Descartes :: essays research papers

From Descartes' perspective, nature is a representation of God; therefore, God must intrinsically exist, inasmuch as he, too, is a product of His own creation. Descartes was one of many philosophers who fully supported this argument in support of God's existence, contending that the external world is the ruling force behind the presence of all beings. Descartes' assertions, as portrayed within the literary boundaries of Meditations on First Philosophy, were founded not in cosmological or ontological arguments but rather in teleological debate, inasmuch as the philosopher believed that there has to be an omnipotent entity responsible for all the purpose and order that is found within natural existence and, thereby, stimulating a sense of wonder about the world. One of the primary reasons why Meditation III brings forth such a sense of wonder is because Descartes' philosophical writings followed a very distinctive trail, one that pursued a path of purity and sincerity. He believed deeply in the value of ethics as it related to humans within the natural world, and his concept of forming an adequate ethical code was thought to be the only way in which people could truly base their value system. Within this natural world of which he spoke, Descartes theorized that knowledge was the ultimate controller of the environment, thus supporting the teleological argument as proof of God. He persevered and postulated as to how he could at last seal the overwhelming gap that existed between thought and action. It was through his writings that Descartes exercised the possibility that all thought and action are interconnected, bringing to mind the view of science and how it undoubtedly demonstrated the same evidence. Characteristic of humanity's constant quest for the concept of God's existence, the journey of understanding has come to represent myriad things to myriad people, ultimately rendering any universal explanation virtually impossible. The problem with such sought-after meaning is attempting to successfully pinpoint a single yet comprehensive connotation to its concept; however, this cannot be achieved as long as any two individuals harbor decidedly different interpretations. "I shall now close my eyes, I shall stop my ears, I shall call away all my senses, I shall efface even from my thoughts all the images of corporeal things, or at least (for that is hardly possible) I shall esteem them as vain and false; and thus holding converse only with myself and considering my own nature, I shall try little by little to reach a better knowledge of and a more familiar acquaintanceship with myself" (Descartes PG). Inasmuch as Descartes provides a naturalistic theory for God's existence, which is based upon human nature's philosophical reasoning, this form of mitigated conviction is what essentially supports his stance on God's existence

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Roosevelt Roosevelt came into the Democratic convention in Chicago as the front runner. His main opposition was Alfred Smith. Roosevelt secured the nomination on the third ballot. Roosevelt ignored tradition by coming to Chicago to personally accept the nomination. The campaign took place against the background of great depression. Roosevelt campaigned vigorously to prove that despite his disability he could vigorously undertake the job of President. Hoover tried to depict Roosevelt as an extremist who would bring ruin to the country, but with 1/4 of work force unemployed, Roosevelt won an overwhelming victory. President Hoover carried several serious handicaps into the 1932 presidential elections. He was an incumbent presiding over the worst economic collapse in the nation's history. His political philosophy, while progressive, depended on voluntary actions to achieve his goals, and this voluntary approach failed to materialize during the trauma of the Depression. As a public pers onality, he was somewhat dour and he was uncomfortable with the business of campaigning. His notion of the role of the President was that of a facilitator who brought the parties together, encouraged partnerships, and supplied the expertise of the engineer to the social problems of a nation. The idea of the President as a powerful and inspirational leader (an idea that Franklin Roosevelt would come to embody) was foreign to him. Put it all together and a surer prescription for defeat could hardly have been assembled. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, by contrast, was everything Hoover was not. Roosevelt was ebullient and self-confident. He radiated charm and an almost haughty self-assurance. He was supremely optimistic and his big smile and obvious relish of ... ...ind a place in the curriculum of the 3R’s. Although Garvey can be viewed as a reactionary and was belittled by Dubois, the two of them are revolutionary in that they did create change in the black society’s movement to gain more acceptance. The decade of the 1920’s is certainly a challenging one with many mixtures of culture and the social revolution and reaction; and since the economic and former progressive drives were being turned away from the needed political and economic reform, while the technological revolution was creating a new conspicuous consumption. The decade left America stunned and unable to make a comeback throughout the decade of the 1930’s. References http://www.multied.com/elections/1932.html http://www.ssa.gov/history/32election.html http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/presidents/nf/teach/fdr/fdrfc.html http://www.chatham.edu/PTI/Twenties/Frank_01.htm

The Future of Life by: Edward O. Wilson Essay -- Book Review

This chapter to me was all about organisms that can survive in extreme conditions. How every square inch of earth is inhabited with creatures of one kind or another. I learnt the fundamental principle of biological geography, that wherever there is liquid water (h2o), organic molecules, and an energy source, there is life. I found out about the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica, who soils are the coldest, driest, and most nutritionally deficient in the world. How some specialized species of bacteria and archaeans live in the walls of volcanic hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor, where they can multiply in water close to or above the boiling point. He also describes an organism called, hyperthermophiles, that love extreme heat, and Deinococcus radiodurans, a microorganism which can withstand levels of radiation capable of killing humans and other organisms. The McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica seems from its description sterile and desolate. When I read the quote from Robert F. Scott in 1903, the first to explore the region, â€Å" We have seen no living thing, not even a moss or lichen; all that we did find, far inland among the moraine heaps, was the skeleton of a Weddell seal, and how that came there is beyond guessing.† The skeleton of the Weddell seal made me thing that maybe it was once a ocean and dried up over the years. But then again it is Antarctica, maybe it was trapped in a glacier, when it melt and retreated, it left the skeleton behind. It was shocking to find out that only twenty species of photosynthetic bacteria, which is making a long story short, mostly single-celled algae and weird, nasty sounding microscopic invertebrate animals that feed on these primary producers. These organisms of this region are what scie... ...e Future of Life by Edward O. Wilson Alfred A. Knopf New York. 2002. Brown, L. et al. (1999). State of the World 1998. New York: Norton. Chivian, E. et al. (1993). Critical Condition: Human Health and the Environment. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives. Footprint of Nations Report. Available at http://www.iclei.org/iclei/ecofoot.htm. McMichael, A. (1993). Planetary Overload. New York: Cambridge University Press. Soskolne, C. L., and Bertollini, R. (1999). Global Ecological Integrity and "Sustainable Development": Cornerstones of Public Health. World Health Organization, European Centre for Environment and Health, Rome Division. Wackernagel, M., and William, R. (1996). Our Ecological Footprint. Gabriola Island, BC: New Society Publishers. World Health Organization (1998). World Health Report. Geneva: Author.

Online Purchases and Delivery Service in NTUC Fairprice Essay

INTRODUCTION NTUC Fairprice Co-operative Ltd (NTUC) was founded in 1973 by the labour movement. Its first supermarket was opened in Toa Payoh in the same year. NTUC has now grown to become Singapore’s largest retailer, with a network of more than 270 stores comprising FairPrice Supermarkets, FairPrice Finest, FairPrice Xtra, FairPrice Xpress and Cheers convenience stores. NTUC also owns a Fresh Food Distribution Centre and a centralised warehousing and distribution company. Sales in 2013 were reported at more than S$2.6 billion. NTUC also operates an online store where customers can order their groceries directly from their online store and have them delivered to their homes or destinations of their choice. This paper explores the business operations management of NTUC in Singapore and the possible challenges NTUC may face in their online retail and delivery service. This paper also evaluates and recommends appropriate measures that NTUC should implement to overcome these challenges as well as the methods to measure the business performance of the new process. PART 1 NTUC’s Business Functions NTUC operates with three core business functions to run the chain of supermarkets in Singapore; Procurement, Warehousing/Distribution and Retail. These functions are supported by Finance, Information Systems and Human Resources. Figure 1: Process Flow of NTUC Online Retailing and Delivery Service NTUC currently operates an online grocery store from their website.  According to their website’s Help section (2009), NTUC mentioned partnering a logistics service provider to provide the delivery services to customers. In its website (2009), customers have the option to select their preferred date of delivery but the earliest they can receive their purchase is by the next working day. NTUC currently does not provide delivery services on Sundays and Public Holidays. Delivery charges apply according to the order amount and additional charges will also be imposed to rearrange another delivery date if the customer is not present to receive the goods. Challenges of Online Retailing and Delivery Service Using the Soft Systems Methodology (Checkland, 1981), we identified some key challenges (Appendix 1) that NTUC may face for their online retailing and delivery service to their customers. Xing, Grant, MaKinnon and Fernie (2011) grouped these challenges broadly under availability, timeliness and condition. Availability †¢There is a lack of online tracking system.  Timeliness †¢Online grocers are unable to offer same day delivery to customers. †¢Deliveries fail to arrive as promised. †¢Distribution centres need to spend more time picking individual orders for customers. Condition †¢There is a need to have delivery accuracy as products with shelf life, especially fresh food, would require cooling. †¢Products are damaged during transit. Literature Review of Challenges Availability: Xing, Grant, MaKinnon and Fernie (2010 and 2011) conducted postal surveys with chosen households and qualitative interviews with retailers, logistics service providers and experts for their research papers. Both papers found that one of the key challenges of online home delivery is to keep customers informed of the availability and status of their purchase. Without such  online tracking systems, a big gap will be created between what the customers want to purchase and what they are offered eventually. Ruby and Zhao (2010) also identified that the most important attribute that affects customers’ satisfaction is the ability for online retailers to provide on-time delivery which would impact the customers’ decision to repurchase in future. Ling, Yang and Jun (2013) also reported that customers feel that the unavailability of ordered products will affect their online shopping experience negatively. Timeliness: According to Ling, Yang and Jun (2013), most customers tend to get very frustrated when faced with the inconvenience caused by any delay in delivery. Customers feel the hassle of having to stay at home along with the uncertainty in waiting time for the delivery person to show up with their purchase. Another challenge as reported by Starkey, A (2010) is that 17.5% of the customers had no one at home to receive their purchase during the normal delivery hours and 37.5% of them were only at home on some days. According to him, this translates to a 55% probability that customers run the risk of a failed delivery since there was no one available to sign their purchase. Another challenge that is highlighted by Xing, Grant, MaKinnon and Fernie (2011) is the timeliness of the standard delivery schedule. According to the authors, retailers and logistics service providers kept the delivery charges low so as to remain competitive as providing prompt delivery services would usually cost a premium for customers. Such measures usually result in a standard 3 to 5 business days for delivery causing a relatively low level of customer satisfaction in this area. Condition: Based on the findings by Xing, Grant, MaKinnon and Fernie (2011), customers’ satisfaction level drops when their purchases are delivered wrongly or the  orders are incomplete. Another factor that impacts their satisfaction level is the condition of the goods being delivered. As in the case of perishable items, customers expect their purchase to be delivered fresh. Operations Strategy Perspectives for NTUC Using the four perspectives on operations strategy (Slack, N., Brandon-Jones, A. and Johnston, R, 2013: Ch 3 Pg 73 – 85), we seek to understand the different perspectives that will help us recommend the appropriate solutions for NTUC in its online retail and delivery system. Figure 2: The Four Perspectives on Operations Strategy (Slack, N., Brandon-Jones, A. and Johnston, R, 2013: Ch 3 Pg 73 Figure 3.3) Top-Down Perspectives: According to NTUC’s website (2009), its vision is â€Å"to be Singapore’s leading world-class retailer with a heart†. NTUC also strived to â€Å"provide its customers with the best value, quality products and excellent service, be a preferred employer, to moderate the cost of living in Singapore, and serve the needs of our members, the labour movement and the community.† Bottom-Up Perspectives: According to Song, L., Cherrett, T. and Guan, W (2011), besides inconveniencing the customers, distribution centres also incur high costs whenever there are failed deliveries. The authors suggested that there are environmental costs to be considered for every added trip to the customers. This suggests that the CO2 emissions caused by these repeated trips would increase. NTUC should work closely with its internal Warehousing/Distribution team to understand these concerns before developing the strategy forward. Market Requirements Perspectives: Various authors (Xing, Grant, MaKinnon and Fernie,2010 and 2011; and et al) identified that customers expect to be kept updated of the status of their purchase; prompt delivery service as well as having purchases delivered to them in good conditions. Operations Resources Perspectives: According to Xing, Grant, MaKinnon and Fernie (2011), a high operational cost would make retailers cost sensitive. Technology advancements require monetary investments and yet retailers need to strike a balance between home delivery cost and the amount they charge their customers. Therefore, NTUC should explore how it can optimize its operations functions and resources to continue delivering the values customers expect. Appropriate Solutions for NTUC Based on the challenges identified and with the understanding of the 4 perspectives that NTUC need to consider, the following are some of the recommendations that NTUC should adopt to improve on their online retail and delivery system: †¢Upgrade the online order system †¢Implement online tracking system †¢Incorporate a collection / delivery point Upgrade the Online Order System: According to Ruby, R.D. & Zhao, M. (2010), NTUC should, in order to satisfy its online customers and ensure that they return to the retailer to purchase again, ensure that their website should be able to control conditions where a product is out-of-stock. The online website should provide updated inventory information of the product to avoid customers becoming unhappy over a failed purchase. It is also important to ensure that the descriptions of the product are authentic and exactly matches the intended product. NTUC should provide more delivery options (Xing, Y., Grant, D.B., McKinnon, A.C. & Fernie, J., 2011) and consumers who are willing to pay a premium for these choices could select their preferred delivery options with more specified dates and times. The authors believed that the premium delivery charges customers pay will eventually offset the increased in delivery cost  of NTUC or their appointed logistics service provider. Implement Online Tracking System: Xing, Y., Grant, D.B., McKinnon, A.C. & Fernie, J. (2011) concluded in their report that setting up an online tracking system is very important as it allows customers to keep track of their purchases. If retailers are using a logistics service provider which is the case for NTUC, a link to the logistics service providers’ tracking system should also be provided. The authors also suggested that retailers can adopt software applications that operate alongside their existing ordering system. These software applications are able to provide timely contact with the customer by email or text messages during the time of fulfillment to keep customers updated of their order status at appropriate times. The most important messages are at the point when their purchases are ready to be delivered with confirmation of the delivery date and time. Having a good tracking system not only reduces the probability of first time delivery failures, Edwards, J.B., McKinnon, A.C. & Cullinane, S.L. (2010) also reported that reducing repeating trips will significantly reduce the CO2 emissions. In their findings, a standard home delivery for a non-food item would be allocated 98 gCO2. Therefore, striving to improve on the home delivery system would also help reduce any harmful impact to the environmental. Incorporate a Collection/Delivery Point: To reduce the number of unsuccessful home deliveries to customers, NTUC should implement a network of collection/delivery points (Song, L., Cherrett, T. & Guan, W., 2011) as alternatives to the delivery addresses in their system. This means allowing customers to choose a nearest collection/delivery point where they would like to pick up their purchase from if they happen to be away when the delivery person arrived. Customers can also have the option to select the collection/delivery point as their delivery destination if they are sure they will not be home to receive their  purchase. Retailers can definitely benefit from this implementation as it reduces the number of re-delivery attempts. PART 2 A Perspective of the New System We use Soft Systems Methodology (Checkland, 1981) to have a systematic view of the new system (Appendix 2). In the process, we also identified two potential problems that may arise from this new system. Behjati, S. and Othaman, S.N. (2012) said that one of the key drivers of online shopping is trust and reliability. If customers do not trust the idea of shopping online, it would take more effort for NTUC to try to switch these customers to online customers. Another potential problem is an upgraded online ordering system would take up more internet bandwidth in NTUC. Therefore, the retailer must ensure that there is sufficient bandwidth (Ling (Alice) Jiang, Yang, Z. & Jun, M., 2013) to allow customers to search its online store seamlessly. NTUC’s â€Å"As Is† Process In the Help section of NTUC’s website (2009), a customer simply need to log into their account, select the products and the required quantity before adding into the shopping cart. Once the purchase is confirmed, an email will be sent to the customer instructing him/her of the delivery information. According to the website, the earliest date customers can receive their purchase is by the next working day. NTUC currently does not provide delivery services on Sundays and Public Holidays. Delivery charges apply according to the order amount and additional charges will also be imposed to rearrange another delivery date if the customer is not present to receive the goods. A clearer version of the â€Å"as is† process of NTUC is attached in Appendix 3. Figure 3: â€Å"As-Is† Process of NTUC NTUC’s â€Å"To Be† Process With the proposed upgrading of the online ordering system, online tracking system and implementing a collection / delivery point for NTUC, the â€Å"to-be† process is drafted in Figure 4 with a clearer version attached in Appendix 4. Figure 4: â€Å"To-Be† Process of NTUC Freeman, M. and Freeman, A. (2010) emphasized the importance that for the online ordering system to work, all products in the retailer’s inventory must be displayed. Out-of-stock products must be clearly indicated so that customers can make decisions on the spot to select alternative products. Rose, S., Clark, M., Samouel, P. and Hair, N. (2012), in their study, also supports this by saying that it is important for the retailer’s website to be easy to use. An overly complex navigation and information overload will reduce the probability of customers returning to patronize the online store. Omar, M., Bathgate, I. and Nwankwo, S. (2011), in their research, considered that when a customer is well-provided with order information and a clear estimate of the product arrival information, customers will be more certain of what they ordered and when they can expect their products to be delivered. It is therefore recommended for NTUC to set up an online tracking system for the purpose of allowing customers to trace their products any time of the day. Edwards, J.B., McKinnon, A.C. & Cullinane, S.L. (2010) provided that failed deliveries can cause a lot of inconvenience and highly uneconomical for both the customers, logistics service providers and retailers. According to the studies, a 100% successful first-time delivery would incur a CO2 emission of 98g for urban deliveries. This, however, increases to 110g of CO2 emission for a 12.5% delivery failure. Song, L., Cherrett, T. & Guan, W. (2011) suggested reducing failed deliveries by using a network of collection / delivery points (such as in petrol stations, convenience stores, post  officers etc) in nearby neighborhoods as alternative delivery destination. Keeping failed deliveries to a low number would limit the amount of CO2 emission to the lowest possible level. In this â€Å"To-Be† process, an upgraded ordering system coupled with an online tracking system for customers to track their parcels and finally providing an alternative pickup location instead of having the hassle of arranging for future delivery trips will improve the transactional process which is according to the expectations of the customer. This will improve their perception of NTUC. PART 3 In Part 1, we identified the challenges NTUC faced when operating the online retail and delivery system. Appropriate solutions were put up with the aim to improve these challenges. Part 2 looked at the changes that need to be made to the business process. In Part 3, we will be looking at how NTUC translate performance objectives into operation priorities and subsequently, how NTUC measures its performance and recommend further improvements to ensure the success of the new system. Implementing a Performance Measurement System For NTUC to succeed into achieving its performance objectives, a performance measurement system needs to be put in place. The Balanced Scorecard (Kaplan R.S. and Norton D.P., 1992) will be used for this purpose. Besides deciding and measuring performance, Sharma, A. (2009), in his research findings reported that the balanced scorecard can also help NTUC manage the strategies that require implementation and improvement so that the retailer’s long term goals are meet. Valmohammadi, C. and Servati, A. (2010) stated that it is very important to allow all managers, in this case all the Business Functions Managers in NTUC, participate in the performance measurement process. This is because implementation at various functions requires the expertise and active  participation of every functional levels in company. Balanced Scorecard of NTUC NTUC should start with an assessment of the company’s mission and vision; and working together with its functional managers identifies key objectives. SWOT analysis can be performed to eliminate the weaknesses and threats that NTUC is exposed to. NTUC will then develop the balanced scorecard (Appendix 5) which according to Sharma, A. (2009) helps each function teams understand and work towards its shared vision. The balanced scorecard depict the objectives, measures, targets and appropriate initiatives that are put in place to assess the performance around 4 broad areas (Kaplan R.S. and Norton D.P., 1992), namely financial, customers, learning and growth and internal business processes. Financial Perspectives: The reason why NTUC would take up the recommendations to upgrade the suggested systems is ultimately to achieve financial returns. Without a doubt, the financial perspectives of this balanced scorecard would focus on measuring the revenue, profit and also to increase the online market share of the retail business. The indicator for revenue and profit can be retrieved from NTUC’s Annual Report. NTUC’s growth average revenue growth for the past 3 years average 8.91%. Hence, a 9% growth is recommended as target for the company. Figure 5: Deriving the Revenue Targets for NTUC (Source: NTUC Fairprice Annual Reports) Based on the Annual Report, the profit achieved has been consistently at approximately $120 million for 2010, 2011 and 2013. Hence, using these 3 years as benchmark, we propose NTUC to set a target of maintaining the profit level at S$125 million. Figure 6: Deriving Profit Margins for NTUC (Source: NTUC Fairprice Annual  Reports) According to a market report in UK (Thomas, J., 2010), sales in online retailing is expected to increase by 34.4% in 2014 compared to 2013. Online sales are also expected to increase to 12.4% of the total retail market. Basing on this forecast, NTUC could consider targeting to achieve an increase an online market share of 12% for 2014. Figure 7: Forecast UK Online Food and Drinks Market by Value, 2009 to 2014 (Source: just-food) Customers Perspectives: From the customers perspective, NTUC decided to upgrade its online retailing and delivery process is so that it could satisfy its online customers (Ruby, R.D. & Zhao, M., 2010) and ensure that they return again for their next purchase. Hence, it is necessary that NTUC tracks its performance on customers’ usage of its online site. With an easier to surf online ordering system that NTUC would be investing, it becomes necessary for the retailer to track its customers’ traffic flows on the internet (Gunawan, G., F, E. & King, M., 2008) as this gives the company an indication if it is successful in building customers’ awareness and loyalty of its online retail service. In their study, Edwards, J., Makinnon, A. and Cullinane, S. (2011) reported that 38% of internet users access online food and grocery websites and this is likely to increase another 66% in he near future to 63%. We recommend targeting a 66% increase in online visitors as a performance measurement. Another performance measure would be to generate a report to derive the ratio of returning customers against its total online customer base. A target of 25% increase in online customer base is recommended which is in line with Jessica, L. (2011)’s report that the number of customers at NTUC has increased by an average of 25% every year. Learning and Growth Perspectives: The objectives on learning and growth focus on increasing the employees’ knowledge know-how of the new improved systems. With the implementation of the online order and tracking systems, NTUC need to ensure that its staffs undergo adequate trainings (Hoi, Y.C. and Alex W.H. Chan, 2012) to keep themselves up-to-date of what the new technology is able to achieve which allows them to handle challenges that arised in the future. As recommended by Lai, W.H. (2010), NTUC should budget 1% of its annual payroll to staff training and development. With improved system knowledge, NTUC’s employees would be able to make suggestions on how the business processes can be improved (Wilson, G., DuPlessis, A. and Marx, A., 2010). Adequate trainings (Tan, K. & Newman, E., 2012) also ensure NTUC’s employees are able to increase their productivity levels and NTUC should seek to achieve a 20% (Pollitt, D. 2012) increase in orders per head every month. Internal Business Processes Perspectives: In order to ensure the successful implementation of the proposed new systems, NTUC needs to ensure its internal functional teams are able to work seamlessly together. To measure the performance of its internal business processes, we propose NTUC to track the delivery success, product returns and ultimately the level of CO2 emission. Unsuccessful deliveries can be very costly and inefficient for companies. Edwards, J., Makinnon, A. and Cullinane, S. (2009 and 2011) reported that approximately 30% of home deliveries failed for the first time and that between 25-30% of online purchases were returned to the retailer as compared to 6-10% in traditional shopping environments. Therefore, with implementation of the online ordering and tracking system, NTUC targets to achieve at least 80% success rate in its first time delivery and less than 25% returns of customers’ orders. Another recommended measure is to reduce the CO2 emission of NTUC’s delivery services. Assuming that 25-30% of the online purchases were returned as mentioned above by Edwards, J., Makinnon, A. and Cullinane, S. (2009 and  2011), the CO2 emission according to Edwards, J.B., McKinnon, A.C. & Cullinane, S.L. (2010) is 123g. NTUC should set its performance measurement target to reduce CO2 emission to 110g. Figure 8: Emissions (gCO2) per item including Failed Delivery Rates (Source: Edwards, J.B., McKinnon, A.C. and Cullianane, S.L., 2010) CONCLUSION In conclusion, this paper analysed the business operations of NTUC in their online retail and delivery service. Key challenges relating to availability of the intended purchased products online, timeliness of delivery and the conditions of the products as a result of the delivery was identified. Adopting a business operations management approach, we recommend NTUC to implement an integrated online ordering and tracking system to improve the retail business processes and eventually to increase customers’ confidence in its online retail business. At the same time, to ensure the purchase quality is well-maintained for the customers, NTUC should seek to reduce its delivery failure rates for the home delivery service. Establishing a network of collection / delivery points could help achieve the objective. Finally, this paper proposed using the balanced scorecard as a performance measurement tool to ensure that all business functions and managers work towards achieving NTUC’s strategy and vision of this new system. REFERENCES 1.Behjati, S. and Othaman, S.N. (2012): What Drives Consumers’ Online Shopping? Conceptual Review of Online Shopping Attributes Investigated in Previous Studies, Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business, Vol. 3: No. 12, pp. 297-311 2.Checkland, P (1981): Systems Thinking, Systems, Practice, Chichester, John Wiley & Sons Ltd 3.Edwards, J., Makinnon, A. and Cullinane, S. 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(2010): Effects of Online Store Attributes on Customer Satisfaction and Repurchase Intentions, International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 38: No. 7, pp. 482-496 20.Sharma, A. (2009): Implementing Balance Scorecard for Performance Measurement, IUP Journal of Business Strategy, Vol. 6: No. 1, pp.7-16 21.Slack, N., Brandon-Jones, A. and Johnston, R (2013): Operations Management, 7th ed., Pearson, Harlow 22.Song, L., Cherrett, T. & Guan, W. (2011): Implications of Collection / Delivery Points for Transport and Logistics†, OR Insight, Vol. 24: No. 4, pp. 231-255 23.Song, L., Cherrett, T. & Guan, W. (2011): Implications of Collection/Delivery Points for Transport and Logistics, OR Insight, Vol. 24: No. 4, pp. 231-255 24.Starkey, A (2010): e-Retail – Using Home Delivery as a Service Differentiator and Strategic Marketing Tool, Journal of Direct, Data and Digital Marketing Practice, Vol. 12: No. 2, pp. 165-173 25.Tan, K. & Newman, E. (2012): Sales F orce Training Evaluation, Journal of Business & Economics Research (Online), Vol. 10: No. 2, pp. 105 26.Thomas, J. (2010): Global Market Review of Online Grocery Retailing – Forecasts to 2014: Chapter 6 The Future, Ch 6, pp.46, Aroq Limited, Bromsgrove 27.Thomas, J. (2010): Global Market Review of Online Grocery Retailing – Forecasts to 2014, Aroq Limited, Bromsgrove 28.Valmohammadi, C. and Servati, A. (2010): Performance Measurement System Implementation using Balanced Scorecard and Statistical Methods, International Journal of Productivity and Performance Measure, Vol. 60: No. 5, pp.493-511 29.Wilson, G., DuPlessis, A. and Marx, A. (2010): The Use of Suggestion Systems as a Tool to Solicit Input from Internal Customers, Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research In Business, Vol. 2: No. 7, pp. 212-223 30.Xing, Y., Grant, D.B., McKinnon, A.C. & Fernie, J. (2010): Physical Distribution Service Quality in Online Retailing, International Journal of Physical Distr ibution & Logistics Management, Vol. 40: No. 5, pp. 415-432 31.Xing, Y., Grant, D.B., McKinnon, A.C. & Fernie, J. (2011): The Interface between Retailers and Logistics Service Providers in the Online Market, European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 45: No. 3, pp. 334-357

Nationalism in the 19th century

Nationalism is a term used to identify two phenomena. First, it describes the attitude of individuals towards their nation which result to the rise of national identity. Second, it pertains to the action that members of a certain nation take in order to achieve the sustainability of self determination (Miscevic). During the era of industrialization and urbanization in Western societies, nationalism emerged as one of the most successful political forces. Nationalism became the foundation with which western societies were organized. Between the years of 1850 and 1914, the establishment of nation-states gained the support of all social classes. Hence, the equilibrium in the international political power arises. The masses were diverted towards governance that does not adhere to the class war socialist doctrine. In France, Napoleon III spearheaded the successful campaign for nationalism. During his mild dictatorship for nearly 20 years (1852 to 1870), Napoleon promoted the idea that national states and the programs provided by the government could appeal to all social classes such as the rich, the poor, the conservative, and the radical. Consequently, Napoleon’s political initiative became a landscape where national states became an avenue for the rapid changes in politics and economy (Lloyd). In 1860, Count Cavour, the nationalist leader of Sardinia unified majority of the areas in Italy. His initiative to promote nationalism resulted in Italy’s emergence as a single political state without the use of drastic actions in addressing economic and social matters. Two years after, Prussia hailed Otto von Bismarck as the country’s chief minister. Under his leadership, the states of Germany were unified into a single political state under the Prussian governance. This was only made possible after Bismarck fought three wars. The unification of the states of Germany strengthened the pride of nationalism. Likewise, the country attained an anti-liberal and conservative force (Lloyd). In order to attain national identity, the United States competed for national aspirations which eventually led to the civil war. A slave-based cotton industry in the south expanded rapidly right after new lands were utilized for industrialization. Thus, the south was able to generate much demand from cotton production. Due to this, a conflict emerged between the people from the south and the north’s urban culture and family farm agriculture. The triumph of north against the south marked the end of slavery. However, land reforms and racial discrimination were not totally addressed (Lloyd). Nationalism also played an important role in the lives of Russian. Right after the Crimean War, major reforms were put forward. In 1861, the freedom of the serfs was attained. Likewise, the government spearheaded the development of modern industries and railroads (Lloyd). As nationalism continued to grow, most of the politicians and national governments responded accordingly in order to strengthen and meet the demands of the people. Because of nationalism, most of the Western societies managed to promote reforms that appeal to all social classes. Works Cited Lloyd, Jim. â€Å"19th century nationalism.† Fresno Unified School District. 2008. 28 October  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2008 . Miscevic, Nenad. â€Å"Nationalism.† Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 24 September 2005. 28 October 2008 .   

Personality at Selection Interview

Assignment – Personality Personality can be defined as those relatively stable enduring aspects of an individual that distinguish him/her from other people and at the same time form a basis for our predictions concerning his/her future behaviour. (Wright et al cited in Rollinson 2005) This definition represents the view that it is possible to identify an individuals stable and unchanging personality and characteristics, and that if the characteristics are identified they can be used to predict the persons future behaviour. Organisations differ greatly in their cultures and acceptable behaviours which means that some individuals naturally fit in better than others. (Rollinson 2005:85) Job roles themselves also differ in terms of the suitability of an individual’s personality in being successful in that job role. Therefore in determining the importance of personality at selection interview we need to determine what both the role and the organisation require. (Rollinson 2005:85) In the work environment the â€Å"fit† of a person has to be right in terms of skills and experience as well as values and needs. Holbeche: 2002). Person-organisation fit refers to the extent to which individuals and organisations share similar characteristics (personalities) or meet each others needs. The assessment of personality is carried out to determine desirable or un-desirable traits of candidates to assess their suitability for a role and/or organisation (Arthur:2005) Getting this right can lead to job satis faction and organisational commitment. (Kristoff:2000) When an employer is recruiting the psychological contract has some importance. The psychological contract implies a series of mutual expectations and satisfaction needs arising from the P-O relationship (Mullins:2010) P-O fit is likely to be more important than P-J fit in satisfying the psychological contract (Morley:2007) in that employees will be required to adapt to changes in tasks and gain new skills. It is argued that greater emphasis should be placed on the P-O fit as opposed to the more traditional method of P-J fit because firstly individuals will hold several roles within an organisation therefore their P-O is more important than the possibly less lexible P-J fit, they will hold the organisations values and culture closer and will have longer service therefore lowering recruitment costs. (Ree and Earles 1992) Secondly the changing nature of work requires individuals to be better at teamwork and more flexible. I believe that when recruiting graduates P-O fit is more important as opposed to P-J fit. Graduates are recruited to provide organisations with a potential pool of future managers and enhance succession possibilities. Morley:2007) Graduates have little experience in the work environment so are less able to translate their skills, qualifications and experience into the working world. If an employer has a clear understanding of their organisations culture, personalities of other employees and can accurately determine the personalities and beliefs of the graduate they can base their decision on the graduates enthusiasm, motivation and eagerness to work rather than skills, qualifications and experience. In a study by Wheeler et al (cited in Rollinson 2005) it was found that job satisfaction could be increased by increasing P-O fit, that is recruiting employees with similar values to the organisation. However, Wheeler also found that even though an ill-fitting individual resulted in job dissatisfaction, they would not leave the organisation unless suitable alternative work presented itself. This could lead to them being de-motivated, having poor performance and impact on relationships with colleagues. This shows the importance of getting personality right at selection interview. Person-job (P-J) fit refers to the correlation between the individual’s skills, qualifications and experience with the requirements of a job. (Edwards:1991) and is a traditional method of employee selection (Werbell and Gilliland:1999) P-J fit is most widely determined through proof of an individuals skills, qualifications and experience through certificates and references and questioning around their knowledge on a topic. I have personally heard colleagues question the importance of personality on some roles such as accountants which would initially strike you as being weighted heavily on their skills, experience and qualifications however how well would an accountant perform if they did not have the personality traits to communicate effectively with colleagues and customers? Differing roles do also require different personalities in order to be successful irrespective of the organisation. Receptionists, sales person or customer service representative require the ability to cope with stress and deal with individuals with differing priorities. Gatewood et al:2005) In considering the importance of personality in selection interview it would be sensible to consider how stable and unchanging a person’s personality is. Are we seeing a current snapshot of the individuals personality or will it change overtime? Rollinson (2005) writes that if personality is an ongoing developing process it would be al most impossible to develop valid ways to measure it and would be pointless in attempting to predict future behaviour. Idiographic, one of the two major theories on personality, focuses on personality developing and changing as a result of ongoing experiences. However, Costa and McCrae (1992) wrote that personality is relatively stable after the age of 30 therefore using personality in making selection decisions would be possible due to the stability of personality. Looking at Nomotheic theory, the other of the two major theories of personality, which assumes personality is stable and un-changing, it was noted that there are 5 distinct differences between people known as the Big Five and often referred to as OCEAN. These are: †¢ Openness (perceptive, sophisticated, knowledgeable, cultured, artistic, curious, analytical, liberal traits) †¢ Conscientiousness (practical, cautious, serious, reliable, organised, careful, dependable, hard-working, ambitious traits) †¢ Extraversion (sociable, talkative, active, spontaneous, adventurous, person-orientated, assertive traits) †¢ Agreeableness (warm, trustful, courteous, agreeable, cooperative traits) †¢ Neuroticism (emotional, anxious, depressive, self-conscious, worrying traits) The Big Five can be split into type theory and trait theory. Mullins cites Hans Eyesneck work in which he identified four main personality types. These are stable extraverts,(talkative, responsive, easygoing, lively carefree) unstable extraverts,(impulsive, changeable, excitable, restless) stable introverts (calm, even-tempered, peaceful, thoughtful) and unstable introverts. (anxious, moody, reserved, pessimistic) Mullins writes that if managers can predict future behaviours through an individual’s personality type then it is not surprising that psychometric tests to measure personality are growing in popularity. Trait theory is then broken down again into surface traits (those which are observable) and source traits (which can only be inferred) In theory surface traits could be observed through assessment centres. Mullins writes that the Big Five form the basis of standard personality questionnaires and of these five conscientiousness has the highest link with high levels of job knowledge and performance across a range of occupations. So, according to this, it would be beneficial to an organisation to determine candidate’s personality in order to recruit an individual who has a good score in conscientiousness. However, Maltby et al (2010) writes that if we were to employ the conscientious person with their practical, cautious, serious, reliable, organized, careful, dependable, hard-working and ambitious traits, would they be suitable for a role requiring innovation and creativity and are they flexible and adaptable to cope with the rapidly changing world of work? He questions the applicability of conscientiousness across all job roles. In considering the impact of personality on our relationship at work with colleagues I believe that emotional intelligence has a strong link with aligning personality with successful performance and relationships at work. Emotional Intelligence is defined as a person’s ability to manage themselves as well as their relationship with others so that they can live their intentions (Adele:2008:7) and can be broken down into five specific areas. These are Self awareness, empathy, social expertness, personal influence and mastery of purpose and vision. Each of these areas could have an impact on our relationships with colleagues. Self awareness is an understanding of how our behaviours or words affect others. If we have self awareness we are able to apply self control to change our actions should they be having a negative effect on colleagues. A self aware individual would know when their mood is impacting on others and alter it accordingly. Self awareness is an area looked for in the emotional intelligence of sales people and interview questioning based around the impact of previous experience of their positive and negative impacts on co-workers would be useful in identifying this area. (Adele 2008:17) Empathy is an understanding of others feelings and perspective and the ability to experience what someone else is feeling therefore giving a better understanding of our colleagues. It is the ability to respectfully listen rather than listening to refute or build our own case. A customer service representative who empathises with an irate customer rather than just demanding their account number will better diffuse a volatile situation. (Adele 2008:54) Marshall Goldsmith (â€Å"The world authority in helping successful leaders get even better†) described not listening as the most passive-aggressive form of disrespect shown to colleagues. Social expertness is the building of social bonds which allow us to work with others, share thoughts and ideas, build trust and resolve conflict. The reason that top executives fail is because of their failure to build interpersonal relationships rather than their technical competence. Personal influence is our ability to influence other towards goals or missions and to influence ourselves in taking initiative and displaying confidence. A recruiting manager would be looking for signs at interview that a candidate can prove they have got people to previously follow them irrespective of their differing levels. Mastery of purpose and vision is our ability to understand what our purpose is and therefore determine what types of emotions help us to live our life purpose. It allows us to manage our emotions and relationships. This is also the determining factor as to whether the organization and role is â€Å"fit† for us. Interview questions based around a candidate’s worst and ideal job as well as what inspires and bores them at work can help identify the â€Å"fit† of an individual’s personal purpose to an organization. (Adele:2008:131) Candidates demonstrating emotional intelligence at interview take responsibility for their actions rather than blaming others or playing the victim. (Adele:2008:146) Studies carried out by Grimsley and Jarrett (cited in Adele:2008) concluded that managers displaying higher emotional intelligence were more successful. Anderson and Shackleton (1993) carried out a study on the comparison of the strength of different variables in predicting eventual job performance at the point of selection. Their findings show that personality assessments have a 0. 38 correlation, intelligence a 0. 54 correlation, and structured interview 0. 62. Previous experience and the CV came in lower than all these at 0. 18 and 0. 37 respectively. (0. 1 being small, 0. 3 being medium and 0. 5 being large correlation) Showing in this study that personality assessment has an important role in predicting job performance, above that of the CV and previous experience. Maltby et al 2010) When putting the theory of personality into practice within the work environment, organisations must be clear on why they are assessing personality and what personality characteristics they are they are looking for. (Torrington et al:2011) A clear job description and person specification which requires skills, qualifications, experience and personal ity traits relevant to the job role is key, according to the CIPD, in creating a fair selection process. Should an applicant who is unsuccessful in being selected for interview threaten or indeed commence tribunal proceedings, the organization has a clear framework on how selection for interview and employment was made. Torrington et al also write that a method of defining the person specification is to focus on the characteristics or competences of individuals who have previously performed best in the role. This has positives in that these characteristics are producing individuals who perform well for the business however this method could produce employees who are very similar to one another and address problems with the same mindset. Personality questionnaires are based on the Nomotheic theory that personality is stable and unchanging. The most recognized personality questionnaire is the Myers Biggs Type Indicator (MBTI) based on the theories of Carl Jung. The questionnaire is developed on the understanding that it is of benefit to people to recognise their individual personality types, and how these differ from those of other individuals. The MBTI is an untimed questionnaire which asks respondents to choose between two opposing courses of action, or two words, depending on what they feel is closest to their natural preference. The MBTI measures 4 preferences Extraversion or Introversion, Sensing or Intuition, Thinking or Feeling and Judging or Perceiving. People’s four preferences classify them into one of 16 types. Descriptions are given of the characteristics of people of each of the 16 types. Each type is described as having positive qualities and strengths, as well as possible development needs. The questionnaire receives 4 stars from the Psychological testing centre. (The British Psychological Society:2011) An employer using MBTI can use the information given on the individual’s type to further question them at selection interview. Toplis et al (1997) have concerns that the lack of involvement of psychologists in marketing and selling personality testing packages results in too many tests being released for general use without the required intellectual support. He is also troubled by the increasing use of computer-based tests, particularly to score and interpret results, believing that the accuracy of some systems is not particularly high. Personality assessment is based on the belief that certain roles require particular personality and that tests can identify them. The use of ability tests and competence based interviewing as opposed to personality tests are more easily defendable in an employment tribunal due to the tangible results being right or wrong whereas with personality tests there are no right or wrong answers and are not as easily defendable should the need arise. There are questions over their validity in so much as practitioners can be trained with a basic knowledge of administering tests and interpreting their results. The British Psychology Society give an overall rating for validity and objectivity of tests. There is the argument that candidates may be able to manipulate their results to perform in a way they believe the employer requires. (Furnham:1990) therefore invalidating the results and potentially basing a recruitment decision on in-accurate information. In my experience this is where the face to face interview is of vale in verifying and questioning further the results of any personality testing. i. e. Do the results of the personality testing match the behaviours and characteristics of the person sat in front of me? Recruiters may be influenced by striking characteristics or similarities to themselves called the Halo Effect. The Halo Effect can be defined as a cognitive bias whereby the perception of one trait (i. e. a characteristic of a person or object) is influenced by the perception of another trait (or several traits) of that person or object. (Mullins 2011) An example would be judging a good-looking person as more intelligent. The Halo Effect can have a positive or negative effect. For example, someone who attended the same college or university as the recruiter could be at an advantage but someone who attended a college or university the interviewer perceives to have a poor reputation could put the candidate at a dis-advantage. Solomon Asch (1945) carried out a study that discovered that the presence of one trait often implies the existence of other additional traits and that certain traits can be characterized as central traits. For example, an individual described as warm is perceived to have positive traits such as happy and generous. An individual described as the cold would have the opposite perceived traits. Another example is when individuals believe that a happy person is also friendly or that quiet people are timid. On the other hand, people who are irritable may be seen as in disarray in their daily life. Therefore, people assume other individuals' personalities are in doubt using little information. It is often the case that people judge more favourably those individuals with whom they have something in common. An experiment carried out at the Penn State College of Medicine asked 35 interviewers and 135 interviewees to complete the MBTI. The results were not shared prior to face to face interview. The experiment concluded that there was a significant association between similarities in personality type and the rankings that individual interviewers assigned to each interviewee. In this circumstance it is important to be mindful of the effect an individuals personality may have on the outcome of the interview. Employing more than one selection tool does not eradicate the possibility of recruiting an unsuitable candidates. The use of personality data in the selection process, when gathered appropriately, can be valid information in making a contribution to the selection decision however it should not be used in isolation. Personality tests results can be used at interview for the basis of further investigation into applicant abilities. Skills, experience and qualifications are important criterion. Dependent on the role and organisation for which selection is being made will determine the weighting placed on each. If using any form of testing in the selection process employers need to pre-determine the worth of testing and weigh up the benefits, such as increased productivity, with the cost including purchasing a reliable and validated resource and training recruiting managers to correctly interpret reports. There is, therefore, in my opinion an importance to be placed on personality at selection interview which for me slightly outweighs the importance of skills, qualifications and experience especially when considering the knock on effect that a mismatch of person-job or person-organisation could have on the relationship with colleagues. An organization needs to be clear in what personality traits they are looking for before even advertising a role as the wording of an advertisement could attract and alienate certain personalities. Once at selection interview, managers should consider how they are fairly going to assess personality if using their own judgment. Do they have a fail safe scoring system to measure personality against that cannot back-fire in the event of an employment tribunal? Thought should also be given to how a candidate has completed any personality test i. e. to what extent have they thought about themselves in the work situation when completing it? Are they naturally nervous when asked to complete any test and therefore put at a dis-advantage? If personality is un-stable and changes over time, would it be wise to re-test individuals? Organisations are fluid and changing constantly. Teams, managers and individuals change. , What was once a good â€Å"fit† may not be in the future. References Adele, B (2008) The EQ Interview. AMACOM Books Anderson, N. D. Shackleton, V. J (1993) Successful selection interviewing. Blackwell Publishing Arthur, D. (2005) Recruiting, Interviewing, Selecting and Orienting New Employees. 4th ed. New York AMACOM Page 368 British Psychological Society (2011) found at http://www. psychtesting. org. uk/test-registration-and-test-reviews/test-reviews. cfm? page=summary=82 CIPD (2011) Selection Factsheet (online) available from http://www. cipd. co. uk/hr-resources/factsheets/selection-methods. aspx Costa, P. T, McCrae, R. R (1992) Four ways five factors are basic. Personality and Individual Differences, Vol. 13, No. 6. (June 1992), pp. 653-665 Edenborough, R. (2005) Assessment methods in recruitment, selection and performance a manager’s guide to psychometric testing, interviews and assessment centres. London: Kogan Page. Page 2 Edwards, J. R. (1991). Person-job fit: A conceptual integration, literature review, and methodological critique. In C. L. Cooper & I. T. Robertson (Eds. ), International review of industrial and organizational psychology (vol. 6, pp. 283-357). New York: Wiley. Furnham, A (1990) Can people accurately estimate their own personality test scores? European Journal of Personality, no 4, pp. 319-327 Gatewood, RD. Field, HS. Human Resource Selection 5th ed. Mike Roche. Page 601-603 Holbeche, L. (2002) Aligning Human Resources and Business Strategy. 2nd ed. Butterworth Heinemann. IRS Employment Survey July 2010 – accessed through employer login at www. xperthr. co. uk Kelly, G. A. (1955). The psychology of personal constructs (Vols. 1 and 2). New York: Norton. Kristof-Brown, AL. (2000) Perceived applicant fit: Distinguishing between recruiters’ perceptions of person-job fit and person organization fit. In Personnel Psychology, 53 (4), 643-671 Maltby, J. Day,L . Macaskill, A. (2010) Personality, Individual Differences And Intelligence. 9th ed. Prentice Hall. Michael J. Morley, (2007) â€Å"Person-organization fit†, Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 22 Iss: 2, pp. 109 – 117. Emerald Group Publishing Ltd. Mullins, LJ. (2011) Management and Organisational Behaviour. th ed. Financial Times: Prentice Hall. Page 134 – 162, 240 Rees, MJ. Earles JA (1992) Intelligence is the best predictor of job performance. Psychological Science, 1, 86-89. Rollinson, D. (2005) Organisational Behaviour and Analysis: An integrated approach 3rd Ed. Prentice Hall Asch, S. E. Studies in the principles of judgments and attitudes: II. Determination of judgments by g roup and by ego standards. /. soc. Psychol. , 1940, 12, 433—465. Thorndike, E. L. (1920). A constant error on psychological rating. Journal of Applied Psychology, IV, 25-29 Toplis, J. Dulewicz, V. Fletcher, C (2004) Psychological testing: a managers guide. 4th Ed. Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Torrington, D. Taylor, S. Hall, L. Atkinson, C (2011) Human Resources Management. 8th ed. Financial Times Prentice Hall Werbel, J and Gilliland, S. W (1999). Person-environment fit in the selection process. In G. R. Ferris (Ed. ) Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management, 17, 209-243 Wheeler, A. Gallagher, V. Brouer, R, Sablynski, C. †When person-organisation (mis) fit and (dis) satisfaction lead to turnover. In Person Organisation Fit 2nd ed. By Morley, M. London: Emerald, Page 203.

Respecting Elders

Respecting my elders, and everyone else, just comes natural to me, because when I was just a little girl, I was taught that I must always respect my elders, if I didn't, I'd get a slap on my face by my parents. As I grew up, I came to realize the true meaning of the phrase, â€Å"respect your elders,† and I agree fully with my mother's teachings. I not only respected my elders, but I respected everyone around me. When I had my children, I taught them the same way my parents taught me, on how to respect their elders, and why.I never had any problems teaching my children how to respect, not only their elders, but how to respect everyone. We need to keep up with the tradition of respect, because so many people are so ignorant with each other, I'd just turn away because I know if I stay and listen, I'll say something to these little devils for being so mean to anyone and everyone. My son, now has a son that is 11 years old, and if he is caught making fun of anyone, then he has his father to answer[pic] to, and is made to apologize to the person that he has made fun of, whether it be another child or a grownup.Respect is something that has slipped through the cracks of time, and I think it is time to bring it back into our youth. These young people today are so rude to everyone, not just their elders around them, that I'd like to smack them myself, and I don't even know them from Adam. It just makes me so mad to see how some of the elderly are treated today, and I don't know what to do about it, but is sure makes me sick. For our young children to respect anyone they have to be taught right from the start, when they are growing up.It's not something that can be taught after they are grown up, because they have never learned the meaning of the word respect. It so sad, that in today's society, you see some of the things that are going on with everybody, not only our elderly, but anyone around them. There is no respect in this world today and that's just so sad. I treat everyone with respect, even though I know they don't respect me most of the time, but that's OK, I feel better when I respect others, even if they don't. Created on: May 02, 2008 Our elders have gone through a lot in their lifetime.I think it is important to respect our elders because they have experienced life and gone through a lot more than we have. I think history has shown that we are a successful, rich country. I don't think we would have the freedom and the respect from other countries if it weren't for our elders and their sacrifice to get us where we are today. I respect my grandfather because he was captured and taken to a concentration camp during World War II. My grandfather escaped from a camp, ran into the woods and went into hiding for a year.My grandfather is one of the lucky Jews that survived because he had the will to live. Why shouldn't he be respected? I respect my parents because they are the ones that brought me in this world and have taken care of me until I was able to take care of myself. I personally have a lot of respect for my parents because they did a lot for me over the years. I wouldn't have the education without them. They got me where I am today and I am sure it wasn't easy[pic] for them. I believe they deserve thanks for everything they have done for me and thus deserve my respect.The idea of the importance of respecting our elders raised many questions in my mind. Do most even know what respect is? Wikipedia defines respect as taking into consideration the views and desires of others and incorporating it into your decisions and being truthful to people. Why shouldn't we respect anyone? I think everyone should be respected unless given a reason not to be. When you meet someone for the first time are you disrespectful? No. Why should you be? I think everyone deserves a chance and once you get to know the person you can decide based on your own values whether or not you should respect them.I have a lot of younger cous ins that respect me because I am older and know more about life than they do. I don't think elders should be singled out and immediately respected because they are older. Why shouldn't respect go both ways? I think my friends respect me because I respect them. I think it is important to understand what respect is and understand what your elders have gone through to get where we are today. I think everyone deserves the same amount of respect unless given a reason to be disrespected. Quotes: â€Å"In Western Civilization, our elders are books. â€Å"The Elders were closer to the Maker of All Things and should be deferred to whenever they made their will known. † 2 paragraphs The elderly have lived long lives. They are so important in our lives because of this. The longer that one has lived, the more of a life they have to share with others. The elderly have much to contribute to this world. Most already have contributed while others will soon be contributing their best as time goes by. Even the elderly are still learning. It has been said that you learn something new every day, and that is just why even the elderly are still learning.They have much wisdom to share with the world, even if they have just learned it themselves. Learning It really does not matter what your age is. Everyone every day is learning. We learn from both the young and from the old. The young are so precious, and they often inspire us even in the simplest ways. They really have not experienced much yet in the way of living, but they sure can bring up things that we have never even thought of before. They can teach us all sorts of behaviors and help us to change our attitudes in our lives.The elderly, however, are so important in our daily lives, because we can learn much from their actual experiences. They have lived long lives, and have experienced many things worth sharing with us that can help us to improve our daily lives. We can even learn things through the elderly that will h elp us to get along with others much easier, get over things more quickly, respect others, and even enjoy looking at things in a more positive manner. Trials The elderly are so important in our lives, because they have gone through many trials.The longer that anyone has lived, the more trials that they have gone through in their lives. It is hard to accept trials in our lives, but they do exist. The elderly are more than willing to share their past experiences with us. They are actually happy to do this. The elderly have learned where they may have gone wrong in life along with things that they are very proud of the choices that they have made. Spending time with the elderly is one of the best and most exciting things that you can do these days. They can help us with many aspects in our own lives.The elderly can even help us to avoid many trials in our lives through their many words of wisdom. Sharing Elderly people in our lives are so important, because they enjoy sharing with us. Elderly people sincerely enjoy sharing all sorts of things in their lives. As people age, sharing becomes more and more important to them. As you age, you realize that you have gone through numerous experiences of all kinds that are worthy of helping others to get through their experiences. As the elderly share more and more, they enjoy it more and more.It is always a great feeling to know that your simple words can be helping others. The elderly also have many items along with valuable treasures that they enjoy sharing. As they grow older, they no longer have the need for many things in their lives. They love having the opportunity of passing these precious things in their lives onto others and sharing their joy along with their stories. Loving The elderly people in our lives are so important to us, because they are very loving people. Elderly people are very loving, caring, and thankful people.As we age, we all learn to enjoy the better things in life. Better things, as in more im portant things and things that really matter. Elderly people normally grow more loving and caring as they age. They grow more thankful of even the simplest things. Elderly grow to appreciate life much more than anything. Elderly people are so precious and enjoyable. Many of the elderly are also quite funny. Look at the elderly people in your life, and listen to them. This will surely bring you a new healthy and positive look on life.