British Airways Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

British Airways - Essay Example The company also improves its efficiency by lessening the day its pays off its suppliers and collects from its customers. An investor is most likely be attracted by the escalating share price of British Airways but be put off by the 0 dividend yield. Profitability ratios measure the ability of the company to generate income from its investments less the costs incurred. The computed operating profit margin, which is the ratio of operating income to sales measures as a percentage of sales, the excess revenue from sales over cost of normal operation excluding financing. Net profit margin, on the other hand, is the ratio of net income to sales. Return on common equity (ROCE) is a variant of return on investment. The return on common equity assesses the rate of return on the investments of common stockholders in the company (Analyzing Company Reports 2005). Another ratio is the turnover ratio which shows to what the extent the company uses its assets to produce revenue. Logically, higher profitability ratios indicate a healthier financial condition. Table 1 shows the computed profitability ratios of British Airways in 2006. In order to fully asses the profitability of British Airways in 2006, the company's profitability ratios for 2005 are also included. ... During 2006, the airline is able to turn 8.3% of its revenue in operating profit and 5.5% into net income from the 7.20% and 5.0% recorded in the previous year, respectively. It should be noted that operation in the airline industry requires incurring huge operating costs which could justify the relatively low percentages. However, compared to its competitors like Ryaniar Ltd and Thomsonfly Ltd, British Airways lags far behind. In term of asset turnover and return on equity, British Airways is in a downslide. It can be recalled that the main goal of a business organisation is the maximization of stockholder value which is reflected on its return on equity. British Airways declining ROCE indicates its deviation from this goal. From the point of view of investors, British Airways appears to be mediocre investment relative to its competitors. This is also true for creditors who look at the profitability of a business organisation to assess its paying capacity. For managers, this can signal the company to check its management of cost and other disbursements. Financial Leverage Ratios Financial leverage ratios provide an indication of the long-term solvency of the firm. They indicate the extent of non-owner claims on the firm's profits as well as the firm's operating capability to meet its obligation. Gearing is the long-term debt to equity ratio which assesses the balance between liabilities and equity in the firm's long term resource structure. Another is the interest coverage ratio which measures the extent to which earnings cover the interest obligation of the company (Thomson 2002, p. C-6). Table 2 Table 2 shows the financial leverage ratios which reveal the capital structure of British Airways. The debt-to-assets and debt-to-equity ratios

Benefits and Negatives of Bankruptcy Essay Example for Free

Benefits and Negatives of Bankruptcy Essay Bankruptcy is briefly defined as a process in which debtor obtains relief from his/her debts through the court. The relief varies in form and it includes full partial discharge of the debt or the nuisance of an imbursement plan consistent with the debtor’s financial means. (Larson, 2000) Types of bankruptcy vary according to its function. One of the most common types of bankruptcy is â€Å"Chapter 7† or â€Å"Straight Bankruptcy† or â€Å"Liquidation. † This is also known as Personal Bankruptcy. Another is â€Å"Chapter 11†, which is primarily used by businesses. There is also â€Å"Chapter 13† or â€Å"Wage-Earner Bankruptcy. † Finally, â€Å"Chapter 20† bankruptcy is the process of filing of a â€Å"Chapter 7† bankruptcy to discharge unsecured debts, followed by â€Å"Chapter 13. † (Larson, 2000) Because of the robberies and troubles with the call center, the call center might file bankruptcy, in which it has already owed the firm over $40,000,000. In this case, we are in tasked of finding the consequences of the call center filing bankruptcy. What are the benefits and negatives if the call center will file bankruptcy? Brown and Seeyle emphasized that bankruptcy is neither a personal nor an emotional decision. Rather, it is a financial decision based on the amount of debt and the present ability to repay debts. When the expected time period of repayment exceeds the time it would take to rebuild credit, just like in the call center’s case, then it is the time to consider bankruptcy. At this place in time, the call center has accumulated more debt than they can be able to repay in the near future. The call center will possibly benefit greatly from filing bankruptcy. This will be debt-free start. By filing bankruptcy, the call center has the chance to rebuild and re-establish their credit in line with the law. (Brown Seelye, 2008) Meanwhile, there is a widely held misconception of Bankruptcy in which Ben Franklin from Franklin Debt Relief explained, wherein â€Å"it’s the debtor’s version of the â€Å"get out of jail free† card in Monopoly. † Most people know that bankruptcy affects credits for 7-10 years; little did they know that they may have to pay back the debt anyway. Franklin stated the formal definition of bankruptcy as â€Å"a proceeding in federal court in which an insolvent debtor’s assets are liquidated and the debtor is relieved of further liability. † It may also come out as â€Å"the process of completing your debts for free. † (Franklin, 2008) In this manner, the call center, even with bankruptcy, still have to pay back portion of the debt. The call center, in any circumstances, may avoid filing bankruptcy. The most possible solution is that the Call center’s assets be sold to earn sufficient funds and later pay the firm. However, if the firm may prove that the call center has intentions of not paying the firm, then it’s the best way for the call center not to file bankruptcy. The call center will still have to pay the firm back. Chapter 7 Bankruptcy or straight bankruptcy, a popular form of bankruptcy, permits the defaulter to start all over again. This is generally filed by those who have not any enough funds to pay for their debt. If the call center has no hope in paying their debts to the law firm, then they should file Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. However, this may ruin their credits and they will still be responsible for their debt. They will also pay attorneys who will work in the case. In this case, the call center may consider filing Chapter 13. As for chapter 13, it is the reorganization of an individual consumers debt with a new payment schedule. If the call center has assets they want to protect Chapter 13 is another way. However, Chapter 13 ruins the credit. It will remain on the call center’s credit for up to 10 years. The call center, on another point, may have to consider credit counseling or a debt management agency. References Brown Seelye. The Decision to File. Washington State Law Firm. Retrieved February 1, 2008, from http://www. brownandseelye. com/bankruptcy375/thedecisiontofile. html Franklin, Ben. Avoiding Bankruptcy Franklin Debt Relief. Retrieve February 1, 2008, from http://www. franklindebtrelief. com/avoid-bankruptcy. html Larson, Aaron. (2000). Bankruptcy Law – An Overview. Law Offices of Aaron Larson. Retrieved February 1, 2008, from http://www. expertlaw. com/library/bankruptcy/bankruptcy. html Chapter 13 and 7 Bankruptcies. American Bankruptcy Courts. Retrieved February 3, 2008, from http://www. bankruptcy-courts. net. /chapter-13. html

Customer Satisfaction in Shopping Centre

Customer Satisfaction in Shopping Centre In the previous chapter, secondary data such as books, journals and online journals are used to conduct the literature review. In this chapter, primary data is collected through the case study. This chapter will cover the research framework consists of research purpose, research method, sampling method, research instrument and information collected from the case study. The analysis of the data is discussed in the next chapter. This case study is conducted for the purpose of investigating the level of customer satisfaction of the local customers towards the performance of a shopping centre. Mid valley megamall is chosen as the subject in case study. The time frame for the whole research is 1 month. RESEARCH FRAMEWORK: First of all, the measurement objectives must be specified in order to simplify the research process. Basically, there are four types of customer satisfaction survey which is based on the measurement objectives of the research (Vavra, 2002). Since this research is used to investigate the level of performance of a shopping centre from the customers satisfaction in general, thus, it is known as overall status survey. According to Vavra, overall status survey is emphasized more on the general issues, overall performance, and overall customers satisfaction. (2002). RESEARCH METHOD AND PURPOSE: This research is conducted using quantitative research method. From the customer satisfaction survey, the research information collected from the sample is the primary data. The aim of this study is to investigate the level of customers satisfaction in a shopping centre, to identify the actual need of customers through the distribution of questionnaires to the sample and to clarify whether the performance meet the customers expectations. POPULATION AND SAMPLING METHOD: Sampling method is a method of choosing a group of peoples from the entire target population in order to obtain the required information. Basically, there are two types of sampling designs: probability and non-probability. This research has adopted non probability sampling technique which is most suitable for a widely dispersed population such as the customers of Mid Valley Megamall. It is impossible to use the probability sampling method for this research due to the difficulty in identifies the target populations as it is too large for research. The sample is selected to estimate the gross results because less cost and time required and the sample is easily obtained while compared with the probability sampling technique. The target populations for this research are the Malaysian customers of Mid Valley Megamall and the sample is limited to adult from 18 to 50 years old. This sample is chosen because these groups of person visit the shopping mall more frequently than other demographic profile. The sample size of 100 customers ranged from 18 to 50 years old is considered as representative of Malaysian customers of Mid Valley Megamall. DESIGN OF QUESTIONNAIRE: Questionnaire is used as research instrument for this study. The questionnaires are prepared according to the objectives which set up at the beginning. In order to obtain better response from the sample, the questionnaires are designed to be simple and easy to be understood. If the length of the questionnaires is too long, it will affect the rate of response. According to Vavra, there are four types of question can be collected, namely facts, attitudes, prediction behavior and demographics. (2002). Diversified types of question are more interesting for the customers. The questionnaire consists of three sections. The first section is about the demographic profile of the respondent. The objective is to know the respondents background. The second section is about the general information regarding the relationship between the respondents and the shopping mall. Besides, it is used to identify the actual need of the customers. The third section is about the investigation on the level of satisfaction of the customers from the sample chosen towards the location, product performance, staff, building layout, infrastructure and facilities provided in the shopping mall. This section is important in determine whether the shopping mall meet the requirements of the customers. Furthermore, it includes the recommendations from the customers in order to help the shopping mall to enhance their performance in the future. SCALE: For the questionnaire, every question has its own response options such as open-ended response and close-ended response. Open-ended questions require the opinions of the customers regarding the overall performance of the shopping mall. Close-ended questions are more efficient and quantifiable because it consists of numeric scales which used by the customers to express their feelings in a simple way. The scale is known as Likert Scale. The 5-point numerical scale is adopted which ranging from 1 to 5, 1 represents not satisfied, 2 represents somewhat dissatisfied, 3 represents neither satisfied or dissatisfied, 4 represents somewhat satisfied and 5 represents strongly satisfied. The scale help the respondents to make a clear decision based on their level of satisfaction. DISTRIBUTION METHOD: Distribution method also known as field method and it defined as the way used by the interviewer to distribute the questionnaires to the sample. The questionnaires in research are distributed to the customers personally at the Mid Valley Megamall and at the same time they return the questionnaires. CASE STUDY: MID VALLEY MEGAMALL: BACKGROUND: Mid Valley Megamall is one of the Malaysias largest urban development projects in the world. It was one of the projects inside the Mid Valley City. Mid Valley City desires to be the most modern and integrated mixed-use developments in the world. The construction starts in year 1995. At present, it comprises Mid Valley Megamall, Cititel Hotel, Menara IGB, Boulevard Offices, Boulevard Hotel, Northpoint Mid Valley City, Centrepoint North and South Towers, The Gardens Retail Gallery, The Gardens Hotel, The Gardens Residences and two landmark office towers. IGB Corporation Berhad, a property and investment holding company listed on Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad is the developer of Mid Valley City while the Mid Valley Megamall is owned and operated by Kris Assets Holdings Berhad, a listed IGB subsidiary company. A two dimension master plan of Mid Valley City is enclosed in appendix. DESCRIPTIONS OF MID VALLEY MEGAMALL: Mid Valley Megamall is selected for the case study. Mid Valley Megamall is launched in year 1995 and it was opened in November 1999. Mid Valley Megamall is a complex consists of a shopping mall, an office tower block, 30 signature offices and two hotels. It is the first shopping mall comprises four successful anchor tenants, namely Jaya Jusco, Metrojaya, Carrefour and Golden Screen Cinemas. Besides, it comprises 13 junior and mini anchors and 403 specialty shops. Mid Valley Megamall has a gross floor area of 4.5 million square feet and net lettable area exceeds 1.7 million square feet. Mid Valley City is planned and developed as a City in a CityMid Valley Megamall is a key part of Mid Valley City. It was awarded the Best Shopping Complex Award 2000 by Tourism Malaysia and Best Retail Development Award 2001 by FIABCI Malaysia (International Real Estate Federation). Mid Valley Megamall is a good choice for the local residents and foreign tourists. MISSION AND VISION: Mid Valley Megamall is aimed to fulfilling everyones needs. In order to achieve the mission, the highly energetic and talented professionals are appointed in departments. In fact, Mid Valley Megamall emphasizes on their service standard and it wishes to create a modern and stylish shopping paradise for their customers. As long as the customers are in the Mid Valley Megamall, they will make sure everyone enjoy the services and products provided. Besides, Mid Valley Megamall aims to maintain the growth of the shopping mall in the competitive retail industry. FACTORS INFLUENCE THE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION: LOCATION AND ACCESSIBILITY: Mid Valley Megamall is strategically located between Kuala Lumpur Central Business District and Petaling Jaya. It is located in a convenient location that can be easily accessible from all corners on the Klang Valley. Besides it is surrounded by Petaling Jaya, Bangsar and Damansara. There is a KTM Komuter train-stop and a LRT Station nearby while taxis are available at the entrances of Centre, North and South Courts. The KTM commuter station can be accessed through a covered pedestrian bridge to the Megamall. Its believed to bring an average of 10,000 passengers each day. The station is disable-friendly, and facilities comprise toilets, lifts, covered platforms, ticket and information counters and ticket vending machines. Furthermore, Mid Valley has offers free complimentary shutter bus services (Trinton Bus) at an interval of 30 minutes to 1 hour that travel between Bangsar LRT Station and Mid Valley South Court. Other option of transportation is the public transport available. Mid Valley Megamall can be accessed through five major highways and two railway lines. In the future, the improvement of road and public transportation will be done. It includes a designated monorail station, a link bridge to the Putra LRT Station and the upgrading of internal traffic flow. Being located in between Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya, an amount of RM250 million was invested in constructing a flyover and enhance the network of road for the purpose to connect the Federal Highway and all the major catchment and residential suburbs or businesses premises within Klang Valley to Mid Valley Megamall. The location plan is enclosed in appendix X. Meanwhile, the location of the department stores is also very important for the convenient of the customers. NFRASTRUCTURES AND FACILITIES: Mid Valley consists of four entrances located at the direction of east, south, north and west respectively. Information Counters are available in Centre, North and South Court at ground floor. They are willing to assist those customers by showing a helpful attitude. In terms of car parking, Mid Valley is provided 4000 car parks in order to cater the need of high crowd during peak hours. Effective from 5 May 2008, the basement car parks of Mid Valley Megamall The Gardens Mall were separated where the car parks for Mid Valley Megamall are zones A and C. The exact location of the parking area is shown in the plan enclosed in appendix. Besides, Mid Valley Megamall also provides washrooms and baby changing facilities. The washrooms provided for the benefit of all the customers while the baby changing facilities are provided for the benefit of a mother. In addition, Mid Valley Megamall is comprises five lifts which enable the customers to travel from floor to floor. Escalators also available at East, South and North Court and there are two travelators that connecting the lower ground floor with basement which is very convenient for the customers. A proper floor plan is enclosed in appendix for further clarification of the exact location for the facilities and infrastructures. PRODUCTS AND SERVICES: Mid Valley consists of five floors where each floor is specifying for certain products and services. Lower ground floor is for daily essentials such as hypermarket, supermarket, pharmacies and money-changers. Besides, this floor is providing a numerous fast food outlet and local delights. Ground floor is mainly for the adults which include the apparel, footwear, accessories, beauty care, health care, bookstore and others essential items that fulfill the desires of an adult. First floor is the paradise for a kid, which include the fashion for kids, beauty and hair saloons for the adults. Second floor is specialized for those who wish to decorate their house. Besides, IT Centre is also available in this floor to cater the need of young generation in the ever changing technology of the world. Third floor is for entertainment such as Golden Screen Cinemas, Mid Valley Exhibition Centre, Pets Wonderland, Cosmic Bowl, Megakidz and a food court. Besides the products, the proper display area also being taken into consideration in order to be easily accessible by the customer. Mid valley is able to stimulate customers to spend more time and money in Mid Valley through the visual display merchandising. The store directory: PERFORMANCE MONITORING IN A SHOPPING CENTER BASED ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION CHAPTER THREE: Anchors. Accessories. Apparel. Discounters. Entertainment. Exhibition/ Property Showroom. Food and Beverage. Health/ Personal Care. Houseware and Furnishings. Information Technology. Jewellery. Leisure. Luggage. Shoes and Bags. Sporting Goods and Apparel. Sundry and Services. Tailoring. Textile. Watches and Pens. PERFORMANCE MONITORING IN A SHOPPING CENTER BASED ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION CHAPTER THREE: Mid Valley Megamall also provides certain services for the convenience of the customers. The services provided: PERFORMANCE MONITORING IN A SHOPPING CENTER BASED ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION CHAPTER THREE: ATMs. Banks. Cobbler. Laundrette. Money Changers. Post Office. Alteration Shop. Clinic. Dentist. Locksmith. Newstands. Print Shop. PERFORMANCE MONITORING IN A SHOPPING CENTER BASED ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION CHAPTER THREE: STAFF: In addition, Mid Valley Megamall is continually investing in a comprehensive staff training and skills development programme which aimed at improving both the soft and hard skills of the staff and enable them to perform their responsibilities in a right manner. The quality and attitude of the staffs will be indirectly affecting the level of customer satisfaction towards Mid Valley Megamall. The important qualities of the staffs are friendliness, helpfulness, communication skill and responsiveness. BUILDING LAYOUT: Challenge of the management team of Mid Valley Megamall is to ensure the customers willing to visit Mid Valley Megamall repeatedly. Mid Valley Megamall is a customer-centric shopping centre which offers best and wide range of services. It is operated by an experienced team of industry experts to ensure the innovative marketing and leasing initiatives. Besides, Mid Valley Megamall was invested over millions in comprehensive store renovation and upgrading activities in order to improve and enhance the malls environment. In terms of marketing, Mid Valley Megamall has planned the promotion aggressively with the mission to provide the delightful shopping experience to the shoppers. In order to bring excitement and hour of enjoyment to the shoppers, visual merchandising are used in creating a unique atmosphere for the public and enhance the competitiveness of Mid Valley Megamall. The marketing and promotional activities are supported by themed and strong-concept in-house events throughout the mall such as Mid Valley Megamall Fashion Week 2009 which introduce the hottest spring or summer collections through the fabulous design and chic runway shows. This show is designated for the fashion lover. During different festivals such as Hari Raya, Chinese New Year, Merry Christmas celebration, Mid Valley Megamall will decorate the centre court into atmosphere with unique and attractive theme. Mid Valley Megamall was the only shopping mall in Asia that achieved international recognition in MAXI Awards ceremony held in Hollywood last year. This award is organized by International Council of Shopping Centres. For the Hari Raya celebration 2008, Mid Valley Megamall themed as Cherish The Good Old Days in a Brand New Way that create a harmony atmosphere. This unique theme help Mid Valley Megamall won in the Visual Merchandising category of the MAXI Award. SUMMARY: This chapter has discussed about the research process which include the research framework, research method and purpose, population of questionnaire, the scale for the questions and distributing method. A case study in Mid Valley Megamall has been discussed in this chapter; it includes the background, description, mission and vision of Mid Valley Megamall. Furthermore, the factors that influences the customer satisfaction being discussed for the case study of Mid Valley Megamall. The factors are location and accessibility, infrastructure and facilities, product and services, staff and building layout.

Free Hamlet Essays: The Naivete of Hamlet :: Shakespeare Hamlet Essays

The Naivete of Hamlet Keeping secrets keep you isolated from your friends and make you very lonely. Hamlet’s loneliness, false friends, and betrayals cause his downfall to a great extent. The court of Denmark is filled with spies: Claudius hires Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to spy on Hamlet; Polonius spies on Hamlet in Gertrude’s bedchamber; Polonius uses Ophelia as bait to spy on Hamlet. Hamlet is not a part of this deceit; he is honest. For example, Claudius suggests Hamlet is honest when he and Laertes are discussing their dual scheme; Ophelia believes Hamlet is honest and says, "What a noble mind here is o’erthrown!" (III; i; 157), referring to Hamlet’s antic disposition, even though he has been insulting her for two previous acts. His relationship with Horatio shows his true character, because of how much he trusts him. ("Horatio, thou art e’en as just a man as e’er my conversation coped withal" --III; ii; 59). Someone who is naïve is often taken adv antage of in a hard, cold, deceitful world. Having your stepfather get your best friends to spy on you must make you feel horrible. When Claudius hires Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (R&G) to spy on Hamlet, I entreat you both†¦/†¦/ so by your companies To draw him on to pleasures, and to gather, So much as from occasion you may glean, Whether aught to us unknown afflicts him thus That opened lies within our remedy. (II; ii; 10-18) they confess to Hamlet that they were sent to spy on him. Hamlet shows this by saying, "Nay then I have an eye of you. –If you love me, hold not off." (II; ii; 301). It is as though he were saying to them, ‘If you were really my friends, then you should tell me why you are so interested in everything I do.’ He later takes revenge on his friends, who are sent to spy on him when he is being sent to England. He opens the letter to the English government, and changes ‘kill my crazy son Hamlet’ to ‘kill these messengers’, and seals the letter back up with his fathers’ ring: Without debatement further more or less, He should those bearers put to sudden death, Not shriving time allowed/†¦/ I had my fathers signet in my purse, Which was the model of the Danish seal†¦. (V; ii: 45-50) Curiosity killed the cat. Polonius’ spying on Hamlet is what kills him.

How Work Affects Family Life Essay

Today, the term â€Å"family† is difficult to define. All families are unique, and they can range anywhere from single parent families to extended families. Most importantly though, it is in the family where the next generation is being built. Parents must provide security and support for their children, and they need to be prepared for the challenges of balancing work and family in today’s society. In traditional families, there was a mother, a father and their resulting children. The father would most often be the earner of the family, and the mother would stay at home and take care of the children. Things have changed considerably in the twenty-first century. Now there are more dual-income families, single-parent families, and there are many more women in the labour force. This poses a great change to family life, and many parents are working a â€Å"double day†. They have their regular full time jobs where they earn an income, and then they have to come home to more work such as cooking, cleaning and grocery shopping. Like all systems and interactions, conflict arises between work and family issues. This issue causes conflict for every member of the family, and they need to discover ways to resolve this conflict. According to the feminist theory, â€Å"gender is basic to all social structures and organizations†. (Eshleman & Wilson, 2001:23). Obviously, it is also basic to the conflicts of work and family life. Today, both men and women must go to work to support their families, but it is usually the woman who has to come home and do the cooking, cleaning and grocery shopping, while her husband plays with the kids or watches television in the living room. This is definitely a concern that needs to be addressed, and although there have been some improvements in this area, much more can still be done. More improvements have also been made by employers, unions and the government to benefit families who have full time jobs. Although, they have made steps towards improving this dilemma, there are still many issues that need to be dealt with. The social conflict theory states that â€Å"conflict is natural and inevitable in all human interaction† (Eshleman & Wilson, 2001:15). It is not seen as a negative theory, it just calls for people to be aware that conflict will arise, and that they need to come up with solutions to these struggles. This is no different in the family. Today’s families have to deal with tension on the macro level and the micro level. Work and employment affect both the  macro and micro elements of the family. More and more varieties of families are coming about, such as dual-income families, single-parent families, and families who take care of their children as well as their parents. These people face tribulations everyday of their lives while trying to juggle work and their family. Mostly in dual-income families, and single-parent families, people are performing a â€Å"double day†. According to Eshleman and Wilson (2001), the double day, or second shift, refers to the combina tion of paid and unpaid work most people do. The family member earning the income â€Å"often feels stress and encounters difficulties trying to meet their responsibilities as family members and as employees† (Coates, 1991:1). This affects their performance at work and at home. They are caught in the middle between having to work to support the family, and wanting to create a good environment for their family to grow in. Society tells these parents that â€Å"they are bad [parents] if they don’t go to the school play and bad employees if they do go and take time off from work† (Denholtz, 2000:91). The children or elderly people in the head of the household’s care also suffer from the work/family conflict. Children are often raised by other people other than their own parents, such as nannies, teachers, other relatives or day care workers. Many children must learn to grow up a lot quicker than they would normally have to if their parents were always around which could be good in some cases, but not so good in others. Every member of the family must have a role, and know that role. Partners must discuss who will do the dishes that night, and who will take the children to baseball practice. Children must also help out with household chores, and take some responsibility for themselves. If all members of the family can come to a specific agreement, and implement a good plan to satisfy everyone, work and family can be managed. All that is needed are the right attitudes and resources. Several couples in Crysdale’s study of working class people in downtown Toronto said that they manage trouble at work by leaving it at the door when they come home (1991:103). There was not always an issue between family life and work. Typically, the only women who would work were young, single females with no other obligations. Married women would stay home with their children, do all the  housework and make sure supper was on the table for their husbands when they came home from work. The predicament between work and family arose when women began participating more in the labour force during and after World War I. Their involvement in the labour force has steadily increased since the beginning of the twentieth century, while men’s participation has decreased. According to Eshleman and Wilson (2001), 16.2 percent of women over the age of fifteen were employed in 1911, and approximately 60 percent of women are employed today. So in under a century the number of women working has almost quadrupled. There are many different reasons explaining why more and more women are joining the work force. It basically first started during World War II, because there was a great need for workers in factories, stores, etc., and the men were off fighting in the war. Therefore, the women had to join the labour force, and after the war, when they could leave their jobs, many women chose to stay instead of becoming a housewife once again. In the 1960’s, there was a women’s liberation movement, and this time period was the most significant change in women’s roles. Wives and mothers wanted to be free from the constraints placed on them in the home, so many of them decided to go to work. Prior to this, mainly single women were working for pay, but since then the gap between single and married women has decreased. Also, there has been an increase in the number of blended families, common-law relationships, and single-parent families which forces most members of these families to find paid work in order to financially support their family. Most single parents must go to work to provide for the family because they have no help from the mother or father of their children. Altogether, many different circumstances have led to the increa sed problems between work and family life. As we can see, as women gained a more significant role in the labour force, and as different types of families arose such as single-parent families, the conflicts also increased. When Eshleman and Wilson are explaining the feminist theory they ask the question, â€Å"What about women?† Their answers to this question are: Based on the ideas that the experiences of women are different from those of men, are unequal (less privileged) to those of men, and are actively  oppressed (restrained, subordinated, used and abused) by men. (p. 23) This definition works perfectly into the dilemma between men and women’s roles in the family and in the work force. We must always consider women and gender when making assumptions about the family and work because they are inseparable issues. Even with the intense changes that have taken place in the family structure and the workforce, there is still the general idea that a woman’s first and foremost responsibility is in the home, even when she is engaged in work outside of the home. Women workers experience much more stress and difficulty in balancing work and home than men do, because they â€Å"tend to bear a disproportionate share of household tasks and family responsibilities† (Coates, 1991:8). Coates (1991) listed some important statistics from a survey by the Conference of Canada in his article. He concluded that women reported spending an average of 16.5 hours per week on ‘home maintenance’ compared to 9.8 hours by men. Three-quarters of the women reported that they had the majority of responsibility for making child arrangements compared to 4.1 percent of men, and women were almost four times as likely to stay home with their children when they were sick. Basically, the work and family issue has been viewed only as a woman issue, which creates problems between husband-wife families. This is a micro example of the social conflict theory. Work creates conflict within the family between the husband and the wife, in deciding who will perform what tasks within the family. More recently, men have been accepting larger responsibilities within the family â€Å"either through choice, or necessity in their role as a single parent in the paid workforce†. The gaps between men and women’s responsibilities in the home are decreasing, but there is much more to be done about this matter. Child care is the largest concern parents have when it comes to their family and their work. There are many options available for parents when it comes to childcare, such as daycare, nannies, relatives, babysitters, and schools, although it is not that easy. Some families cannot afford daycare or nannies; some do not have families they can rely on for childcare and some parents’ work schedules do not accommodate babysitter’s hours. The age of  the child is another factor that has to be considered when planning on childcare. If the child is an infant, one of the parents usually has to be with them all day, and not all employers offer maternity or paternity leave. When the child is a toddler, they have not yet reached the age that would allow them to be in school from nine o’clock until three o’clock, so they still need someone in their care for the entire day. When the child reaches the school years, there are still a few hours before and after school that needs to be taken into account. After the child has reached an age in which he/she is able to take care of themselves, transportation between school, home and extracurricular activities comes into account. All of these factors contribute to the hardships parents face when trying to balance work and family life. Aside from the family, corporations and employers need to address the problems of stress placed on their employees while trying to manage between work and home. This incorporates the macro level of the social conflict theory. Fernandez states that: There is a high correlation not only between missed work and caring for a sick child, but also caring for a sick child and leaving work early, coming in late, dealing with family issues during working hours, and on-and-off-the-job-stress. As the families continue to grow and change, the companies need to implement a vast range of improvements in order to reduce the great demands of parenting and work. This will not only help the parents out with their family, but it will create a less stressful environment for all of the employees, and therefore, it will improve the company. Many companies have already taken certain steps in doing this, but there is still much more that can be done. One suggestion is job-sharing, which is â€Å"a form of part-time working wherein two people choose to share the salary, benefits and responsibilities of one full-time job† (McRae, 1989:16). This benefits parents who want to maintain paid work and also want to be at home with their children. Homeworking is another example, and it is when a person takes on paid work from the home. This has become increasingly easier to  manage with new technologies such as the Internet. Shift work would also help to balance out the time between work and the family. The shifts could correspond with the hours that the children are in bed, or are at school, which allows the worker to spend more time with their family. More steps need to be taken in this area, such as on-site day care, paid leave to attend to a sick child or family issue, and included day-care costs. We have reached a point in society when it is time to come to a compromise between work and family life, and flexibility needs to be offered whenever it is needed. In all, families have changed a great deal in the last century, and we need to keep up with these changes and offer new suggestions towards improving family life. Work places a great demand on all families, including dual-income families, single-parent families, blended families, and extended families. Parents are struggling everyday with the conflict between work and family life. It works in a viscous circle, because families need money to support their families, but at the same time they need a lot of extra time to spend with their families. The burden is placed more on women than it is on men, because taking care of the household is still seen as the â€Å"woman’s job†, even if she is engaged in paid work. Men need to start doing their equal share around the house to make it easier on the demands of the woman. More steps need to be taken in child care facilities, because that is the main problem working parents face today. Companies must implement new plans in order to meet the needs of their workers. Altogether, it has been an ongoing battle for parents who are trying to balance between work and family life, and as the family continues to grow and change so must the laws behind flexible work hours, day care, and permissible absence for family issues.

The people who started the movement around Jesus

The people who started the movement around Jesus must have suffered a traumatic setback with his death. They were expecting the coming of the kingdom of God on earth, but it did not arrive immediately as they had expected. Something changed their outlook on who Jesus was and what he would mean for the future of the movement. This is known as a rebirth. The followers of Jesus were convinced that he had been raised from the dead and had been taken away into heaven as an acquittal of his messianic identity. The earliest form of the movement was thoroughly a sect within Judaism. The earliest forms of the Jesus movement were small, sectarian groups. The people held on tightly to their beliefs and expectations while at the same time continued in their Jewish tradition. One of the things they had to do was distance themselves from their authoritative cultural surroundings. A sect always arose within a community with whom it shared a basic set of beliefs and yet, it needed to find some way to differentiate itself. Sectarian groups were always in tension with their environment. That tension was manifested in a variety of ways. There were controversies over belief and practice and different ideas of pureness and holiness. Another demonstration of the tension is the tendency to spread the message out, to travel, and convince others that the truth is real. Christianity did not start out as a unified movement. There were no fixed thoughts of what Christian beliefs should be, what Christian rituals should be, or what they should think about Jesus or what they should tell about Jesus. Over a long period of time Constantine, Julian, and Arius had disputes over which religion should dominate their region. Christianity adopted a lot of concepts from other religions, which enriched the early Christian movement tremendously. By the time of the conversion Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire. That was not a sim...