The Hornet's Nest
Without proper preparation, getting rid of a hornet's nest can cause more problems than it solves. Although I do not have first-hand experience, I can relay an incident explained to me by my mother regarding my father and the hornet's nest he came upon in their flowering crab tree. Suffering from the results of the incident, which can only be described as simultaneously hysterical and tragic, my father spent most of last week recovering from injuries that were both self and hornet-inflicted. His various comical and disastrous attempts to remove this nest from their property, and the resulting misery he endured, bring to mind a saying my high school English professor used frequently, "If you fail to plan, plan to fail."
Under the guise of "heading out to do some yard work," my father took on the dubious and dangerous task of attempting to rid his treasured flowering crab tree of a hornet's nest, reported by my mother to be the size of a large, ripe watermelon. Armed with the starter for the barbeque, the garden hose and a rake, Dad approached the tree and offending nest with the determination of a front line soldier ordered to advance on the enemy line. His plan was to set the nest on fire (yes, while still attached to the tree) and then douse the ensuing inferno with the garden hose. Coming upon the nest, Dad stealthily lit the barbeque starter under the huge hornet hive and stepped back as it became engulfed in flames. With his trusty garden hose in hand, he immediately began his attempt to extinguish the flames before the tree, the house, the whole neighborhood caught on fire.
Although the flames died down expediently, not all of the hornets perished in the blaze. A few survivors remained, and all...
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... ice pack pressed to his neck. Three of the disenchanted beasts had pursued my father into the house and the crashing sounds were those of the ensuing chase and massacre in the living room.
What were the results of this encounter? My father sustained bad stings to his neck, forearm and calf, a large bruise to his knee, and a stiff and sore back that threatened to halt his journey to work the following morning. It is apparent to me that the moral of this story is that proper preparation would have saved my father a great deal of pain and suffering. Had he taken a few simple precautions (wearing long sleeves and gloves, or perhaps making a quick call to an exterminator) perhaps the incident may never have occurred. According to the latest reports from my mother, the nest remains where it landed on the boulevard of their lawn and is still humming menacingly today.
The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire not only affected the city of New York, but also the rest of the country. It forever changed the way our country would look at safety regulations in factories and buildings. The fire proved to America what can and will happen if we over-look safety regulations and over-crowd buildings. Unfortunately, 146 lives are taken before we fully understand this concept.
'Is it true that long ago firemen put fires out instead of going to start them?’ ‘No. Houses. have always been fireproof, take my word for it.’ ‘Strange. I heard once that a long time ago houses used to burn by accident and they needed firemen to stop the flames.’ He laughed.
In conclusion, on the night of September 25th, two beautiful churches burned and many other buildings were scorched by the flames. The fire brought fear to some residents who thought they would lose everything and exhaustion to the fire fighters. No deaths were reported, and only a few people were severely burned. It was a night that would not be forgotten easily by those who lived in the “Burning District.”
Tara and I got scratched up by the roosters all around our arms and torso from their sharp talons. Tending the chickens was quite a challenge but we managed to make it through.Late night a loud knock disturbed the silence inside waking me and Tara from our slumber. I open the door only to see 3 police officers with torches asking us to step
Since the beginning of time, companies are striving and working very hard, under a lot of stress, in order to survive and overcome the challenges they face day in and day out. For Managers, it can become even more challenging to execute tasks or make the most effective decisions for their teams as the competition increases. It requires the development of excellent business strategies and effective operations to deliver exceptional products and services. An original framework created by Drs. Robert Kaplan (Harvard Business School) and David Norton has helped managers and executives achieve a more 'balanced' view of organizational performance with the Balanced Scorecard. “The balanced scorecard is a strategic planning and management system that is used extensively in business and industry, government, and nonprofit organizations worldwide to align business activities to the vision and strategy of the organization, improve internal and external communications, and monitor organization performance against strategic goals.”
Tapinos, E., Dyson, R.G. & Meadows, M. (2005). The impact of performance measurement in strategic planning. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 54(5/6), 370-384.
...rward, broke the ring, and fell over the steep edge of the rock to the sand by the water. At once the crowed surged after it, poured down the rock, leapt on to the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore. There were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws (Golding 153).
I have several personal reasons for returning to school. I take my personal goals very seriously. Some might say that I am my own worst critic and I am very hard on myself. I simply feel that I can and will do better and I do not settle for anything but the best out of myself. Ultimately, I have to live with myself and the decisions I make on a daily basis for the rest of my life. I must fulfill my own personal goals otherwise I am not giving myself to others completely. I have very clear and specific personal goals.
‘If you can’t measure it, you can’t management it’, [Dan vesset and Brian, M. 2009]. Performance management is concerned with the measurement of results and with studying progress to achieving objectives base on the results. Managing performance can tell you what you’re doing well in, and also reveal areas where you need to make adjustments. Measuring performance tells you how far you’ve gone achieving your ultimate
Wolf and put him into handcuffs. After he had subdued The Wolf, he heard a muffled cry
Performance management is a management tool used to value, monitor and measure a company’s strategies that ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of its product delivery. This management tool does not focus on the organisation and on its employees as well as stakeholders. It is a continuous process that entails that managers make sure that organisational and employee values are corresponding (Aguinis, 2005,p.1/2-1/5). Performance Management brings about the competencies in the employees, increases self-esteem by giving feedback to employees, there is a low number of lawsuits because it helps understand the company better (eThekwini Municipality, 2008,p.10-11). According to Pride, Hughes and Kapoor (2011, p.288) performance management creates motivation for employees; one theory of motivation is of Expectancy, which stipulates that employees satisfaction is driven by expectations of what an organisation will offer in return.
Performance management relates to an organization’s ability to implement a system to evaluate and advance employee performance. Achieving peak performance requires consistency, clear objectives, and constructive employee evaluation. According to Mithas, Ramasubbu, & Sambamurthy (2011), an organization must design the performance management system based on extensive research about the organization’s mission, and then properly communicate the purpose of the system to employees, stakeholders, and decision makers. After the performing the research, the information should be used to establish the appropriate performance management specialized for the organization. In addition, an effective performance management system should align performance measures with current strategic objectives and future goals.
Life is all about setting goals and trying to achieve them. The same theory also applies in the managerial industry. The accomplishment of desired results in a business is called performance. One of the major concerns of the top managers of a firm is the actual performance of the firm so its measurement is unavoidable.
However, BSC is not a template that can be applied to businesses in general. In this circumstances, different market situations, product strategies, and competitive environments need different scorecards. The businesses must devise customized scorecards to fit their vision, mission, strategies, technology, as well as their culture. On the other hand, the Performance Prism is an alternative for the BSC which is worth considering for companies looking for a system to measure and manage their performance. Based on a stakeholder approach, it is more flexible and more integrative than other systems.
Paranjape, Bhagyashree, Margaret Rossiter, and Victor Pantano. 2006. "Performance measurement systems:successes, failures and future - a review." Measuring Business Excellence 10 (3): 4-14.