Organizing A Collection Of Cds And Dvds

The average CD and DVD collection grows continuously and hence it becomes an important and Herculean task to organize them in a proper manner. Such an arrangement should also result in easy retrieval of the CDs and DVDs when we need them. The first step to follow in organizing a large DVD and CD collection is to buy proper shelving. We need to buy CD notebooks or multiple CD racks and also shelves specifically for DVDs. Next is to decide on the criteria for categorizing the collection. The criteria options are alphabetical arrangement, arrangement based on genre, chronological arrangement etc.Next is to separate the CDs that are not of much concern. New CD cases are to be purchased for those CDs whose cases are damaged or missing. Using multiple levels of shelving can result in a much longer time for retrieval (Associated Content, 2005). Sort the CD and DVD collection according to the criteria chosen. If the collection is very large this sorting can be done in stages to avoid confusi on. We may also choose to sub-categorize the collection additionally. For example if we choose to categorize based on the artist then sub-categorizing may be based on the release date or alphabetically based on the title.If our taste in music and movies is very broad we can buy colored electrical tape and designate a particular color to each genre. We could also store all the CD’s in our computer before organizing them, if we have a large drive space and ensure we take regular backups (wikiHow, 2005). Plastic storage units with slots for individual CDs may be used but if we arrange them alphabetically then we need to move hundreds of CDs each time we need to insert a new CD into the collection. We May also choose to arrange less used CDs and DVDs in a notebook rather than putting them in display (eHow, 1999).This will save a considerable amount of storage space. Putting away previously used CDs and DVDs before taking a new one ensures that our collection remains organized. Th e following criteria could be used for organizing the CDs and DVDs. Alphabetically: We could arrange the CDs in the alphabetical order either by the artist’s name or the title. The movies could be arranged alphabetically based on the title, key actor or the director’s name. This is the most commonly used criteria for arranging the CDs. The downside of this option is the necessity to move all the CDs and DVDs when we buy an album or movie.This scheme can also be combined with other schemes of arrangement like alphabetical with genre etc. Chronologically: This arrangement is based on the order of release or purchase of the CDs and DVDs. We could choose chronological based on album release date, or chronologically by the purchase date or historical era or chronological based on the life stage that could be associated with each album or movie. The movies could be arranged based on the era the content of the movie is based on (Propeller, 2003). By Genre: This type of arrang ement is for who have a very large collection and a broad taste in music and movies.We could arrange folk followed by rock and then melody. Similarly in movies we could categorize the collection as horror, action, mystery, comedy, love or make it more specific like Documentary, Zombies etc. If the collection is very large an entire rack could be devoted to each genre (Expert Village, 2008). Most Frequently Used: The albums and movies which are played most are arranged at the front of the pile and those which are not frequently used are arranged behind them. This arrangement makes the most played ones very easier to find. This scheme is also self organizing. Randomly:This is the least used scheme where in the CDs and DVDs are arranged in a random manner (Brunchma, 1997). The other schemes of arrangement also include critical arrangement where the best ones are placed at the beginning and the worst at the end. Arrangements can also be done based on performer’s or composerâ€⠄¢s origin, album title, instrumentation, mood and the tempo of the CDs (Propeller, 2003). Bibliography: (2005) Associated Content Available: http://www. associatedcontent. com/article/272550/how_to_organize_a_large_dvd_ collection. html? page=2 Last Accessed: 28 May 2008 (1997) BrunchmaAvailable: http://www. brunchma. com/archives/Forum2/HTML/000270. html Last Accessed: 26 May 2008 (March 1999) eHow Available: http://www. ehow. com/how_2032270_organize-cd-collection. html Last Accessed: 26 May 2008 (2008) Expert Village Available: http://www. expertvillage. com/video/370_organize-cds. htm Last Accessed: 25 May 2008 (2003) Propeller Available: http://music. propeller. com/story/2006/11/09/17-ways-to-organize-your-cd-collection/ Last Accessed: 26 May 2008 (January 2005) wikiHow Available: http://www. wikihow. com/Organize-a-Large-CD-Collection Last Accessed: 25 May 2008

Gary B. Nash’s Race and Revolution Essay

Gary B. Nash’s Race and Revolution offers an insightful interpretation of the American Revolution which led to the abolishment of slavery in the United States. The book is formed as a group of essays that had sprung from a series of lectures. The text focuses on the failure of the American Revolution to accomplish its initial goals and to do justice to the oppressed race. Nash’s thesis in this book is thus that this failure should be blamed actually on the northern leaders rather than the southern ones. The book peers therefore into the general atmosphere of the Revolution and into the main causes of the failure to fully recognize the African Americans as an equal race. In Nash’s view, the hypothesis according to which this failure should be blamed on the inflexibility of the Southerners is not a correct interpretation of the events. Instead, the decline of the initial enthusiasm that inspired the abolitionist movement should be blamed on the growing sense of superiority that prevailed among the Northern leaders. Thus, Nash’s main purpose is to show that the evolution of events during the American Revolution best evinces the relationship between the two diverging races. As the author stresses, the failure to give the blacks true independence and equal rights at that time is not due to the triumph of economic interest over humaneness, but rather to the growing supremacist tendencies of the whites. To demonstrate this hypothesis, Nash organizes his work in three chapters which correspond to the three different stages of abolitionism. Moreover, the book is supplemented and supported with a series of documents which are also separated according to each of these stages. As Nash proposes, the first stage of the abolitionist movement was one of spreading enthusiasm with regard to the abolition of slavery. During the early 1770’s, there was a growing awareness among the colonies of New England with regard to the incompatibility of slavery as an institution with the main precepts and fundaments of the American nation and of democracy. Around this time, the leaders as well as the public at large began to regard the problem of slavery from a new angle, realizing that this practice was in stark contradiction with the basic human rights. There was therefore a sense of duplicity of falsity underlying the main principles of the democratic nation. As Nash emphasizes, the idea of abolition was first embraced with great enthusiasm by a majority of the colonists. As the title of the chapter reads, this generation can be called â€Å"the revolutionary generation†, precisely because it formed and sustained a new idea with regard to slavery. The first wave of the revolution seemed to grasp the problem of slavery in its entirety. The leaders as well as the common people began to gain insight into the atrocities perpetuated by slavery. The just observation was made that the existence of slavery in America was a real opprobrium for the country and its status among the other countries of the world. The Americans began to perceive the necessity of reform and abolition of slavery. The institution of slavery began to be considered as a sign of the lack of civilization and advancement on the part of the country. As Nash points out, at this time, awareness grew towards the series of moral, religious and social justifications for the abolition of slavery. In the first place, slavery was considered a debasing institution that functioned at the center of a democratic nation. Thus, many people began to see slavery as a plight on modern society that reminds of the admitted abuse on people that should have had equal rights. Nash documents his research into the atmosphere of the time, emphasizing that the problem of slavery was increasingly debated in all circles, at the beginning of the 1770’s: â€Å"In 1773 [†¦] Benjamin Rush informed Granville Sharp, the English abolitionist, that ‘the spirit of liberty and religion with regard to the poor Negroes spreads rapidly throughout this country. †(Nash, 2001, p. 9) The people felt that the abolition will be almost a salvation of the nation and it will offer a new beginning for America. Generally, slavery began to be perceived as a sin and a plight on the modern world. As Nash observes, the revolution was prompted by the spread of this idea among the communities:â€Å"As Winthrop Jordan has argued, by the eve of the Revolution, there was in New England a ‘generalized sense of slavery as a communal sin. ’†(Nash, 2001, p. 10) Thus, in the first part of his essay, Nash lingers on the incipient enthusiasm for abolitionism at the beginning of the Revolution. There were voices that called for the immediate prohibition of slave trade and that proposed laws and declarations against slavery. The principles of democracy were being thus restated, as the most pertinent argument for the abolition of slavery: â€Å"all men are born equally free and independent, and that they have certain natural, inherited and inalienable rights. †(Nash, 2001, p. 13) Slavery was also seen as a breach in the country’s international role. America was not completing its role as a model democracy that the rest of the world should look upon, but on the contrary it was drawing attention towards the cruel and extremely unjust practices of slavery: â€Å"Calling slavery ‘the opprobrium of America’ they proposed a gradual emancipation that would regain Americans ‘the respect of all Europe, who are astonished to see a people eager for Liberty holding Negroes in Bondage. †(Nash, 2001, p. 13) Therefore, Nash carefully analyzes in his first essay the various reasons that prompted and accelerated the movement. There were political, religious and moral issues that condemned slavery at the same time and imposed a movement against it. There were also leaders that observed that slavery was a flawed institution from the start, since it actually permitted a crime and an infringement on the rights of other man. According to Nash, this was seen as a political fallacy, as it encouraged the existence of a system that was yet worse than the aristocratic model in England for instance, that America wanted to avoid the most: â€Å"And with what execration should the statesman be loaded, who permitting one half of the citizens thus to trample on the rights of the other, transforms those into despots, and these into enemies, destroys the moral of one part and the amor patriae of the other. †(Nash, 17) The data that Nash collects together for the first part of his essay prepare the terrain for the rest of the research. The author thus achieves an almost dramatic effect by pointing not only to the actual facts and events but to the atmosphere of the time and to the general opinion on slavery and the revolution. According to Nash, after having shown the early anxiousness and the enthusiasm of the people for the revolution, it seems even more difficult to explain the eventual failure of the revolution. His second essay in the book treats therefore of the second or middle stage of abolitionism. Nash emphasizes the fact that, contrary to customary belief, it was the northern states that had the greatest contribution to this failure: â€Å"In particular, I wish to stress the role of the northern states in the failure to abolish slavery and to show how economic and cultural factors intertwined in what was not a judicious decision by the leaders of the new American nation but their most tragic failure. †(Nash, 2001, p. 6) Nash points out that this was perhaps the most tragic failure in the American system, and one that has left a permanent blemish on the nation. The second chapter therefore begins with the main questions that become immediate after analyzing the initial enthusiasm and the eventual failure. Nash explains that he diverges from the common view according to which the newly formed union of states was too young to be able to act correctly from a political or social point of view. Moreover, he also insists that the Southerner’s self-interested opposition was not the halt of the abolitionists: â€Å"In explaining the failure of the new nation to come to grips with slavery, historians have repeatedly pointed to the precariousness of the newly forged union of the states and the intransigence of the lower South, particularly Georgia and South Carolina, in thwarting the widespread desire of those in the North and upper South to see the traffic of slaves ended for ever and the institution of slavery on the road to extinction. †(Nash, 2001, p. 25) Nash comes here close to the center of his demonstration throughout the book. His main idea is that the failure should not be blamed on the contention between the North and the South. The southerners were indeed guided by their economical interests in preserving slavery as an institution. The slave owners and the slave traders were equally unwilling to part with the profitable system of slavery. In Nash’s view however, neither of these motivations were actually the reason for the failure. He proposes and demonstrates therefore that the failure came from a national ideological handicap rather than from a regional one. In his view, the failure should actually be attributed to the Northerners that failed to carry the democratic principles to their ends. Thus, Nash provides an explanation for the gap between the initial elation with respect to abolitionism and the subsequent hostility of the white people against the black. Nash perceives this hostility that emerged powerfully after the revolution, as an inherent supremacist attitude and racism. While slavery was in itself a cruel and even barbaric practice that deprived the other race of freedom and dignity, the hostility that followed the liberation of the blacks was in itself a proof of the inherent ideological racism that permeated the white communities. In the fourth letter attached for documentary purpose at the end of the book, the reaction of the black community against this growing hostility becomes clear: â€Å"I proceed again to the consideration of the bill of unalienable rights belonging to black men, the passage of which will only tend to show that the advocates to emancipation can enact laws more degrading to free man and more injurious to his feeling than all the tyranny of slavery or the shackles of infatuated despotism. †(Nash, 2001, p. 196) Slavery was an open attack on the other race. However, the racism implied in the acts and bills issued after the revolution had waned are indicative of the extent to which this ideology pervaded the white communities of the time. The point of the demonstration seems therefore to hold: the failure to treat the black people as equal after their liberation was due to the inherent racism of the whites. Although freedom and human rights were advocated as grounds for the revolution, the bills issued afterwards point to the inability of the whites to conceive racial equality with the blacks. The events that followed during the nineteenth and the twentieth century enhance this idea. The white and black communities have found it very difficult to accommodate each other. Even at the beginning of the twentieth century, the black men could live as free people but still did not have equal rights to the white community. In his book, Nash achieves a succinct and powerful demonstration of the pervasive racism that motivated many of the events of the revolution at the end of the eighteenth century. Nash thus alleges that the only explanation for the compromises proposed as a replacement for abolitionism is actually the fact that the whites from both North and South equally failed to regard the blacks as their equals in any respect. The paradox comes from the early enthusiasm of the revolution, that seemed to be the mark of a novel and wise understanding of the harmonious relationship that should exist between all the human races at all times. Nash argues therefore that this enthusiasm was perhaps not grounded on a real understanding of the circumstances and that it was more of a theoretical conclusion rather than an actual analysis of the situation. The northerners did not agree with slavery in principle as being a savage and base practice, but were not ready to regard the African Americans as their equals. This fully explains why the revolution actually completed in a series of compromises rather than in the triumph of democracy and humanism, as it should have been expected. Gary B. Nash offers in his book a historical account with a timeline of the objective facts and events during and briefly after the revolution, but also a pertinent theory with respect to the inherent concept of race within the American civilization. He lies out and analyzes a block of data as well as authentic testimonies and documents of the time. It is obvious that he insists more on opinions and declarations from the time of the revolution, rather than on mere facts. Thus, he bases his analysis on the concepts and ideologies which circulated at the time. The supportive material offered for investigation at the end of the book is also very useful for the reader, as it backs up the demonstration that Nash makes. Race and Revolution is, as the title emphasizes, more than a simple historical account. It is an analysis of the concept of ‘race’ and its importance in American history. Nash chooses the time of the revolution to investigate the concept of race precisely because this seems to have been a turning point in the relationship between the white and the black communities. Moreover, at this point, the evolution of the racial conflict seems to have been clearly predicted. The book casts a new light on the revolution itself, which had been preserved as the remembrance of a glorious cause, disputed among the two regions of the United States, the North and the South. Nash draws attention to the actual picture of the revolution as a civil war in which the cause itself was not very clear. The text is therefore structure according to this main point of the demonstration: the reason why slavery became even more powerful at the very moment of the foundation of the United States as a nation. The allusion to the implicit racism at the core of the national experience of America is inescapable. Nash interlocks therefore the two events: the failure to abolish slavery and recognize the African Americans as a people with equal rights and the foundation and unification of the nation itself. He contends therefore that these two events are symbolically related, as the concept of race is deeply rooted in the American experience and culture. Nash’s work is therefore an important analysis that provides new insight on the history of America, of race and on that of the African Americans. The book is all the more fundamental since there has been only very little historical investigation of the African Americans as a separate race at this particular moment in time. In fact, most of the accounts of African American history skip the period of the revolution all together, thus failing to shed light on a very important moment. The role of the blacks in the Revolution itself is also usually ignored by historians. Race and Revolution thus draws attention to essential and yet un-investigated aspects of the American Revolution. The revolution, as Nash observes, is usually discussed as a great movement of emancipation and unification of the colonies on the territory of America. Given its importance as a historical event, the underlying racial debate on the question of slavery at the time is skipped or ignored. Nash demonstrates that this is an important moment for the evolution of the interracial relationships in America precisely because it actually functioned as a crossroads in the history of the United States. If a different course of events had taken place at the time, the conflict between the two races might have had a very different outcome. Thus, the American Revolution was a decisive moment for the interracial contention precisely because is an early form of abolitionism. While endeavoring to obtain their own independence and rights from England, the colonies debated the fundamental question of slavery and whether it should be abolished. The moment is a turning point in history precisely because the choices made at the point where the nation was founded influence the subsequent ideological growth of the nation. Thus, Nash implies in his book that the idealism of the revolution was dashed by the failure of the colonies to abolish slavery at that time. As the author observes, the matter of slavery and race was simply left by the revolutionaries to another generation to solve. This demonstrates that the idealism was sacrificed in favor of economical interest and that the abhorrence for the other race could not be eradicated even at a fundamental time as the American Revolution. Nash therefore achieves a very important statement in historical and cultural studies, pointing out that good causes can often be prevailed upon by petty interests. He also draws attention to the fact that some of the early abolitionists advocated the freedom of the black slaves for the same purpose of convenience, because they believed that white workers would be a better or more profitable option. The struggle caused by racial contention was therefore a complex and long process, in which idealism played a very small part. The actual battle took place between various political and economical interests. Nash also highlights that slavery actually increased its rate in the middle of emancipation again due to economical interests. The invention of the cotton gin in 1793 for instance brought a tremendous enhance to the plantation of cotton and implicitly to the need for slaves as working force. The causes that the revolutionaries fought for were thus not as simple and luminous as they are usually thought to be. The slavery debate at the time of the early republic best demonstrates that the social and political scenes were already very complex theatres. Gary B. Nash’s Race and Revolution is therefore a complex investigation of many aspects of the American Revolution and the slavery debate that took place at the time. The structure and the coherence of the ideas make the book an insightful and useful glance at the events that took place during the American Revolution. The importance of the book can be therefore estimated as quite high, since it sheds lights on new aspects of the revolution and of the early republic. It also demolishes the myth of the revolution as one of the most glorious moments in American history. While there was indeed a stream of idealism permeating the nation at that time, there were also many economical and political interests at play. What becomes clear after reading Nash’s book is that the revolution did not have enough ideological force to suppress racism and implicitly slavery. The abolishment was in fact a slow, gradual process that can be said to have spanned the entire nineteenth century and more than that. Despite the fact that among the revolutionaries there were people who had an enlightened idea about democracy and human rights in general, their force was not sufficient to alter the course of history and prevent further racial conflicts. The fact that the racial war was not won at the time even though independence was gained, proves that race is an inherent concept that will probably always generate conflict and debate. Nash’ book demonstrates that even at a time of idealism like the revolution, racism was still at its height and impossible to suppress. It also proves an important and general remark on the course of history itself, as it pinpoints the complexity of the events during the revolution. The structure of the historical events is never simple and unanimity is very hard to be achieved on a certain point. Therefore, the work emphasizes many aspects of the American Revolution, stressing its importance as a event in the history of the African Americans and in the history of race itself, as a concept. It provides a useful reading precisely because it makes a clear and concise demonstration of the way in which racial debates are fundamental to the American nation itself. The paradox at the center of the American civilization is thus unveiled and discussed: along the tumultuous history of the United States, a very high idealism and democratic principle has mingled with the desire for progress and economical advancement. The history of the United States seems to be permeated by example of opposite aspects entering into an irreconcilable conflict. The highly democratic and enlightened principles of the American Revolution are shadowed thus by the racial debate underlying the main events. As such, the book is an interesting reading for anyone desiring to perfect his or her knowledge of the history of the United States and its cultural paradoxes. References: Nash, Gary B (2001). Race and Revolution. Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield

Government Regulations Within the Jewellery Industry

The government regulations are really down to the federal trade commission to enforce it and to ensure that the jewellery industry complies with it. The government regulations even have an influence in the way that the businesses are allowed to market themselves and the way that they do their advertising. There are a lot of people that feel that the jewellery industry would be far better if it was self-regulated. The internet is changing the way in which the business is conducted. There are a vast number of companies that are listed on the many different listing sites and the web pages. These companies all have countless false statements and inaccuracies. There are a lot of people who are unaware of the many companies so these companies see the internet as a good way to push the boundaries of truth to a certain amount. The jewellery industry at present does not have any way controlling the industry, reviewing the industry or even regulating the industry. All of the communications that are carried out on the internet only have a limited time before the government steps in to intervene. The government will intervene in order to deal with a rising amount of consumer complaints because there are a lot of people who are being ripped off on the internet and this is thought to be on the increase. The government regulations state what can and cannot be done within the jewellery industry in order to try and control the rising problems associated with the internet. It is very important that the industry is educated in what is acceptable and what is not acceptable. It is very important that the industry is aware of what can be contained in reviews about pieces of jewellery whether these reviews are available on the internet or off the internet.

Executive leadership personal growth Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Executive leadership personal growth - Essay Example I had the task of surveying a group of people about their needs of soap and convincing them to buy the soap of my choice. The task required me to market the product which I had at that time. So I was given the opportunity to state the price which, I thought, would be fine, but at the same time I had to sell an exact number of soaps so that the task would be completed with the required goals. I learned the art of communication and applied it when I started marketing and selling my product. However, I soon realised that the way I was marketing the product was in sync with the needs and wants of the people. The most important lesson in marketing is to sell what people don’t know. The late great Steve Jobs was once asked the question whether his company undertakes market research in order to find out what the needs of the people are, and the great man responded in his characteristic fashion that people don’t know what they want and, therefore, it is the job of the companies and the entrepreneurs to give them something what they have never thought about but would still appreciate and fit it in their daily life and their needs. I learned about my weaknesses while I was enrolled in the program. Every man thinks that, when he takes a task to perform, he will do it in the best possible way. However, there are quite a few contingencies which go about in the performance of any task. One of my greatest weaknesses was not being a good listener. I did not listen to the demands of the customer in the right way and, therefore, lost in my goal of selling the required number of products assigned to me. The program I went through taught me how to be patient with my clients, as well as being attentive to the way I attempt to market my products to other people. It’s essential to have a strong face to face expression while dealing with the clients. â€Å"Each personality type has a different idea of what it means to be successful. Self-knowledge is one common g oal that will help everyone achieve personal success. So many people are hung up on somebody else's idea of what it means to be successful, and they are unaware of what is truly important to them. This is completely normal. We all have important role-models and influencers in our lives who may have basic values that are quite different from our own. If this is the case, it's important to recognize that the discrepancy between what we have been taught is truly important and what we personally believe to be truly important is due to a difference in perspective. If we spend our time and effort trying to meet somebody else's idea of success, and ignore or belittle any conflicting messages from our own psyche, then we will find ourselves exhausted and unhappy. Realizing what is truly important to us is a major step towards achieving personal success.† (Personal Growth) In accordance with the above text, it is important to analyse one’s weaknesses and strengths in order to at tain growth as a person. We all tend to get inhibited as personalities. However, there is a way to curb the inhibition, which is to fight it out in your own mind and to stay determined and calm in the process of removing all the inhibitions. While doing my marketing job I learned the art of selling products after facing many failures. The important thing to note here is that, as human beings, we do not give ourselves enough chances to try out something new and innovative. We are anxious

(no topic) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

(no topic) - Essay Example This code defines how people dress, build houses and their eating mannerisms. Cultural relativists assert that this code of ethics, cannot be declared as absolute truth or wrong, but it guides the activities of societal members. Societies are diverse due to their cultures and thus it is essential for people to understand their cultural diversity and learn to live in unity. This means tolerating each other and accepting that people are different. Consequently, unity in diversity and harmonious living become part and parcel of the society. Critics to this theory argue that societies have numerous similarities; they value virtues such as truth and preservation of human life. Therefore, there are some things which are universal among societies although societies exist as independent entities. Cultural relativism guides us not to assume that there are absolute truths to anything. It also urges us to be open-minded so as to cope with people from different societies (Rachels 8-11). The Golden Rule has its foundation on ethics. These are moral principles followed by an institution, society or organization. They have no significant variations across cultures and societies, and they are the foundation of responsible behavior. According to John Maxwell, the Golden Rule is that people want to be treated in a good manner (Maxwell 2-7). They always want to feel appreciated, valued and understood. Furthermore, this rule suggests that people have a strong passion for trust and respect. Therefore, they endeavor to obtain all these wants as they progress in their lives. On the other hand, Gensler’s Golden Rule suggests that people should treat others well if they would want them to reciprocate in the same manner (Gensler 5-15). Thus, one should not do something unpleasant to another person expecting the person to do something substantial in return. However, he does not mention the action to be done; whether it is positive or negative. Critics of this rule such as

Strategic Implications of IT Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Strategic Implications of IT - Research Paper Example This is due to the reason that technology has made the preparation, transfer, and dissemination of the information very economical. Therefore, the company and its people need to think and feel bigger coupled to having an apparent direction. However, above and beyond having the external environmental analysis, it has become vital and imperative to understand the organization from internal perspectives as well that is to assess the resources and its competitive position on a critical note. According to one of the well-known authors Robbins, â€Å"Every organization has strategies for doing what it’s in business to do† (2010, pp. 163). Strategic management in the present epoch has become one of the most significant elements of any organization. This is due to the reason that it aid in defining the administrating the planning, and everyday operations of the enterprise. Moreover, it takes account of employee job descriptions, planning and budgeting, and the overall operations goals and objectives of the enterprise. However, studies have provided evidence for the fact that with the implication of strategic management process, the companies are able to fulfill their processes in a much more efficient way than it used to be previously. This is particularly because it encompasses the evaluations, decisions, and actions that facilitate the organization in creating and upholding their competitive advantage (Bateman & Snell, 2010). In the twenty first century, the implication of strategic management more frequently comes under application in the field of information technology on a broad spectrum. Therefore, the primary and chief purpose of the report is to define the strategic implications of information technology in the upcoming years. Moreover, eBay is one of the major information technology organizations that would come under presentation with reference to the strategic implications under next three years. Furthermore, the current issues that eBay are going through and recommendations for the managers of IT would be the key highlighting concerns of the report. Background of the Topic EBay Inc. is one of the leading internet based consumer-to-consumer (c2c) organizations of United States of America that have come under establishment in the latter years of the

Wal-Mart Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Wal-Mart - Research Paper Example The two newspapers, New York Times and the Washington Post published articles saying that the retailer has benefited the low income consumers so much that it definitely counter-acts the harsh labor practices. There is ample empirical evidence which shows that the workers of Wal-Mart are earning below than the average and they are paid with lower wages. Apart from the monetary rewards, even the non monetary rewards that they are not sufficient. This shows that the average wages awarded to the workers of Wal-Mart are less than what many workers get awarded at different large retail stores. The controversy continued deep persisted that how the local pay scale affects Wal-Mart and its image. Research suggest that the openings of the Wal-Mart replaces the better and well paying jobs with the jobs that pay less or below than the average level. Looking at the entry of Wal-Mart and its mission of providing cost effective goods and services, the wages of the average workers have been driven d own as a result. This trend is specifically noticed in the grocery stores industry. During the time period of between 1992 and 2000, it was noticed as soon as a Wal-Mart store would open up in a region; let’s say a county, the average wages will automatically push down between 0.5 and 0.9. If we take a look at the general view, the wages in the merchandise sector fell by 1% with the inauguration of a Wal-Mart store. These effects weren’t just noticed in the counties, but at the state level as well. The trend showed that with the opening of every 50 Wal-Mart stores opening, the average wages decreased 10 per cent. According to another research the health coverage offered to the workers decreased due to the entry... This research paper describes the Walmart, that is the largest retail store of the world today which has very successfully reached an enormous size, providing its consumers the high quality products throughout the US, without compromising on the quality. Wal-Mart has introduced the strategies which help in increasing the employment rate and also focusing on the controlling of the laid off rates. They have taken notice of the critics pointing out on the labor and low wages controversies and hence have introduced strategies to control this. Wal-Mart Stores run the largest discount department stores all around the world and listed it as the world’s third largest corporation. Although it employs more than a two million workers under its name, but the critics state continuously that Walmart tries to exploit its workers with low wages and less non monetary rewards. Any company which goes big become the eye of criticism. And Wal-Mart made sure that the workers are provided with their basic benefits. A genre discrimination lawsuit was filed against Walmart stating that the female workers were treated with discrimination especially in terms of salaries, non monetary benefits and the working conditions as well. Where there are certain criticisms related to the working conditions of the employees and how they are not treated well. However, the researcher believes that this is a part of the popularity and the market share that Wal-Mart has gotten hold of in a short period of time that such criticisms are being given.

EAST ASIA IN THE MODERN WORLD Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

EAST ASIA IN THE MODERN WORLD - Essay Example This paper will look at how the Chinese, Japanese, and Korean monarchies had been changed by 1945 and the responsibilities of monarchies in national identity in the three countries between 1900 and 1945. During this period, the glory period of China was far behind. China was going on a downward trend. By this time, the dynasties that existed in China had already fallen. China was largely dominated by overseas countries who continued to control the ports, for example, Shanghai. There was also a military revolution in 1911, in Wuhan. This led to the formation of an interim administration in 1912. The new leader became the leader of the army (Ebrey, Walthall and Palais 541). China experienced a period of political instability for a long period before the subsequent start of World War 2. Conversely, the political system of Japan during this period was illustrated by the Meiji constitution. This constitution gave authority to the Emperor instead of the citizens. With the source of power coming from the majestic leadership, the Japanese leaders in charge of governing the country ran the administration in the name of the emperor on behalf of the citizens (Ebrey, Walthall and Palais 559). After a while, the people of Japan gradually but increasingly demanded for an administration quick to respond to their concerns and needs that would permit them to both extend participation in the administration and contribute in state policy. During this period, Korea faced external threats. Korea was a colony of Japan. This situation had existed for a long time. The Japanese colonial design was founded with economic piracy and political control in mind. The Korean monarchy was deprived of freedom of speech and there were minimal press. This caused a negative impact all over the Korean monarchy. In addition, Korea experienced a wave of anti-colonial events during this time (Ebrey, Walthall and

Human Resource Management - Worklife balance Essay

Human Resource Management - Worklife balance - Essay Example This paper contributes to the work/life balance and work/non-work conflict literature by analyzing the literature of various studies, which examine the attitudes and experiences relating to work/life balance among UK, employees in the first 10 years of their careers. Specifically, the analysis explores the extent to which work/life balance matters, the extent to which it is being achieved and the factors that determine perceptions of work/non-work conflict, including the state of the psychological contract between employer and employee, work involvement and organisational support. The potential impact of work/non-work conflict on organisational commitment is examined, and the policy implications for employers considered. Corporate leaders understand that employees' work and family lives rare inextricably linked. They al ways have been but today, with increased pressures in both domains, the overlap and the challenges created are increasingly obvious and complex to resolve. Solving the paradox seated in an organisation's need to be optimally productive and the individual's need to find quality time to meet domestic responsibilities, to establish, maintain and grow relationships and to relax and re-charge, is the great challenge of the new millennium. Most managers have yet to overcome the conundrum for themselves let alone help employees resolve it in their lives. The prospects for easing the work/ life imbalance dilemma lie, at least in part, in establishing what is creating it. 'Know thy enemy' and so forth. Enemy number one must surely be the 'time distribution imbalance' trap - consistently committing too much time to work where this is having a detrimental impact on personal life. However, the concept of 'work-life balance' means different things to different people, and there are always shades of grey. What is an imbalance to one person is perfectly acceptable to another. In addition, commercial realities cannot be ignored. Somehow, the needs of key customers and/or other stakeholders must be met or they will take their patronage elsewhere. These and the myriad of other related issues are why the problem is so vexed and why many leaders effectively suspend their attempts to solve it. It ends up in the 'too hard' basket. However, given the gravity of the problem and the potential upside that comes with finding a remedy, at some point the issue must come back to the fore. So where to start Most managers agree that a so-called 'quality work environment' reduces the employment stresses that can spill over to staff's personal lives and create distress. The quality work environment bundle might include job characteristics such as work time flexibility, individual responsibility and autonomy, the physical office environment, pay, equity and advancement conditions. Lastly, but certainly not least, the nature of interpersonal relations in the office is very important. For some time, it has been argued that achieving a 'balance' between home life and work life is increasingly a priority for many people. As long ago

Computer Security Incident Response Team Essay Example for Free

Computer Security Incident Response Team Essay In the last decade, more and more companies have started to look into e-commerce to connect them to the infinite world of global suppliers, partners, consumers and much more. This boom in technology has placed multiple assets are risk from a security stand point allowing hackers/crakers and anyone on the internet to gain access to these network and gain information or try to jeopardize business to a point where it stand stills. Increase in Denial of service attacks, child pornography, virus/worms and other tools used by individuals to destroy data has lead to law enforcement and media to look into why and how these security breaches are conducted and what new statutory laws are needed to stop this from happening. According to CSI computer crime and security Survey 2007, the average annual loss reported by security breach has shot up to $350,424 from 168,000 the previous year. To add to this, more and more organizations are reporting computer intrusions to law enforcement which inclined to 29 percent compared to 25 percent the year before. 1] To be successful in respond to an incident, there are a few things that need to be followed: 1. Minimize the number of severity of security incidents. 2. Assemble the core computer security Incident Response Team (CSIRT). 3. Define an incident response plan. 4. Contain the damage and minimize risk. [3] How to minimize the number of severity and security incidents: It is impossible to prevent all security related incidents, but there are things that can be done to minimize the impact of such incidents: †¢Establishing and enforcing security policies and procedures. Gaining support from Management in both enforcing security policies and handling incide nts. Accessing vulnerabilities on the environment on regular basis including regular audits. †¢Checking all devices on certain time frames to make sure that all the updates were performed. †¢Establishing security policies for both end users and security personal and asking for security clearance each and every time an access is granted. †¢Posting banners and reminders for responsibilities and restriction of use of applications, and other systems on the network. †¢Implementing secure password polices thought the network. Checking log files on regular basics and monitoring traffic. †¢Verifying backups are done on regular basics and maintained in an appropriate manner. This would also include the new email backup policy laws. †¢Create Computer Security Response Team (CSIRT) [3] Security threat is the same for both large, small, and government organizations and therefore it is important that regardless of what the company has for its security measures, it also ha s a written document that establishes guidelines for incident response. Incident respond planning is a set of guidelines that document on security incident handling and communication efforts. This plan is activated when an incident that could impact the company’s ability to function is established. Computer Security Incident Response Plan (CSIRP) should contain the following: 1. Mission: Things the response team will be responsible for, including how to handle incidents as they happen and what steps are necessary to minimize the impact of such incidents. 2. Scope: this would define, who is responsible for which area of security, it can include things like application, network(s), employees, communication both internally and to the public and much more. . Information flow: How information will be handled in case of an emergency and how it will be reported to the appropriate authority, pubic, media and internal employees. 4. Services provided: This document should contain all the services that are either provided to the users or services that are used or bought from other vendors including testing, education, service provider issues to name a few. [2] The CSIRT team must contain several members including a Team leader which will monitor changes in individual’s actives and responsibility of reviewing actions. An Incident Lead, that will be dedicated as the owner of set of incidents and will be responsible for speaking to anyone outside the team while and corresponding changes and updates. A group of individual’s part of the CISRT team called members will be responsible to handle responsibility of the incident and will monitor different areas of the company. Other members of this team should include Legal help, public relations officers, contractors and other member of management both from business and IT that can help during security breaches. If an Incident has occurred, it is important to classify this as an incident severity. Most companies use between Severity 1-5. 1 being the highest and 5 being the research phase where no system or user’s are affected. For most system anything under Severity 3 is not a major impact of the system but if there is a system wide issue that requires immediate attention, a severity 1 or 2 would fall under the category of Incident response procedure and set up a high alert. The cost of an incident can be very high, depending on the loss of data, therefore identifying the risk and all the real threat fall under this category. Once the incident has been identified it should go into the assessment phase, where it should be determined if the system can be bought back up again and how much damage is done. If the business is impacted assessment should be done. The assessment includes forensic investigation usually involving a team of expert that look into the how many computer were affected, what kind of information was stolen or changed, entry level of attacks, potential damage done by incident, recovery process and the best way to assess this from happening again. The next phase of this is containment, which is the assessment of damage and isolation of other systems that can also be compromised including network. Backup of the system in the current state should be done at this time for further forensic investigation. Analyzing of log files and uncovering systems that were used like firewalls, routers should be identified. Any modification of files including dos, exe should also be carried out in this phase. Once all this is done, the next step is Recovery. Recovery is restoring clean data back the system so it can perform is function as required. After installing last good backup, it is important to test the system before putting this in production again. Further surveillance of network and application should be set in place as intruders might try this again. Every company today, weather small or big needs an incident response unity to defend itself against predators on the web. The government agencies has set some rules and regulations on such standards and are required that company follow these standards to avoid further disruption of the service. This becomes even more critical for companies that play important place in the economy like credit card, health, insurance and much more. Several regional companies today can help plan CSIRP plan that provide help creating a team of individuals that can act fast in such situations. The implementation of such plan cost less in the long run, when compared to companies that don’t have such response plan and loose data that is critical to their survival.

Recommendation For Cimb Group Finance Essay

Recommendation For Cimb Group Finance Essay Maybank Bhd is the largest financial services provider in Malaysia since its incorporation. It has been leading in the banking industry for several years. Maybank was founded by Khoo Teck Puat on 31 May 1960 and commenced operations on 12 September 1960. On 17 February 1962, Maybank was listed on the Bursa Malaysia. The Maybank Group today has over 46,000 employees serving more than 22 million customers globally. Maybank offers a full range of commercials, corporate and private services including commercial banking, Islamic banking, investment banking, insurance, stock broking, offshore banking, leasing and hire purchase, factoring, nominee services, trustee services, asset management, venture capital and Internet banking. Maybank has an international network that covering in 20 countries namely Cambodia, Vietnam, Uzbekistan, Indonesia, Bahrain, China, Papua New Guinea, Philippines and Pakistan of over 2200 braches. Maybank also enlarged its network to New York and London. Furthermore, Maybank was the first bank from Malaysia that success granted the right to establish a branch office in China. The groups key operating subsidiaries including Maybank Investment Bank Berhad, Kim Eng Holdings Ltd, Maybank Islamic Berhad, Etiqa, Bank Internasional Indonesia Tbk. In addition, the key overseas unit subsidiaries of Maybank include PT Bank international Tbk (BII), Maybank Philippines Inc., Maybank (PNG) Ltd in Papua New Guinea and Maybank International (L) in Labuan. (Maybank Overview) 1 Background of CIMB Group The creations of CIMB Group take more than 75 years since year 1924. It has merged few banks in Malaysia and finally forms CIMB Group until now. CIMB Bhd was listed on Bursa Malaysia in January 2003. And in year 2006, CIMB Group was launched as a Regional Universal Bank by the merger of Commerce International Merchant Bankers, Bumiputra-Commerce Bank and Southern Bank. Nowadays, CIMB Group is the second largest financial services provider in Malaysia. (History of CIMB Group) Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, CIMB Group retail network of over 1100 branches are covering 18 countries in ASEAN with over 43000 employees. CIMB Groups main markets are Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia by across the following areas which are Wholesale Banking, Consumer Banking, Treasury Markets, Group Strategy Strategic Investments, and comprising Investment Banking and Corporate Banking. (Profile of CIMB Group) CIMB Group offers a full range of financial products and services, covering corporate and investment banking, consumer banking, treasury, insurance and assets management. CIMB Group have operates under several corporate entities including CIMB Bank, CIMB Investment Bank, CIMB Niaga, CIMB Islamic, CIMB Securities International and CIMB Thai. (Profile of CIMB Group) 2 Ratio of Maybank and CIMB Group May Bank CIMB Group Return on Equity Capital (ROE) 61.78% 15.17% Return on Assets (ROA) 1.12% 1.36% Net Interest Margin 1.74% 2.22% Net Non interest Margin 1.00% 1.32% Net Operating Margin 1.49% 3.55% EPS 61.4sen 54.2sen Earning Spread 2.17% 3.12% Return on equity capital (ROE) is the amount of net income  returned  as a percentage  of shareholders equity.  Return on equity capital  measures a corporations profitability  by revealing how much  profit a company generates  with the money shareholders have invested.  The ROE of CIMB group is 15.17% in 2011 and the ROE of May Bank is 61.78% in 2011. In this number shown that the CIMB Group have a greater ROE compare to May Bank. This shows that CIMB Group has more shareholders invested and it generate more profit than May Bank. As a result, shareholder able to receive more return from their money invested in CIMB Group. As the net profit increases, dividend pay to the shareholder will also increases since corporation had make a great profit for the year. CIMB Group had shown a good financial position of company based on the high return on common stock equity (ROE). They had spent wisely on their investment during the year. It is worth to invest as the higher stoc k price hold by the company. It had success to maximize shareholder wealth. 3Return on asset (ROA) is an indicator of how profitable a company is relative to its total assets.  ROA gives an idea  as to how efficient  management is  at using its assets to generate earnings. In year 2011, ROA of CIMB Group and May Bank is 1.36% and 1.12% respectively. That indicating CIMB Group earning about RM 0.014 for each ringgit in assets and May Bang earning about RM 0.011 for each ringgit in assets. Comparing the numbers, CIMB Group have a bit higher of ROA compare to May Bank. This mean the CIMB Group gets higher return generated in relative to the total capital provided than May Bank. Thus, CIMB Group is doing better in investment to generate profits than May Bank. Net interest margin is a performance metric that examines how  successful a corporations investment  decisions are compared to its debt situations. The net interest margin of CIMB Group is 2.22% and interest margin for May bank is 1.7%. Both of them have generated positive value of net interest margin. It denotes that the firms make an optimal decision, because the amount of returns  generated were greater than interest expenses by investments. The figure also show CIMB Group have a higher net interest margin compare to May Bank. This mean CIMB Group is more optimal in making decision. Net non-interest margin is the measurement of the amount of non-interest revenues of the financial firm has been able to collect relative to the amount of noninterest cost incurred. In 2011, the net non-interest margin of CIMB Group and May Bank is 1.32% and 1% relatively. The result shown that, CIMB Group has higher net non-interest margin. This mean CIMB Group shows better performance in the non-interest revenue compare to May Bank. Net operating margin is a measurement of what proportion of a companys revenue is left over after paying for variable costs of production. The net operating margin for CIMB Group is 3.55% and net operating margin for May Bank is 1.49% in 2011. This  means that  CIMB Group makes RM 0.036 for every ringgit of sales and May Bank makes RM 0.015 for every ringgit sales. In the calculation show CIMB Group have better operating performance compare to May Bank. 4Earnings per share are a portion of a corporations profit allocated to each outstanding share of common stock. EPS for CIMB Group is 54.2sen and EPS for May Bank is 61.4sen.Both companies have the positive value of EPS which indicates that they are earning profit. According to the EPS between these two banks, we found that May Bank has higher EPS compare to CIMB Group. This indicated that May Bank has higher profitability and performance compare to CIMB Group. Earning spread is measurement of the effectiveness of a financial firms intermediation function in borrowing and lending money and also the intensity of competition in the firms market area. In 2011, CIMB Group has 3.12% of earning spread and May Bank has 2.17% of earning spread. According to the calculation, CIMB Group has higher earning spread compare to May Bank. This mean CIMB Group is more effective in borrowing and lending money and also the intensity of competition in the firms market area compare to May Bank. 5 Risk Analysis for Maybank Malayan Banking Berhad (Maybank) is the largest bank in Malaysia. Maybank provides a wide range of service and product to their customers. Over the decades, just like other financial institutions, Maybank had undergone technologic revolution. Nowadays, customer can made transaction or payment through bank electronic support system (maybank2u). However, this system may not operate or function well. For example, some users have experience of unable to receive Maybank TAC number through their phone. It causes inconvenience to Maybanks customer because they cannot made payment via Maybank2u. There was an announcement on Maybank website. It stated, We are experiencing a general issue with TACs from Maybank2u at the moment. Some users may experience delays in receiving it. The bank is exposed to operation risk. Besides that, public receive fraudulent telephone calls, emails or SMS claiming to be from Maybank. Those fraudulent telephone calls, emails or SMS will request personal and confidential account details such as personal identification number, passwords, conformation of credit card transaction, and so on from Maybank user. Consequently, their money or credit card will be embezzled. There are a few cases happened and it caused public unconfident to bank. Public will start panic and withdraw money from bank. The banks liquidity condition will decrease and be exposed to liquidity risk. According to Perbadanan Insurance Deposit Malaysia (PIDM), on May 2010, the Prime Minister Dato Sri MohdNajib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak, who is also our Finance Minister, had announced the increase in deposit insurance limit to RM 250,000 from previous RM 60,000 with effective from 31st December 2010. This will create credit risk, management risk and liquidity risk. Increase of deposit insurance limit cause moral hazard problem to rise. Maybank may invest in through those risky investments or holding risky asset. Maybank will be less incentive to protect banks benefit and does not mind to hold high risky asset because PIDM will pay off insurance limit up to RM 250,000. 6Next, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) announces to raise Statutory Reserve Requirement (SRR) Ratio from 3.00% to 4.00%, effective from 16 July 2011. Increased in Reserve Requirement Ratio causes Maybank ability to lending out decreased. Thus, Maybank become more prudent in approving loan with appropriate review and documentation. It can be seen by nonperforming loan ratio of 1.30% in 2011 compare with 1.63% in 2010. When nonperforming loan ratios of Maybank decrease, it will cause credit risk to reduce too. Risk weighted capital ratio of Maybank in 2011 is 15.36% (assuming full investment of Dividend Reinvestment Plan). Thus, it will expose to liquidity risk and credit risk. Risk weight also known as the capital adequacy framework. The minimum regulatory of capital adequacy requirement for the risk weighted capital ratio is 8% according to BNM rules. Since risk weighted capital ratio of Maybank exceed minimum requirement of capital adequacy, we can know that Maybank is well-capitalized. Maybank has good liquidity condition and Maybank can loan this amount of money to generate more outcome. However, it will increase the credit risk. Maybank may lend loan to those customer who has high risk. Furthermore, The star in 2011 stated that Maybank had issue RM 1 billion of subordinated notes under its notes programmer of up to RM 3 billion. Maybank said the subordinated notes including two tranche. Tranche 1 is RM 750million with tenure of 10 years on a 10 non-called 5 basis and Tranche 2 is RM 250 million with tenure of 12 years on 12 non-called 7 basis. The subordinated notes received a strong support from investors. Capital of Maybank will increase by issuing RM 1 billion of notes. Hence, Maybank will not be facing capital risk.Maybank may face market risk due to change of market risk. Maybank may be able to determine the interest rate. Consequently, Maybank will face significant losses. 7From 11 May 2011, Maybank announced to increase its deposit and base lending rates (BLR). Deposits rate will be risen up to 30 basis points. However BLR will increase by 30 basis to 6.60% p.a from previous 6.30% p.a. It will give impact to capital risk, liquidity risk and market risk. BLR is the cost of borrowing money. Increasing BLR causes addition payment added on shoulder on borrower. Deposit rate increase will attract depositors keep their money in Maybank. From Maybank annual report 2011, the Groups customer deposit grew 19.0% to RM 282.0billion while it increased 14.9% to RM 201.5billion at the Bank level. Last but not least, Maybank also exposed to market risk. In June 2011, Board of director of Maybank had declared that they had stopped the plan that take over RHB Capital Bhd and would not to pursue the possible merger at this movement. When this merger negotiations breakdown, Maybank share price had decline 2 sen to close at RM 8.82. It is due to great disappointment from investors. Risk Analysis for CIMB Group As we know, every business will contain risk while for CIMB Group will also wont be in the exception. To prevent those losses, CIMB Group had employed Enterprise-Wide Risk Management Framework to manage the risk that might face by CIMB Group since year 2008. At first, the most common risk that will face by a bank is credit risk. Credit risk is the risk which means the declining of assets value for a firm while the loan is one of the important assets that will face this type of risk for a bank. For CIMB Group, they had done some analysis to analyst the credit risk and try to figure out the way to reduce the increasing of the credit risk such as geographic distribution. Geographic distribution is the way of managing the portfolio differently according each country and the value of the loan that provide for each country also will be different. For example the CIMBBG in Malaysia and Singapore, due to headquartered for CIMB Group is in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia therefore the main credit exposure is much higher for Malaysia which is RM191435925000 compare to Singapore which only have RM16373165000. Besides that, the group risk management will monitor the establish credit limits by daily in tend to reduce the credit risk that will take by CIMB too . 8 Next is about the liquidity risk. Liquidity risk is about the probability of firm cant transform the assets into fund in order to make profit or other purpose. From the risk weighted capital ratio that stated by CIMB Group in year 2011 is around 16.8% which shows the increase of value compare to year 2010 which only have 15%. The announcement of the amount will cause reduce of chance for CIMB Group expose to the liquidity risk and also credit risk as well. According the rule set by Bank Negara Malaysia which is the minimum regulatory of capital adequacy requirement for the risk weighted capital ratio is 8%. By comparing, we will know that the liquidity of CIMB Group is in good condition which will reduce the liquidity risk and credit risk too. This will increase the confident of customers and investment towards CIMB Group in the same time. On April year 2011, one of the articles from The Star state out that CIMB Group had earlier secured several US dollar term loan facilities but will all-in pricing of 0.9%-0.98% per annum which is above the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR). This situation tends let CIMB Group get reduce for liquidity risk but will increase the debt of CIMB Group. On 30 September 2011, CIMB Group announced that they had a market capitalisation of approximately RM51.8 billion. With this high amount of market capitalisation, the liquidity risk that will face by CIMB Group will be greatly reduced at the same time CIMB Group also been proved that dint face the capital risk as well. Besides that, markets risk also one of the risks that might face by CIMB Group. Market risk is about the probability that the firm loss the position in the market which is the value of firms investment portfolio declining due to economic changes or some of the events that will impact the market. In year 2011, the Dato Sri NazirRazak, Group Chief Executive of CIMB Group stated Our primary disappointment was our share price which significantly underperformed benchmarks. This situation will cause CIMB Group expose to the market risk. Public or investor might lose confidence toward CIMB Group. 9At 2nd February year 2011, one of the article stated that CIMB said industrial production in emerging markets is growing faster than these developed countries, and this will support liquidity flows into the emerging markets. Furthermore, on April year 2011, CIMB Group had involve in sukuk issue and in the same time CIMB Group deputy CEO and  treasurer, Datuk Lee K Kwan come out with a statement The current market environment remains very conducive for corporate issuers including banks to tap the fixed income markets. This kind of statements will tend to reduce the market risk that face by CIMB Group Reputation risk is about the negative publicity impact that might cause the customers of the firm not to use the services of the firm. For CIMB Group, in order to reduce this kind of risk, some of the activities were carry out in tend to maintain good relation with public. In year 2011, Breakthrough brought a van for benefit of 10 farming families in a remote village near Lundu in Sarawak by getting the fund that provide by CIMB Foundation. This activity had reduced the chance that CIMB Group expose in reputation risk. Operational risk is about the losses that cause by the failures happen in organisations internal activities. Basel II Pillar 3 disclosures for year 2011 stated that in July 2011,CIMB Group had strengthened their infrastructure and the operational risk management department had been created to taking care the measure of operational risk for CIMB Group. Therefore CIMB Group has greater chance to reduce the operational risk. 10 Recommendation for Maybank Market risk Market risk composes by 4 elements which are interest rate risk, foreign exchange rate risk, commodity price risk and equity price risk. In order to reduce the risk, Maybank need to determine whether Maybank has interest-sensitive assets or interest-sensitive liabilities in the period. Market rate of interest is determined by the market and bank only can become price taker and accept the interest rate given. If Maybank has interest-sensitive asset, Maybank will suffer losses if the interest rates decrease. While if Maybank has interest-sensitive liabilities, Maybank will suffer losses if the interest risk increase. From the annual report of Maybank, we can know that Maybank has a negative gap of cumulative interest rate. In order to reduce the risk, Maybank should try to increase interest-sensitive assets and reduce interest-sensitive liabilities. Besides that, Maybank can use various hedging tools to reduce the effect of the currency exposure in the appropriate circumstance. In addi tion, Maybank can reduce the exposure to market risk through swaps and features or offset it from the on and off balance sheet activities. Operating risk Fraud management is the main cause of increase operating risk. In year 2011, there are many cases about fraudulent telephone calls, SMS or emails requiring bank users personal financial information. Many people had been cheated and lost a huge amount of money. This cases increase the fear of public. To minimize the fraud, announcement made on the website of Maybank is insufficient. Maybank should undertake a series of initiatives to ensure that the risk arising from the fraud can be reduced as lower as possible. Maybank can implement Anti-Fraud Road show, Awareness Programme and Introduction of Fraud rules to reduce the fraud. It can increase the awareness from public about fraud and criminal activities. Besides that, it also can prevent Maybank employees cooperate with those criminal group by disclose Maybank users information. 11 Credit Risk Maybank need to have strong emphasis in creating and enhancing credit risk awareness to reduce the exposure of credit risk. Besides that, Maybank also need to maintain weighted capital ratio at 8%. In order to minimize the credit risk, Maybank should be more prudent on screening borrowers application, repayment ability of borrower, credit standing, valuable of collateral and guarantor of borrower. If the borrower unable to offset the loan, the collateral may reduce the credit risk as much as possible. Furthermore, Maybank can use debt restructuring to reduce non-performance loan. Banks balance sheet may be burden and facing credit risk due to increase bad loan. Those borrowers who are unable to repay the loan can negotiate with Maybank. Debt restructuring can reduce the bad loan and provide a win-win situation for Maybank and borrower who unable to offset the loan or mortgage. Liquidity Risk Basically liquidity risk can be defined as funding liquidity risk and market liquidity risk. If bank has a high level of liquidity risk, the bank will face short-of cash and bank run. According to annual report of Maybank 2011, exposure to liquidity risk can be reduced through contracting derivatives where the underlying items are widely traded. Maybank should not hold too much high risky assets because heavier use of purchased funds will cause a shortage of liquidity. Maybank also can diversify funding source to raise the fund. In the point of view, Maybank will have sufficient amount to meet those daily transaction. Furthermore, Maybank can implement a plan or strategy to handle different liquidity crisis scenarios especially during economic crisis. 12 In conclusion, those various risks that exposed in Maybank are influencing to each other. If the management is inefficiency, it will increase the management risk. The management risk will create market risk. Maybank unable to determine the market interest rate, Maybank will face significant losses and affect bank capital. Credit risk may increase and the liquidity conditions of Maybank reduce. Reduce in liquidity condition causes Maybank in ability to fully approve loan demand. Asset quality may decrease and affect the earning performance of Maybank. Recommendation for CIMB Group Credit Risk In order for CIMB Group get expose into the credit risk, CIMB Group can try to strengthen up the condition for their customer to get the loan. The detail of financial statement of customers should be checked clearly before lending out the loan. Training for the staff should carry out, so the staff can know the way how to keep follow up with the customer if the loan haven pays back on time. With this way the chance getting the charge-offs will be reduce and the losses of firm will tend to reduce too. Those analyses that done before should be carry on so that CIMB Group can easily figure out those problem customers and avoid getting into the risk. CIMB Group can even try to have the credit insurance so that they can claim from the insurance for to cover the losses. Liquidity Risk As we know, a firm with high liquidity risk will bring the firm get into bad situation. Therefore CIMB Group should try their best in managing their assets in tend to reduce the liquidity risk. By maintain or keep increasing the risk weighted capital ratio will be helpful to CIMB Group. High risk weighted capital ratio would means the firm will had large amount of cash to carry out the activities. CIMB Group can try to come out with a small group that only deal with liquidity of the firm. This might help CIMB Group to know more the liquidity status for their firm. Besides that, by not holding too much of the high risk assets can reduce the liquidity risk too. This is due to high risk assets will cause firm get losses and the fund will be stuck with those high risk assets. Maintain a good relationship with other competitors also a way to prevent increase the risk. For example, CIMB Group and May Bank maintain a good relationship. When something went wrong for CIMB Group, May Bank migh t willing to help CIMB Group in order to solve the problem. Market Risk 13Market risk had involved two types of risk which is price risk and interest rate risk. For price risk, market survey can be always carrying out for get to know the need of the market. Market survey might let CIMB Group get to know the trend of the market and the reason or fraud might affect the market price. So CIMB Group can react faster to capture the market before others. While for interest risk, CIMB Group has no choice but to be aware with the economic changes or the event that might affect the market. This can help CIMB Group to avoid suffer from the losses due to the changes of interest rate. Operational Risk For CIMB Group to avoid the operational risk, one of the solutions is training for the staff. After training, those staffs will be knows well for the whole operating system of CIMB Group. Therefore the human mistake can be lower down. For those data and networking system should be always been taking care by those qualify skilled worker. This will be lower down the system error that might occur. Even got error occur, those qualify skilled worker can try to fix it in time to prevent the huge amount of losses. For those ATM machine should always been taking care for time to time to prevent error occur and can repair in time if any problem with the machine. Reputation Risk CIMB Group should always be aware when dealing with public. This is because if misunderstanding or problem occur will tend bring negative impact to the image of CIMB Group. When this situation happen, the confident of customer towards CIMB Group will be pulling down and CIMB Group will expose in the reputation risk as well. Therefore those activities such as raising fund for people who needed be carry out in order to build up a good image for the public. As conclusion, to prevent CIMB Group get into different type of risks, the risk management department in CIMB Group had played the important role. Risk measurement should be done time by time so that when problem occur, the series of actions can be taken just in time. While for the insurance is to cover the losses when something unexpected occur so that the firm can be more focus on their main business. 14

Topic Shifting In A Dinner Conversation English Language Essay

Topic Shifting In A Dinner Conversation English Language Essay Conversation is a very important thing in peoples life, and cannot be separated from it. People communicate with others by using their language in order to share information, to get acquainted with each other and mostly to maintain a social relationship. In the conversation, not everyone is dealt the same hand, in terms of opportunities to speak and be addressed, and in terms of what each can hope to say as speaker and to hear as addressee. Turn taking is an intrinsic feature of conversation (Wilson, Wiemann Zimmerman 1984), it also is a basic form of organization in conversation, and a fundamental organization of social interaction. People use turn taking every day when they carry on conversations in every social context; when they talk, they take turns, wait for turns, compete for turns to share their feeling and their knowledge, to give information, to open them and also get the feedback from the other participants. Humans take turns in many different ways: self-election, alternating with another speaker, back channeling, and taking another turn if there is a pause or an interruption in the conversation. In any conversation, it is impossible for the participants talking about one topic only from beginning to the end. They will change or shift the topic from one to another which may be similar or different. Topic shifts in conversation often happen when speaker transitions break down (after a silence, e.g.), or after a story, the next speaker shift the topic, sometimes they shift back to the previous one, refocus on something (inappropriately) in the previous speakers talk, or disagree with the previous speaker, sometimes they do not, either of which can elicit a topic shift. (Maynard, Douglas W, 1980) Statement of the Problem In no matter what situation, formal or informal, when people talk naturally, their conversation is goal-oriented, and face-to-face dialogue. They use words, prosody, body language, manual gesture, gaze, facial expressions, and spatial attention via head and eye movements to take their turns, and wait for the turns. However, some people do not pay attention to how the conversation works, and how the conversation is organized, they will talk out of the turn, and cannot get a turn in edgewise. If people do not take the turn properly, or take the wrong turn, it will intrrupte the poeple who is in turn, and also the conversation can not go smoothly. People also will not talk about one topic but would rather relate it to other topics which can be subtopics or new topics, sometimes the other participants do not realize it and as a result they do not produce coherent utterances. The participants think that others still talk about the first topic while actually the topic has already shifted to a new one, which is different from the first one. Therefore, it is important for the participants to notice that shift of the topic in a conversation to keep the conversation flowing well. Objective of the Study This study is attempt to provide a description of what happens when more than one persons talk at once in conversation; how the simultaneous talk are organized in the practices; how the turn-taking and topic shifting relate to each other in the conversation. It also tries to explain how people take the turn in the conversation, why they shift the topic from one to a different one. Section 2: Literature Review 2.1 Conversation Analysis Schiffrin Deborah (1989) defined conversation analysis as a subfield of discourse analysis that considers spoken dialogue. Considers what the structure of the conversation might be; how meaning and actions are negotiated in conversation; role of context and social interaction in understanding conversation. According to Lee (1987), people have a variety of implicit and explicit goals when they engage in conversation, the conversation analysis are capable of reflecting them, discerning the distinctions of them, and some other details, such as the number of people present, their personalities and interests, the presence or absence of preexisting relations, and details of the physical surroundings, at least to some extent. Drew Heritage (1992) argued that how people use and modify conversational resources to get things done in organizational settings, which frequently involve problematic exchanges. Especially when the interactions of people occupy different institutional roles, the issue of conversational differentiation takes center stage. The interesting theoretical question is then seen to be how these roles get translated into differences, or asymmetries, in conversational entitlements and obligations, but if the people are in the same institutional role, it is vice verse. Local (1986) argued that conversation participants appear to exploit variable spoken language elements at all linguistic levels (prosodic, phonological, morphological, and syntactic in order to signal contextual presuppositions; and also to utilize resources at the nonverbal level (gestural, kinesic, and proxemic ). In fact, their chief function is to signal participants orientation to one another. Sometimes they are used primarily to contextualize the imminent completion of a turn at talk or a topic shift, but at other times they have the capacity to signal the social identities and attitudes of participants. 2.2 Turn Taking Sacks Schegloff (1974) devoted much of their effort to the analysis of turn taking in conversation. Turn taking is part of what they call members procedures of achieving orderly and meaningful communication. The ways in which conversation participants design and modify their utterances are naturally occurring statements made by themselves, and how they make sense of each others contributions. This tacit, organized reasoning procedure is critical for our understanding of how social relationships are developed and higher-level social orders achieved. The acquired this knowledge of conversational organization can then be applied to institutional organization in order to show how these institutions were talked into being. According to Duncan (1972), people attempt to get the turn by self-selection at a transition relevance place by using methods that are usually successful in face-to-face conversations, such as intake of breath, leaning forward and starting to speak. He suggested several cues that the speaker employs to indicate the end of a turn or invite the hearer to take a turn. These cues include falling pitch at the end of a sentence, the drawl of a syllable at the end of sentence, the termination of a gesture, specific phrases at the end of syntactic units, and changes in gaze direction, such as the speakers looking away from the hearer as an utterance begins and toward the hearer as the utterance ends. Goodwin (1981) elaborated on the role of gaze in turn-taking by considering the gaze of the hearer, and the coordination of the gaze of conversational participants. He claimed that the speakers look away at the beginning of turns occurs to avoid overloading information in the planning of an utterance. Gaze behavior has been used in the design of embodied conversational agents, but it may not occur on every occasion. The absence of turn taking organization would subvert the possibility of stable trajectories of action and responsive action through which goal-oriented projects can be launched and pursued through talk in interaction, whether to success or failure (Schegloff 1988). 2.3 Topic Shifting Wardhaugh (1971) argued that a conversation usually covers a number of topics and involved shifts from one topic to another, and sometimes also a mix of topic. It means that in a conversation, the speakers do not only talk about one topic from the beginning to the end, but they tend to shift the topic to another one, which can be considered as the sub-topic of the previous topic or a new topic, it is different from the previous one. Similarly, Brown and Yule (1983) agreed that topic shift is the change of topic in a conversation, the speakers add another subject of discussion to the conversation to make the conversation more interesting and effective. McCarthy (1991) indicated that the topic shifting is very important in keeping the conversation going on and avoiding silence. Therefore, speakers tend to talk not only one topic but also relate to another topic which sometimes has relation with the previous and sometimes dose not, in order to make the conversation going on run smoothly. In addition, Stenstrom (1994) identified five kinds of topic shift which are differentiated in terms of their relation with the previous topic. They are topic shift, topic drift, topic digresses, and topic resume. And also she stated that pauses mark the topic shift. Section 3: Methodology and Data Collection 3.1 Participants The participants of this study consisted of seven persons, six females and one male, five are Chinese from China, two are Chinese in local, aged from 24 to 33. One is a reporter of a local Chinese newspaper, six of them are Master students, three of them are studying in the Faculty of Computor Science, while other three are studying in the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, UM. They are from different religious backgroud, one is Christain, one is half Christain, one is Buddhism, one is free thinker, three are Muslin. All of them are singles. They knew each other long time ago, and are quite close friends. Dong was going to China, so Chun orgenized the simple dinner at her house, others were invited to the dinner as well as me. 3.2 Tools and Procedure In this study, the data was collected by tape-recording and obvervation during an informal and natural setting dinner conversation in the friends house, which lasted for one and a half hour. The conversation were transcribed into 18 short segments in terms of the pauses in the conversation. Each of the segments is between at least two persons from the beginning to the end of the dinner. The tape-recordings were conducted by a hidden mp3 in the natural occurred dinner conversation; the tape-recorder turned on mp3 and joined their conversation, and tried to get talking from every participant, and also observed the participants facial expressions, gestures, body language, gaze, nod and eye movements in the whole process, which the tape-recording cannot get. This made it possible to record the entire verbal interaction from start to finish. Signed consent was obtained from all the subjects. The tape-recording was transcribed based on the pauses, 18 segments of the turns in this study. Turns were assigned on the transcript when another may or did speak. Based on the definition of a turn the possibility for a single speaker to take several consecutive turns, in a series, or a row, exist. The transcript revealed that speakers took turns not only alternately but consecutively. Section 4: Data Analysis and Findings The data was analyzed in this chapter according to the research questions, and the time consequence. From the data we can see that people have different ways to take their turns and have different attentions to shift the topics. 4.1 People in the conversation took their turns in the different ways. 4.1.1 The current speaker always took their turns by self-selection. They selected the turn by looking at that person, or by asking that person a question.   Actually, if the current-speaker wishes to select the next-speaker, he or she will do so prior to the next transition-place, Dong: Li yan, I read an articleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Dong: Ma pin is very lust, my words are too bad. Dong: It is delicious. Dong: You are very sexy today. Dong: We have a new housemate, I: Everybody looks at me? Dong: I met the man today. Ma: This one is very delicious, Chun cui. Dong: Chun cui, I want wireless internet, how to equip do you know? Dong: Nobody spend more than 50 pounds on telephone in UK. Because.. Zhao: When will you give me the past year exam papers? Zhao: Arabian are very stupid, Dong: Enà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦my friendà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.one of my friends said he . Dong: There is a very handsome guy in UM, Chun: She is the friend of my housemates, named Wan Jun, they are my friends. Dong: You guys should marry the local high class Dong: We are the transient guests of Malaysia. Wan: I knew from internet that Zhang xueyou will. From the data above, we can see all of the speakers took turns by addressing the person within the group, praising the clothes and food, telling the experience, introducing the newcomer, and asking the questions and so forth, to open a new turn. Because it is a special farewell dinner for Dong, who was going back to China, and also she is a more experienced person in this group, so she took the majority of the turns in order to keep the conversation smoothly and avoid the silence. 4.1.2 Several cues that the current speaker employs to indicate the end of a turn or invite the hearer to take a turn. The second speaker acquires their turns: First, a person takes the turn after being address, or face to face talking with current speaker, the second speakers receive the turns by being addressed or answering the questions. Dong: Ma pin is very lust, my words are too bad, ah? Ma: It is OK that is the fact. Dong: Why? I: Nothing, just hate him. Dong: You are more beautiful recently, yes, definitely. Li: Really? It is good. Zhao: Chun cui, can I take some away? Chun: Sure. Chun: Who? Dong: Our new housemate. Li: En, it is so delicious, how did you cook? Chun: It was Li Yan did. I: What did you say just now? What is higher that what? Dong: Salary is AD6000 (Australia Dollar), allowance is higher than salary. Dong: Chun cui, I want wireless internet, how to equip it, do you know ? Chun: I think you should go to the service center. Zhao: Who told you that? Dong: I am studying it, how come I dont know, who told me. Zhao: Where did you go yesterday? I: I taught Mandarin to Korean. Zhao: How many students do you teach? I: 6 now. Zhao: When will you give me the past year exam papers? Chun: I am going to give you on Thursday. Zhao: How about next Monday? In the evening? Chun: Ok, maybe I will go to main library to do my assignments, I will give you. Chun: Can you do it? Dong: Definitely, big business there, I should work for one year Chun: Do you have one year to do that? Dong: If I do PHD, I can do. The first three months will be difficult, but it will make money since the fifth month. Chun: But, is the location really very good? Second, a person speaks after someone else is addressed. That is to say, the current speaker does not select next speaker, the second speaker is self-selected. The second speakers seize the turns to show their agreement, their knowledge, to avoid the embarrassed and to indicate their curiosity. Third, a person speaks after someone speaks to the group, then he/ she takes the turn immediately. The second speakers claim the turn to comfort someone, to answer the questions, to show the humble, to express the agreements and disagreements, and to catch the information. Fourth, a person is already in possession and continues, no other participant selects him or herself as next speaker, current speaker continue speaking. The second speakers continue the turns to keep the conversation flowing and avoid the silence by shifting to a new topic. 4.2 People in the conversation shifted many topics. The topics of the conversation shifted based on the pauses, that also is our definition of the turn. Sometimes one topic was in one turn, sometimes more that one topic in one turn. As a whole. The topic shifted from an article to girlfriend and boyfriend, nice clothes, new housemate, study and emigrant, weight losing, wireless internet, telephone bill, population, exam, assignment doing, business doing, handsome guy, life and study in Malaysia, the job of reporter, violence, marridge, religions, money making, study, famous singer and actresses and so forth. Since this was a dinner conversation, the food was inserted in the conversation from time to time.There are 18 pauses in the conversation, but the topics are 21. 4.2.1 Showing the knowledge Dong: Li yan, I read an article which was named The same gender group but not gay from the newspaper, it said the some girls rather drink, chat or read with girls than with some boys that they dont like. A girl said if you want to extricate yourself from this special group, you must pay more attention to whom you love than friends. Zhao: It is too many Chinese now, the treatment is not very good after emigration. Dong: Salary is AD6000 (Australia Dollar), allowance is higher that salary. Chun: Last time we used the wireless internet, why can not it be reached now? Dong: No signal, I think it is failed for trying. It starts from Block 5, and covers 500 meters. Sometimes it is strong, and sometimes it is very weak. Dong: Nobody spend more than 50 pounds on telephone in UK. Because.. Li: Because of that, Chinese tourists reduced from 500 thousand to 300 thousand. At the beginning, they said she was not from China, she was a local, but they said she was from China. I: No, I think no matter in which country, what race, religion just belong to ordinary people, people who has power or privilege in politics are so-so on religion. I: It happens in china, so does in Malaysia. This is human beings natural, religion is about after dying, but people prefer the present lives. Wan: No scholarship in mainland China, and no part time job is allowed. I: It is said that Malaysia Government did the investigation that the education system in mainland China and Russia are similar, they are too strict, but the students have more freedom in Taiwan and Hong Kong, that is why many people prefer to study in Taiwan and Hong Kong. The participants are from different ages, different education backgrounds, diferent religious backgrouds, so they have different living experience, different woking experience, different knowledge and differnt intereasting, they told something that they knew to others, while others did not know. 4.2.2 Sharing the knowledge and interesting Dong: A few days ago, I heard a little boy from China was killed here, but the police couldnt find the murder. His father was worried a lot, and has come here for four times. Wan: Yes, it was homicide, it was not commit suicide. But, the victim was there, the body was there, only no murder. So our report evaded serious matter and took up trifles. Wan: I knew from internet that Zhang xueyou will hold a music concert in Malaysia, I like him very much. Dong: Me too, his voice is really unique, I didnt watch his music concert in Shenyang (her hometown). He held just after I had come to Malaysia. I collected all his songs. He is my forever favorite. I am his faith fan. I: One of my friends is Zhao weis fan, Zhao weis pictures are in her study room, kitchen, and headphone. She also changes the pictures. Ma: Zhao wei is Ok, I hate Zhang ziyi. Li: Me too, I hate Zhang ziyi, I like Gong li. Since Zhang ziyi became famous, I like Gong li. All of the participants are Chinese, five are from mainland China, and two are local, they speak the same language, Mandarin Chinese, so their interestings are somehow the same. They joined in the conversation and shared their knowledge and interesting. Exchanging their experience Dong: Enà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦my friendà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.one of my friends said he will open a computer shop to me at the gate of a shopping center. Dong: It is behind the shopping mall, four computer shops there, he has the braches in China, he wants to cooperate with me, the capital is from him, I do service and selling. Wan: It is hard to be a reporter, we rest one day in one week. If we dont have readers for our newspapers and magazines, we must be in trouble, and our works should be ratified by some leaders. Such as the case of the Chinese lady from China (the policemen forced her to take off the clothes), some reporter were punished, which give us a warning. Among this group of people, some are working now (full time or part time), some worked before, some did not work at all, and each job has its own characteristic. So they introduced their experience and job features. Indicating curent concerns Zhao: When will you give me the past year exam papers? Chun: I am going to give you on Thursday, Zhao: On Thursday? I will start memorizing. Chun: Why do you memorize them? They are useless. Zhao: I want to have a look. Chun: I will copy one set to you. I will bring them to office to copy. Zhao: How about next Monday? In the evening? Chun: Ok, maybe I will go to main library to do my assignments, I will give you. Zhao: Arabian are very stupid, my group members are Arabian, our project got a very low mark. I: Yes? Why dont you change? Dong: You guys should marry the local high class; otherwise you dont have happy life. Generally speaking, Chinese marry Malay is not only because of love, but the good policy from government as well. If you marry high class, you will have more chances. Six of participants were Master students, and the exam was coming, so they worried a lot about the exams. Especially Zhaolei, who is in his first semester, asked something about the exam that interrupted conversation vey often. Section 5: Conclusion and Implications This study primarily concentrates on issues of turn taking and topic shifting in the casual conversation. It demonstrates that conversations are organized by turn taking when more than one persons talk at once in conversation, and the verbal turns are token by shifting the topics in conversation.   The turn taking distributes turns among conversations, especially face-to-face communication, usually individuals have a unique pattern of turn taking that identifies them in the same way a fingerprint does. The current speakers always take their turns by self-selection and select the next speaker by looking at that person, or by asking that person a question. On the contrary, the second speakers acquire their turns by the current speakers indicating the end of a turn or inviting the hearer to take turn. They may address, or talk face to face with the speakers who are going to receive the turn. If the current speaker does not select next speaker, the second speakers self-select and seize the turns to show their agreement, their knowledge, and to indicate their curiosity. Moreover, the second speakers claim their turn after the current speaker speak to the group, not to him/herself. Besides, the current speakers will continue speaking if no other participant selects him or herself as the next speaker. In the conversation, topic shifting marks the meta-knowledge of speakers or hearers shared knowledge. The topics selected are interested for all participants, whose experiences also develop interest. Every participant contributed their special knowledge, ideas, information and interest at hand. They shift the topics with different motivations, sometimes once in a turn, sometimes more that once within a turn. They are all Chinese, even they are from two countries, they speak Mandarin Chinese, and they are all singles, they have many interests in common. They shared their knowledge and interests. And also among this group, people are from different ages, different education backgrounds, and diferent religious backgrouds, some are working now (full time or part time), some worked before, some did not work at all, so they have different living experience, different woking experience, different knowledge. So they indicated their current concerns, exchanged their experience and job feature s. Last but not least, when the pause came, and nothing was important, they just picked up the topic at hand to continue the conversation, such as weight losing or money making. The findings that truly reflect the data and the motivations of the participants, which is a more nature phenomena and the aims of the investigation. They not only provided an understanding of the conversation, but also demonstrated the degree to which the topics were interrelated. They gives some indication of the coherence of the conversation, which can be linked to other data sources in the study, and can provide a pathway from process to outcomes and outputs in the future studies. The finding of this study also would be valuable in giving a clear understanding on the characteristics of the turn taking and topic shiting, especially the topic continuing shift seemed to be a factor in the motivations to improve communication, and inspiring other researchers to make further research on this field