Biology What Are Your Career Goals and How Do Your Immediate Educational Plans Fit Into Them Essay Example for Free

Biology What Are Your Career Goals and How Do Your Immediate Educational Plans Fit Into Them Essay Biomedical Science Biomedical Science is the application of biology based science for medical use. It will allow you to learn the human body at the whole body, organ, tissue, cell and sub cellular level. You will also learn how these systems can go wrong in various diseases and how accurate diagnosis can be made using a variety of laboratory tests. Biomedical Science is a continually changing, dynamic profession with long-term career prospect including research, management and education. Biomedical Scientist Biomedical Scientist learns scientific and personal skills and gain qualification that can be transferred all over the world and can be recognised globally. BTEC HND Biomedical Science graduates may apply for the associate membership of the Institute of Biomedical Science in the UK after obtaining 5 years of relevant work experience. Careers Hospital laboratory biomedical scientist Industrial laboratory bio-scientist Bio-science research Medicine or Dentistry (after acceptance in medical school and further training) Science teaching Transfer Opportunities Students, who successfully complete HND in Biomedical Science, can transfer to Northumbria University Biomedical Science Degree which is accredited by the Institute for Biomedical Sciences (IBMS). It provides the education and training required to become a Registered Biomedical Scientist. awarded by BTEC Higher National Diploma (HND) BTEC HND in Biomedical Science is a 16 unit higher level qualification which is awarded by Edexcel UK. Programme Structure Unit 01 Unit 02 Unit 03 Unit 04 Unit 05 Unit 06 Unit 07 Unit 08 Cell Biology Biochemistry Human Physiology Laboratory Techniques Medical Microbiology Project Analysis of Scientific Information and Data Quality Assurance Quality Control Unit 09 Unit 10 Unit 11 Unit 12 Unit 13 Unit 14 Unit 15 Unit 16 Histology and Haematology [continues]

Bertelsmann AG Financial Analysis Essay -- essays research papers fc

Bertelsmann AG Financial Analysis Report History   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bertelsmann AG was founded in July 1835 by Carl Bertelsmann as a print shop. Initially the company concentrated on Christian books and songs. In 1849 Carl Bertelsmann’s son Heinrich took over the publishing business, which employed 14, and extended the inventory of the publishing house to novels. At the time of his death in 1887, the staff had grown to 60.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Next to head the company was Johannes Mohn, son-in-law of Heinrich. The company’s growth slowed during this period and the focus was redirected to theological subjects. In 1910 he introduced paid vacation to the company. By 1921, when he turned control of the company over to his son Heinrich, the company had grown to 85 people.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Under the leadership of Heinrich Bertelsmann, the company experienced rapid growth and by 1939, the publishing house had grown to employ 400 people. New marketing channels were added as the readership became more mainstream in the late 1920’s. On the verge of World War II, the company moved from classical literature and fiction to include books with militaristic themes and eventually published books with nationalistic, racial and anti-Semitic content. The publisher insured its survival for most of the war by linking itself with the Nationalist Socialist ideology. Trouble started in 1944 when it was shut down by the German government as non-essential to the war effort and then crippled in March 1945 during an allied air raid on Gutersloh, in which only some of the printing machines survived.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After the war, the publisher was rebuilt by the fifth generation to lead Bertelsmann, Reinhart Hohn, whose influence continues to the present. He took the company from a medium-size printing company to a media conglomerate. In 1950 he established the Reader’s Circle, which bypassed the traditional marketing channels and allowed books to go directly to the reader. Within a year, it had 100,000 members and by 1954 membership had reached 1,000,000. The LP label Ariola Records was founded in 1958 which signaled the company’s entry into the music market. Bertelsmann entered the film industry with the purchase of Ufa Filmproduktionsgesellschaft in 1964. Mohn’s transition of the company culminated in 1971 with incorporation. He remain... ...tor-Presse Stutgart. The Sales to Asset Ratio of the Gruner + Jahr group is very high, at 1.90 (corporate is .81) which could indicate that demand is very strong. Sales to Asset Ratio of Random House is close to the corporate ratio at 1.02. The parent company also has a strong cash position, so operations in this division will have solid financial backing. Whether these efforts will be successful cannot be determined at this time, but Bertelsmann has a rich history and culture upon which to build. Bibliography Apuzzo, Matt. â€Å"Lawsuit: Sony BMG Blacklisted Agent†. Associated Press. 1 April 2005. 5 April 2005. . Bernstein, Leopold A. Financial Statement Analysis. Homewood, Illinois: Ricard D. Irwin Inc., 1978. Bertelsmann Media Worldwide. 4 April 2005. . Bertelsmann Media Worldwide. 2004 Annual Report. Blelefeld. 4 March 2005. Bertelsmann Media Worldwide. 2003 Annual Report. Blelefeld. 15 March 2004. Bertelsmann Media Worldwide. Press Conference, â€Å"Corporate Development and Strategy†. Berlin. 17 March 2005. Surman, Matt. â€Å"Bertelsmann Profit Rises in 2004.† Business Week Online 17 March 2005. 4 April 2005 . Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. â€Å"Bertelsmann AG.† 4 April 2005. .

Major Problems In California History Essay

The major arguments in the two essays by Cletus E. Daniel and Devra Anne Weber revolved around the harsh working conditions and poor wages that the farm workers were subjected to in California. These injustices prompted reactions from the farm workers through strikes that were organized by their unions and mutual aid societies in a bid to negotiate for better wages and improved standards of living. The essays also highlight the fact that the farm workforce in California comprised majorly of Mexican workers and a minority of Filipino workers. Finally, the essays highlight the unsuccessful nature of the attempts by the farm workers to push for reforms in their working and living standards as well as negotiating for wage increase. However, there also exist some differences between the conclusions of the two essays. According to Devra, the Mexican union headed by the Mexican Consul, Terrazas was able to reach an agreement with the growers concerning the conditions and wages of the Mexican workers. The agreement included a wage payment of between twenty five to thirty five cents per hour and thirteen cents a crate. It also suggested guaranteed access to water to workers furnished by the growers. Devra also records that this agreement was reached without complete support of the union. According to her, the issue of communism was vital in the history of California labor. This comes to light with the agreement of the growers to give protection to their workers against the communist agitators (Weber, 295). Cletus however does not record any instance where such an agreement was reached between union members and growers. He concludes by showing the plight and helplessness suffered by the farm workers following the failure to procure better working conditions and higher wages. Cletus distanced capitalism as the cause of the problems experienced by the farm workers citing that they believed their problems to be as a result of low wages (Daniel, 288). As far as the difference in the conclusions of the two essays is concerned, the question on the accuracy of the California history of labor comes to mind. This is a problem that is brought about by the uniqueness of each author in interpretation of events and occurrences in history. This in the two essays is brought to light by the link created by Devra between the problems the growers were experiencing with the farm workers and communist agitators while Cletus explores this issue from a capitalist perspective and its link to the problems experienced by the farm workers. The Imperial Valley episode reveals a number of issues about labor and unionism in the US. To begin with, it highlights the frustrations of the farm workers in terms of poor working and living conditions as well as low wages which led to the surge in protests and strikes. It is these frustrations that necessitated the participation and formation of unions so as to fight for the rights of the workers following the realization that the only way that they could be heard was only if they acted collectively. Another issue that is revealed is the use of authorities to suppress the unionization attempts of the workers as well as to deny them their rights of assembly and strikes. The growers used city, county, state and federal authorities to quell strikes by the workers. There also was the unfair trial of the leaders of the unions for example the El Centro trial which were meant to intimidate future leaders of the unions. Finally, it appears that it is the communists that were actively involved in the fight for the rights of the farm workers as well as the unionization attempts. This is because it is the communists that came to head the unions and organize strikes against the growers who were capitalists. References Daniel Cletus E. Communist Organizers in the Imperial Valley Weber Devra A. Mexicano Farm workers on Strike

Case study ‘Elite Hotel’ Essay

INTRODUCTION: In this case, the operating environment for Elite Hotel run in Azerbaijan is like that it is a newly independent republic country which formerly part of the Soviet Union and situated between Iran and Turkey. It is a lowly economic developed country but recently Western oil companies are looking for inward investment in the development of its oil and gas industry in this country. Therefore, there are plenty number of clients for the hotel and the local hotel can’t service these high level clientele. Thus it is worth to open an Elite Hotel in Azerbaijan. The hotel industry heavily utilizes labor for its daily operations. It is people-centric and thus HR practices are crucial to organizational success. Coupled with new regulations on labor, the hotel industry is a useful example to learn from, due to its high dependency on manpower. This answer aims to solve some of the key issues faced by the industry and specifically Elite Hotel, through which insights are derived from Elite Ho tel’s HRM strategies. THE MACRO OPERATING ENVIRONMENT: LOCATION: The hotel will locate at the capital city Baku in Azerbaijan. This city has a cosmopolitan reputation in an overtly Muslim country which can be defined as a traditional male dominance society. Therefore, the hotel needs to take care and show the respect to the local culture. Moreover, this city often loss its power such as gas, water, electricity during daily living. In order to maintain the high quality service and seeking to expand, the hotel need to solve this power issue at first. 2. DOMESTIC LABOR MARKET AND EVOLVING EXPECTATIONS According to the Trading Economics (2014), Azerbaijan has a high rate of unemployment at 5.2% in 2013. Hence, there are lots of well-educated people willing to do any kinds of jobs. Due to the strong competition for labor, hotels face difficulties in recruitment and retention, especially when hotel jobs are viewed as a high level wage payment. Therefore, to hire the local employees, the hotel must consider very carefully. Furthermore, this country also enforced a curfew, so if the hotel is seeking to expand, they must obey the laws and consider about the risk about the political instability. HR CHALLENGES: 1. TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT The issue of productivity has never been more pertinent than now. Elite Hotel will have to enhance productivity from a smaller pool of labor without compromising on service quality due to challenges in employment. Training therefore is needed to boost productivity and standards of service to meet customers’ expectations. In departments with peak and trough periods, training can be mixed- the waiters in the F&B Division can be trained as lobby hosts or even wine sommeliers. Another problem is that the employee may not be reluctant to be training and spend off-work hours on job-related  tasks (i.e. lessons) THE IMPORTANCE OF KEY HIRES The importance of the first one or two hires is also a challenge. ‘I have long endorsed and applied the approach of finding the one or two key candidates. These are leaders who are respected in their present positions in the market, or who may have previously worked there, relocated for career opportunities or unrelated personal reasons in another market and who may desire to return or are willing to return for the ‘right’ opportunity’, according to Owen Dorsey(2011). 3. LOCAL VS. EXPAT Some local candidates should be recruited since hotel may be influenced by its ownership structure which includes political or governmental factors geographically. Increasing governmental pressures have been witnessed to create more jobs for local people so as to eliminate the dependence on foreign employees. In this case, Elite Hotel is planning to employs a total of 300 full-time staff across 7 departments for locals are cheaper than their foreign counterparts. It is good news to the hotel owners and also forces hotel management companies to think carefully when staffing a hotel. As Tim Williams (2013) addressed, â€Å"Do not hire expats as Resident Manager, Rooms or F&B Director unless you think they have the potential to push through to GM.† 4. THE WORKPLACE ENVIRONMENT Elite Hotel faces other HR challenge pertaining to the local culture workplace environment and because of the culture in Azerbaijan is a traditional male dominance society. Therefore, how to balance the relationship between female and male employees is very important. Q2. WHAT STEPS COULD BE TAKEN TO ENSURE THAT THE COMPANY MEETS THESE  CHALLENGES AND WHAT PEOPLE CAN THE COMPANY DRAW ON TO UNDERTAKE THESE TASKS? 1. EVALUATION AND SUGGESTIONS FOR TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT It is of vital importance to ensure that employees are provided with knowledge and skills which aims to achieve a high standard of customer service. Elite Hotel needs to examine its 1) Training Needs Assessment, 2) Training Design and 3) Training Delivery. Under assessment of training needs, it is crucial to identify the training objectives and priorities – what KSAs (Knowledge, Skill and Ability) are needed in which department? How will task-specific KSAs evolve in the future as job descriptions change? In tackling the problem of unreceptiveness, Elite Hotel should focus on Training Design by analyzing Learning Readiness, Learning Styles and Learning Transfer, these which will eventually lead to effective learning. Managers need to find ways to boost their employees’ self – efficacy and motivation to learn before effective learning can occur. As part of job-site learning, Elite Hotel can introduce job rotations. This broadens one’s experiences and knowledge of overall hotel operations. E.g. in the Front Office Department, an employee can be rotated to the roles of concierge, front desk, porter. This is effective in teaching employees the technicalities of various roles, and in the event of manpower shortage, productivity will not be compromised. However, an employee might also be rotated away from a position that he excels in, resulting in underperformance in the new position. To mitigate this, Elite Hotel has to ensure that managers know the strengths and weaknesses of their staff. This aligns with its belief to â€Å"spend more time on people, educate them, counsel them [and] invest in our people†. 2. EVALUATION AND SUGGESTIONS FOR THE IMPORTANCE OF KEY HIRES In this case, if the Elite Hotel wants to set up a new hotel of international five-star quality, they have to look for experts to improve their network. Hiring an experienced GM or HR Director in the market would be the decisive factor especially when they are in place the whole thing unlocks. After  their join, the hotel could take advantage of their network to find out who they have worked with, who impressed them. That’s to say, the hotel may find potential clients. Nowadays typically a new brand in a new market may establish an executive committee which includes half internal hires and half external from the local market respectively. 3. EVALUATION AND SUGGESTIONS FOR LOCAL VS. EXPAT With a very limited hotel supply, now the owners of hotel have to concentrate more on training. Michael Farrell, an Elite Hotel senior manager, argue that in some markets we are entering there is no local talent full stop, so we have to develop it. We put in a General Manager and HR Director with very strong training focus and put a lot into people development. Over time we can then export and develop that local talent further in our older hotels back in Europe so that they eventually return back home with a raft of best practices to share.† 4. EVALUATION AND SUGGESTIONS FOR THE WORKPLACE ENVIRONMENT Enforcing that only the English language is spoken during work hours can address part of this problem. Elite Hotel also needs to manage relationships with NTUC, especially when active union members try to lobby for increased welfare and in particular, increased salaries. The hotel mavens, say, HR, need to study in the latest legislation and regulations, for instance, Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, Trade Unions Act and Work Injury Compensation Act etc. Moreover they have to keep learning professional knowledge through programs, courses and seminars. REFERENCE LIST: Trading Economics, 2014, http://www.tradingeconomics.com/azerbaijan/unemployment-rate Owen Dorsey. 2011, Tourism student perceptions of a travel agency career. Tourism and Hospitality Research, 1 (4), 295 – 312.

Great Expectations..Jaggars Essays - English-language Films

Great Expectations..Jaggars Essays - English-language Films Great Expectations..Jaggars Great Expectations Commentary The well-known novel Great Expectations was the last great work by Charles Dickens. It is about an orphan, Pip, who is brought up in the early nineteenth century. Pip meets a girl named Estella who is of the upper class, this encounter leads him into the dream of becoming a gentleman. He is introduced to a lawyer, Mr. Jaggers, who becomes his guardian while staying in London. When he reaches London and enters Mr. Jaggers office, his thoughts are revealed and the room is put into detailed description. The use of diction, narrative voice, and setting help the readers learn more about Jaggers, contributes in creating an interesting atmosphere, as well as foreshadowing future incidents. The passage (in chapter 20) where Pip reveals to us the inner qualities and setting of Mr. Jaggers room, the diction used is extremely significant. Throughout the majority of the passage, Pip uses negative wording in order to express Mr. Jaggers character. The features described in the room link directly to Mr. Jaggers personality. The room was lighted by a skylight only and was a most dismal place. The darkness expressed through these words relate to Mr. Jaggers occupation as a criminal defense lawyer. The dullness and guilt involved in doing his job is also shown here. The mention of casts and coffins sets a mood of death within the setting and scene. These words create a creepy atmosphere in which foreshadows that Mr. Jaggers newfound involvement in Pips life will not necessarily be all good. This is contradictory to how Pip feels pursuing his dream into becoming a gentleman. The distorted adjoining houses looking as if they had twisted themselves to peep down at me. Being that Mr . Jaggers is a criminal defense lawyer and deals with many underworld clients, its as if he is also playing the bad guy. These adjoining buildings act as if they are watching his every move. The place seems so dirty, with the blacks and flies everywhere and everything layered with dust and grit that lay thick. Pip, the narrator, repeatedly uses words such as twisted, distorted, dreadful, and twitchy while describing the office. All these words create an eerie atmosphere as well as a spooky image of Mr. Jaggers. Mr. Jaggers is a powerful character that is harsh, and everything about him seems frightening and fierce. The diction used in this passage just gives him an overall bad image. Pip, the orphan, acts as the narrator throughout the whole novel. His tone of voice is very important in contributing to the effect of the present scene. In this passage, Pip stares in awe around the room, he talks of the accessories in Mr. Jaggers room as if they are real. I really could not bear the two casts on the shelf above Mr. Jaggers chair, and got up and went out. Pips own action of having to leave the room at such an expense proves to the reader how awful the room is. As the room links to Mr. Jaggers character, this makes the reader in turn, become fearful of Mr. Jaggers. Pips narrative voice is also very confused. I wondered whether the two swollen faces where of Mr. Jaggers family. His confusion is able to strike the reader as very observant with all the questions that he has to ask. Pips very detailed description of Mr. Jaggers room indicates to us the exact first impression that Pip must have of the lawyer: Mr. Jaggers is shown to be a frightening fellow. The narrative voice of Pip is useful in helping the reader understand Mr. Jaggers character more clearly in this passage. The setting of Mr. Jaggers room is essential in explaining to the reader, indirectly, what the mans personality is like. Mr. Jaggers own high- backed chair was of deadly black horsehair, with rows of brass nails round it, like a coffin. The high- backed chair acts as an instrument in expressing Mr. Jaggers powerful character. It is ironic how someone with so much power would use horsehair, killing an animal, to use as part of his furniture. And yet, this hair is nailed down onto the chair, as if the power would run away. An old

Herb Baumeister - Serial Killer Profile

Herb Baumeister - Serial Killer Profile Herbert Herb Baumeister (a.k.a. The I-70 Strangler) was an alleged serial killer from Westfield, Indiana. Authorities believe that from 1980 - 1996, Baumeister murdered up to 27 men in Indiana and Ohio.   Whatever knowledge Baumeister had about the missing men, no one will ever know. On July 3, 1996, 10 days after investigators uncovered the skeletal remains of at least 11 victims that were buried on his property, Herb Baumeister, husband and father of three, fled to Sarnia, Ontario, where he pulled over into a park and shot himself dead. Herbert Baumeister's Younger Years Herbert Richard Baumeister was born on April 7, 1947, to Dr. Herbert E. and Elizabeth Baumeister in Butler-Tarkington, Indianapolis. Baumeister was the oldest of four children. Dr. Baumeister was a successful anesthesiologist, and soon after the last child was born, the family moved to the affluent area of northern Indianapolis called Washington Township. By all accounts, young Herbert had a normal childhood. When he reached adolescence, he changed. Herbert began to obsess on things that were vile and disgusting. He developed a macabre sense of humor and appeared to lose his ability to judge right from wrong. Rumors circulated about him urinating on his teachers desk. One time he pocketed a dead crow that he found on the road, and placed it on his teachers desk. His peers began distancing themselves from him, leery of being associated with his strange, morbid behavior. In class, Baumeister was often disruptive and volatile. His teachers reached out to his parents for help. The Baumeisters had also noticed the unusual changes in their eldest son. Dr.Baumeister sent him for a series of tests and medical evaluation. The final diagnosis was that Herbert was schizophrenic and suffered from multiple personality disorder. What was done to help the boy is unclear, but it appears that the Baumeisters decided not to seek treatment, probably for a good reason considering the options? Carl Purcell / Getty Images During the 1960s electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) was the most common treatment for schizophrenia. Those inflicted with the disease were often institutionalized. It was also an accepted practice to shock unruly patients several times a day, not with any hope of curing them, but to make them more manageable for hospital staff. It wasnt until the mid-1970s that drug therapy replaced ECTs because it was more humane and produced better results. A lot of patients taking the drug therapy could leave the hospital environment and lead fairly normal lives. Whether or not Baumeister ever received drug therapy is not known.   Herbert continued in public high school, somehow managing to maintain his grades, but completely failing socially. The schools extracurricular energy was focused on sports, and the members of the football team and their friends were the most popular clique.  Baumeister was in awe of this tight group and continually tried to gain their acceptance, but was repeatedly rejected. For him, it was all or nothing. Either he would be accepted into the group, or be alone. He finished his final year in high school in solitude. College and Marriage In 1965 Baumeister attended Indiana University. Again he dealt with being an outcast because of his strange behavior. He dropped out in his first semester.  Pressured by his father, he returned in 1967 to study anatomy, but then dropped out again before the semester was over, but this time being at IU was not a total loss. Before dropping out, he met Juliana Saiter, who was a high school journalism teacher and part-time IU student. Herbert and Juliana began dating and found that they had a lot in common. Besides being politically aligned with their extremely conservative ideology, they also shared an entrepreneurial spirit and dreamed of one day owning their own business. In 1971 they married, but six months into the marriage, for unknown reasons, Baumeisters father had Herbert committed to a mental institution where he would stay for two months. Whatever happened did not ruin his marriage. Juliana was in love with her husband, his odd behavior notwithstanding. The Need to Be Somebody Baumeisters father managed to pull strings and got Herbert a job as a copyboy at The Indianapolis Star newspaper. The job entailed running news reporters copy from one desk to another and other errands. It was a low-level position, but Baumeister dove into it, eager to start a new career. Each day he would come to work immaculately dressed and ready for his assignments. Unfortunately, his efforts to constantly gain positive feedback from the top brass became an irritant. He obsessed over ways to fit in with his co-workers and bosses but never succeeded. Soured and unable to handle his nobody status, he eventually left the position for a job at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV). The Taste of Recognition Baumeister began his new entry-level job at the BMV with an entirely different attitude. At the newspaper his demeanor was childlike and overeager, displaying hurt feelings when his expectations for recognition were not met. But that was not the case at the BMV. There he immediately came off bossy and overly aggressive toward his co-workers and would lash out at them for no reason. It was as if he was playing a role, emulating what he perceived as being good supervisory behavior. Again, Baumeister was labeled as an oddball. Not only was his behavior erratic, but his sense of propriety was at times way off. One year he sent a Christmas card to everyone at work that pictured himself with another man, both dressed in holiday drag. Back in the early 70s, few saw the humor in such a card. Raised eyebrows and talk around the water cooler was that Baumeister was a closet homosexual and a nutcase. After working at the Bureau for 10 years, despite Baumeisters poor relationship with his coworkers, he was recognized for being an intelligent go-getter that produced results. He was rewarded with a promotion to program director. But in 1985, and within a year of the promotion he had so yearned for, he was terminated after he urinated on a letter addressed to then-governor of Indiana, Robert D. Orr. The act also put to rest all the rumors as to who was responsible for the urine that was found on his managers desk months earlier.   A Caring Father Nine years into of marriage, he and Juliana started a family; Marie was born in 1979, Erich in 1981, and Emily in 1984. Before Herbert losing his job at the BMV, things seemed to be going well so Juliana quit her job to become a full-time mother, but returned to work when her husband could not find steady work. As a temporary stay-at-home Dad, Herbert proved to be a caring and loving father to his children. But being jobless left him with too much time on his hands and, unknown to Juliana, he began drinking a lot and hanging out at gay bars. Arrested In September 1985 Baumeister received a slap on the hand after being charged with a hit and run accident while driving drunk. Six months later he was charged with stealing a friends car and conspiracy to commit theft, but managed to beat those charges as well. In the meantime, he bounced around at different jobs until he began working at a thrift shop. At first, he disliked the job and considered it beneath him, but then he saw that it was a potential money-maker. Over the next three years, he focused on learning the business. It was during this time that his father died. What impact that event had on Herbert is unknown. Sav-a-Lot Thrift Stores Mike Mozart /  CC BY 2.0  / Flickr In 1988 Baumeister borrowed $4,000 from his mother. He and Juliana opened a thrift store which they named Sav-a-Lot. They stocked it with gently-used quality clothing, furniture, and other used items. A percentage of the stores profit went to the Childrens Bureau of Indianapolis. It quickly grew in popularity and business was booming. It showed such a strong profit in the first year that the Baumeisters decided to open a second store. Within three years, the couple, who had until then lived paycheck to paycheck, were rich. Fox Hollow Farms In 1991 the Baumeisters moved to their dream home. It was an 18-acre horse ranch called Fox Hollow Farms in the upscale Westfield area, located just outside Indianapolis in Hamilton County, Indiana. Their new home was a large, beautiful, million dollar semi-mansion which had all the bells and whistles, including a riding stable and an indoor pool. Remarkably, Baumeister had turned into a well-respected man. He was seen as a successful businessman, a family man who gave to charities. What was not so ideal was the stress that came with the couple having to work so closely together each day. From the start of the business, Herbert treated Juliana like an employee and would often yell at her for no reason. To keep the peace, she would take a backseat to whatever business decisions had to made, but it took a toll on the marriage. Unknown to outsiders, the couple would argue and split up on and off over the next several years. The Pool House The Sav-a-Lot stores had a reputation for being clean and organized, but the opposite could be said about the way the Baumeisters kept their new home. The grounds that had always been meticulously maintained became overgrown with weeds. The inside of the home was equally neglected. The rooms were a mess, and it was obvious to visitors that housekeeping was a low priority for the couple. The only area that Baumeister seemed to care about was the pool house. He kept the wet bar stocked, and he filled the area with copious decor including mannequins that he dressed and placed around to give the appearance that a lavish pool party was going on.   The rest of the house displayed the hidden turmoil of the marriage. To escape, Juliana and the three children would stay with Herberts mother at her Lake Wawasee condominium. Baumeister would almost always stay behind to run the stores, or so he told his wife. The Human Skeleton In 1994, the Baumeisters son, 13-year-old Erich, was playing in a wooded area behind their home when he found a human skeleton that was partially buried. He showed the grisly find to Juliana, who in return showed it to Herbert. He told her that his father had used skeletons in his research and that, after finding it while cleaning the garage, he had taken it out to the back yard and buried it. Incredibly, Juliana believed her husbands weird answer. What Goes Up, Comes Down Not long after the second store opened, the business began to lose money and never stopped. Baumeister began drinking during the day and would return to the stores, drunk and act belligerently to customers and employees. The stores went from being orderly to looking like a dump. At night, unknown to Juliana, Baumeister cruised gay bars, and then returned home and retreated to his pool house where he would spend hours whimpering and crying like a child about the dying business. Juliana was exhausted from worry. Bills were piling up, and her husband was acting stranger every day. Missing Persons Investigations While the Baumeisters were busy trying to fix their failing business and marriage, there was a major murder investigation going on in Indianapolis.   Virgil Vandagriff was a highly respected retired Marion County Sheriff who in 1977 opened Vandagriff Associates Inc, a private investigation firm in Indianapolis which specialized in missing person cases. In June of 1994, Vandagriff was contacted by the mother of 28-year-old Alan Broussard, who she said was missing. The last time that she saw him, he was headed out to meet his partner at a popular gay bar called Brothers, and he never returned home. Almost a week later, Vandagriff received a call from another distraught mother about her missing son. In July, Roger Goodlet, 32, left his parents home to go out for the evening. He was going to a gay bar in downtown Indianapolis but never made it there.   Both Broussard and Goodlet shared similar lifestyles, looked like one another, were near to the same age, and seemed to vanish while in route to a gay bar. Vandagriff made up missing posters and distributed them at gay bars around the city. In a search for clues, the family and friends of the young men were interviewed as were several customers at gay bars. The only real clue that Vandagriff learned was that Goodlet was last seen willingly getting into a blue car with Ohio plates. He also received a call from a publisher of a gay magazine who wanted to make Vandagriff aware that there had been multiple cases of gay men disappearing in Indianapolis over the last few years.   Now convinced that they were dealing with a serial killer, Vandagriff went to the Indianapolis Police Department with his suspicions. Unfortunately, searching for disappearing gay men was apparently a low priority. Most of the investigators believed, more than likely, the men moved out of the area without telling their families, to freely live their gay lifestyles. The I-70 Murders Vandagriff also learned about an ongoing investigation into multiple murders of gay men in Ohio. The murders began in 1989 and ended in mid-1990. Bodies had been found dumped along Interstate 70 and were dubbed the I-70 Murders in the newspapers. Four of the victims had been from Indianapolis. Brian Smart Within weeks of Vandagriff posting the missing posters, he was contacted by Tony Harris (fictitious name per his request) who said he was certain that he had spent time with the person responsible for Roger Goodlets disappearance. He also said that he had gone to the police and the F.B.I, but they disregarded his information. Vandagriff set up a meeting and, in a series of interviews that followed, a bizarre story slowly unfolded. According to Harris, he was at a gay club when he noticed a man who seemed to be overly captivated by the missing persons poster of his friend, Roger Goodlet. As he continued to watch the man, there was something in his eyes that convinced him that the man knew something about Goodlets disappearance. To try to learn more, he introduced himself. The man said his name was Brian Smart and that he was a landscaper from Ohio. When Harris tried to bring up Goodlet, Smart would become evasive and change the subject. As the evening progressed, Smart invited Harris to join him for a swim at a house where he said he was temporarily living. He said he was doing the landscaping for the new owners who were away. Harris agreed and got into Smarts Buick which had Ohio plates. Harris was not familiar with northern Indianapolis, so he was unable to say where the house was located. He was able to describe the area as having horse ranches and large homes. He also described a split-rail fence and a sign that he could partially see that read Farm something. The sign was at the front of the driveway that Smart had turned into. Harris went on describe a large Tudor home which he and Smart entered from a side door. He described the interior of the home as being congested with a lot of furniture and boxes. He followed Smart through the house and out down some steps to the bar and a pool area that had mannequins set up around the pool. Smart offered Harris a drink, which he turned down.   Smart excused himself and when he returned he was a lot more talkative. Harris suspected that he had snorted cocaine. At some point, Smart brought up autoerotic asphyxiation (receiving sexual pleasure from choking and being choked) and asked Harris to do it to him. Harris went along and choked Smart with a hose while he masturbated.   Smart then said it was his turn to do it to Harris. Again, Harris went along, and as Smart began choking him, it became obvious that he was not going to let go. Harris pretended to pass out, and Smart released the hose. When Harris opened his eyes, Smart became rattled and said he was scared because Harris had passed out.   Harris was considerably larger than Smart which was probably the only reason he survived. He also refused drinks earlier in the evening that Smart had prepared. Smart ended up driving Harris back to Indianapolis, and they agreed to meet again the following week.   To find out more about Brain Smart, Vandagriff arranged to have Harris and Smart followed when they met the second time. But Smart never showed up. Believing that Harris story had merit, Vandagriff turned again to the police, but this time he contacted Mary Wilson, who was a detective that worked in Missing Persons, and one that Vandagriff respected and trusted. She drove Harris to the wealthy areas outside Indianapolis on the chance that he might recognize the house that Smart took him to, but they came up empty. It was a year later that Harris would meet up with Smart again. They happened to show up at the same bar one night, and Harris was able to get Smarts license plate number. He gave the information to Mary Wilson, and she ran a check. The license plate was matched, not to Brian Smart, but to Herbert Baumeister, the wealthy owner of Sav-a-lot. As she discovered more about Baumeister, she agreed with Vandagriff. Tony Harris had narrowly escaped becoming a victim of a serial killer. Confronting a Monster Detective Wilson decided on a direct approach and went to the store to confront Baumeister. She told him that he was a suspect in an investigation into several missing men. She requested that he allow investigators to search his home. He refused and told her that, in the future, she should go through his lawyer. Wilson then went to Juliana and told her the same thing that she had told her husband, hoping to get her to agree to a search of the property. Juliana, although shocked by what she was hearing, also firmly refused. Next, Wilson tried to get Hamilton County officials to issue a search warrant, but they refused. They felt that there was not enough conclusive evidence to warrant it. The Melt Down Herbert Baumeister appeared to go through an emotional breakdown over the next six months. By June, Juliana had reached her limit. The Childrens Bureau canceled the contract with the Sav-a-lot stores, and she was facing bankruptcy. The fairytale fog that she had been living in began to lift as did her loyalty to her semi-deranged husband. What also had not left her mind since she first spoke to Detective Wilson, was the haunting image of the skeleton that her son had discovered two years earlier. She made a decision. She was going to file for divorce and tell Wilson about the skeleton. She was also going to let detectives search the property. Herbert and his son Erich were visiting Herberts mother at Lake Wawasee. It was the perfect time for her do it. Juliana picked up the phone and called her lawyer. The Boneyard On June 24, 1996, Wilson and three Hamilton County officers walked out into the grassy area just feet from the patio area of the Baumeisters home. As their eyes began to focus, they could clearly see that what appeared to be small rocks and pebbles, all across the backyard where the Baumeister children had played, were bone fragments.   Wilson knew that it would turn out to be human bones, but the Hamilton County officers were uncertain. Fortunately, in less than a day, Wilson got a confirmation from forensics. The rocks were fragments of human bones. The following day, police and firemen swarmed the property and began excavation. Bones were found everywhere, even on the neighbors land. In a matter of days, 5,500 bones and teeth were found in the backyard. A search of the rest of the property produced more bones. By the time the excavation was complete, it was estimated that the bones were from 11 men. However, only four victims could be identified. They were: Roger Allen Goodlet; 34; Steven Hale, 26 Richard Hamilton, 20; and Manuel Resendez, 31. Erich Baumeister When the police discovered the bone fragments in the backyard, Juliana began to panic. She feared for the safety of her son Erich who was with Baumeister. So did the authorities.  Herbert and Juliana were already in the beginning stages of divorce. It was decided that before police discoveries at the Baumeisters hit the news, Herbert would be served with custody papers demanding that Erich return to Juliana. Fortunately, when Baumeister was served with the papers, he turned Erich over without incident, figuring that it was just legal maneuvering on Julianas part. Suicide Once news of the bones being uncovered was broadcasted, Baumeister vanished. It was not until July 3 that his whereabouts would be known. His body was discovered inside his car. In an apparent suicide, Baumeister had shot himself in the head while parked at Pinery Park, Ontario. He wrote a three-page suicide note explaining his reasons for taking his life were due to his problems with the business and his failing marriage. There was no mention of the murder victims scattered in his backyard. Baumeister Linked to I-70 Murders With Juliana Baumeisters help, investigators of the Ohio murders pieced together evidence that linked Baumeister to the I-70 murders. Receipts provided by Juliana showed that Baumeister had traveled along I-70 during the times that the bodies were found dumped along the interstate.   A sketch drawn from a description by an eyewitness, who thought he saw the I-70 murderer, looked like Baumeister. Bodies had also stopped showing up along the interstate at the same time that Baumeister moved into Fox Hollow Farms where he had plenty of land to hide bodies.

Diversity in the work place (USA) managers challanges Research Paper

Diversity in the work place (USA) managers challanges - Research Paper Example Legislations and new technologies have made it possible for those with disabilities to join the workforce as it has become unlawful to deny a qualified person job opportunity due to physical disability (Nelson and Quick, 2012). Globalization in business transactions has also resulted in a diversified workforce as business organizations continue to discover new markets leading to opening of branches abroad therefore bringing together people from diverse national origins to work in teams for the organization (Cullen and Parboteeah, 2013). I recently visited a bank to open an account and did not fail to notice the racial, gender, and cultural diversity of the employees. On reading the banks brochure I discovered since it was an international banking agency, employees could be rotated all over the world. The U. S society is also a factor in workplace diversity where Nelson and Quick (2012) note that by about 2020, the country’s minority population will make up over one-half of new employees who join the U.S. workforce. This the authors point out is as a result of the improved participation rates of African Americans and Hispanic Americans in the labor force. Further, the authors see white non-Hispanics in the workforce making up 68 percent by the year 2020, 14 percent Hispanic, 11 percent African Americans and 5 percent Asian. The authors note this is an improved percentage that will see the workplace being more diversified (Nelson and Quick, 2012). Diversity in the culture of employees might pose a big challenge to managers who want to work with such a team. One of the major challenges for a diversified workforce is based on the difficulties in communication. People from diverse cultures have different ways of encoding and decoding messages whether verbal or nonverbal. Such cultural-based interpretation of communicated messages may lead to misunderstanding among employees leading to poor workplace relations due to misinterpretation of each other’s in tentions (Reece, 2013). Workplace diversity runs the risk of causing disorganization in the work place. People from the same background tend to form their own subgroups since they present the same ideas and viewpoints. This poses a challenge to the management, as they cannot rally all the employees to take a common stand through consensus building. Due to the disorganization in the workplace, the organization suffers as production is lowered when all employees and management cannot come together to champion a common course. Diversity in the workplace comes with stereotypes on how different groups of people work in the organization. Stereotyping increases stress and anxiety as the worker faced with such a challenge feels discriminated upon leading to low output levels (Nelson and Quick, 2012). The problem for mangers is coming up with strategic measure that will ensure effective management of people through creation of an organizational environment that attracts and retains diverse w orkforce by responding to changes in the demographic and social patterns