WP Event Manager Plugin Review (Create and Manage WordPress Event Listings)

Do you host/organize events  and need a nice way to display them  on your website? This is where WordPress event listings come into play. Lets have a look at how you can create them with the tool were reviewing today.WP Event Manager  is a free WordPress plugin that  makes any event look appealing on your site. With it, you can create events yourself and/or give a free hand to other people too.In this post, youll find out more about how this plugin works and what makes it so cool. Heres our hands-on review.What is WP  Event ManagerWP  Event Manager is a plugin that lets you create WordPress event listings, which you can then display on the front-end of your site, so people can view and register for them. Additionally, your users can add their own events as well (everything under your control, of course).The plugin  is very easy to use and provides a simple interface. It was built so that you can quickly set the details of  an event. You can choose to display the event s on the page thats automatically created by the plugin (simply named Events) or place them anywhere else on the site via shortcodes that WP  Event Manager  comes with.Apart from  the front-end listing, the admins will have an event dashboard, from where they can manage all the entries effectively:  filter them and keep an overall evidence of what the most important events are (those you can mark as pinned or featured), the canceled ones, the expired ones etc. All those events are marked distinctively with a different color so you can notice them easily at a glance.Key Features of WP Event ManagerWhat makes  WP Event Manager stand out? Heres  the shortlist of the main features:Fully responsive.Translation ready.Built on Ajax for smooth browsing.Adds, manages and filters WordPress event listings by keyword, location, date, and event type (also, theres an unfiltered list of all recent events).Adds Ajax-powered WordPress event listings to your pages via shortcodes.Lets the guests and registered users submit and manage WordPress event listings from the front-end.Compatible with SEO plugins.Lets you easily create custom event fields.Customer support included.Or simply check the 2-minute video for a more interactive presentation: How to create WordPress event listings  with WP  Event ManagerFirst, you need to install and activate the plugin, as usual.After that, the setup is very straightforward because it provides a wizard that guides you through the whole process in a simple way:The plugin automatically creates three different pages to help you manage and showcase your events. You can always customize those pages later on by manually adding the shortcode wherever you want, but its nice that the plugin does this work for you right from the start.Next, you can adjust the plugins settings if you wish to. There are three main tabs in the settings panel:In the Event Listings tab, you can handle all the basic settings of your event listings, including th ings like the number of listings per page, how to handle canceled or expired events, as well as set up categories, event types, and ticket prices.In the Event Submission tab, you can choose whether or not to allow anonymous visitors to create events, as well as how the account creation process works. Personally, Id recommend against allowing anonymous submissions, but its nice to have the option there anyway. You can also approve whether or not moderation is required before events are displayed.Again, its probably a good idea to always have moderation to ensure your listings stay high quality.The third tab is about the pages where youll be listing the events. In other words, if you want to use any of the shortcodes delivered with the plugin, this is the tab where you can set everything up.After all these preferences are set, its time to get to work and create some WordPress event listings. Click on Event Listings in the admin menu, then All Events - Add New. A simple page will appea r, giving you all the fields that usually show up with an event. Fill them out with your information.The plugin lets you add a lot of details about your events, such as title, venue, banner, organization logo, tickets, dates, expiration day, social media profiles, location, and more. Apart from that, you can also add custom fields like geolocation by city, country, latitude, longitude, etc.The event type can also be set pretty easily. For instance, you can create your event to represent a concert or performance, convention, conference, party, competition, seminar, etc.After you have the event details all ready, click Publish, and your event is now live. An event form will be added to a page created automatically by the plugin, but if you want to put it somewhere else on the  site, again, you can do so via a shortcode.Now, after publication, when you go back to All Events, your most recent item will be there on the list. You can always go back and edit it anytime you want. You can also mark an event as canceled or featured (if you want it to be always shown on top of the list).And this is what the event looks like on the front-end:If your visitors are allowed to post events then they can do so through the event submission form field. The event organizers who need promotion can just go to the special page automatically created by the plugin (Post an Event) and complete the fields with the details about the event. The events wont go live automatically if you chose to moderate them first.Your visitors can also view, edit, cancel, or delete their own events by entering the Event Dashboard page.Add-onsWP  Event Manager is already cool enough for a free plugin. But, if you need something advanced, you have the possibility of choosing from lots of premium add-ons. Prices vary depending on your needs (developer and normal licenses available; $0-$99).For example, there are add-ons for:Searching for events based on location and proximity.Selling tickets on your WordP ress events website.Displaying a calendar that lists upcoming events on your site.Alerting your registered users of any future events.Carousels and other types of sliders to display the listings.Allowing your visitors to register for an event.Using Google ReCaptcha to protect your listings from spam.Who should use this pluginFirst of all, if you need it for personal purposes, this plugin is just perfect. It can also be similarly useful if you run a small business and host various events from time to time.Secondly, WP  Event Manager should also be good for third-party sites that focus on listing/presenting various events from diverse fields/categories or businesses.Why use this plugin? I would personally use it  because:Its extremely easy to create and customize events. You just need a few  clicks and your event is  live.I think that the plugin already offers enough features for a free tool, but those add-ons are really awesome too, even though they can get a bit costly if yo ure buying many (yet it depends on what license variant  you pick).If you need a simple, not necessarily very detailed event page, WP Event Manager has it all.The plugin is lightweight and its compatible with every theme which means that no matter where you want to install it, it will fit pretty well.How to get WP  Event Manager?Theres nothing simpler than getting this plugin. Its available 100% free in two places:(1) Like any other plugin, you can get it via WordPress.org: WP Event Manager Author(s): WP Event ManagerCurrent Version: 3.1.9Last Updated: September 7, 2019wp-event-manager.zip 94%Ratings 70,935Downloads WP 4.1+Requires (2) You can go to the developers official website and get it from there. Theres a big download button in the center.If you need any of the premium add-ons, the price tags on those are between $19 and $99. There are free add-ons available as well. You can see all of them here.What do you think? Have you tested WP  Event Manager yet?* This is a sponsored post. As always, whether sponsored or not, the opinions presented are still our own and 100% honest.

Creating a Digital Scrapbook on Your Computer

Creating a Digital Scrapbook on Your Computer You probably use your computer to conduct a lot of your family history research, so why not use it to display the results? Digital scrapbooking, or computer scrapbooking, is simply scrapbooking with the aid of a computer. Going digital instead of the traditional scrapbook route means less money spent on supplies, and the ability to print out multiple copies of your beautiful scrapbook layouts. You can also display your work in the form of Web galleries to easily share with family and friends. In short, digital scrapbooking is a perfect medium for presenting and displaying your ancestors and their stories. Benefits of Digital Scrapbooking Most people first try digital scrapbooking by using their computer to create design elements they can then print, cut out, and use in their regular scrapbook pages. Computers are great for creating text for page headlines, photo captions, and journaling, for example. Computer clip art can be used to embellish traditional scrapbook pages. Most graphics software programs come with special effects to help you enhance your photos and pages with antique sepia tones, torn or burnt edges, and digital picture frames. When youre ready to go one step further, you can use your computer to create entire scrapbook pages. The page background, text, and other decorations are all arranged and formatted on the computer, and then printed out as a single page. Photographs can still be attached to the computer generated page in the traditional manner. Alternatively, digital photographs can be added to the scrapbook page on your computer, and the complete page, photographs and all, printed as a single unit. What You Need to Get Started If you already own a computer, youll only need a few basic supplies to get started with digital scrapbooking. Equipment/Software needed for Digital Scrapbooking: Digital Imaging Software, such as Jasc Paint Shop Pro or Adobe Photoshop ElementsPhotos in digital format, either scanned into your computer or imported from your cameraPhoto quality printer and photo paper to print out your scrapbook layouts or design elements (alternatively, you can have them printed at your local copy shop) Software for Digital Scrapbooking If youre new to digital photo editing and graphics, then it is often easiest to begin with a good computer scrapbooking program. These programs offer a wide variety of pre-made templates and elements that let you create beautiful scrapbook pages without a lot of graphics knowledge. Some of the most popular digital scrapbook software programs include Nova Scrapbook Factory Deluxe, LumaPix FotoFusion, and Ulead My Scrapbook 2. DIY Digital Scrapbooking For the more digitally creative, any good photo editor or graphics software program will allow you to create beautiful digital scrapbooks. This gives you the real hands-on experience from start to finish, as you can create your own background papers, design elements, etc. You can also use the same program to creatively crop and enhance your photos. Among the best graphics software programs for digital scrapbooking are Photoshop Elements and Paint Shop Pro. For more on using your graphics software to create digital scrapbooks, see Beginners Reference to Digital Scrapbooking.

Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Strategic Management - Essay Example Fourthly, the company works to enhance the quality of the products through offering different cuttings and also renders potential information to the consumers in regards to different product characteristics. Fifthly, the company conducts effective after sales service and, thus, helps the customer’s to contact through phone and mail. Sixthly, the order delivery time is well scheduled and also calls for refund within a period of one month if not satisfied with the quality of the diamond. (b) The company becomes able to render high quality diamonds and fine jewelry at seemingly competitive prices owing to the advantage of its potential supply chain system, the strategy involved in reducing the cost of operations and the mode of technology used. Inventory holding cost is reduced by the company with also the gaining of orders from the suppliers when the customer finally has made the order. This helps in reducing the ordering cost. Technology used in the diamond company is both trad itional and modern, coupled with outsourcing activities conducted. This helps in reducing the cost of operation and, thus, renders low cost diamonds to the customers. (c) The process of educating the consumers on the quality and features of the product helps the company in adequately maintaining effective customer relationship with the people. Thus, through this process the company can work in enhancing the brand awareness in the larger market and in highlighting on the parameters of transparency and trade ethics thereby helping in consumer retention (Thompson and Eastburn, 2010, p.127-130). Question #2 – Google (a) I certainly would have bought the stock of Google for the company reflects an appreciation in its stock level by 18 percent during 2004. The appreciation of its stock level also shows the mass appeal for the initial public offering of the company and gain the different parties to the stock ownership of Google also reflect significant gain in profits. Thus, it woul d not be a wrong decision in moving over to purchase the stocks of Google. (b) Definitely, Google is one of the important and influential companies of the early twenty first century in that the company is continuously innovating on its search engine features by introducing key elements like online books, maps, social networking features like orkut and other blogging sites. This introduction of new elements, thus, attracts large number of visitors to its site also surpassing You Tube by revenues worth $200 million during 2007. The search engine also renders commercial advantages through its Ad-word initiative, thus, covering every aspect of internet usage in the modern world. Again, Google also tends to enter the mobile technological interface through the use of Android technology helping users to use Google via their handsets. (c) The corporate culture of Google reflects a different culture from the other corporate firms operating in the United States. It is found that the work cult ure at Google rests on employee empowerment and an adequate teamwork environment where the people are not measured on the basis of their individual actions. People are encouraged to help in boosting the system of innovation in the company and in spending their time on operations rather than involved in long hour meetings. Dependence on the company on their employees’

Factory Gate Pricing (FGP) Definition Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Factory Gate Pricing (FGP) Definition - Essay Example This essay stresses that since the business of groceries involves a variety of different skills at each level of the supply chain, FGPs can make value addition transparent and encourage channel members to specialize in the greater consumer benefit. Agriculturists should not have to worry about transport and logistics, and should focus on productivity and food safety instead. Recent incidences of mad cow disease and bid flu have put new premiums on growing technology. Concerns about chemical pollution also need dedicated attention. Farmers should have attractive FGPs for quality produce that meets specifications at affordable rates. Processing uses a completely different set of technologies. Processors need FGPs which encourage proper investments in dressing meat, removing harmful microbes and extending shelf-life. Processors may also contribute to visual appeal of grocery products through preservation techniques which retain original forms and qualities. Transportation and logistics are specialized areas of operational excellence which other members of the chain need not duplicate. Equitable and transparent FGPs will benefit all stakeholders involved with groceries. This paper declares that partners in the grocery supply chain who lack core competencies in Information Technology may face potential exclusion with the introduction of FGP. Participants and traders who do not have sophisticated product costing systems in place may lose many revenue opportunities by understating their FGPs. This is especially the case with agriculturists who may not have very detailed and accurate accounting systems. FGPs do exist in the grocery business already, but there is little transparency of how these price levels are fixed. They are also unrelated to value addition, and are influenced instead by negotiating leverage. This rarely operates in

Problem Solving and Decision Making Essay Example for Free

Problem Solving and Decision Making Essay Background I work for a company called npower and we are an energy supplier in the UK. Specifically, I work within the Blended Services department and we deal with various types of inbound contact from our customers such as email, letters and telephone calls. I manage a team of 15 people advisors and their role is to effectively deal with customer enquiries that come in via the different methods of contact. Due to the large volumes of correspondence that we have come in, it’s not always practical to respond to customers via a written response and we therefore ask the advisors to call as many customers as possible and resolve their enquiries by phone, this allows the advisors not only deal with the customer’s original enquiry but to also answer any subsequent questions that may arise when they are presented with the answer we give them. Description of the problem When advisors call a customer there are regulations around data protection and also keeping customer contact details up to date that we must adhere to, we refer to these regulations as compliance. This is a very black and white subject, we must be compliant in all we do 100% of the time. The problem that has come to light that in our department, is that our advisors are not 100% compliant 100% of the time. They will fully cover data protection and request up to date contact information on some calls but not others. This presents a problem for the department and me as a manager as well as the advisors in question as these inconsistencies can lead to varying degrees of disciplinary action for the advisors and the company. The impact of this for the advisors is that it can lead to disciplinary action such as informal warnings, up to more formal action such as written warnings and even loss of their job. In extreme cases offending advisors can even face personal fines. As a manager, I then have to consider the potential knock on effects of such action which can include loss of advisor confidence, a reduction in staff morale, and opportunity for progression may be reduced or taken away and all of these in turn may affect an advisors attendance. For me as a manager the concerns are that these actions could affect my time as I am required to carry out investigations in to each case of non-compliance. This is turn could leave other members of my team to feel neglected as my time becomes consumed with investigations and carrying out disciplinary action. Potentially, this could lead to a general loss of morale within my team as a whole and go on to impact their performance. This issue also affects our customers as if we are seen to be breaking such important regulations as data protection, and then this could cause an increase in complaints, damage our customer’s confidence in us as a company, lead to a decrease in customer loyalty and ultimately the loss of their business. From a company point of view the impacts are possibly the greatest. Just a few potential knock on effects from non-compliance are loss of customers, brand damage, legal consequences including large fines and potentially losing out license to trade. Disciplinary action can lead to loss of staff and this brings further impacts such as the time and cost of recruiting and training new staff and all of these could eventually impact our ability to provide a desired service to our customers. Analysis of the problem In trying to identify options to solve the problem of advisors inconsistently adhering to compliance regulations, I first looked at gathering as much information as I could in to how much it was affecting my department and if there were any contributing factors to the problem. I liaised with our quality analysts. The QA team had recently marked a sample of the calls we make within the department and informed me that in the month of September they sampled four calls from each team within the department. This was made up of one inbound call (calls where the customer calls npower) and one outbound call (calls where we call the customer) for two advisors on each team. There are 18 teams so this is 36 advisors that were sampled and scored. The results showed that of the advisors monitored only 69% were fully compliant. This is cause for concern then as the target is 100%. Following on from this, I needed to do further investigation. My time, however, is very valuable and for me to take on such an investigation alone is not feasible. I discussed the problem with my manager and we came up with an idea to help us follow up the results from the QA Teams quality checks. Within our own operations group (5 Teams) we asked each manager to mark two calls for each of their advisor focussing solely on whether or not the advisors were following compliance regulations that we must adhere to. In the first week of October, each manager carried out the quality checks for their teams. The results showed that we were 50% compliant as an operations group. Following these results each manager went out to the advisors that were not following the compliance regulations and gave them a training session as well as an informal warning that this kind of action was not acceptable and that compliance must be adhered to at all times. The managers including myself then left the advisors for a couple of weeks and then went back and completed the same quality checks once more. The second time around we noticed an improvement as we scored 70%. However, we were and still are a long way short of our ultimate goal. Following on from this, I devised what I saw to be a simple yet effective questionnaire that would be completed by a sample group of advisors. The purpose of the questionnaire was to establish possible reasons why the advisors failed to be consistent in regards to meeting compliance when speaking to customers on the telephone. I looked to address such matters as how confident they were that they were personally 100% complaint 100% of the time, were they aware of the tools that npower provide to assist them in being complaint, what barriers they have encountered that make it difficult to be compliant and what do they feel would ensure that they were 100% compliant 100% of the time going forward. The results of the questionnaire showed that the advisors knew what was required of them to be compliant and that they recognised the implications of not being compliant. It also showed that all of the advisors were aware of the various support tools that npower provides them to help with compliance though not all of them used them. This suggests then that the problem of being inconsistent in regards to compliance may be down to advisor attitude or focus but at this point I wanted to avoid making assumptions. With all of this information, I used a simple fishbone to drill down for possible reasons for these inconsistencies. I looked at the following headings and then added the possible reasons: Confidence (lack of) * Inconsistent message * Unclear on what’s expected * Cannot deal with conflict (from customers) * DPA doesn’t feel natural (in call structure) * Situations outside of the norm (3rd party calling on behalf of the customer) Knowledge (lack of) * No or little training (new to business) * Lack of communication (not advised of possible changes) * Inconsistent message (unsure what is correct) Skill * Unsure how to resolve conflict * Not certain how to incorporate data protection in to their call structure * Not able to control a call (allows a customer to drive a conversation, potentially skipping past vital areas for not wanting to interrupt) Attitude/Behaviour * Doesn’t understand potential consequences * Doesn’t like change * Refuses to comply After considering all of the above the potential solutions to my problem could be creating a guide that points out to advisors what they must do to be fully compliant but that isn’t rigid in its delivery so that the advisors can make it their own. Ensuring that the guide and its use is trained out in a clear manner that makes sure there are no questions unanswered. Providing the advisors with additional training to enable them to capably and confidently deal with situations of conflict i.e. if a customer refuses to go through data protection. Finally, making sure that the consequences of non-compliance for both advisors and the company are clearly communicated. Resolution of the problem I went to manager with my findings and stated what I wanted to achieve. I needed the goal to realistic and to be measurable. Remembering that QA Team reported the department to be 69% compliant for the month of September my goal statement was this: * To decrease the compliance fail rate in our department by 15% during the month of November based upon 36 evaluations. In making this statement, I ensured that if would be a fair reflection since it would match the original investigation completed by the QA Team. It’s SMART, because I have a specific goal that can be measured against previous findings. It’s both achievable and realistic as all managers will make numerous quality checks throughout the month and I’m trying to achieve the ultimate goal of 100% compliance but instead make a small but reasonable step towards it and finally, it’s time bound as all steps will be put in place and measured throughout November. Once the goal had been set, my manager and I held a brain storming session to look at possible options to resolve the problem. Further to those I mentioned earlier, we came up with these additional ideas: * Speech Analytics * Scripts for data protection * A specific inbound call team * A specific outbound call team * Feedback, coaching and evaluations * An inbound and outbound call decision making tree * Brief to include what’s expected and what the consequences are for non-compliance * Compliance champs * Compliance tick sheet After we had come up with these various options I went away and decided which would be the best course of action. To help me decide I used a simple Pro’s and Con’s method. I put each of the above options in to a table and then listed what the advantages and disadvantages were. Below, I have just briefly outlined some of the key points for each one. Speech analytics Pros * It saves time (it’s all automated, listening to and identifying key words and phrases in conversations) so managers don’t have to do manual checks. * A large sample is gathered (it pulls data from all recorded calls) therefore the reflection is very accurate. * Reports can easily be pulled, since all data is compiled and exported in excel spread sheet format. Cons * It’s not an immediate solution. Speech analytics for npower is in early testing stages and it’s unlikely to be available for at least another year. * Cost – It’s very expensive to implement and so even to run in a small test environment is currently unlikely. Scripts for data protection Pros * It would clearly set out what needs to be said (no grey area) * Advisors would have something to reference at all times * Can easily be updated when changes occur * Managers could easily cover this in a coaching session Cons * Advisors may not feel it comes across as natural * Advisors may forget to keep it on their desk each day * It would need to be updated with each new change (potentially old ones could be in circulation) * Repeat contact customers would have to go through the exact same process each time and may feel it comes across as robotic Specific inbound/outbound call teams Pros * Advisors would deal with only one call type (one set of compliance regulations, more specialised, less chance of failure) * Becoming specialised may increase confidence Cons * It may not be feasible to have a enough specialised teams to deal with the workload * We would lose multi-skilled advisors, impacting our ability to deal with other work volumes * Specialised teams leave us vulnerable to outside influences such as absence. Compliance Champs Pros * Position of responsibility for trusted advisors * Someone on hand to reference in uncertain situations Cons * Those not chosen may feel disappointed * The cost of taking advisors away from completing work may not be feasible in such a busy time * Having to wait for a ‘Champ’ may impact customer wait times and thus service * Takes ownership and responsibility away from the advisors Compliance Checklist Pros * Advisors already use something similar, so it would be familiar * Advisors could clearly track what they have and haven’t asked * Peace of mind as it states clearly what they must ask * Natural, as it states what they must ask but doesn’t tell them how to do it * Cheap and easy to implement * Easy to amend when changes occur * Advisors can easily keep it with them either paper based or electronically * Puts the responsibility on the advisor * Best use can be coached around Cons * Must be altered with each change (old ones could be left in circulation) * Puts the responsibility on the advisors (must be trusted to use it) After evaluating the options and the pros and cons to each. I decided to go with a compliance checklist. Once I had decided on what I believed to be the best solution I asked myself two important questions, in various decision making models these are also known as Acid Tests 12. Acid Test 1 – If I implement all of my plans for action will my problems be overcome? In considering the answer I thought back to areas that I had identified earlier that linked into the problem of inconsistent compliance. To recap these were things such as: * Advisors were unsure what they should be asking. * They lacked confidence that they were saying all the right things. * They could often miss important information if interrupted by a customer before the compliance checks were complete. * The solution needed to be simple and easy to implement, so that it was clear and simple to train out. The majority of my advisors already use a checklist of sorts to capture the work they complete and how they contacted the customer, by adding compliance prompts to this it creates a visual aid for the advisors reminding them of what they need to ask and it remains in a setting that they find familiar. Also, because the advisors are able to tick off the various requirements as they go along it makes it very clear what must be asked and it’s less likely that they’ll miss things out if they are interrupted as they can simply go back along the list and pick up where they left off. It’s also likely to come across as more natural when the advisors are talking to them customers as well as again it only prompts them with what they need to ask rather than telling them how to say it. Finally, it’s relatively cheap to implement, it isn’t very time consuming to put in place and it’s something that can be done immediately. A copy of the checklist is attached (Appendix A) Acid test 2 – If I get rid of all my problems will I achieve my objectives? Again, the answer should be yes. My solution will give advisors something black and white, that’s clear and easy to understand and familiar to them in their day to day role. This should in turn give them the added confidence when talking to customer’s on the phone. There is, however, a human element. This is that the solution once trained out and implemented, relies upon the advisor taking some ownership and making sure that use it every day even if they feel confident that they are fully compliant. Because this is a personal choice there is no plan that I can implement that will solve this. However, as a company we do have measures already in place to manage this. If an advisor is proven to have the skills and the knowledge to be fully compliant and yet for whatever reason chooses not to, then I or any other manager would need to ensure that this is managed in the proper fashion. Implementation and communication of the solution As previously stated the advisor already usage a data capture sheet in their day to day jobs. I have taken that and added some simple yet clear checklist boxes that prompt the advisors on what they need to be asking when speaking to customers on the telephone. I will start off with a trial in my operations group and then if the desired results are proven then I will discuss with my manager a plan to roll it out to the whole department. I’ll start by holding a small group meeting with my fellow team managers, briefly describing the problem that I’ve been looking in to. I’ll present my solution and tell them how I would like it to be used. The managers including me can then go out to our own teams and deliver the message in a brief team meeting. The compliance checklist will be distributed via email to the managers and advisors alike. This way the advisors can choose to print it off and fill it in manually or they can simply fill in in on their PC’S. This also means that they will always be able to access a copy even if they have to move desks as it will be saved to their email. Following this, I would plan to follow up with some side by side observations. This would be to ensure that the advisors are using the checklist as intended and it also gives me the chance to answer any questions that they may have as well as offer advice and praise where they are doing things well and hopefully begin to build that confidence in their ability back up. As far as monitoring and reviewing of the situation, this should be quite straight forward. I know what the problem is and I have identified a list of causes. I also know clearly what I expect to achieve from the solution. I perform at least one quality check on each of my advisors each week, so these will prove useful when monitoring progress in this area and the results should be clear to see. These quality checks are always given to the advisors as feedback and trends from multiple quality checks are used to build useful coaching sessions. The feedback that I receive from the advisors at this point should also allow me to monitor if they are using my solution as expected and how confident they feel with it. As a department, we also receive daily, weekly and monthly reports. These will enable me to view the progress of the other teams in my operations group to see if they are showing the results that are expected. I will raise the matter for discussion in the weekly operations group meeting and this will allow me to receive feedback from my fellow managers and get their thoughts on what is and potentially isn’t going well. Finally, the QA Team will perform another quality check across a random sample of the department. This will perhaps be the ultimate mark of whether or not my solution has been successful. If so, then there should be a significant increase in the percentage of advisors that pass compliance.

The Love Story in James Cains Mildred Pierce :: Mildred Pierce Essays

The Love Story in James Cain's Mildred Pierce In Mildred Pierce, by James Cain, the novel revolves around some very interesting and universal concepts that seem to be themes in many of his novels. â€Å"As in his previous work, the novel revolves around love, money, and sex, but though success is perverse and wish fulfillment destructive, there is no murder† (Gale Group Biography) One most interesting theme is the theme of love and lust, and what drove the characters to their actions, and what motivated them. For some it was love, for some it was lust. So is Mildred Pierce a love story? Or is it just a tale of sex and scandals? In Cain’s works, love appears in almost a forbidden appearance, though it is obviously an important aspect. â€Å"Cain said he had only one story to tell: a love story. ’I write of the wish that comes true for some reason a terrifying concept ... I think my stories have some quality of the opening of a forbidden box.’ The act of forcing the wish to come true isolates Cain’s obsesses lovers from society and places them on what he calls a ’love-rack’† (Madden, journal) This forbidden box is very apparent in Mildred Pierce, as seen through the eyes of Mildred. Mildred appears to be a normal working mother, loving her children, and providing everything for them that she can, meanwhile struggling with her finances and problems with society’s expectations, and even her daughter, Veda’s expectations, which are quite a few. But underneath, there’s this very forbidden concept. Mildred loves her daughter, Veda, almost too much. â€Å"James T. Farell refers to Mildred’s ‘almost unnatural love for her daughter’† (Madden James M. Cain, 79) It is never exactly said in so many words, but the idea of Mildred loving her daughter more than what is natural is there, lurking underneath, like a forbidden box, on the verge of opening. Yet, even though we see signs of it, we don’t seem to lose respect for Mildred, because of her character, and the way it is drawn out, because Mildred herself never even realiz es it. This is something that would seem to be very hard to accomplish as a writer, and Cain does a fantastic job of it, illustrating the forbidden and the not forbidden love Mildred feels for Veda.

Race Class and Gender in Learning

Race, Class, and Gender in Learning Strayer University There is no simple definition or answer when one asks the question, â€Å"What is the purpose of education in adult learning. † To justly answer or define this question one most first ask one definitive question that will provide three important variables. Ultimately, we must ask â€Å"Who is asking this question? † simply, what is this person’s background, are they a WASP or a minority? What is their social class? Are they male or female? The answers to these questions will provide a contextual framework and starting point in which can genuinely begin to answer our original question, â€Å"What is the purpose of education in adult learning? † The values and norms developed in institutions such as education are authored by the dominant culture. In American society, White Anglo Saxon Protestants (WASPS) are the authors of the dominant culture. Unfortunately, there are major disparities between White European Americans and other minorities. These inequalities are prevalent in every American institution, including education. Blacks and other people of color are underrepresented in all types of adult education (Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2007). Traditionally, statistics show that minorities do not participate in adult education. Some researchers cite racism as a barrier to adult education. Adult educators have examined how the invisibility/norm of Whiteness has affected adult education, curriculum, theories, evaluation criteria, and instructional practices (Manglitz, 2003). Researchers found that racism in adult education was not intentional; many adult educators were unaware of the extent to which theories and research reinforce White racist attitudes and assumptions, thus sustaining the perpetuation of inequalities ( Colin & Preciphs, 1991). Some researchers have contended that socioeconomic status not race is the major barrier in adult education. Socioeconomic status is America is highly stratified; only a very small percentage of the population owns all of the wealth, power and influence in American society. In adult education, when social class is the focus, the aim of the analysis and subsequent action is to bring about a change from a capitalist political economy to a classes socialist form of government (Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2007). Some researchers argue that a classless society would result in more participation in not only adult education but in education in general. Usually those categorized in classes lower than middle class tend to have limited educational experiences. When considering race and class we must examine the inequality of gender in adult education. Feminist have placed gender, and gender as it intersects with race and class (Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2007). Statistics have shown that women are increasingly participating in adult education, despite this women still experience inequality in the classroom. Some argue that content knowledge, theories and research encountered in the classroom is still heavily influenced by American patriarchal dominance. Along with addressing the questions of Race, Class and Gender one most also account for the theories of Critical Theory, Postmodernism and Feminist Pedagogy. These 3 theories will give us a clue into how educators can contextualize the learning experience for each variable (race, gender and class). Each theory offers its own explanation on how the adult learning process should be conducted or imporved. First we will examine critical theory and its context to education. Critical Theory’s aim is to transform and improve society through the use of criticism (Henslin, 2008) Critical Theory defines its social critique through the use of social problems often citing â€Å"systems† as part of the problem. The â€Å"system† in a critical theory analysis is an institution (such as government or education) that functions to reproduce the status quo (Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2007, p. 253). Social institutions exist to positively regulate, order and control members of its society ( Henslin 2008), the institution of education seeks to do the same. Although ideally the institution of education is supposed to improve society, critical theorists often cite the â€Å"status quo† of education as hindering a learner’s experience. Critical Theorist argue that in adult learning there needs to be a paradigm shift in the status quo. Should learning be centered around technology or should more attention be given to emancipatory learning? Essentially critical theorist desire critique the status quo in hopes of developing one that is appropriate and equal to all learners. Postmodernism is a term that is widely used in many fields, such as literature, art, architecture, history, and philosophy. By definition, postmodernism resists definition (Kerka 1997). Postmodernism like Critical theory questions the status quo. Technically one cannot define postmodernism as a theory. According to Kerka postmodernism is a (Kerka, 1997)â€Å"form of questioning, an attitude, or perspective. † Postmodernism never accepts the truth as absolute and sees truth as ever changing. One can make the contention that postmodernism is part of the foundation of adult learning. Concepts popular with adult learning such as transformative learning or narratives urge learners to question their own â€Å"truth† thus by definition, inviting the learner to practice postmodernism. As one would suspect, Feminist Pedagogy is derived from feminist theory. The feminist theory is based in liberation and the feminist pedagogy seeks to create a liberatory learning environment and it also focuses on the concerns of women in the teaching-learning transaction (Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2007). Traditionally a woman is characterized as a docile nurturing human being but rarely as an authority or as assertive. Feminist pedagogy seeks to liberate a woman from this role in the classroom and urges her to be assertive and firm as a learner and to â€Å"find acceptance for her ideas in the public world† (Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger, & Tarule, 1986, p. 20). The liberatory classroom allows for this sort of transformation. As potential adult educators we have to consider â€Å"what is the purpose of education? † for learners and how that question should be answered individually. As we have seen, that answer varies for each learner. We must be vigilant considering each learners diverse background and constantly examine and revam p the status quo to ensure that each learner’s background is included. Works Cited Henslin, J. (2008). Sociology : A Down To Earth Approach. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall. Kerka, S. (1997). Postmodernism and Adult Education. Trends and Issues Alerts. ERIC Clearing House on Adult, Career and Vocational Education. Manglitz, E. (2003, Feb). Challenging White Privilege in Adult Education : A Critical Review of Literature. Adult Education Quarterly , p. 119. Merriam, S. B. , Caffarella, R. S. , & Baumgartner, L. M. (2007). Learning in Adulthood : A Comprehensive Guide. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.