Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 2

Strategy - Essay Example strategic decisions which an organization has to make relating to factors such as the direction of an organization in the long run, the scope of its activities, stakeholders’ values and expectations, responding to the ever changing business environment, building on its capability as a business entity, and acquiring a higher market share relative to its competitors. These decisions tend to be complex as they have to be made in an uncertain situation. The discussion section of this essay focuses on strategic management with respect to merger between two companies such as Cranberry and GreenHealth. The organization Cranberry is considered to begin its operations in the year 1980. The organization is the process of manufacturing beauty products. It experienced significant growth on a year on year basis. The organization is considered to be cash rich as compared to its numerous competitors. The company is on the lookout for opportunities to expand on a global scale and also to grow its core business and broaden its horizon. It seeks to identify such opportunities which complemented its existing business. GreenHealth is considered to be an organization which focuses on manufacturing of herbal supplements, minerals, and vitamins. The organization used to be bureaucratic in nature in a sense that it consists of a lot of processes. The average age of employees in the organization is considered to be over 45 years and many of its employees have worked for the company for their whole careers. GreenHealth is considered to develop its employees and promote them from within the organizat ion. The products that are manufactured by the organization are considered to be modern but the ethos is traditional and crafted. Employees of GreenHealth do not like change and are considered to do things the same way for about 100 years. It is considered as a source of pride for the organization and is not seen as a source of criticism. Both the organizations such as Cranberry and

A Contrastive Analysis Of Vietnamese And English English Language Essay

A Contrastive Analysis Of Vietnamese And English English Language Essay No one can deny the fact that cultural values have a strong influence on the use of language, especially speech acts. Many researchers have conducted the studies of the contrastive analysis of speech acts between learners native language and the target language for the purpose of helping learners improve their communicative competence. In my essay, I have the attention of doing a research on the speech act of permission in Vietnamese and English because the speech act of permission is widely used in everyday interactions and plays a major role in communication. Specifically, I focus on the way to ask for permission and some expressions of giving permission to point out similarities and differences in terms of syntactic and semantic formulas between Vietnamese and English. In Vanderveken s view, By uttering sentences in the contexts of use of natural languages, speakers attempt to perform illocutionary acts such as statements, questions, declarations, requests, promises, apologies, orders offers and refusals. (Vanderveken, 1990, p. 7). They are called speech acts. It may not be an exaggeration to say that mastering the use of speech acts is essential and practical. More importantly, the cross- culture study of speech acts needs to be invested because the cross-culture study of speech acts is vital to understanding of international communication (Eisenstein, 1989, p. 199) and Rosaldo also cautions that Violations of cultural norms of appropriateness in interactions between native and nonnative speakers often lead to sociopragmatic failure, breakdowns in communication and the stereotyping of nonnative speakers. (Rosaldo, as cited in Hinkel, Long, Richards, 2006). Thats why permission which is one of the commonly used speech acts should be considered in all respects. According to Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary (2000), the noun permission has two meanings. It is defined as the act of allowing somebody to do something, especially when this is done by somebody in a position of authority. Besides, another meaning of permission is an official written statement allowing somebody to do something. In my essay, I just focus on the first meaning to discuss permission speech act which makes up a high proportion in every interaction. So, asking for permission is the act of wanting to know whether a person can do something or use something or not. Ex: Can I use your bike? In Vietnamese dictionary (2010), the definition of asking for permission (xin phà ©p) is quite similar to English definition. It is also used to make sure that a person is allowed to do something. Ex: Tà ´i cà ³ thà ¡Ã‚ »Ã†â€™ sà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ­ dà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ¥ng mà ¡y tà ­nh cà ¡Ã‚ »a bà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡n Ä‘Æ °Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ £c khà ´ng? In daily life, whenever a person wants to do something or uses something that belongs to another person, its important to ask for permission. It is because asking for permission shows his/ her respect for others and increases the chances that his/her request will be granted. However, the expressions of asking for permission are differently expressed by different people in different cultures. The speech acts of asking for permission is indeed confusing and complicated. Therefore, the addressers should pay much attention to the asking for permission expressions so as to make a polite permission that will be granted by the authority and avoid creating a permission which will be assumed as joking, rudeness or sarcasm. Also, utterances used to give permission should be deeply concerned in order to know the intentions which the addresser actually wants to say or to do. These intentions are revealed in the asking for permission expressions. In the previous studies, researchers take asking for permission into consideration. They investigated some unique factors involving in the way to ask for permission from others. They are: ethnic difference, gender difference, situation difference or social status difference. There is no doubt at all that The way people ask for permission, to greater extent, is affected by the situation in which asking for permission is expressed different cultural background of the speakers. (Soehartono Sianne, 2003). In other words, cultural values or norms of behavior are likely to be responsible for producing different ways of asking for permission. After investigating the utterances expressed by the Chinese and Javanese students of SMU Krisyen petra 3 in asking for permission for taking leave, Soehartono Sianne explain that Each ethnic has different opinion about what politeness is (Soehartono Sianne, 2003). Actually, according to Samovar and Porter, the notion that is deeply rooted in the English speaking culture is individualism (2000, p.67). One of the characteristic of individualism is that people in English speaking culture, especially the American believed all people have personal privacy. For instance, anybody mustnt step into anothers house without permission. Nobody has the right to read any others letter even parents mustnt read their childrens private letters. That is the reason why people should ask for permission regardless of age, social status and relationship. People will be punished if they infringe upon any others personal privacy with the motivation of curiosity, profit or malice. It is because personal privacy is respected highly and protected by law in these countries. Similarity, the Vietnamese also highly regard asking for permission. In the past, Vietnamese ancestors create many valuable folk songs, proverbs in order to teach posterity how to behave well, establish and maintain social rapports. For example: Hà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ c ăn, hà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ c nà ³i, hà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ c gà ³i, hà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ c mà ¡Ã‚ »Ã… ¸ Another proverb: Ä i thÆ °a và ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚  trà ¬nh Moreover, Huynh explains that: In Vietnamese society, the predominant sentiment in the relation between members of a social group is respect. This is particularly evident in the attitude towards older people. Respect and consideration for old age no doubt derive from the obligation of filial piety that requires young people to respect and love their parents and parent-like members of the family. (Huynh, n.d.). Therefore, no one can deny the fact that people have to ask for permission to get married, stay overnight at the friends house, ect even though they are old enough to make decisions. Vietnamese people believe that if young people disobey the elders advice, they will suffer bad consequences of their actions Cà ¡ khà ´ng ăn muà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬Ëœi cà ¡ Æ °Ãƒâ€ Ã‚ ¡n Con cà £i cha mà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¹ trăm Ä‘Æ °Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ng con hÆ ° The elders are actually the carriers of the tradition and the embodiment of knowledge and wisdom. (Huynh, n.d.). In general, asking for permission in Vietnam and English speaking countries play the important role in every speech situation irrespective of culture. Regarding the frequency number of language functions, Soehartono Sianne show that There are four language functions that never occur in the permission utterances expressed to the teacher as the superior (Soehartono Sianne, 2003). They are: (1): Suggesting a course of action (2): Requesting others to do something (3): Advising others to do something (4): Instructing / directing others to do something By having analyzed the data, Soehartono Sianne find out the predominant function seeking permission and conclude that: Seeking permission function is followed by apologizing function that uses to show that they are in the lower position and reporting function that is used to convince the authority. (Soehartono Sianne, 2003). When it comes to this essay, its purpose is to systematically examine Vietnamese and English asking and giving permission to draw out some similarities and differences in terms of syntactic and semantic formulas and meet the requirements of language teaching and learning. In English language, the most familiar syntactic patterns are Can I borrow your pen? Could he use your phone charger? (Question head + S + Verb phrase with bare infinitive?) Would it be OK if I borrow/ borrowed your pen? Would it be alright if he uses/ used your phone charger? (Question head + S + Verb phrase with simple present or past subjunctive?) Do you mind if I borrow/ borrowed your pen? Would you mind if she uses/ used your phone charger? (Question head + S + Verb phrase with simple present or past subjunctive?) Meanwhile, syntactic formulas employed to ask for permission in Vietnamese language is quite limited. The most commonly occurring patterns are: (1) Tà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ º dà ¹ng Ä‘ià ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¡n thoà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡i cà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ­u nhà ©? (Can I use your cellphone?) (2) Em ngà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬Å"i Ä‘Ã ¢y Ä‘Æ °Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ £c khà ´ng chà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¹? (Would it be ok if I sit here?) (3) Con cà ³ thà ¡Ã‚ »Ã†â€™ Ä‘i chÆ ¡i và ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ºi bà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡n mà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â€ž ¢t chà ºt Ä‘Æ °Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ £c khà ´ng mà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¹? Con sà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ½ và ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚  lià ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ n. (May I go out with my friend for a while, Mom? I promise to come back home soon.) In Vietnamese language, there is a low frequency of the structures containing if. Even they are never employed. For Vietnamese people, the most commonly used syntactic patterns in English Would it be ok if I borrow your pen? or Do you mind if I use your phone charger? are the unusual patterns for the speech act of asking for permission. It is because that we can not translate two above utterances into Vietnamese Would it be ok if I borrow your pen? ( Cà ³ Ä‘Æ °Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ £c khà ´ng nà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿u mà ¬nh sà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ­ dà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ¥ng bà ºt mà ¡y cà ¡Ã‚ »a bà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡n?) Do you mind if I use your phone charger? (Bà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡n cà ³ phià ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ n khà ´ng nà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿u mà ¬nh sà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ­ dà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ¥ng cà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ¥c sà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡c Ä‘ià ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¡n thoà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡i cà ¡Ã‚ »a bà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡n?) It sounds unnatural and clumsy. Thats the reason why Vietnamese people seldom use these utterances to communicate. Instead, they have a tendency to say: Mà ¬nh mÆ °Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ £n bà ºt mà ¡y cà ¡Ã‚ »a bà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡n Ä‘Æ °Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ £c chà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ©? Mà ¬nh sà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ­ dà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ¥ng cà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ¥c sà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡c Ä‘ià ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¡n thoà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡i cà ¡Ã‚ »a bà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡n Ä‘Æ °Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ £c khà ´ng bà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡n? When using these expressions to ask permission, Vietnamese people never forget to smile. It seems that they want to create intimacy and friendliness. Thanks to that, they can erase the strangeness and increase the possibility of granting. In term of semantic formulas, almost all the English expressions of asking permission contain modal verbs: can, could, may, might,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦However, the choice of the appropriate modal verbs depends on age, social status, degree of acquaintance, respect, situation, ect. Ex- In the shop: a conversation between clerk and customer Clerk: May I help you? ( Tà ´i cà ³ thà ¡Ã‚ »Ã†â€™ già ºp gà ¬ cho bà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡n?) At school: a conversation between two friends (they have close friendship) P1: Can I use your pen? (Tà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ º dà ¹ng vià ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿t cà ¡Ã‚ »a cà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ­u Ä‘Æ °Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ £c khà ´ng?) P2: Of course. (Ä‘Æ °Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ £c mà  ) Moreover, when asking for permission to do something, the English usually use the word please to make the request sound more polite. Its not grammatically necessary to use please but a person may sound rude if he/she doesnt use it. Please can be put in different places: at the start, end or before the verb Ex: Please can I borrow your car? Can I please borrow your car? Can I borrow your car, please? In addition, a more important way of showing politeness is the tone of intonation and voice. Even if a person use the word please, he/she can sound rude if his/her pronunciation is not correct. One characteristic difference from asking for permission in English is the word cà ³ thà ¡Ã‚ »Ã†â€™ (can, could, may, mightà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) used in Vietnamese. It doesnt mention different degrees and types of modality. It just makes the permission more polite. Ex: Tà ´i cà ³ thà ¡Ã‚ »Ã†â€™ già ºp gà ¬ cho bà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡n? (May I help you?) Furthermore, its interesting to note that, on the semantic level, the word xin phà ©p is used not only to ask for permission but also to convey the meaning of saying goodbye. The expressions containing the word xin phà ©p are employed to ask for permission from the authority, elder and superior. Ex: Em xin phà ©p thà ¡Ã‚ ºy cho em ra ngoà  i à ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡? (May I go out?) In other cases, Vietnamese people want to show the courtesy and respect when saying goodbye. Therefore, they use expressions like this: Ex: Xin phà ©p bà ¡c con và ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚  (It means: chà  o bà ¡c con và ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ .) Xin phà ©p mà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ i ngÆ °Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ i mà ¬nh Ä‘i trÆ °Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ºc (It means: chà  o mà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ i ngÆ °Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ i mà ¬nh và ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ .) They are not expressions of asking for permission. Surprisingly, they are greetings. People often say these expressions with a smile or nod. When it comes to giving permission, Vietnamese people express a preference for these words or expressions: à ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ª, Ä‘Æ °Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ £c, Ä‘Æ °Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ £c mà  , khà ´ng sao Ä‘Ã ¢u, cà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ © là ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¥y Ä‘i, cà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ © là  m Ä‘i, cà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ © tà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ± nhià ªnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ More interestingly, they also have the habit of adding the words including particles which express attitude and feeling toward the addressee: dà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡, và ¢ng, à ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡, à ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ , à ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ «aà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Ex: Dà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡, Ä‘Æ °Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ £c à ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡! Meanwhile, in response to asking for permission, people in English-speaking countries seem to use these expressions frequently. (1) Yes: used when you are giving permission (2) Of course: used for giving someone permission in a polite way (3) Certainly: used for expressing agreement or giving permission (4) All right: used for saying that you will allow someone to do something, or you do not mind if they do it (5) If you want: used for giving permission or agreeing with a suggestion that someone has made (6) By all means: used for politely agreeing with someone, giving permission or saying yes (7) As you wish: used for telling someone that they can do or have whatever they want (8) I dont see why not: used for saying yes when someone asks for your permission (9) Help yourself: used for giving someone permission to do or use something (10) If you (really) must: used for telling someone that it is all right to do something, even though you does not want them to do. Its interesting to note that in English, people can not know the power relations (social status or age) and relationship (close, normal or distant) between two speakers because the word yes can be used to give permission in all cases. In contrast, in Vietnamese, people may focus on the words dà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡, và ¢ng, à ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡, à ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ «, à ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ to know power relations and relationship between interlocurs. Ex: A conversation between grandparent and nephew Grandparent: Nà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â€ž ¢i và  o phà ²ng con Ä‘Æ °Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ £c chà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ©? (Can I come in?) Nephew: Dà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡, nà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â€ž ¢i và  o Ä‘i à ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡! (Yes) Ex: A conversation between two close friends F1: Bà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡n cho mà ¬nh mÆ °Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ £n tà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ­p nghen? (Can I borrow your book?) F2: à ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ª, bà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡n là ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¥y Ä‘i (Yes) In Vietnamese culture, people are willing to avoid unpleasantness by giving permission although they dont want. This contradiction can lead to great misunderstandings. Therefore, Yes may not mean Yes. When Vietnamese people say: No problem, it can mean Yes, there is a problem. (Vietnam, n.d.). In this case, double and even triple check should be kept to maintain social rapport Its clear that the English and the Vietnamese pay regard to the custom of asking for permission. They consider the choice of expressions very carefully. The way English people and Vietnamese people employ asking permission speech act is influenced by two factors: power relations (social status or age) and relationship (close, normal or distant) between interlocutors. However, the characteristic feature which makes English different from Vietnamese is the use of modal verbs. They are used to ask for permission with different degrees and types of modality. Meanwhile, Vietnamese people have a habit of adding the particles dà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡, à ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ «, à ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡, nhà © to the expressions of asking and giving permission to show respect, courtesy or intimacy. One another difference between Vietnamese culture and English culture which affects the use of language is that Vietnamese people rarely refuse permission. They dont want to create unpleasant and threatening atmosphere during conversation. Sometime, they give permission to maintain social rapport and satisfy the addressers positive face. To some extent, this should be avoided because it can cause great misunderstandings. In conclusion, Language is a system of signs that is seen as having itself a cultural value (Kramsch, Widdowson, 1998, p. 3). Vietnamese culture is quite different from English culture. Thats why the way people ask for permission and give permission are not similar. Learners should take notice of that to achieve the success in learning the target language. When it comes to learning a second language, one of the problems learners have to face with is the influence of the first language and culture on the second language use. As a consequence of this problem, learners are not confident when communicating or even cause pragmalinguistic and sociopragmatic failure. To overcome the above difficulties, I would like to discuss some implications for language teaching and learning based on contrastive analysis between Vietnamese and English asking and giving permission. Firstly, it is necessary for English teachers to raise students awareness of culture similarities and differences between patterns of asking and giving permission in English culture and Vietnamese culture. Teachers can combine many suitable teaching ways to help learners understand the conflicting patterns. For example, teachers can explain, describe, illustrateà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Learners must be well aware of the influence of the culture on language to avoid communication breakdown or offence and converse with native speakers of English successfully. Secondly, English teachers should supply input as much as possible in order to improve students ssociopragmatic and pragmalinguistic competence. Teachers can apply the progress of technology to language teaching. Teachers compile and design real situations based on the Internet, on TVà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦for use in class. Besides, teachers need to provide more options for asking and giving permission to satisfy the requirements of everyday interaction. Finally, teachers should create communicative opportunities for students to practice asking and giving permission in English. Through role play, interview, dialogue, survey,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦, students have chance to use the expressions they have learnt in real situations. Significantly, they know how to choose suitable expressions in different situations. Thanks to that, students are able to engage in successful communication with native speakers. These are some suggested activities I collected on the Internet to serve the needs of language teaching and learning. Activity 1 : Work in pairs and practice the dialogues For the lower level students: F1: Can I move your card? F2: Yes, you can. (b) F1: May I move your card? F2: Yes, you may. For the middle level students: (a) F1: Is it ok if I move your card? F2: Yes, it is ok. (b) F1: Do you mind if I move your card? F2: No, I dont mind. (c) F1: Would it be okay if I move your card? F2: Yes, it would be ok. For the more advanced level students: F1: Would it be alright if I moved your card? F2: Sure, itd be alright -OR- Of course itd be alright. (b) F1: Would you mind if I moved your card? F2: No, I wouldnt mind. (c) F1: If you dont mind, Id like to move your card. F2: Sure, I dont mind. (d) F1: Would it bother you if I moved your card over there? F2: No, it wouldnt bother me at all. (e) F1: Is it alright to move your card so I can pick up my card? F2: Sure, its alright Activity 2: Many times, hotel staff will find themselves in situations where they will have to take some action that will effect  the guest. In these cases, the staff should politely ask the guest for their permission before taking any action. The  guest may also ask permission to do something. It is only polite to ask for their permission before doing so. There  are several expressions that can be used for asking for permissions. Look at the expressions below.   Expressions Possible responses Is it OK if . . .  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I really wish you wouldnt.   Do you mind if . . .  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   No, I dont mind. Go ahead   May I . . .  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sure, no problem.   Would it be a problem if . . .  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚   No problem at all.   Would it be OK if . . .  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   No, please dont     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I would prefer that you didnt.   Dialogue: Work in pairs and practice the dialogue (a) Staff: May I pour you more wine, maam?   Guest: Sure.   (b) Staff: Do you mind if I clean the room now, sir?   Guest: Actually, would it be possible for you to come back in half an hour?   Staff: No problem, maam.   (c) Guest: May I borrow you pen.   Staff: Absolutely sir, here you go.   (d) Guest: Would it be a problem if I left my luggage here for a few minutes?   Staff: No problem at all, sir. Ill, keep on eye on it.   (e) Staff: Is it OK if I make a copy of your passport?   Guest: Sure, whatever you need.   Conversation Activities 1. Practice using the above expressions by having a dialogue similar to the ones above with a partner, one  partner taking the role of the guest and the other the role of the staff. For additional practice, switch roles.  Practice the dialogue several times, trying to use all of the expressions noted above.   2. Role play the following situations with a partner, one person taking the role of the guest and the other person  taking the role of a hotel staff.     Permission by Staff   Move some luggage out of the passage way   Open a window   Refill a coffee cup   Pull down a shade   Get their room key or card   Permission by guest   Leave bags behind a counter   Smoking in a restaurant   Borrow a pen   Take newspaper from lounge to read in room   Leave a message for a friend  

Review of Rudy Tomedi’s No Bugles No Drums :: Rudy Tomedi Bugles Drums Essays

Review of Rudy Tomedi’s No Bugles No Drums Rudy Tomedi presents his audience with a different view of the Korean War; one that is up close and personal. The oral histories told through edited transcripts in No Bugles No Drums: An Oral History of the Korean War, show the reader the Korean War through the eyes of the men who were active in combat. However, as Tomedi puts it, â€Å"firsthand accounts have their limitations, but they also catch things that often fall through the cracks of a conventional history† (Tomedi, vi). Tomedi provides his reader with a short background of the situation, placing the interviewee into context within the war. This ultimately gives the reader a little insight into the position the person was in and clarifies some parts of the following interview. One limitation Tomedi’s book has is that it is very subjective, allowing the reader to only see a portion of the war through a single person’s view. For example Fred Lawson, an interviewee, stated â€Å"We has no idea what was happening over on the other side of the mountain† (Tomedi, 87). Tomedi does not present his readers with a story of â€Å"what was happening over the mountain.† The book also neglects various perspectives, such as officers and women in the war. The compilation of stories strictly focuses on combat veterans, many of whom did not know what was going on; they were simply â€Å"a bunch of kids†¦trying to do [their] job† (Tomedi, 8). Despite these minor flaws, the book has many positive aspects to it. Probably most important, the book gives the reader an up close and personal account to the war. Each battle comes alive for the reader as a veteran vividly describes what he experienced. For example Vincent Walsh describes his first encounter with a violent death as follows: â€Å"we had occasion to pick up a dead pilot. They fingerprinted him and then he was wrapped in a piece of canvas and he went into a meat box† (Tomedi, 155). Lines such as this, puts a personality behind the speaker and makes it more personal. Also, the stories in the book present the same situations as other oral history novels. A good example of this is when Robert Roy claims â€Å"†¦I could see a line of tanks coming down the road, which we never expected†¦I could see the rounds explode against the tank, but the tank just kept going† (Tomedi, 10-11).

Local Literature of Sales Inventory System Essay

Computerize sales and inventory system Computers began from a wild imaginative idea to the world’s highly prioritized tool. Computers today are now used as a substitute to manual processes and other past inventions like the radio, television, etc. It is now used by people for much simpler, easier and faster way to do things. Some used it as a hobby, and some use it as a job. Technology has never stopped from advancing through the years. Its new innovations helps answer the people’s further complex questions. Why not use these advantages to benefit ourselves? Many people use computers in their daily lives. Some use it for transactions, some use it for educational purposes and others use it for data storage. Though it might sound unnecessary but in some cases when storing a file for such a big company, can you manage it properly? Organizing, finding a file, etc. With computers, it can help you simplify the process of storing and managing the files you need for future use and make finding files easier than the manual process. A Proposed Sales and Inventory System In business like merchandising, Sales and Inventory system plays an important role. It is used to track all the transactions made by the business and responsible for monitoring the items supplies. All the business transactions must be properly recorded and must be fully secured by password. A Computerized system is the best solution and most innovative answer for their needs. The researchers had been motivated to do a study on this topic according to the above observation. The result may help others to understand more about computer-generated data processing, especially on how to deal with computers in terms of speed, accuracy and data security. Monitoring the transactions and other significant information regarding the customer is the main concern of this study. Also covered in the study are saving of information and transaction records with the customers. The Sales and Inventory System is concern with the processing of the transactions of the customers and owner and saving the sales records at the same time. These saved records area filed and stored for future use. This computerized system is important to a company because through it, the owner can easily assist the customers and store data safely. And also the monitoring of stocks is the most important part of this system.

How far did Stalin’s social policies change

How far did Stalin's social policies change the lives of women and children In the years to 1945? Following Stalin's succession to power in 1929, once again, Russia was transformed. As part of Socialism In One Country, Stalin focussed his intentions internally. This involved the notorious industrialisation and collectivisation drives which were intended to reform the economy. Nevertheless, do so, Stalin realised he would have to create a more ordered and disciplined society.Consequently, as part of the Revolution from Above and what was deemed by Sheila Fitzpatrick as the â€Å"great etreat†, where Stalin turned away from the policies of his predecessor, Stalin embarked on numerous social policies which focussed on the reforms of education and family life. Consequently, Stalin's legislation on the one hand, changed the lives of countless Soviet women and children. Nevertheless, it is also argued that his policies were no similar to previous social legislation under the Tsar an d Lenin.Consequently the extent of change and the significance of Stalins policies remains in Following the Russian revolution, Lenin assumed the Premiership of question. Russia and redefined the social polices experienced by women and children. In terms of policies which affected women and the family, Lenin was comparatively Liberal compared to Tsarist Russia. He considered traditional marriage to be slavery, economic and sexual exploitation. Robert Service has argued that as a result, official spokesmen began to urge wives to refuse to give â€Å"automatic obedience to husbands. Lenin went against previously traditional conservative policy and legalised divorce as well as abortion. Lenin attempted to free women from their domestic roles under Tsarism by requisitioning large scale provision of facilities such as canteens, laundries and cr ©ches as party of what is argued by Corin and Fiehn as the â€Å"socialisation of domestic services. † Although, In retrospect, this po licy was unaffordable, costing well over the national budget and consequently, the socialisation was not universal, reducing overall change.Nevertheless, Lenin did Implement legislation previously unthinkable to allow free love. as well as the creation the Zhenotdel, which gave opportunity for the first time for women to be involved in the running of the state. Additionally, Lenin reformed the education ystem which ultimately Impacted heavily on children. Lenin focussed on an industrial education which made use of apprenticeship schemes, but to the detriment of a broad education. Yet, also as part of his liberalising of once Tsarist Russia, he took the power to discipline away from teachers and scrapped the examination and homework methods of education.He also denounced all university lectures as members of the bourgeoisie and members of a hostile class in the education was more liberal than anything previous children had ever seen. Under Stalin, the changing of social policies and their effect on women were numerous. Stalin as part of industrialisation put greater emphasis on Job opportunities for women, by 1940 for example, nearly 41% of heavy industry workers were women. Although, in retrospect, women were still underpaid, receiving only 60-65% of a mans salary in the same Job, reducing overall change.Nevertheless, in contrast to Lenin and Tsarist Russia, Stalin put even greater focus on educational opportunities for women, increasing places for the number of women in colleges and universities. Although, again, these courses were purely focussed on industry, reducing overall change from Lenin. Although, as part of urbanisation, women btained greater opportunities to work in agriculture and by 1945, 80% of workers on the collectives were female. Stalin also placed even greater emphasis on propaganda compared to Lenin and employed the Stakhanov spirit in the female working environment to ensure maximum potential.Women also saw greater opportunities to serve i n the armed forces and by 1945, half a million Soviet Women had served. However, Stalin did abolish the Zhenotdel, formed under Lenin, reducing women's ability to be involved in the running of the state once again, as under Tsarism, reducing the breath of change in overall opportunity. Additionally, Lynch argues that he increase in women into the armed forces, whilst increased their equality, increased their likelihood of â€Å"mistreatment† and â€Å"sexual abuse†, especially by senior officers.This bears similarity to pre-Leninism where abuse of women was commonplace, reducing overall significance of Stalin's social policies effect on changing the lives of women for the better. Although, the state under Stalin compensated the abuse of women in the home itself by introducing a series of social polices which championed the revival of marriage. For example, the state now promoted marriage, legalising wedding rings which had previously been made illegal nder Lenin. Stali n in contrast to Lenin who legalised divorce, limited the availability to end a marriage.This has the effect of reducing the number of women and children becoming impoverished, under Lenin and his policy of free love. Women and children would no longer be left to fend for themselves if a husband chose to divorce. Local Party officials would in addition seek out any husbands who absconded from their marital obligations ensuring this change would be successful and significant. Women were also encouraged more to increase their reproductivity. This was due to greater amounts of women in work as part of industrialisation.Stalin introduced incentives to women with a certain amount of children-7 would gain 2,0000 roubles per year for 5 consecutive years. However, this increased the likelihood of pressure being put on women from their male counterparts to terminate their babies as had been the case when Lenin previously legalised abortion, suggesting a reduction in overall change for the be tter. Although, Stalin did put in place laws to punish such offence with two years imprisonment and made termination illegal.However, ultimately the banning of abortion was an infringement on civil liberties, similar to that of Tsarism, reducing verall change. Additionally, Stalin reverted back to the traditional role of the women in the home. Whilst his changes meant they could work and could receive state support and were compensated by his promotion of the Women's Activists Movement their own family as a â€Å"good Communist† should rather than socialise the entire family as Lenin argued. Stalin therefore reverted back to the traditional view of the purpose of women. He however, gave them two roles.Essentially, as Geoffrey Hosking argues â€Å"the fruits of female emancipation became the building blocks of the Stalinists neopatriarchal society. In terms of Stalins social policies and it's effects on children for the better, they are arguably of less significance. Whilst S talin continued to run the education system via the state as Lenin condoned, Stalin controlled the education of children to a precedent unseen before. Stalin condoned the more extensive regulation of education in order to shape the next younger generation of society, whom could be easily influenced, into the Communist way of thinking.This was seen most notably in 1935, when Stalin brought the original Tsars Imperial Academy, or Soviets Academy of Sciences under direct state control forcing ersonnel to produce work only in line with Stalinist views. Stalin also reintroduced discipline into children's lives, giving power back to teachers which had previously been taken away under Lenin. He also further tightened the regulations imposed on children in terms of appearance, such as school uniforms, to surpass Lenin's attempts to create a truly egalitarian society.Stalin also changed the material in lessons, introducing a new curriculum in 1935 which was created by the state which was acc ompanied by State prescribed textbooks through which children would now earn; a valuable method in the influencing of the next generation of socialists. Although, in retrospect, it could be argued that state influence in children's education was not a vast change. Lenin himself had requisitioned a book entitled A Brief History of Russia by Bolshevik Pokrovsky which was acquired as the Soviet School Text Book. Although, state influence in education under Lenin was rather in terms of class struggle.Stalin changed this to an overall insight into the positive age of the Russian past, focussing on fgures such as Peter the Great. He also made it compulsory along ith homework and exams to in fact go to school. Whereas Lenin saw it as a mere obligation to learn the basic aspects of reading and writing, Stalin saw education as essential in breeding a new generation of productive and capable workers and consequently provided free schooling for the first time time up to the age of 15. For exam ple, between 1929 and 1940, the number of children attending school rose from 12 to 35 million.Although, in retrospect, whilst there were grants, most parents of children in secondary education were still expected to pay and certainly could not ttend higher education without such a financial contribution, reducing overall change in terms of opportunity for children. This change is made more insignificant by the fact that ironically, whilst the Russian revolutionaries had poured scorn on the bourgeoisie governing elites that monopolised power previously, Stalin continued to produce an equivalent and did not change this hypocrisy.Party officials were allowed the right for their children to have the best training to give them access to higher education and were often given the best places, similar to the Tsarist elite, and going against Lenin. For example, in the period from 1928-1932, a third of all undergraduates were Party nominees. Essentially, Stalin did not change the existence o f a ruling class which allowed their children to dominate the education system. Lynch even argues that, â€Å"it enhanced Stalins power by creating a class of his creatures. In conclusion, essentially, Stalin did make extensive changes in social polices which effected the lives of countless women and children. Authority, discipline and effort were now championed in a drive to become a truly independent Socialist State. In terms of children and their education, Stalin, although he continued ith state intervention, undeniably made changes to allow compulsory education to all which made the literacy rate rise significantly from 51% in 1926 to 88% in 1940, allowing a new breed of educated workers to run the economy.However, Stalins changes to the lives of children are however inevitably undermined by the fact that he did nothing to prevent an intelligentsia forming once again which was allowed to dominate the nomenklatura. Not only was education still streamlined as it had been under L enin and even under Tsarism in the universities, but ordinary children were till prevented from top posts and were confined to be â€Å"cogs† in the industrialisation process.