration tools like Jenkins. †¢ Responsible for identifying and logging defects, tracking the time taken for execution, and involved in Defect meetings that needed to be prioritized throughout the Development Life Cycle. †¢ Used Rally to track and report the defects. †¢ Reviewed Database test cases with respect to the assigned Requirements to validate the reports by retrieving the data using complex SQL queries from SQL Server. †¢ Executed SQL queries to perform Data Validation and Back end testing of databases to check the integrity of data. Environment: Java, Selenium WebDriver, TestNG, Cucumber, Appium, SQL, JIRA, Oracle, XML, Fire Bug, Rally, Eclipse, Maven, XPath Checker, SVN, GIT Kohl’s ,CA Sep’15 to Jan’17 Sr. Software Test Engineer Responsibilities: †¢ Designed and developed automation frame work using Java, Selenium web driver, JUnit, Maven, Ant, SVN. †¢ Created test plan, test cases, test scripts to support specific software testing objectives, and assist team in creation, review, and finalization of agile stories and story acceptance