Saturday, October 5, 2019
Budget Finance Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words
Budget Finance - Research Paper Example The author of the essay "Municipal Budget" makes the deep analysis of New Orleans, Louisiana. New Orleans Louisiana is a relatively small city, although the largest in the state, with a rank of only forty-six in terms of the United Statesââ¬â¢ most populous cities. It encompasses five districts with one city council person each and two at large councilmen with the current mayor being Mitch Landrieu. The budget then encompasses some 565 pages and is pretty much detailed and informative, with graphs and comparisons to similar sized cities such as Portland, Oregon and Atlanta, Georgia. It tells where revenues come from, what money is spent and where, whether there is going to be a surplus (yes with a 2011 surplus of $500K), and whether there are to be any cuts in city services. The budget also addresses two other difficult areas. One is the situation faced by municipalities all over the country, that of the nationwide recession begun in 2007-08 and continuing today. New Orleans has its share of unemployment woes; at 8.3% it is slightly higher than the national average. With the unemployment comes hundreds of foreclosures and other abandoned buildings. Added to that is the fact the city is still trying to recover from Hurricane Katrina in 2005 which only adds to the blighted structures and a good portion of the cityââ¬â¢s budget is devoted to placing liens and demolishing these b uildings. So yes, the current budget does give a very adequate overview of New Orleansââ¬â¢ financial position.... The budget then encompasses some 565 pages and is pretty much detailed and informative, with graphs and comparisons to similar sized cities such as Portland, Oregon and Atlanta, Georgia. It tells where revenues come from, what money is spent and where, whether there is going to be a surplus (yes with a 2011 surplus of $500K), and whether there are to be any cuts in city services. The budget also addresses two other difficult areas. One is the situation faced by municipalities all over the country, that of the nationwide recession begun in 2007-08 and continuing today. New Orleans has its share of unemployment woes; at 8.3% it is slightly higher than the national average. With the unemployment comes hundreds of foreclosures and other abandoned buildings. Added to that is the fact the city is still trying to recover from Hurricane Katrina in 2005 which only adds to the blighted structures and a good portion of the cityââ¬â¢s budget is devoted to placing liens and demolishing these b uildings. So yes, the current budget does give a very adequate overview of New Orleansââ¬â¢ financial position. By far and away, the biggest expenditures from New Orleansââ¬â¢ budget are public safety, fire, police, and other emergency services. For the 2012 budget, when taken from the Adopted General Fund Expenditures public safety accounts for over half of that budget, sixty per cent. Even when considered as part of the entire budget (general and non-general, public safety still accounts for thirty five per cent. Of the divisions within that department, the police have the biggest slice, budgeted for 2012 at almost $119 million, an increase of nine per cent over 2011.
Friday, October 4, 2019
International Business - Franchising Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
International Business - Franchising - Essay Example Arnold (2003) claims franchising is an under-explored entry mode in international markets but that it has been widely used in North America and Western Europe, most notably by fast food chains, hotel or car rental services. The business format is fixed, including the operation and guidelines so that its ability to adapt is limited. The same is expressed by Toncar (2005), where franchising, he said, is dependent upon the ability to provide a marketing mix that matches expectations of consumers in different cultures. But major players are said to be increasingly learning. McDonalds, for example, as described in MFFI (2003) is "thinking globally and acting locally," a fortunate global marketing strategy. This sensitivity for the locals is expressed in so many ways to include their not using beef in India in their food preparations, their not using lard also in food preparations in Muslim areas, their launching of China burger in Asia in recognition of China as market for them, their introduction of chicken sandwich the Arab way. Further, management experts credit McDonalds for its maintaining the same efficiency in time to deliver, work-processes, cleanliness, changes in their menus, and ad-campaigns which are region-specific. Their use of franchising helps them set up business all over the world. One thing that could be credited to McDonalds's success is their "location, location, location" strategy which their executives know too well (ibid.). Consider this - A friend of mine was in a seminar recently where one of the McDonald's executives was speaking. He asked the audience what kind of business they were in. Half the crowd laughed and said, "Restaurant business". "Wrong", he said. "We're in the REAL ESTATE business." If you thing about it, he's right. Think about the location that every McDonald's is at. Isn't it in a prime real estate location And McDonalds owns the land that just about every stand-alone McDonald's located at. That's a TON of equity that the company has built up over the years in each real estate location. They could sell any lot and make a killing off it compared to how much they paid for it a number of years ago. I would say the secret to McDonald's success is very similar to real estate - location, location, location. (MFFI 2003) In targeting for international growth, the first step according to Siebert (1998) is identifying the best counties for one's particular concept with such factors as franchise climate, the market for one's particular product or service, competitive factors, proximity, language barrier, political climate, and relevant legal concerns. Once a market is identified, he says one effective means of targeting prospects is the use of trade missions. Sponsored by groups such as the International Franchise Association, trade missions attempt to provide franchisors with introductions to a number of qualified candidates in each country. Accordingly, the franchisor is said to typically be responsible for their own expenses (which can run upwards of $10,000 currently), their own follow-up, and their own negotiations. The sponsoring organization is only responsible for the introduction. Another alternative Siebert (ibid.) suggests for franchisors interested in global expansion is the use of brokers. Brokers are said to work by promoting one's franchise within a particular market, and will often employ a
Thursday, October 3, 2019
Destiny, Fate and Free
Destiny, Fate and Free Will Essay Really an entity such as destiny or fate that exists? Does each and ââ¬Å"everyoneâ⬠of us have a destiny, ââ¬Å" A set of predetermined events within our lives that we take an active course in shapingâ⬠Or a fate, ââ¬Å"The preordained course of your life that will occur because of or in spite of your actions,â⬠and as you/one would expect, the obvious existence of our own free will, ââ¬Å"The power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate; the ability to act at oneââ¬â¢s own discretion. â⬠Here, in a conversation between Forrest Gump and his Momma, we get an authentic and ordinary question about destiny and fate that most of us in all likelihood would ask. Not only in the question, ââ¬Å"Whatââ¬â¢s my destiny,â⬠but also in the statement, ââ¬Å"Death is just a part of life,â⬠it illustrates that the two are connected with each other. The choices you make are your destiny, and will ultimately lead you through the path to meet your death, (fate). As Forrest stands there looking down, wondering how sick his Momma is. He queries. ââ¬Å"Why are you dying momma? â⬠She looks up at him, and with a great expression of love. She expresses. ââ¬Å" Itââ¬â¢s my time. Itââ¬â¢s just my time. Oh now, donââ¬â¢t you be afraid, sweetheart. Death is just a part of life. Itââ¬â¢s 2 something weââ¬â¢re all destined to do. I didnââ¬â¢t know it, but I was destined to be your momma. I did the best I could. â⬠As he responds with an acceptable assertion. ââ¬Å" You did good, Momma. â⬠ââ¬Å" Well, I happened to believe you make your own destiny. â⬠ââ¬Å" Whatââ¬â¢s my destiny, Momma? â⬠ââ¬Å" Life is like a box of chocolates, Forrest. You never know what your going to get. â⬠(Winston Groom) Destiny is more complex to come by than fate, because it involves the inner workingââ¬â¢s of ones psyche. We advance on the road to our destiny when we tread the path of individuation. Destiny can involve choices that make no sense; risks that weââ¬â¢d rather not take; challenges that make us want to squirrel away under a rock; and certain moments in time that push us past our limits. Just as in the comment that Momma sayââ¬â¢s to Forrest, ââ¬Å"Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what your going to get,â⬠Is a good paradigm of the choices that we must all make. As we delve into the conversation between Forrest and his Momma. We begin to understand that the choices we make are part of our destiny which leads us to our fateââ¬â¢s end. Most of us believe in a higher power greater than ourselves; that something else is in control of our lives, and as we explore into the undeniable emergence of our fate. ââ¬Å"The inescapable destiny of man. â⬠We are compelled to go back millennia, to the times of mythological gods, and look at the Moirai. The Moirai were the three mythological goddesses of fate, They directed the symbolic thread of life of every mortal from birth to death. Clotho, ââ¬Å"The spinnerâ⬠spun the thread of life from her distaff onto her spindle. Lachesis, ââ¬Å"The allotterâ⬠or drawer of lots, measured the thread 3 of life allotted to each person with her measuring rod. Atropos, ââ¬Å"The inevitableâ⬠was the cutter of the thread of life. She chose the manner of each persons death; and when their time was come, she cut their life-thread with, Her abhorred shears. â⬠The Moirai were autonomous, even though they had command of oneââ¬â¢s fate appointed to them by the perpetual laws. They were responsible for making sure that fate would take itââ¬â¢s sequence in life without hindrance. They did not abruptly interfere in the matters of man, even man himself, in his freedom was allowed to exercise a certain amount of influence in his fate by the choices he makes. As a manââ¬â¢s fate endââ¬â¢s with his death, the goddesses of fate essentially become the goddesses of death. ââ¬Å"Each player must accept the cards life deals him or her. But once they are in hand, he or she alone must decide how to play the cards in order to win the game. â⬠(Voltaire) Within this quote made prominent by the prolific writer Voltaire. It conveys to us that this game of life is full of choiceââ¬â¢s, and how we make the decisionââ¬â¢s of witch path to follow defineââ¬â¢s the measurement of our success in the game of life. Just as the Moirai do not interfere with our life, but allow us to make our own choiceââ¬â¢s. Even though the two words are used in similar manners, fate and destiny can be distinguished. Paradoxically when the two words are used to mean the same thing, fate often assumes a negative association as is emphasized by the similar words ââ¬Å"fatal,â⬠ââ¬Å"fateful,â⬠and ââ¬Å"fatalism. â⬠Destiny traditionally suggests a more positive conclusion, such as people being more in control of their destinies. As we take in the considerations of destiny and fate; now we must consider the aspect of free will, ââ¬Å"The power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate; the ability to act at 4 oneââ¬â¢s own discretion. â⬠What free will tries to account for, is our introverted belief that we are in control of many of our choices, and thus our destiny-that we are free to think and choose for ourselves. We consciously make choices and decisions that are far more independent than that of nature and nurture than any animals. We have the conscious ability to think of the consequences of our choices, whether good or bad. These are the meaningful differences that lead to the idea of free will. I wear the chain I forged in life. I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it. (Charles Dickens) In conclusion, fate is predestined. Everyoneââ¬â¢s life is fated to itââ¬â¢s termination; to meet his maker; to finally be judged; and even though we cannot conquer fate, we can accept the fact that our future lies within our own selves and not within the hands of fate. We do not let fate decide our future. We have the power to make choices by being the creator and writer of our own destiny. We have the power of free will. The way you wear the chain that you have forged link by link, and yard by yard is completely up to you. Just remember that you girded it of your own free will, and it is you solely that will have to wear it.
The Impact Of Leadership Styles
The Impact Of Leadership Styles Leadership styles Leaders have their own style, which is fine if they can find a situation that requires that style of leadership. Being able to adapt the leadership style according to the situation and the state of the grope or team are flexible leadership example: taking charge when a team is forming but playing the role of coach when a team is managing itself well. One the fundamental principle of leadership style is to change according to the circumstances such as Situational Leadership (develop by Blanchard and Hersey in the late 1960s). According to Hersey and Blanchard, a leader is concerned with the task to be performed and with building relations with his employees. A leader may focus on work, building a team or building relationship with his or her employees, according to a combination of all these concerns Hersey and Blanchard proposed four leadership styles. Style 1 Indicating high concern for the task and low concern for people. Style 2 Showing High Concern for Task and People. Style 3 Having high concern for people and low for the task. Style 4 Indicating Low Concern for the task and Low Concern for people. According to them all the classified four styles are functional; it is according to their relevance situation that is important. Leadership styles in the situational model can be classified according to the amount of task and relationship behavior the leader engages in. Task related behavior also known as Regulating behavior since a leaders behavior revolves on regulating his or her group members and their task completion, other leaders concentrate on building personal relationship, which is called nurturing behavior. Regulating Behavior A Leader engages in one-way communication , who gives clear instructions of group roles and informs the group members what to do, where to do, and how to do, and closely supervises their activities and performance. Structure, Control, Supervise are the regular behavior of the leaders. Nurturing Behavior A Leader who engages in dual communication he who listens, provides support and encouragement, facilitates, interaction and involves the group in decision making. Praise, Listen, and Facilitate these are the regular behavior of the leaders Source (Pareek, 2007). Transformational versus Transactional leadership Achieving the current objectives efficiently by helping the organization by clarifying the needs and desires of the employee is known as transactional leadership. This type of leadership behavior improves employees performance and satisfaction. The transactional leaders focus on running the organization smoothly and efficiently. The transactional leader creates a clear structure and clear instructions to his or her subordinates regarding their work and rewards subsequently. Punishment is understood since it is not mentioned .The discipline system is usually in place. This type of leadership is a popular approach with the most of the managers. Transformational leadership have the ability to change the vision, strategy and culture of the organization based on personal values, beliefs, and qualities, Transformational leadership enable the followers to become leaders. Transformational leadership go beyond the immediate task that is the functions build the competencies of individuals and group and enable them to achieve targets that the organization or the individual would have not expected to achieve. Transformational leadership change the organizations strategies and culture so they are successful with the surrounding environment, they are the changed agents who show the direction to the employees to a new set of organizational values and behaviors. Empowering, risk taking clarity of mission, team building, equanimity, and evolving trust are few of the characteristics of transformational leaders Source (Theory of Transformational LeadershipRedux, Winter 1995). Transformational versus charismatic leadership Many researches do indicate that the two types of leadership as essentially equivalent, some others theorists say they are distinct and few other scholars say charismatic leadership is an ingredient of transformational leadership or charismatic leadership is the highest degree of transformational leadership. The third group of scholars separate charismatic leadership from transformational leadership. They say charisma is a personal trait referent power over followers, whereas transformational leadership is a set of behaviors that people use to lead the change process. Transformational leadership enables the followers to become leaders. Charismatic leaders are also known as heroic leaders by some of the research; they build allegiance in followers but do not necessarily change the organization. They use the power to serve others, they consider and learn from criticism and also they encourage followers to question leaders view. In many theories the leadership behaviors of charismatic a nd transformational leadership appear to be similar with very few important differences is evident as well. Transformational leaders will be doing lots of work which will make the employees more dependent on the leaders such as developing followers skill and self-confident, giving information to sensitive information and decentralizing the authorities. Transformational leaders at any level in any organization can easily be determined according to Bass since this type of leadership is globally relevant for very situation. Charismatic leaders are more proactive, do more things that creates an image of extraordinary competence for the leaders such as restricting information, risk taking and unconventional behavior. Charismatic leaders are rare, and appear to be more dependent only on favorable conditions in an organization and these leaders are very common for new organizations as visionary entrepreneurs or reformers. Charismatic leaders are usually more extreme Source (House, et al., 1994), (Avolio, et al., 1985). Distinguishing characteristics of charismatic and Non charismatic Leaders Non Charismatic Leaders Charismatic Leaders Likableness Likable leaders have shared perspective Idealized Vision and an honorable hero makes leader liable. Trustworthiness Disinterested advocacy in persuasion attempts. Leaders are passionate advocacy by taking personal risk. Relation to status quo Status quo is being maintained. Change of atmosphere is being created. Future Goals Goals are limited with very few discrepant from status quo. Vision of Idea which is highly discrepant from status quo. Articulation Articulation is weak in goals and motivation to lead. Motivation to lead and articulation of vision is very strong. Competence To achieve goals within framework of existing order with available means. Unconventional means is used to transcend the existing order. Behavior Conventional Unconventional Source: Conger, et al., 1998 Characteristics of Three Styles of Leadership Authoritarian or Autocratic This style is used when leaders take decisions from their position, control of rewards and coercion. The autocratic leaders group performance is almost good since they are characterized by positive feelings. This type of style can be used when you have all the information to solve problem, you are short on time, and your employees are well motivated. From the experiments of Lewis et al. it was found that this style resulted in very high level of discontent. Some leaders tend to think of this style as a tool for abusing, using unprofessional language, and leading by threats and abusing their power. This is not the authoritarian style, bossing people around. It has no place in a leaders repertoire. The authoritarian style should only be used occasions Source (Patterns of Aggressive Behavior in Experimentally Created Social Climates, 1939). Participative (Democratic) Democratic leader involve their people (one or more employees) in decision making (determining what to do and how to do it) encourages participation and depends on subordinates respect for influence, this style of leadership partly explains the reason for empowerment of employees. The group members of a democratic leader perform well even when the leader is absent. However, the leader maintains the final decision making authority. Employees usually like democratic decision making, it is a sign of strength that your employees will respect. Democratic leadership however will find it difficult when options differ and it will difficult to arrive at a final decision. By this style is of mutual understanding it allows the employees to become part of the team and allows the leader to make better decisions Source (Field Theory and Experiment in Social Psychology Concepts and Method, 1939). Laissez-faire In this style, the leader has a minimum involvement in decision making; the leader allows the employees to make the decisions. However, the leader is still responsible for the decisions that are made. This is successful when the employees are able to analyze the situation and determine what needs to be done and how to do it, and where there is no requirement for a centralized coordination. This is not a style to use so that you can blame others when things go wrong, rather this is a style to be used when you fully trust and confidence in the people below you. It was discovered by Lewin et al. that the democratic style was the most effective style of leadership. A good leader uses all three styles, depending on what forces are involved between the followers, the leader, and the situation. Some examples include, using an authoritarian style on a new employee who is just learning the job. The leader is competent and a good coach. The employee is motivated to learn a new skill. The situa tion is a new environment for the employee. The leader knows the problem, but does not have all the information. The employees know their jobs and want to become part of the team. You cannot do everything and the employee needs to take ownership of her job! In addition, this allows you to be at other places, doing other things Source (Pareek, 2007). The Impact of Leadership in Organizations The leadership has the ability to motivate and influence other leaders and the employees to achieve organizational goals through process of change. So are all the leaders are good and effective? Should all the organizations adopt a single approach to leadership? To analysis this leadership there is three types, which are individual leadership, group leadership and organizational leadership. Each of these types of leadership has a tremendous impact on how leaders are classified and viewed. The leadership theories revolve around describing traits of a leader, however, however the modern theories have tried to explain the impact through behavioral approaches. Motivation and process theories were later developed to determine the relationship and affect a leader had on the individual and group within an organization. Training has development has been a prominent development in the world of Organizational Behavior (OB) as organizations sought innovative methods for feedback and to regenerate their culture. This type of practiced has positively affected many organizations, the short-term results of coaching has given insight view of level 3 leadership which has been incorporated by both transactional and transformational leadership styles, however for organizations to achieve prominence and market share in their respective industry further development of leaders to a Level 5 leadership style was required. As the hierarchy in leadership position, power, control and achievement grew with the leaders success, some well known companies such as GE under the leadership of Jack Welch found themselves in the search of true leaders. It will be demonstrated that although such a leader may be detrimental to the organization, narcissistic leaders have also proven vital to the revival of these same organizations. Future planning is very important in the long-term growth of an organization in order to retain and attract the new leaders of tomorrow. Organizations need to be constant in terms of direction and control an effective leader has influenced in the past, and effective planning for the future leaders to continue the successful organization. The ever growing challenges that leaders face in the changing environment and coping with such difficult tasks such as interface management, change management, knowledge management and group dynamics within projects has been a task to balance and overcome. An effective leader increases the positive emotions within their organizations, they choose to do so a clear and compelling vision, but also have deep personal humility and an intense professional will Source (Sturek, 2005). Conclusions Leadership is a complex concept that has clearly demonstrated that developmental style is the most desirable style and it is associated with creation of empowerment, growth, learning, morale and satisfaction on the part of the employees. In Common terms this style creates resonance while the critical climate creates dissonance. In future the leadership programs should concentrate on the developmental style as a desirable style. This results in indicating the potential of all the situations chosen in predicting the leadership style. The style of leadership gets noticed consistently in most of the situation. Leadership style based feedback should perhaps focus on this in future.
Wednesday, October 2, 2019
U.S. vs Asian school system :: essays research papers
Two Systems into One In the past twenty years the United States school system has been accumulating quite a bit of criticism. Evidence shows that the United States has been lagging exponentially compared to almost all the industrialized countries. This specifically refers to Asian countries that are statistically blowing the U.S. out of the water. Recent survey results in the universal subject of math show us that the U.S. eighth graders have fallen behind, while the twelfth grade level showed only slight improvement (appositive). This means that the U.S. students are barely floating above water, where as, Asian students have built some sort of super boat (appositive). Yet we all recognize that not any one device is perfect, and are usually leaking water in the most unnoticeable spot. Before one realizes the problem, the boat is sinking. We would potentially look at these education systems as extremes of each other. Each education system being on the different side of the spectrum. Both systems having fa ults and advantages. Taking the positive aspects from both sides and merging them together, a harmonious education system could be established (verb phrase). The article ââ¬Å"Japanââ¬â¢s School Systemâ⬠tells us that in an Asian classroom students will feel an incredible amount of pressure starting from grade school and up, while U.S. teachers are too afraid to raise the bar because of potential discouragement of the student. We examine evidence from the article ââ¬Å"Strengths, weaknesses, and lessons of Japanese educationâ⬠. A negative of the Asian school system, is the conformity that must be upheld. This achieves better education because it becomes the ââ¬Å"thing to doâ⬠. When everybody is on the same curriculum there is no other choice but to follow the herd. While conformity creates better math students, it demises the aspect of creativity and individuality. The boat may float, but not posses any inspiration or differentiation from the others. The U.S. places a much bigger emphasis on creativity and choice. Thus providing students with opportunities that help them learn about them selves, and develop original ideas. An important characteristic that the U.S. education system lacks, is the idea of effort being directly correlated to success. In his article ââ¬Å"Japanââ¬â¢s School Systemâ⬠, James Kilpatrick states that ââ¬Å"The Japanese theory is that all children have the same potential for learningâ⬠. It is effort that separates successful students from the unsuccessful students. Though the American student may think that they work hard, we find that the Asian student is at a much greater level of pressure.
Tuesday, October 1, 2019
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight :: Essays Papers
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight What makes a man a hero? Where lies the line which when crossed changes a mortal man into a legend? Is it at the altar at Canterbury? in the Minotaurââ¬â¢s labyrinth? or is it an age or a time? Does a man become a hero when he transforms from a boy to an adult? or when he stops being a man and becomes a martyr? Where are the heroes of 1993? In whom do the children of this age believe? Like whom do they strive to be? Kennedy, Lennon, and even Superman are dead. World leaders are mockeries of real men, more like Pilates than Thomas Mores. Pop cultureââ¬â¢s icons change daily. It is interesting that nearly 600 years ago someone was writing about heroism in a way that can be understood today. The poet of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight tells a tale in which a man is proven to be a hero through the seemingly un-heroic decisions made in the course of numerous tests. Sir Gawain is a hero for the 21st century. He is tried and trapped, he is inundated with opportunities to fail and yet he does not lose. More importantly though, in the end he learns an essential, inescapable fact about himself and human nature. What makes a man a hero? Just before he leaves Camelot in search for the Green Knight, Sir Gawain gives perhaps the best possible answer to this question: ââ¬Å"In destinies sad or merry, True men can but try.â⬠Tests and decisions are as numerous in any manââ¬â¢s life as are the beats of his heart. The consequences he incurs follow him forever; he is judged by them and they affect his entire existence. Gawainââ¬â¢s statement is not merely profound sentiment, useful even today as a measure of a manââ¬â¢s mettle. It is also, coming as early as it does in Part II of the poem, a harbinger of how Gawainââ¬â¢s tale may end. It tells a reader that Gawain means to do his level best in his grand endeavor and if in but one small way he should fail, do not persecute him until considering how a different man may have fared. Gawain, similar to most of the characters in the tale, is tested on several occasions. In the poem, as in real life, judgment should not be passed on a manââ¬â¢s single decisions individually, but only by observing how he has chosen to live his life. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight :: Essays Papers Sir Gawain and the Green Knight What makes a man a hero? Where lies the line which when crossed changes a mortal man into a legend? Is it at the altar at Canterbury? in the Minotaurââ¬â¢s labyrinth? or is it an age or a time? Does a man become a hero when he transforms from a boy to an adult? or when he stops being a man and becomes a martyr? Where are the heroes of 1993? In whom do the children of this age believe? Like whom do they strive to be? Kennedy, Lennon, and even Superman are dead. World leaders are mockeries of real men, more like Pilates than Thomas Mores. Pop cultureââ¬â¢s icons change daily. It is interesting that nearly 600 years ago someone was writing about heroism in a way that can be understood today. The poet of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight tells a tale in which a man is proven to be a hero through the seemingly un-heroic decisions made in the course of numerous tests. Sir Gawain is a hero for the 21st century. He is tried and trapped, he is inundated with opportunities to fail and yet he does not lose. More importantly though, in the end he learns an essential, inescapable fact about himself and human nature. What makes a man a hero? Just before he leaves Camelot in search for the Green Knight, Sir Gawain gives perhaps the best possible answer to this question: ââ¬Å"In destinies sad or merry, True men can but try.â⬠Tests and decisions are as numerous in any manââ¬â¢s life as are the beats of his heart. The consequences he incurs follow him forever; he is judged by them and they affect his entire existence. Gawainââ¬â¢s statement is not merely profound sentiment, useful even today as a measure of a manââ¬â¢s mettle. It is also, coming as early as it does in Part II of the poem, a harbinger of how Gawainââ¬â¢s tale may end. It tells a reader that Gawain means to do his level best in his grand endeavor and if in but one small way he should fail, do not persecute him until considering how a different man may have fared. Gawain, similar to most of the characters in the tale, is tested on several occasions. In the poem, as in real life, judgment should not be passed on a manââ¬â¢s single decisions individually, but only by observing how he has chosen to live his life.
70-640 Lesson 11
Lesson 11 Active Directory Maintenance, Troubleshooting, and Disaster Recovery Knowledge Assessment Matching a. authoritative restoref. LDP b. checkpoint fileg. system volume c. Directory Services Restore Modeh. tombstone d. fragmentationi. transaction buffer e. garbage collectionj. Windows PowerShell __h__ 1. This object is created when an object is deleted within Active Directory. __i__ 2. Active Directory changes are written here before they are committed to disk. __j__ 3. This is a new advanced command-line and scripting interface included in Windows Server 2008. __g__ 4.This volume houses the boot files for a Windows Server 2008 computer. __e__ 5. This describes the process of removing tombstoned objects from the NTDS. DIT file. __a__ 6. You will need to perform this operation if you have inadvertently deleted one or more Active Directory objects. __f__ 7. This is a graphical user interface that will allow you to query Active Directory as part of the troubleshooting process. __b __ 8. This is used as a reference file in case the Active Directory database needs to be recovered from a system failure to ensure that no transactions are lost. _c__ 9. To perform many Active Directory maintenance operations, you will need to restart your domain controller in this startup mode. __d__ 10. This can decrease database performance because updates are made to the Active Directory over time. Multiple Choice 1. Which of the following backup types can be initiated by a member of the local Administrators group or a member of the local Backup Operators group on a Windows Server 2008 computer? a. Manual backup b. Scheduled backup c. Full backup d. Differential backupA manual backup can be rescheduled by a local administrator or member of the local Backup Operators group. Scheduled backups can only be created by members of the local Administrators group. 2. The NTDS. DIT file is based on which database technology? a. Structured Query Language (SQL) b. Oracle c. Extensible Stora ge Engine (ESE) d. My*SQL The NTDS. DIT file is based on the Extensible Storage Engine (ESE) data storage format, not Microsoft SQL as some people believe. 3. Which of the following commands can be used to configure Active Directory permissions from the command line? . LDP b. Dsacls c. Dcdiag d. ADSI Edit The dsacls. exe command-line utility can be used to list and modify Active Directory permissions for a particular object or container. 4. What runs automatically on a domain controller every 12 hours by default during the garbage collection process? a. Offline defragmentation b. Authoritative restore c. Nonauthoritative restore d. Online defragmentation Online defragmentation on an Active Directory domain controller is also known as the garbage collection process. 5.Which tool can you use to force a domain controller to start in Directory Services Restore Mode on its next reboot? a. cmd. exe b. bootmgr. exe c. bcdedit. exe d. dcpromo. exe Apart from pressing F8 during the system bo ot, you can configure a Windows Server 2008 computer to automatically boot into Directory Services Restore Mode by using the bcdedit. exe command-line utility before rebooting the server. 6. Which operation requires the Active Directory Domain Service to be taken offline? a. Offline defragmentation b. Online defragmentation c. Garbage Collection d. Transaction BufferingOf the operations listed, only an offline defragmentation requires you to take the Active Directory database offline, whether through rebooting into DSRM or by using the new restartable Active Directory feature. 7. Which of the following backup types can be initiated only by a member of the local Administrators group on a Windows Server 2008 computer? a. Manual backup b. Scheduled backup c. Full backup d. Differential backup Unlike manual backups, scheduled backups can only be created by members of the local Administrators group on a Windows Server 2008 computer. 8.Which backup type will empty the Application log on t he server that is being backed up? a. Copy backup b. Differential backup c. Normal backup d. VSS full backup VSS full backup will update each fileââ¬â¢s backup history and clear the Application Log files. 9. Which of the following volumes hosts the Windows operating system? a. Boot volume b. Shared volume c. System volume d. Host volume The boot volume holds the Windows operating system and the Registry. 10. When performing an authoritative restore of a user object that belongs to multiple Active Directory groups, what is restored by the LDF file that is generated by Ntdsutil? . Optional attributes b. Mandatory attributes c. Back-links d. Security Identifier (SID) In a multi-domain environment, back-links need to be manually re-created after an authoritative restore by using the LDIF files generated automatically by ntdsutil. CASE SCENARIOS Scenario 11-1: Consulting for Margieââ¬â¢s Travel You are a computer consultant for Margie Shoop, the owner of Margieââ¬â¢s Travel. Mar gie has a single Active Directory domain structure with the domain margiestravel. com. Margie has travel agencies worldwide, at 50 locations in 7 countries. All locations are connected to a satellite array.Margie has signed a 10-year contract to provide satellite access to her 50 locations. Connectivity to the satellite array varies from 57 Kbps to 128 Kbps. Although her locations vary greatly in the number of computer and user accounts, each location with more than 15 users has its own domain controller, global catalog server, and DNS server, all typically configured on the same computer. The margiestravel. com Active Directory infrastructure has nine sites. Given this information about Margieââ¬â¢s Travel, answer the following questions: 1. You discuss performance monitoring with Margie.During your conversation, you learn no one has ever used Replication and Performance Monitor to check the performance of her domain controllers. Margie wants to know why anyone would even bother . What do you say to her? Replication and Performance Monitor is used to provide one-time and ongoing reports of Active Directory performance counters, which can be used to proactively monitor Active Directory for potential hardware and software issues that might impact client authentication. 2. Margie tells you that some of her domain controllers have multiple hard disks. She tells you that the additional physical hard disks are not being used.She wants to know if they can be used to improve the performance of Active Directory. What would you tell her? The Active Directory database and log files can be moved to different hard disks within a server to improve performance. 3. Margie sends you to Cairo, Egypt, to troubleshoot a few domain controllers in her Egypt location. You find some event messages concerning replication events, but you would like to see more detailed information than the data in the log now. What can you do? Modify the debugging levels in the Registry to increase the number of events that are logged to the Event Viewer.
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