SWOT Analysis Essay Example for Free

SWOT Analysis Essay The strength of the company mainly lay on its popularity and its wide range of network. Blockbuster had realized these strengths and has taken advantage of them to the full extent. Advertising and in-house promotion have been performed quite successfully in maintaining the image and popularity of Blockbuster, particularly in the eyes of US consumers. Today, the company has also developed a popular presence on the internet and it has help to increase Blockbuster’s competitive advantage against its competitors (Lieberman, 2004). Blockbuster’s weaknesses include its high cost of operations and maintenance, limited stocks of popular movies and insensitiveness toward recent developments in the industry. Financially, the company needs to reduce operational costs of its stores, because it decreases operating profit into minimum profit or even losses. Strategically, blockbuster needs to maintain awareness of what competitors are doing and develop new programs to attract customers. Within the stagnant market, the company could not afford to miss-out on new development in video rental marketing and sales. Opportunities Opportunities for blockbuster come in several packages. The first is in foreign investments. The company which already has a significant presence and popularity in United States could easily gain market share in Europe or even developing countries that crave American products. Another opportunity is increasing customer service by recording customer preferences in corporate data. †¢ Threats One of the apparent problems in the video-rental industry is related to copyright issues and legal aspect of the business. Players within the industry are threatened by the presence of many illegal download centers on the internet. Sales have already been reported decreasing due to the prevalent of illegal downloading activities. On the other hand, video rentals have the obligation to pay legal fees for every title it possess which prevent them from competing with the decreasing costs of downloading movies through the internet. II. Conclusions This paper has elaborated the performance of Blockbuster Inc by using the environmental and SWOT analysis. From the financial perspectives, the company shows the declining performance due to cost of rental revenue was recorded to increase while sales were decreasing. The companies also experience the hardest force from industry that faces several technology alternatives for seeing movies. The situation causes the company to experience declining revenue into $5. 7 billion in 2006. In terms of sales, 2006 actually revealed a declining performance, but it is still much better compare to 2002. Vertical analysis on the other hand, described a tendency of financial development. Blockbuster records more than $5 billion in 2006. In terms of sales, 2006 actually revealed a declining performance, but it is still much better compare to 2002 sales (Blockbuster Inc, 2006). The undulating Blockbuster performance has caused the undulating performance as well. Furthermore, from the environmental analysis, we find that movie rental industry has a stagnant market condition since the substitutes of products are vastly available from the video download via iPod and the free sample of video at www. youtube. com, for instances. Although the company faces threat for their future business, still, they have the strong brand when expanding into foreign market especially the Europe. III. Recommendations Following professional guidance along with taking advantage of the internal and external analysis previously performed, we will then formulate several of the foreseeable solutions and suggestions. These general suggestions to increase Blockbuster’s operational efficiency are ones that might already exist within the corporate strategy, but requires further attention and development: †¢ Providing Employee with Access to Required Information Employers always suggested that employees should do their best to satisfy customers and generate a rebuy or revisit. Ironically, some employers are doing this without equipping their employees with the proper tools to provide customers with satisfactory services. Those tools could be sufficient training, guidance in the workplace or access to sufficient information. Block buster should pay attention particularly to the latter tool. By developing a customer preference list, employees could help customer pick-out movies that they would like. This would not only increase customer retention but increase employee working satisfaction.   Improve Employee Satisfaction and retention People that have the best knowledge on how to enhance the operational efficiency of a rental operation are the employees. Employers should spend time and effort ensuring that employees are performing their functions with sufficient motivation to recognize efficiency opportunities if they see one. Most workplaces are trapped with poor efficiency performance because they never let employees provide them with suggestions and insights. Develop Long-term Technology Plan. One of the recorded mistakes of Blockbuster is not to create their presence in the internet when they should have. An untimely entrance to an extremely competitive market could well mean no entrance at all. To prevent similar occurrences, Blockbuster should develop a long term technology plans where managers of the company formulate long term objectives of the company and then revise a technological plan based on the formulated goals. †¢ Reducing Rental Centers For a more radical solution, the company could simply reduce the amount of retail locations to reduce operational cost. Instead of building and maintaining stores every 5 blocks, the company could otherwise increase the technology investments in remaining stores and provide customers with state of the art customer services. †¢ Rent-out Spaces Furthermore, in locations which are not contributing sufficient profit, Blockbuster could rent the space for external businesses. This has been a normal practice for many gas stations or other business settings when they have unproductive space within their facilities. Other opportunities could be gained from partnering with other video-rent retailers. Partnering with other Retailers Instead of building new stores and increasing operational costs, Blockbuster could otherwise try to create alliances with other existing resources retailers. An example of those retailers could be the grocery chains. Blockbuster could sign a leasing agreement with the grocery store and perform operations within the grocery store. There are two main advantages of this plan, first, Blockbuster will only need to pay for the lease instead of building and maintaining another building, and second, Blockbuster could benefit from gaining access to customers of the grocery store. If the first implementation of this strategy is successful, Blockbuster should begin to consider the benefits of moving all of Blockbuster’s retail locations into grocery stores. Bibliography About Blockbuster. com. 2006. 08 Mar. 2006 http://www. blockbuster. com BBI: Profile for BLOCKBUSTER INC. 2006. Retrived February 20, 2008 from http://www. finance. yahoo. com/q/pr? s=BBI Blockbuster Inc; Investor Relations – Various Press Releases; 2005-2006 http://www. blockbuster. com Brem, Lisa and Narayanan, V. G.2002; That’s a Wrap: The Dynamics of the Video Rental Industry; Harvard Business School Case 9-102-051. Lieberman, David. 2004. â€Å" Blockbuster jabs back at rivals†. USA Today. â€Å"Videotape Rental. † 2004. Encyclopedia of American Industries. U of Florida Business Lib. , Gainesville, 20 July 2004 http://www. galenet. galegroup. com/servlet/BCRC. Wagner, Holly J. â€Å"2003: a breakout year for previously viewed: top previously viewed retailers. † Business Company Resource Center (2004). U of Florida Business Lib. , Gainesville, 20 July 2004 http://galenet. galegroup. com/servlet/BCRC.

The Concept Of Work Life Balance

The Concept Of Work Life Balance Abstract The concept of work-life balance has now become centre of attention for almost all companies, political institutions, research institutions, families, individuals and trade unions at both national and international level. Work life balance is an important topic in human resource management that means to combine work and life in a way, that both are achievable. Work life balance is generally related to role overload, time management, time pressure, job satisfaction, job stress, organizational commitment, life satisfaction, turnover, welfare, social security, working time, flexibility, family, fertility, (un)employment, migration, consumption, demographic changes, leisure time and so on. In this paper, work means paid work i.e. a person earns money by providing his/her services to the organization. Both work family balance and work life balance is same thing. Moreover, work life conflict and work family conflict are used interchangeably. We will discuss some relevant definitions, its i mportance in organization and in life of individual, antecedents and consequences of work life conflict, factors which help in creating work life balance, advantages of work life balance, cost of implementing its policies, some findings from literature, our recommendations and implications and in the end conclusion. From our literature we try to find some quantitative data about condition of work life balance in different countries but we were not able to get it. This paper is done mostly on qualitative data we get from different and renowned journal articles written by different prominent authors. Introduction Theres no such thing as work-life balance. There are work-life choices, and you make them, and they have consequences, stated by Jack Welsh, former General Electrics CEO and all-round business guru (Khallash Kruse, 2012, p. 682). The two most important domains of an individuals life are work and family and their interface has become centre of attention in the past two decades for researchers in the field of human resource management world-wide. The changing social structures arising out of dual career couples, single parent families, globalization, changes in the demands and patterns of work, an increasing number of parents with children care responsibilities, increasing number of women workforce and ageing parents all have contributed to escalating research in the area of work life balance. There is a need to integrate and balance family and career requirements otherwise work life balance is in jeopardy as a person is unable to perform his roles due to tiredness from work or family responsibilities hamper concentration at work (McCarthy et al., 2010; Valk Srinivasan, 2011). Work life conflict is opposite of work life balance, that can be either related to strain-based or time-based conflicts between work and life. There are two conflicting areas: (1) how work impacts on family life i.e. work-to-family conflict and (2) how family life impacts on work i.e. family-to-work conflict. But the net impact is same and that is Work life imbalance or conflict. Work-life balance is not primarily a womens issue as the principles equally apply to men (Pichler, 2008; Crompton Lyonette, 2006). This concept highly aims to encourage employees to adopt flexible working arrangements that can help them to achieve balance between their professional and private life. History of Work-Life Balance In 1986, the term Work-Life Balance was first identified, but its usage in everyday language was still sporadic for a certain number of years. Although, interestingly work-life programs existed in early years such as 1930, but people did not recognize them. Before the Second World War, the W.K. Kellogg Company created some flexible work hour shifts for their employees who replaced the traditional daily working hours, and the new shift resulted in increased employee efficiency and morale. In 1977, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, for the first time in his influential book, Work and Family in the United States: A Critical Review and Agenda for Research and Policy, raised the issue of Work-Life Balance and brought it to the forefront of organizations and research. This concept forces organizations to follow work-family friendly environment. Therefore, in the 1980s and 1990s, some organizations began to offer work-life programs who aimed to promote balance work-life. The first waves of these progra ms were mainly to support women with children (Brough et al., 2008). Now-a-days, many work-life programs have been introduced which are less gender specific and identify other obligations as well as those of family. Definitions of Work-Life Balance Now-a-days, the concept of Work-Life Balance is not new; because of its importance it has been discussed extensively. It has been conceptualized as an individuals orientation across various life roles and inter roles phenomenon. Different scholars have given different views on how they perceive the concept of WLB. Some of the important definitions are: (1) Kofodimos has defined it as a satisfying, healthy and productive life that includes work, play and love, that integrates a range of life activities with attention to self and to personal and spiritual development, and that expresses a persons unique wishes, interests, and values (Valk Srinivasan, 2011, p. 40). (2) Kirchmeyer has viewed Work-Life Balance as achieving satisfying experiences in all life domains, and to do so require personal resources such as energy, time, and commitment to be well distributed across domains (Greenhaus et al., 2003, p. 512). (3) Clark views work life balance as satisfaction and good functioning at wo rk and at home with a minimum of role conflict (Greenhaus et al., 2003, p. 512). (4) Work life balance is the term used to describe the organizational initiatives aimed at enhancing employee experience of work and non-work domains (Darcy et al., 2012, p. 112). (5) Work life balance is experienced when demands from the domain of work are compatible with demands from other domains, e.g. family (Pichler, 2008, p. 3). These definitions share number of common elements for example; all highlights the balance between work and non-work domains and equality of inputs and outcomes. On the other hand, work life conflict is a form of inter role conflict in which the demands of work and family roles are incompatible in some respect so that participation in one role is more difficult because of participation in the other role (Voydanoff, 2004, p. 399). In short, work life conflict is conflict between work and family responsibilities. Significance of Work-Life Balance Literature has shown that concept of Work-Life Balance is worth for discussion as it aims to create a balanced work-life. Work life balance is becoming an important issue as people deals with shrinking workplace and time pressure. Many studies have highlighted that work-life initiatives offer a win-win situation to both employees and employers and affect business progress and performance in many ways as improving work life balance practices increase productivity, employee well-being, reduces costs, lead to improve retention and recruitment and better motivation and morale for employees (Maxwell, 2005). Various theories have revealed that work life balance policies try to minimize stress and add to a healthier and safer work environment. Work life balance has been associated with greater employee commitment, job satisfaction and organizational citizenship behavior and its policies are beneficial for individuals, their families, physical health, mental health, relationships, creativity , organizations, and society (Brough et al., 2008 Grzywacz Carlson, 2007). Employees expect their employers to recognize that in addition to job they also have a life that includes their family, friends and social gathering. Studies have shown that a workforce that is out of balance faces stress and dissatisfaction which reduces family and work engagement. Work life balance issues are one of the main reasons which forces workers to quit their jobs. Therefore, work life balance is an important and increasingly hot topic because its about improving peoples quality of life and aims to widen access to career opportunities and paid employment. Firm size is also the next best predictor of the presence of work life balance policies; because its size affects the extent and type of work life balance policies a firm can offer. Large companies are more likely to offer longer and paid parental leave and flexible working hours (Beauregard Henry, 2009; Kucharova, 2009). In short, firms have re cognized that creating a balanced work and family life of employees is the only solution of all problems. Now, senior management has become more proactive about their employees health and they are introducing and implementing work life strategies. Measurement There is no as such one measurement tool for work life balance in literature. But most widely used tool is questionnaire and surveys. Most companies do questionnaires and survey to their employees to find out how balanced is their work and life is. One such questionnaire is discussed here. Employee has to select one option and each option is assigned different point. Options were based on a 5-point rating scale that ranged from never to always. Questions are: I have come home from work too tired to do the chores which need to be done? It has been difficult for me to fulfill my family responsibility because of the amount of time I spend on my job? I have arrived at work too tired to function well because of the household work I had done? I have found it difficult to concentrate at work because of my family responsibilities? Keep worrying about work problems when you are not working? Feel too tired after work to enjoy the things you would like to do at home? Find that your job prevents you from giving the time you want to your partner or family? Find that your partner or family gets fed up with the pressure of your job? If employee faces these problems quite often it means he/she is facing work life conflict (Pichler, 2008). Higher scores indicate imbalance rather than balance of work and life. (Other surveys and questionnaires are mentioned in appendix). Antecedents Which Cause Imbalance Work-Life In many researches both men and women has reported that they face difficulties in keeping a balance between family and work life, therefore, their lives suffer because of this imbalance. One of the main reasons for this difficulty is lack of support and help from their better half or spouse. In addition to this, work life (im)balance highly depends upon on job role, project-based job and nature of industry. For example, project-based work with unpredictable work pressure and requirement to deliver project consistently with predetermined time, often requires extensive travel disturb family relations. Additional working hours and working outside normal hours at expense of home and family time with high work intensity and pressure may result in bad health, stress, anxiety, fatigue and adverse/unpleasant psycho-physiological consequences that can have dreadful affect on quality of family and work life. Some researches has indicated that despite of an overall decline in weekly working hou rs across Europe over the last decade, the increased stress level, insecurities and competition at work-place are considered to be additional factors which are relevant in creating disruption of balance in life (Valk Srinivasan, 2011; Pichler, 2008). Literature has also highlighted that fact that highest level of stress occurs when job demands are high whereas work life balance practices and policies are low. There are also some barriers which restrict organizations to implement work life balance policies that are job requirements, commitment and loyalty, cultural values, and change (Chiang et al., 2010). According to Voydanoff (2004), work demands expected to be highly associated with work-to-family conflicts which are of two types i.e. time based and strain based. Long paid working hours restrict an individuals time that can be spent with friends and family. This lack of time may create difficulties for employees in maintaining family relationship and performing family orientated task or duties. Sometimes, strain-based demands (job insecurity or concern over losing a job) threaten the economic well-being that is necessary to quality of life and stability. The stress related with job insecurity decreases interpersonal availability and restricts effective participation in family life. Sometimes, family responsibilities also restricts person to perform his/her work duties effectively but researches have been more focused on work to family conflict rather than family to work conflict. Consequences Conflict between family and work has real and worth discussing consequences which extensively affects quality of life and career success for both women and men. Stressfulness, lower productivity, low employee morale, decreased job satisfaction, absenteeism and sickness are some common consequences which are caused by work life conflict. The consequences for women may comprise serious career choices and constraints, limited career advancement opportunity and success in their work role and need to choose between an active satisfying career or marriage and children. Most of the men face tradeoff between career and personal values when they tries to find out ways to make dual career families work that often requires them to hold family roles that are far different and open. Other serious consequences of imbalance work-life are alcohol-drug abuse, negative physical and mental health effects, poorer outcomes for dependants and other household members, a lesser work contribution, a diminuti on of social citizenship and community participation, depression, financial and marital problems, distrust, tardiness, cheating and violence in workplace, task avoidance, embezzlement, organizational sabotage, compulsive eating disorder and burnout (Voydanoff, 2004; Pocock, 2005). Because of these serious consequences organization faces with the prospect of losing talented men and women who because of imbalance between work and life become unable to cope with dual family and work demands. That is why; organizations reconsider personnel policies and expectations. Factors Which Help in Creating Work Life Balance The role of social/family support and supervisor/co-worker support has consistently emerged in literature as an important factor that influences work family balance in a positive manner. Social support includes support from an employees parents, siblings, spouse or partner, children, friends and extended family. Of particular importance is support from the spouse who contributes in a variety of areas including moral, domestic and childcare support, earnings and personal financial management, home and family responsibilities, career management and interpersonal support. Family support also includes the exchange of support among relatives. The personal social support can be further conceptualized as emotional and instrumental support, thus suggesting that it positively influences the individuals functioning at work. The role of workplace support, i.e., the support received from supervisors and co-workers is another critical element of work family balance. Organizational and supervisor understanding of family duties are positively related to satisfaction with the balance between work and family life. Workplace support via an organizational approach involves the implementation of family friendly policies, which are associated with integrating work and family responsibilities and achieving a healthy work and family balance. Organizations offer a wide range of work family benefits and programs to their employees (these are discussed in appendix). Through research it is found that flexible work arrangements allow individuals to maintain a balanced life. There is also importance of supportive supervisors, peers and colleagues in managing their work family balance. Literature recognizes that all of the above mentioned variables have a greater impact on women. An emerging category appeared to achieve work life balance that is self-management or reinvention: reconsidering not only the kind of work one wants to do but also the kind of person one wants to be and the sacrifi ces one is prepared to make to grow into that new self (Valk Srinivasan, 2011; Wayne et al., 2007; Voydanoff, 2004). Communication about work life programs to employees and providing proper resources and rewards to them also contribute towards work life balance. Advantages of Balanced Work and Life Researchers are now focusing on how family and work can benefit each other and this concept is known as work life facilitation. This facilitation may take place when gain from one domain can be transferred to and improving the functioning in the other domain. Work life balance can serve as a guide for organizations to address family work balance issues by redesigning the HR practices and policies for facilitating family work balance. This will help further help in enabling workers to be more committed to the organization, perform better work, and contribute to growth of economy and positive impact for society as whole (Valk Srinivasan, 2011). Work-Life programs promotes improve productivity and employee commitment, lower rate of turnover, thus result in fewer employee relation challenges and reduced likelihood of unethical business practices. Moreover, implementation of work life balance policies can result in less loss of knowledge workers to competitors, reduced staff turnover, lo wer training and recruitment costs, reduced absenteeism, improved quality of workers, reduction in work stress, reduced use of sick leave, high self-esteem, confidence and loyalty, better performance and high morale and satisfaction. Some vital benefits that employer gains from work life balance includes employees feel valuable and work harder, maximized available labor, more loyal and motivated workforce, less stressful workplace, high employee involvement, organizational effectiveness and positive employee attitude and behavior (Beauregard Henry, 2009). Work life promotes happiness and better relations among employees and employers. Costs of Implementing Work Life Balance Policies The cost of implementing work life balance policies is another vital issue which organizations take into account. These costs include direct cost e.g. parental leave payments, childcare subsidies, cost of extra space associated with increased facilities like breastfeeding rooms or childcare facilities, providing equipment to telecommuters and indirect costs such as temporarily filing absentees post and reduction in productivity from temporary disruptions (Darcy et al., 2012; Brough et al., 2008). It has also highlighted that managers role plays a critical role in policy development and implementation. Poor managers/supervisors skills and behaviors in work life balance practice can lead to increase costs (Maxwell, 2005). According to Roberts (2008) a reduction in worked hours is perhaps the most obvious route for employees to improve their work life balance despite the connected costs in terms of income, career and status. Managerial Implications/Recommendations Based on feedback from family and co-worker a person can evaluate whether he/she fulfilling both family and work responsibilities (Grzywacz Carlson, 2007). Work life balance support and practices promotes a mean by which workers may alter their work hours and condition in a way which can reduce stress. When employees enjoy high degree of freedom and flexibility, sense of job control will increase, thus alleviating job stress (Chiang et al., 2010). Work life balance practices can have positive impact on employees and competition at firm level. These are some suggestions to promote work-life policies and program: (1) Use questionnaires to find out what workers feel about work life balance. (2) Review HR strategy and see if they support companys mission. (3) Develop work-life reward programs by using non-cash incentives associated with business objective. (4) Align HR strategy (e.g. employer of choice) with work-life initiatives (McCarthy et al., 2010). Work-life initiatives also creat e positive employer branding, promote organizational citizenship; endorse being an employer of choice and support diversity programs. To start work-life programs, managers should consider these key areas: employee retention, absenteeism, employee time save, increase productivity and motivation and decrease stress related illness and health care costs. However, the entire work-life programs cannot be told firmly by only quantitative measurements. HR professionals must consider four significant questions: (1) do supervisors and managers aware of the impact work life balance and its policies has on their employees, (2) does a firm culture and environment truly support work-life benefits, (3) does the companys management philosophy sincerely promotes work-life benefits, (4) are workers aware of and do they recognize companys work-life policies and programs. If a company is already in practice of offering work-life benefits, then the next step for it would be to re-communicate and repack age them so employees can see how such benefits may find them ways to reduce or manage work-family conflict. Moreover, creating a HR strategy that clearly comply with companys mission will exhibit that how committed the company is to its employees needs. Organizations may need to adopt more modified work life balance programs, initiatives and have the courage to go beyond from a one size fits all approach (Darcy et al., 2012; McCarthy et al., 2010). In other words, Companies may need to re-think work life balance more specifically and need to pay more attention on it. Work life balance programs are not reduced hours, flexible delivery, but it is about assisting people to match their behavior to their values (Reiter, 2007). According to Grawitch et al., (2010) its not about balance, its about resource allocation (in appendix, it is discussed in more detail). Companies should tailor its HR and work life balance policies according to the need of the employees and should implement it ef fectively to get desired results. Discussion Findings From the literature we found that younger employees and employees in professional and managerial positions account higher levels of work life conflict. Singles are generally more balanced than people whose partner is in paid work. Long working hours, high levels of job insecurity, a lack of power in deciding when to start or finish work and demanding jobs result in higher imbalance in work and life. Women with children also report high level of work life conflict (Pichler, 2008). But it was revealed by Emslie Hunt (2009) that there is no clear relationship between work life balance and gender. It is definitely clear that women is considered to do the home related work, on other hand men is also supposed to fulfill family responsibilities. There is also no clear relationship between work life conflict and age of employees children, but there is some evidence about those employees whose children are below three faces more work life imbalance. A one size fits all approach used for the development of work life balance programs is costly and ineffective to meet the needs of different type of employees. Job involvement was negatively related to work life balance whereas, perceived managerial support was positively related to work life balance (Darcy et al., 2012). It was found by Kucharova (2009) that there is no clear relationship between work life balance and economic condition of the different countries. It was found that sometimes flexible working and working from home increase work life conflict and part time work and job sharing also sometimes increase work pressure. There was no clear relationship found between flexible working arrangements and working conditions such as pay, promotion opportunities and employee commitment (Russell et al., 2009; Moore, 2006). Through study of Reiter (2007) it was clear that organizational development field is struggling with the apparent lack of success of work life balance programs in many organizations and this is caused by lack of investment by companies and government in work life balance initiatives. Furthermore, to gain real value from investment in work life balance, organizations need to recognize it as a complex issue and apply much more holistic solutions than has usually been the case. Conclusion In conclusion, we like to say that people who combine all aspects of their life in a balanced manner should therefore be the most satisfied and happiest one. In short, work life balance is part of the general well-being. The higher work-life imbalance, the lower are life satisfaction, happiness, subjective health and emotional well-being. Work life balance programs have the potential to extensively reduce absenteeism, improve employee morale and keep hold of organizational knowledge, particularly during hard economic times. In such a marketplace where there is increasing globalization and companies aspire to reduce costs, it depends upon human resource expert to comprehend the serious issues of work life balance and become of winner work life programs. It will cost some money, but in the long run, the company will benefit from this. If properly introduced and implemented then work life balance programs can be win-win situation for employee, family and organization. Flexible working a rrangements are important but it should be catered according to employees needs, resources, time and demands to get more improved results. Work life balance is associated with quality of life and is not only a moral issue it is productivity and economic issue, a workplace issue and a social issue, and needs to be addressed as such. We can also measure by using some other questions and that are, how successful do you feel in balancing your paid work and family life? Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the balance between your job or main activity and family and home life? I am satisfied with the balance I have achieved between my work and life? I am able to balance the demands of my work and the demands of my family? I experience a high level of work-family balance? I am satisfied with the balance I have achieved between my work life and my family life? How successful do you feel in balancing your paid work and family life? Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the balance between your job or main activity and family and home life? Responses were based on a 5-point rating scale that ranged from strongly disagree to strongly agree. (Allen Kiburz, 2011; Kucharova, 2009; Reiter, 2007). Factors Which Help in Creating Work Life Balance Organizations offer a wide range of work family benefits and programs to their employees such as job sharing, staggered hours, compressed working hours, telecommuting, job protected parental leave, part-time return to work options, shift swapping, flextime, resource and referral services, unpaid family leave, dependent care assistance, shorter standard work weeks, improvement in job conditions, breaks from work, work for home, on-site childcare, support groups for working parents, sports facilities, day-care facilities, laundry facilities, and canteen facilities (Valk Srinivasan, 2011; Wayne et al., 2007; Voydanoff, 2004). Its not about Balance, Its about Resource Allocation Literature has re-conceptualizes the frame work of WLB. Previous researches have given more emphasized on the ways in which work and non-work life affect each other, but now new studies has introduced the concept of Personal Resource Allocation (PRA) framework which considers that all life demands forces an individual to make choices about where, when, how to allocate personal resources across the life domains. This Framework has four main central components which include personal resources, demands, resources allocation strategies and the individual outcomes. It suggests that effective work-life balance is an effective personal resource allocation across all life pursuits. It allows researchers to move beyond the old assumption of WLB, in which work life is considered bad and family life considered as good, to person-environment interactions that brings positive individual outcomes. According to PRA framework, individuals bring their personal resources to their daily lives, and beca use they come across repeated demands (anything that competes for personal resources) on their resources so, these demand forces them to make choices where to allocate these resources. Once the resources are allocated, then individuals are left with fewer resources to meet additional demands (Figure1, in appendix shows the PRA framework). Therefore, positive outcomes can only be achieved if (a) perceives that they have necessary resources to respond to their demands of life, (b) when they believe that they have adequate control to allocate their resource according their preferences, (c) when they feel satisfied with the way they have managed their resources (Grawitch et al., 2010). This Framework has presented the rethinking concept of WLB interface by de-emphasizing the negative role that work plays in life and emphasizing a resource allocation strategy. This theory incorporates person-environment interactions that bring positive outcomes, instead of, simply those that decrease or increase outcomes.

Advertisements Essay -- essays research papers

We see advertisements all around us. They are on television, in magazines, on the Internet, and plastered up on large billboards everywhere. Ads are nothing new. Many individuals have noticed them all of their lives and have just come to accept them. Advertisers use many subliminal techniques to get the advertisements to work on consumers. Many people don’t realize how effective ads really are. One example is an advertisement for High Definition Television from Samsung. It appears in an issue of Entertainment Weekly, a very popular magazine concerning movies, music, books, and other various media. The magazine would appeal to almost anyone, from a fifteen-year-old movie addict to a sixty-five-year-old soap opera lover. Therefore the ad for the Samsung television will interest a wide array of people. This ad contains many attracting features and uses its words cunningly in order to make its product sound much more exciting and much better than any television would ever be. The ad itself is fairly large, taking up four full pages, which feel a little bit thicker than the pages in the rest of the magazine. Many people will notice the ad not only because of its size but also because of its coloring. All four pages of the ad are filled with eye-catching green grass and a bright blue sky. On the first page, lying on top of the grass are various models of the High Definition Televisions from Samsung and a playful looking girl with her back turned away from the televisions and her ...

Evaluation of the Fractal Dimension of a Crystal :: Chemistry Chemical Papers

Evaluation of the Fractal Dimension of a Crystal Abstract The purpose of this experiment was to determine the effects of voltage and molarity changes on the fractal dimension of a Cu crystal formed by the re-dox reaction between Cu and CuSO4. Using the introductory information obtained from research, the fractal geometry of the Cu crystals was determined for each set of parameters. Through the analysis of data, it was determined that the fractal dimension is directly related to the voltage. The data also shows that the molarity is inversely related to the fractal dimension, but through research this was determined to be an error. Introduction A fractal is a geometric pattern that is repeated indefinitely that it cannot be represented with typical mathematics. Fractals can be seen in nature in the way minerals develop over time, the manner in which trees limbs shoot from the trunk, and the development of the human body (i.e. the lungs)1. These fractals determine a way to attempt to simplify the randomness of the universe via probability and theories regarding diffusion and intermolecular attractions. The way dimensions in typical geometry are the typical 0-D, 1-D, 2-D, and 3-D. However, much matter does not fit these basic categories. A great example is a snowflake. If the negligible depth of a snowflake were ignored, it would be considered a 2-D object. However this is not completely true. A 2-D object can always be described by a finite number of tiles all in the same plane, because the snowflake cannot be described with only planes and also requires lines, it can be assumed it possesses properties of both a 1-D and 2-D object. A snowflake can be loosely approximated as a ~ 1.5-D object. This is fractal dimension of the object. In order to determine a more exact fractal dimension of an object, smaller and smaller pieces are zoomed in upon and used to determine a rough estimate of the amount of pieces that exhibit the same pattern (self-similarity) as the whole object. The relationship between the zoom and self similarity of the object determine the fractal dimension:

Jazz Dance :: essays research papers

Afterreading the article on jazz dance, I had found out a number of interestingthings that I hadnt known before. I thought it was a dance form that wasfairly new, starting in the early 1900s. I then found out that it actually pre-dates all the way back to theseventeenth century. I also thought itcame from the United States, when it really originated in Africa and wasbrought here by the slaves. The dancingand drumming was such a part of their lives; it was eventually continued by theslaves on the plantations with dancing and the clapping of their hands forrhythm. It was used as a form ofentertainment, as well as enjoyment, and sometimes, even for competition. It wasaround the 1830s when the song and dance of the Africans began being performedin theaters, called Minstrel shows,but the dancers were actually white. Then in the 1860s, blacks were finally aloud to perform in these shows. They became very popular and then diedout in the early 1900s, which lead the way for new shows. The most popular of these being the Vaudeville show. The Vaudeville show, presented a numberof different acts with all different cultures of people and dance, whichencouraged diversity. It served as aprofessional school, a training ground and an experimental station for dancersdestined for Broadway, nightclubs and film.-Richard Kislan. The Vaudevilleera began the emergence of jazz music, which mixed ragtime and blues. The dancers would then begin to connect tothe condensed rhythms of jazz music. Nowjazz incorporates a gathering of styles and movement, which can mean a lot ofdifferent things to different people. When welearned jazz dance in class, I found it hard to keep up at first. I liked the way it looked, when someone whoknew what they were doing, was dancing. I remember changing directions a lot. I also noticed while dancing that you use pretty much every part of yourbody. I thought I would be good at it,considering I am an athlete, and I am tune with my body. But I wasnt, I just felt like so manydifferent things to remember. Maybe if Ipracticed it more, I could pick it up. What I didlike about jazz dance, is how free it is. It really gives you the opportunity to express yourself. Even the guy who came in to instruct us wastelling everyone to perform the moves in your own style. Since we didnt really have any jazz music, Ifound it hard to keep rhythm.

Opium As A Chinese Saga Essay

The Lure That Was China Amidst it all, she withstood the grandeur of her civilization and past, her legacy and mystique, her people and culture: China is the ever yearned for prize of colonization; of commercialism; of travelers of yore and hitherto – for she has everything to be proud of in any given time. She has achievements, inventions, products, people, craft, art, inert knowledge, philosophies, grace – so with her natural resources. Up until the end of the 17th century, China and her people and their life was as they preferred it to be. Then the West was utterly impetuous to indulge China to comprehensive trade. China has most exquisite exportable products: porcelain, silk, tea. The West love to have them. However, there is nothing much that the Chinese need from the West – nor find of any use. Specifically Great Britian, Europe could not allow an imbalance trade. So, in 1793, Britain sent a diplomat and successfully was given an Imperial audience. The array of European products presented was wonderful and would be suitable for the balancing of trade that must be established between Europe, between Britain and China. It was a disappointment. The Emperor wrote King George: â€Å". . . As your Ambassador can see for himself, we possess all things. I set no value on objects strange or ingenious, and have no use for your country’s manufactures. . . Our Celestial Empire possesses all things in prolific abundance and lacks no product within its own borders. There was therefore no need to import the manufactures of outside barbarians in exchange for our own produce. But as the tea, silk and porcelain which the Celestial Empire produces, are absolute necessities to European nations and to yourselves, we have permitted, as a signal mark of favour, that foreign hongs [merchant firms] should be established at Canton, so that your wants might be supplied and your country thus participate in our beneficence. † (Historywiz, 1999-2005) And the problem began. China Sets A Foothold As the West expressed its agitation about such imbalance of trade, China thenon closed its doors from trade. It isolated itself. It allowed selective foreign trade only via the City of Canton (now Guangzhou). The Europeans could not do away with the Chinese goods. So their gold and silver paid for what they want. It never flowed back to Europe because there was nothing that the Chinese want from Europe. What drove China to distance itself from Europe is because of the haughtiness the Europeans pursued with regards to trade. To this the Chinese is unaffected. For the Chinese, they are sufficient to themselves. Their confidence is a sense of superiority in their race. Their domestic trade is immensely rich on their own. China is a country, a nation, a people that is very big, very fruitful, very rich, very diversified in natural resources. Furthermore, as China’s interaction with the foreigners from that time made them wary. They felt intimidated and therefore became protective of itself. Thus, the isolation. Then, particularly the British, drew the gambit: Opium. Benign Was Opium Supposed To Be Opium has been in China and its use for as far back as 12 centuries ago. The purpose was medicinal. It cured diarrhea. Up and until 17th century it was sparingly mixed with tobacco as a means of relaxation. It was said to have been introduced by the Arabs, then the Portuguese, the Dutch. It is one of the lesser portion of trade that China indulges in but placed under control. This is what the British saw to balance things out with China. But â€Å"in 1729, when the foreign import was 200 chests, the Emperor Yung Ching issued the first anti-opium edict, enacting severe penalties on the sale of opium and the opening of opium-smoking divans. The importation, however, continued to increase, and by 1790 it amounted to over 4,000 chests annually. In 1796 opium smoking was again prohibited, and in 1800 the importation of foreign opium was again declared illegal. Opium was now contraband, but the fact had no effect on the quantity introduced into the country, which rose to 5,000 chests in 1820; 16,000 chests in 1830; 20,000 chests in 1838, and 70,000 chests in 1858. † (La Motte) China therefore was alarmed with the increasing use of opium by its people. It decreed a complete prohibition of its trade. Yet, the addiction that the Chinese evolved into towards the drug, encourage Western traders to penetrate China. On top of this the Chinese empire is facing corruption and fraud in its government. Bureaucracy is becoming inefficient and weak emperors are no longer qualified to face the problems. No matter what laws and penalties are imposed on the trade and use of opium, it fell on deaf ears. The profits were too much for underground Chinese traders not to connive with Western exporting traders. The balance of trade is deteriorating and China was awakening to the scourge. â€Å"In 1839 the Emperor ordered Commissioner Lin Tse-Hsu to put a stop to the opium trade. Lin wrote to Queen Victoria, appealing to the British sense of justice and compassion: ‘We have heard that in your own country opium is prohibited with the utmost strictness and severity:—this is a strong proof that you know full well how hurtful it is to mankind. Since then you do not permit it to injure your own country, you ought not to have the injurious drug transferred to another country, and above all others, how much less to the Inner Land! Of the products which China exports to your foreign countries, there is not one which is not beneficial to mankind in some shape or other. There are those which serve for food, those which are useful, and those which are calculated for re-sale; but all are beneficial. Has China (we should like to ask) ever yet sent forth a noxious article from its soil? ’ He received no reply.  Left on his own to solve the problem, Lin ordered the destruction of a large supply of opium stored on Chinese soil. † (HistoryWiz, 1999-2005) Then, the two opium wars ensued. China lost. Effects of Loss Moral Effects All because of misunderstanding and obstinacy about how to balance trade, China had to experience a loss not just in terms of economics more importantly the destruction of their moral fibre. The imbalance is not only in trade but waging conflict towards strengths and weaknesses, superiority and pride. The unknowing Chinese at the end was the one who paid the bigger price because of an addiction he likewise unknowingly developed. Because of the lure of the profits, even the Chinese himself pitted against his own countryman’s destruction of his morality. After so many years of demoralization due to the tremendous addiction of the Chinese and the usurping profiteering of the scrupulous Chinese and foreign businessmen, China for once and for all to work itself unanimously to kick the habit. The emperor ordered that in ten years no more opium traffic will be allowed. No matter that China has tremendous distances as a vast land; no matter that have no viable means of telecommunication; no matter that they have very few learned people – they all decided to get rid of opium. The West agreed to cooperate with China to lift them from their moral bondage of drug addiction. Economic Effects As a turning point in the life of China as a nation and a people, its loss counted likewise the diminishing territorial rights it holds. China then had to sign the treaties of Nanjing and Tietsin in surrender and allowed its doors again to international trade. As foreign trade was pursued, Western merchants bought silk and tea from China, increasing the volume remarkably as years went by. Because of this, Chinese farmers opted to abandon producing food stuff and concentrated on silk and tea. Thus food prices skyrocketed. With five more ports opened, the former boatmen who worked in Canton ports met with unemployment. Aggravated by rising food prices, the unemployed became more miserable. It is not all glory with increased trade. The instant resurgence of trade volumes caused a shortage in Spanish silver dollars. It has to be abolished due to its uncontrollable appreciation and was replaced by the Mexican dollars. There are also imbalances in the local currencies. Copper cash depreciated because of inadequate supply of copper and the inefficient government. This is a total destruction of the financial systems of China and they were left with the introduction of paper money in 1853. Another commercial activity affected after the loss to the opium war was the textile industry. Cloths are produced by hand in China. The West brought in cheap machine made cloths. That killed local production. And then there is the basic agriculture and home grown industries that were affected by the changes in other commercial activities. Capitalism surged into China’s consciousness and yet China was not ready for the big time game of capitalism. They were not that knowledgeable about managing profit and loss. Sociological Effects With the shameful loss from the opium war, the Chinese lost faith in the superiority of their race. They came to recognize the superiority of the Westerns. They decided to get to know them and their ways. The Chinese decided to discover the political, social and technological know-how of the Western culture. Thus, they came to know and open up to what diplomacy and foreign relations are all about. Political Effects: Since the loss of China was due to the superiority of the Western armaments, China looked into the advancement of their military and armory. They opened modern factories for modern weapons to be produced. The factories were set not to make money but for purposes of the development of Chinese military. The opium war likewise revealed the ineffectiveness of the feudal system. Its Manchu government became incapable of protecting and governing the citizenry. Poverty prevailed; petty revolution ensued; the economy collapsed. The Chinese intellectuals rose up to the occasion and likewise looked into re-organizing its government an dpolitics. Conclusion: China’s quagmire in opium was not a show of the total weakness on the part of its people, but rather insufficiency of appropriate support. For not knowing any better, they indulged because it was available. The inherent cultural perspective and philosophies are quite strong yet it was limited to the features of their time. Modern circumstances that come along their way are not something they are really prepared for. Education and information was not present at that time. Coupled with this shortcoming of the pertinent period of time, the West was incessant in its colonization and commercial and capitalist activities. At that period of time, the West sees itself as the lord and master of the whole world. What they occupy and spread must be taken hook, line and sinker. The trade objectives of the West were very encompassing, so with the rest of their occupation strategies. If the West was morally short sighted in instigating addiction among the Chinese people and the infiltration and condoning of underground Chinese business man with the lure of profit in the opium trade – then the Opium War is something that it is not a laurel to have won. And on the part of China, the opium war and rising above its ashes might have been a blessing in disguise. For what China is now in this 21st century is a result of lessons learned.

Writing

How Essay writing is being processed step by step: In every essay, the following are required: 1) What to write:- the content of the essay 2) How to write: – the organization, diction (key words), general structure of the essay. 3) Understanding the topic/issue of the subject matter. 4) Plan and structure your essay. 5) Creativity on your writing (speak through your writing). Now, every essay is expected to comprise of at least 5 paragraphs. This entails: I. Introduction/ topic sentence. II.The thesis statement of the essay. III. Body of the essay. IV. Extension of the body and examples. V. Conclusion In writing an essay, assume the reader does not know anything about your essay so you have to write in detail not-withstanding the knowledge of your marker or reader. Make sure your essay is structured very logically and rich in the appropriate diction, the use of indirect speech should be avoided HOW TO WRITE AN ESSAY IN 25MINS MINUTE 1:- Analyze- look at the essay question or p rompt. 1) What is it asking you to do? ) Is it prompting u to explain the reason of an option of yours? 3) Is it prompting you to take a stand on a particular issue? 4) If you are being asked to argue for or against something, you may have an immediate got reaction to what you are being asked. 5) Pay attention to how you feel. If your immediate reaction is â€Å"of course! † or â€Å"never! † Ask yourself how you feel that way. See whether you can spot any keyword or short phrase in the prompt that triggers your reaction. E. g. consider the following essay prompt â€Å"If we rest, we rust†.This statement is certainly true; inactivity and lack of exertion over time can cause our skills to deteriorate through disuse. In-fact, people who have seized practicing and activity for a long period and who attempts to take it up again frequently are thwarted in doing so because of the decline of their skills. Do you think that rest has a detrimental effect on us and that w e must keep active to avoid losing our edge? Plan and write an essay in which you explain your position on this issue.You may use examples from history, literature, popular culture, current events or personal experience to support your position MINUTE 2:- Brainstorm:- 1) Write down the key words you spotted in the storm. 2) Circle them. 3) Now, write down all the words and phrases that you associate with these key words. 4) What words come to your mind when you think of the word rest (sleep, relaxing, idleness, laziness) even if you never thought that there might be a connection between resting and rusting, you have some mental association with these ideas.By brainstorming or clustering, you get in touch with these associations, call up the wealth of ideas you already have and forget any worries that you may have had having nothing to say. When you brainstorm, the mind leads you in numerable directions. Simply trust yourself, let your brainstorming process tap the knowledge and feel ings that lies within you. MINUTE 3:- Take a stand:- 1) After you have been brainstorming for a while 2) Analyze Writing How Essay writing is being processed step by step: In every essay, the following are required: 1) What to write:- the content of the essay 2) How to write: – the organization, diction (key words), general structure of the essay. 3) Understanding the topic/issue of the subject matter. 4) Plan and structure your essay. 5) Creativity on your writing (speak through your writing). Now, every essay is expected to comprise of at least 5 paragraphs. This entails: I. Introduction/ topic sentence. II.The thesis statement of the essay. III. Body of the essay. IV. Extension of the body and examples. V. Conclusion In writing an essay, assume the reader does not know anything about your essay so you have to write in detail not-withstanding the knowledge of your marker or reader. Make sure your essay is structured very logically and rich in the appropriate diction, the use of indirect speech should be avoided HOW TO WRITE AN ESSAY IN 25MINS MINUTE 1:- Analyze- look at the essay question or p rompt. 1) What is it asking you to do? ) Is it prompting u to explain the reason of an option of yours? 3) Is it prompting you to take a stand on a particular issue? 4) If you are being asked to argue for or against something, you may have an immediate got reaction to what you are being asked. 5) Pay attention to how you feel. If your immediate reaction is â€Å"of course! † or â€Å"never! † Ask yourself how you feel that way. See whether you can spot any keyword or short phrase in the prompt that triggers your reaction. E. g. consider the following essay prompt â€Å"If we rest, we rust†.This statement is certainly true; inactivity and lack of exertion over time can cause our skills to deteriorate through disuse. In-fact, people who have seized practicing and activity for a long period and who attempts to take it up again frequently are thwarted in doing so because of the decline of their skills. Do you think that rest has a detrimental effect on us and that w e must keep active to avoid losing our edge? Plan and write an essay in which you explain your position on this issue.You may use examples from history, literature, popular culture, current events or personal experience to support your position MINUTE 2:- Brainstorm:- 1) Write down the key words you spotted in the storm. 2) Circle them. 3) Now, write down all the words and phrases that you associate with these key words. 4) What words come to your mind when you think of the word rest (sleep, relaxing, idleness, laziness) even if you never thought that there might be a connection between resting and rusting, you have some mental association with these ideas.By brainstorming or clustering, you get in touch with these associations, call up the wealth of ideas you already have and forget any worries that you may have had having nothing to say. When you brainstorm, the mind leads you in numerable directions. Simply trust yourself, let your brainstorming process tap the knowledge and feel ings that lies within you. MINUTE 3:- Take a stand:- 1) After you have been brainstorming for a while 2) Analyze Writing A mistake often made is the lack of knowledge for the reason of writing. The writer's purpose is to always appeal to an audience, whether you are informing, persuading, or writing to amuse. Your goal is to have some type of influence on the reader. The effectiveness of your influence starts by first gaining full awareness of exactly who your audience may be. In this chapter, the author mentions deferent examples of writing.For example, if a person were to write something for children, It should be very simple and not composed of much density. A child's level of understanding Is not as mature as an adults, therefore writing using complicated terms would only confuse them. Keeping this In mind, children's writing should be on an understanding level. This Is so the children will be able to comprehend the short and simple words. As opposed to writing to a group of educated specialists, this would be considered Inappropriate.Writing should be formal, with the use of full complex sentences , professional and more complex. After becoming familiar with the audience, the writer should then be sure to not only be grammatically correct, but also correct rhetorically. An example of two different paragraphs were given, one rich and strong in rhetoric, and the other lacking and empty. Both were about English courses they had taken, but what separated the two was thorough detailing. In the first paragraph, the writer told about their favorite course taken during high school.Although the grammar was correct in the first paragraph, compared to the second paragraph it lacked supporting details. While the second paragraph, opened up more, giving the reader an explanation. When writing, direct details are a key factor. The reader should have a clear understanding on why and how a situation is affected. While practicing the art of rhetoric, the author must also be aware of what is appropriate and inappropriate. Depending on the audience, it can then be decided whether formal, inform al, or technical writing is appropriate when writing.Formal writing, which is to be used most of the time in college writing, has consistent and standard grammar. This can be seen in research papers, scholarly papers, written exams, and serious letters. The purpose of formal writing is never to express he writers opinion or point of view, but to propose a case or argument. For this reason, the â€Å"l† point of view or first person should be avoided along with contractions. If examples are needed, they should be made in third person or in general. Seed in things such as Journalistic writing, personal letters, diaries, and light essays, Informal writing Is your personal point of view. With Informal writing being composed of everyday speech, things such as contractions are acceptable. Technical writing on the other hand is also formal English. Unlike formal writing, It Is used by engineers, chicanes, and scientists with specialized vocabulary according to the field. According t o chapter 2, technical writing suffers from over wording, the wrong use of past tense, and over using abstract nouns.With the knowledge of these three forms, It makes It easier for the writer to understand how a letter to their mother should be written or why a love letter Is not written as If It were too Judge. The chapter references learning to ride a bike In a comparison to learning to write well. When getting training wheels taken off for the first time, a person cannot learn to ride instructions can be helpful and memorized, perfection can only be obtained by physical action of actually attempting to ride the bike without the training wheels.With time, improvement will be noticed. This is the same with learning to write. Practicing the skill of rhetoric will only produce well written literature. Keeping in mind writing is about remembering who the audience is, the purpose of writing and choosing the appropriate writing level. The process of mastering writing as a whole is a pro cess. With the knowledge and study of rhetoric, this can be accomplished. Writing A mistake often made is the lack of knowledge for the reason of writing. The writer's purpose is to always appeal to an audience, whether you are informing, persuading, or writing to amuse. Your goal is to have some type of influence on the reader. The effectiveness of your influence starts by first gaining full awareness of exactly who your audience may be. In this chapter, the author mentions deferent examples of writing.For example, if a person were to write something for children, It should be very simple and not composed of much density. A child's level of understanding Is not as mature as an adults, therefore writing using complicated terms would only confuse them. Keeping this In mind, children's writing should be on an understanding level. This Is so the children will be able to comprehend the short and simple words. As opposed to writing to a group of educated specialists, this would be considered Inappropriate.Writing should be formal, with the use of full complex sentences , professional and more complex. After becoming familiar with the audience, the writer should then be sure to not only be grammatically correct, but also correct rhetorically. An example of two different paragraphs were given, one rich and strong in rhetoric, and the other lacking and empty. Both were about English courses they had taken, but what separated the two was thorough detailing. In the first paragraph, the writer told about their favorite course taken during high school.Although the grammar was correct in the first paragraph, compared to the second paragraph it lacked supporting details. While the second paragraph, opened up more, giving the reader an explanation. When writing, direct details are a key factor. The reader should have a clear understanding on why and how a situation is affected. While practicing the art of rhetoric, the author must also be aware of what is appropriate and inappropriate. Depending on the audience, it can then be decided whether formal, inform al, or technical writing is appropriate when writing.Formal writing, which is to be used most of the time in college writing, has consistent and standard grammar. This can be seen in research papers, scholarly papers, written exams, and serious letters. The purpose of formal writing is never to express he writers opinion or point of view, but to propose a case or argument. For this reason, the â€Å"l† point of view or first person should be avoided along with contractions. If examples are needed, they should be made in third person or in general. Seed in things such as Journalistic writing, personal letters, diaries, and light essays, Informal writing Is your personal point of view. With Informal writing being composed of everyday speech, things such as contractions are acceptable. Technical writing on the other hand is also formal English. Unlike formal writing, It Is used by engineers, chicanes, and scientists with specialized vocabulary according to the field. According t o chapter 2, technical writing suffers from over wording, the wrong use of past tense, and over using abstract nouns.With the knowledge of these three forms, It makes It easier for the writer to understand how a letter to their mother should be written or why a love letter Is not written as If It were too Judge. The chapter references learning to ride a bike In a comparison to learning to write well. When getting training wheels taken off for the first time, a person cannot learn to ride instructions can be helpful and memorized, perfection can only be obtained by physical action of actually attempting to ride the bike without the training wheels.With time, improvement will be noticed. This is the same with learning to write. Practicing the skill of rhetoric will only produce well written literature. Keeping in mind writing is about remembering who the audience is, the purpose of writing and choosing the appropriate writing level. The process of mastering writing as a whole is a pro cess. With the knowledge and study of rhetoric, this can be accomplished.