The Fires Of Heaven Essays - The Wheel Of Time,

The Fires Of Heaven The fires of heaven The Fires of Heaven is the fifth book in the series ?The Wheel of Time? that I started a while back. It is by Robert Jordan and is fantasy. In this book, Rand al'Thor, now hailed as the Dragon Reborn, decides to attack Illian. Rand does not know that he is being lured into a trap by the nine remaining forsaken. One of them, Sammael by name, is the ruler of Illian. Meanwhile, in the White tower, the new Amyrlin, the head honcho of the Aes Sedai, is concocting weird new plans for Rand. Nothing comes of it in this book, but I'll bet money something will happen later because of those plans. Siaun Sanche, the deposed and stilled Amyrlin, is arrested in Andor for barn burning. Literally. Rand is just getting ready to attack Illian and wipe it from the face of the earth, when he receives word that Queen Morgase, his girlfriend Elaine's mother, has been killed in Caemlyn. Several seconds later, Moraine, one of his teachers, dies in a kamikaze mission as she kills one of the forsaken that showed up to harass Rand. Rand becomes very angry because Caemlyn, the capitol city in Andor, is being controlled by the foresaken. This will be a major hindrance as his girlfriend, Elayne, is going to be Queen and lay claim to the throne. The name of the forsaken controlling Caemlyn is Rahvin. Rand then decides that his quest to conquer Illian can wait and proceeds to destroy Caemlyn. The main conflict in this story is man VS. man. Man VS. self also comes into play as Rand starts to go mad. Man VS. man is obvious when Rand attacks Caemlyn and his thousands of Aiel fight the army of Rahvin in Caemlyn. There are about 500 Aiel, who have their way with the 10,000 ?kings guards? in Caemlyn, at little loss for themselves. There are only about 1,000 prisoners of the kings guard. Rand holds his sanity remarkably well, except for the voice of Lews Therin, which pops into his head. Lews Therin was the previous Dragon Reborn, and is a completely different volume of books for a different day. The Climax of this book is when Rand destroys Rahvin. ?Erases him from time? would be a better way of putting it. Rahvin lures Rand into tel'aran'rhiod (tel-AYE-rahn-rhee-ODD) in the Old Tongue, ?the unseen world? or ?the world of dreams.? This is a world glimpsed in dreams which was believed by the ancients to permeate and surround other worlds. Many can touch tel'aran'rhiod for a few moments in their dreams, but few have ever had the ability to enter at will. Unlike other dreams, what happens to living things in the World of Dreams is real; a wound taken there will still exist on awakening, and if you die there, you will not wake up at all. Rand goes there in the flesh. However, when you enter that dream world you lose some part of what makes you human. Anyway, Rand follows Rahvin into tel'aran'rhiod and kills him with balefire. Balefire basically erases people from before now. The stronger the balefire, the farther back the events that person caused are erased. This was an appropriate ending because Rand appropriated a country that was directly to the south of Cairhein, a country which he already had control over. It was a double bonus because he also managed to avoid the trap the forsaken had laid. The theme of this book is to give careful consideration of what you do and always look before you leap. If Rand hadn't, at the last minute, decided to attack Caemlyn, he'd be dead. He got lucky this time. The Fires of Heaven is an amazing story. I've just read it for the umpteenth time, and I found it as engaging as ever before. The main character, Rand, shows an incredible growth in strength in response to the position he finds himself in. He seems to understand full well how everybody else has ulterior motives or hidden agendas where he is concerned. He alone seems to have a good view of the struggle, and he steels himself to do, or cause to be done, that which

My empirically testable Essays

My empirically testable Essays My empirically testable Paper My empirically testable Paper When I began contemplating starting a home based business selling Avon, my research had pretty much already been done. Being a user of the products for years knew that the items Avon sold were good products and lots of women used them. Whether I was at home, church or work I found that all the women within my circle were asking the same thing. Do you know an Avon, lady? So clearly to me this was a great opportunity for me to make some extra money. My empirically testable hypotheses was that knew that I already had potential customers seeking out these products. New the products were good because my family had been using them for years. Avon has been a household name for over a century, and is listed as the fifth-largest beauty company and second largest direct selling enterprise in the world. Overall the business opportunity appeared to be a great start for me and all it took was an investment of ten dollars. Also I would be providing needed products to hundreds of women. Statistics has shown that over the years, Avon has consistently manufactures some of the highest rated perfumes and body fragrances. Avon has also produced top-selling anti-aging reams that have proven results. The thing about Avon products was that it was not just hear say. Over the years I have seen these products work with my own eyes. Also I had several women that I knew personally, seeking out these products. Many women had already declared these products as their signature products. All they were missing was a consistent and faithful representative to supply their products. Marketing the product would be easy. Being that majority of the ladies were already seeking the product all simply had to do was mention that I had them for sale. As customer came t e I made it a priority to find out there favorite products, their likes and dislikes. In the beginning simply ordered product as my customers ordered them. Offering samples of perfumes, make-up and body oils and creams, allowed customers to try products before buying. Which also aided in the generation of new sales of products. Producing the potential for a larger inventory. Once I had accumulated a large client base. I began to stock products that my customers regularly ordered, to have them on hand where they were ready to place their order. Knowing their choice products enable e to be able to select other potential items that may be appealing to my customers. Managing the inventory I kept on hand soon became a hassle which prompted me to investigate was to keep track what I had on hand. Together with the help of my family I was able to develop a system that hell me not only account for the items as sell them, but keep an accurate number letting me know when have reached the minimum amount have set within the system. This inventory system lets me know when it is time etc reorder certain products and the Avon Sales Representatives website keep e up-to-date on the latest new items and trends. Overall the decision I made to get involved has proven to profitable decision.

A goal oriented appraisal system

A goal oriented appraisal system Purpose – To implement a goal oriented appraisal system Observations from yesterday meeting They don’t have a proper performance appraisal system Technical skills are assessing from their Netherland counterpart but as my knowledge it is not documented Currently they are using 360 feedback systems but the content of the appraisal is very poor They are focusing on implementing a goal oriented appraisal system They are planning to conduct appraisal quarterly Their main purpose is to improve employee’s soft skills while assessing their technical skills Through this hey need to identify the skill gaps and training need of their workforce Performance management is about working together with employees to identify strengths and weaknesses in their performance and how to help them be a more productive and effective worker. Therefore, it is important to have a proper performance management system to help everyone in the organization. In order to have a proper performance appraisal system we can use following actions. Actions to be taken We need to evaluate the current performance appraisal system We need to analyze the areas covering thorough the current appraisal system and how frequently they are providing their feedback to others. Also we need to identify if there is anything that need to be changed or add to the evaluation criteria. As per the current system they are assessing only soft skills, but it is very important to assess their technical and operational and service skills to improve their career. Identify organizational goals Performance management system should be focused on project goals. PM has the idea of project deadlines, necessities needed to achieve the deadlines; measures effectiveness or efficiency towards the deadline and drivers to achieve the deadline etc. This chain of measurement is examined to ensure alignment with overall results of the organization. Goals should be addressed within a SMART framework. Specific: Well-defined to inform employees exactly what is expected, when, and how much. Measurable: Provide milestones to track progress and motivate employees toward achievement. Achievable: Success needs to be attainable with effort by an average employee, with a bit of a stretch. Relevant: The goals should focus on the greatest impact to the overall corporate strategy. Timely: A goal should be grounded within a time frame to create a sense of urgency for completion Therefore it is important to clarify what your goals are for the next quarter. Identify processes or procedures that could be simplified or done more effectively. Declare the goals for the next quarter or new products/ projects employee may involve. Implement better communication between departments and team members. Set performance expectations. Clearly explain the expectations for the employees Examine that they are currently doing their job well. Share some weaknesses that observed in their work habits, and how overcoming those would help their performance in the company. Identify specific things to accomplish over the next quarter. Prioritize these works, so the employee knows which is most important and make sure to give them a deadline for each task. Monitor and develop the performance cycle throughout the quarter One on one (1:1) feedback is a great way to do this. As employees begin to work on their expectations, we need to assess regularly how they are doing. We can do this weekly and can give feedbacks about their performance. If they appear to be struggling to meet performance expectations, discuss with them and check if they required any support or coaching. Evaluate their performance At each performance review, we should let employee know how they are doing. It is often helpful to assign a numeric value on a scale, rating the employee from â€Å"not meeting expectations† to â€Å"meets expectations† to â€Å"exceed expectations†. As a company we need provide feedback on their performance. We need to be more specific as possible, noting key examples of when they demonstrated a certain quality. Explain about the consequences or rewards of their performance. It is a key strategy to retain the top talent and driving organizational performance that exceeds all expectations. These things can be used to develop the under performers to become greater assets to your organization. Discuss any problems they may be having. Listen to their concerns. Align feedback with feedback given throughout the quarter in their one on ones Set new performance expectations for the next quarter Some items may be the same. However, since these are also based on organizational goals, you will need to re-examine the goals for the upcoming quarter. Conclusion Effective performance management plan is the key to creating an engaged and aligned workforce the hallmark of all successful businesses. Without one, the organization could lose more than just time and money you could lose knowledge, employees and, in the end, your competitive edge.

Case study. read through case study and answer all questions

. read through and answer all questions - Case Study Example This is in terms of making the help desk more efficient and able to portray a good image of the company. The second front is with Mick who believes that the position was meant to be his. This requires that she finds a way in which she is able to reach out to him so as to try and improve that relationship for better work coordination. The second issue that is raised is that of churnovers. In the simplest sense this is the rate at which employees leave the job forcing the hiring of new employees. In the help desk or call center sphere, there has been a high churnover (also known as turnover) rate (Sharp 2003, p. 114). Usually when this rate is high it ends up costing the company a great deal on two fronts. The first one is by the fact that the company has to spend more money on labor costs. This is through the retraining of new staff, who may not be well aware of the company’s culture or operational procedures. The second point at which this greatly costs the company is by the l agging of standards when new hires come on. This is through the fact that with every new hire they need some time to get used to performing the tasks required of them in the most efficient way. One other people issue that Sara had to contend with is the problem solving skills that her helpdesk staff had. This is an important skill that all help desk personnel need to have (HILES & GUNN 200, p. 91). The main reason for this is that they are mainly dealing with issues that other users of the company products or services are having. Most often than not, they will find themselves in situations where the solutions to these issues may not really be covered in their day to day dealings. On the other hand they may be unaware of the existence of the issue and hence need a way in which they can come up with solutions before they can seek further consultation on the problem. The other people issue that Sara has to contend is the ability of her work force to coordinate and work as a team. This is evident from the fact that each of those in the team had their own roles and they did not coordinating with one another before Sara’s intervention. In any helpdesk, there is need for teamwork and coordination of efforts to ensure that the client’s needs are met satisfactorily. This should also be in a manner that is customer friendly. Sustaining New Work Culture The first step in ensuring effective functioning of the helpdesk may be in the sustaining of the culture that she has already created. Sara has so far done a good job in ensuring that everyone at the helpdesk is working. Also that everybody is working with one another. That is, the effort is coordinated and not a single employee feels that they are overly burdened. This can be evident by the fact that at the moment the inquiries are first handled by Mick before they are then passed onto Tim and Jean for solving. This way the work is being done much faster and much more effectively. One of the ways in which S ara may ensure that this culture continues is by ensuring that she encourages the team work that she has now developed. This may be done by giving team assigned tasks, by scheduling team building activities and encouraging non-official office communication that will build the teams togetherness (Boller 2005, p. 3). The second thing may be by the encouragement of

MGM330-0704A-04 Business Decision-Making - Phase 3 Discussion Board Essay

MGM330-0704A-04 Business Decision-Making - Phase 3 Discussion Board - Essay Example Hypothesis testing is a statistical method can be utilized in a variety of applications. The method basically allows a researcher to make a claim about a particular population (data) called the null hypothesis which is then tested by this method to determine if the claim was true or false (Levine & Stephan & Krehbel & Berenson, 2006, p.332). The test works by providing a null hypothesis and an alternative hypothesis. If the null hypothesis is either accepted or rejected. If the null hypothesis is rejected that means there is sufficient evidence to validate the alternative hypothesis is true. The normal curve and its corresponding normal distribution table which is associated with Z values is an important variable in the process of a hypothesis test. Hypothesis testing follow a particular algorithm or procedure that must be perform every time the test is perform. The key steps of a hypothesis test are: Another powerful and very useful statistical method is regression analysis. The regression analysis method is a predictive model that allows the statistician to determine the values of a variable within an equation based on the given data about the other variable. This method has very valuable application for forecasting. A common technique of this model is simple regression which can be applied utilizing the least square approach. This approach uses the formula Y = aX + b (McClave & Benson & Sinich, 2001, p.460). The two key variables are called the dependent and the independent variables. An example of an application of this model is a production problem. A company can used this equation to predict many sales it can generate in the future based on past sales totals of the past years. Software such as Microsoft Excel, Minitab or graphical calculators such as the Ti-89 Titanium created by Texas Instrument can be utilized to perform linear regression analysis. There is another type o f regression analysis called multiple

Spirituality and Edna St. Vincent Millays Works Essay -- Edna St. Vin

The assimilation of human feeling with nature impacted the writings of Edna St. Vincent Millay throughout the entirety of her career. At an early age, on the coast of Maine, Millay had a quasi-religious experience while nearly drowning, that when written down ten years later became the foundation of one of her most staggering works, â€Å"Renascence.† The way in which Millay confronts and interacts with nature, namely the sky, is unnerving, raw, and beautiful. She transcends time and is enabled to take part in an empathetic experience with the entirety of what she perceives around her. This poem serves as a precursor to later poems that deal with the human and its counterpart in existence, nature. Over the course of her work, Millay was constantly reconfiguring her notion of God, humanity, and nature and how they were interrelated. This examination and understanding of a oneness with things is the theme found throughout her writing. In addition to â€Å"Renascence†, it is found in â€Å"Spring† as well as â€Å"Epitaph for the Race of Man.† The constant it seems is her communion with that around her in the natural world. Her offerings of interpretations and meditations on the earthly goods of nature and humanity showcase a pantheistic view of the world, in which everything equals God. The poem â€Å"Renascence†, which garnered Edna St. Vincent Millay instant fame as a poet and allowed her entry into her life as a writer was written when she was only eighteen, ten years after a near drowning incident off of coastal Maine. The poem deals with the spiritual experience of accepting man’s suffering and offers an extended and meditative view of nature as a presence that pushes and awakens the sense of empathy in man. The beauty of â€Å"Renas... ...even if these connections are made by the shared experience of death. It is in this connection to larger ideas and showing then, the connections to smaller entities therein, that Edna Millay is able to project a pantheistic sensibility, even if this is in the minor chord of foreboding destruction. The humanity that Millay is privy to in the understandings she obtains from the observation of earth, sky, season, and the cycle of existence is the paramount essence of her writing. The poetry of Edna St. Vincent Millay is the poetry of evaluation of that which is shared and experienced. In each of her writings above, Millay has reconfigured the notion of nature and humanity, not as separate things existing in the same world, but rather two forces occupying each other’s space long enough that there is an indelible reference to each in the existence of the other.

Calvin College Essay

I have a vision of what my college experience will look like. It is a montage of college scenes pulled from books, movies, and my university tours. I see guitar-accompanied picnics and Converse sneakers crunching through leaves on a sidewalk. I see countless chai lattes turning into empty cups during late night essay writing, during which I’m simply adorned in a hoodie and headphones. I see the magic bond that forms between two nervous freshmen roommates as they spontaneously belt out a song in tune with the radio.When I walked through the picturesque Calvin campus, I could truly envision myself in Converse sneakers on my way to conquer an essay with a chai latte and headphones at the ready. I don’t know whether college will look like that or not, but I hope to balance the challenges and rigors of learning, with enthusiasm and a sense of community. I hope that I will have the opportunity to love life, and show love toward others, at Calvin. I am drawn to the intimate ca mpus and dedicated staff at Calvin College because it reminds me of the school in which I grew up.Rudolf Steiner is a small, unique school that has encouraged me to explore, pursue my passions everyday, show responsibility toward my community, and have a familial relationship with my peers. I was encouraged to appreciate music, art, travel, language, and to revel in the triumphs that are possible when a community comes together to share their gifts and talents. It is this creative spirit and sense of loyalty that I hope to bring to Calvin. I want to grow in character as well as in my academics.I want to feel inspired, and to inspire others. Film is my passion and it is my goal to capture enchanting moments, from the purity of a dance silhouetted by a melting sunset, to the quiet elegance of an artist who is surrounded by the bustle of life and yet completely alone with a sketchbook. For me, there are few things more satisfying than being able to portray to my friends the love and be auty that I see in them. I also hope to utilize skills and ideas learned in my Youth Leadership Team experience, and apply them to my Calvin experience.On my church Mission Trip, I was moved by the verse Timothy 4:12 regarding youth and behavior, which is good advice for college students. I am committed to embracing the weightlessness of my youth, while setting a strong and noble example in character. This is what I hope to continue at Calvin. I know that college will be full of challenges and that it may not match my cinematic depiction. I am confident, however, that if I keep my friends close, pursue my passions, and stay in touch with my faith, I will carve out a future that inspires me and touches others in a positive way.