An Analysis of Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” Essay

In â€Å"Shooting an Elephant,† George Orwell finds himself in a difficult situation involving an elephant. The fate of the elephant lies in his hands. Only he can make the final decision. In the end, due to Orwell’s decision, the elephant lay dying in a pool of blood. Orwell wins the sympathy of readers by expressing the pressure he feels as an Anglo-Indian in Burma, struggling with his morals, and showing a sense of compassion for the dying animal. Readers sympathize with Orwell because they can relate to his emotions in the moments before the shooting. Being the white â€Å"leader,† he should have been able to make an independent decision, but was influenced by the â€Å"natives† (Orwell 101). Orwell describes his feelings about being pressured to shoot the elephant: â€Å"Here I was the white man with his gun, standing in front of the unarmed crowd – seemingly the leading actor of the piece; but in reality I was only an absurd puppet pushed to and fro by the will of those yellow faces behind (101). Everyone has been in a situation in which he or she has been expected to be a leader. For different reasons people are looked to as leaders, sometimes because of their race, ethnicity, or heritage. In this case, Orwell was pictured as a leader because he was British and he worked for the British Empire. Readers are able to relate to the fact that he does not want to be humiliated in front of the Burmese. He declares, â€Å"Every white man’s life in the East, was one long struggle not to be laughed at† (101). Orwell compares the elephant to the huge British Empire, and just as the elephant has lost control, he feels that when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys (100). Secretly he hates the British Empire and is on the side of the Burmese (97). The elephant is equivalent to the British Empire ravaging through Burma and disrupting the little bit of peace that they have. So in that instant he felt that he had to kill the elephant. Another aspect that wins reader’s sympathy is Orwell’s struggle with what he  thought was right and what the Burmese wanted him to do. The readers have a sense that he did not have ill-intent to kill the elephant. When Orwell says, † As soon as I saw the Elephant I knew with certainty that I ought not shoot him† (99). The readers know that cruelty or hatred for the beast was not his motive. Orwell repeats the he does not want to kill it and the readers sympathize with him. Almost everyone has been in a situation were he or she could not base a decision on personal beliefs and knows that going against those beliefs is very difficult. Orwell explains, â€Å"For it is the condition of his rule that he shall spend hid life in trying to impress the ‘natives’ and so in every crisis he has got to do what the ‘natives’ expect of him† (100). Readers respect Orwell for his sense of duty. He realizes the his decision must be based on the best interest of the Burmese. Also, Orwell showed great feelings of compassion for the dying animal. He was killing the animal because he had to. He did not feel strong and powerful, as a hunter would; he felt weak and helpless. Orwell so vividly describes the elephant’s death, almost as it were giving him pain to watch. The elephant lay, â€Å"dying, very slowly and in great agony. . .† (Orwell 102). While the elephant lay dying Orwell can feel nothing but helplessness. He describes the experience as â€Å"dreadful to see the great beast lying there, powerless to move and yet powerless to die, and not even to bee able to finish him† (102). He felt helpless, with no bullets left in his gun; he was unable to put the elephant out of his misery. The compassion that he felt was obvious, he waited so long for the animal to die but, â€Å"could not stand it anymore and went away† (Orwell 102). The detailed description that Orwell gives of the death leaves the impression that he actually had feelings for the animal. If it were a routine killing he would have not even considered how the elephant felt. Orwell was very detailed about his feelings about the killing through out the essay. Most readers have respect and sympathy for him because of his emotional turmoil before the shooting, his struggle with his own feelings about killing, and his feelings of sadness for the elephant.

CASE STUDIES †CHAPTER 8 Essay

CASE STUDY 1 1.Why did Freeport-McMoRan need a performance management system? †¢The price of copper jumped significantly in 2006, so they needed to ramp up production to make more profit †¢They needed to change their strategy on handling a changing marketplace and remaining competitive †¢Each mine was run separately, so employee organization was difficult to determine †¢They acquired a company which operated differently than they did, so they needed more standardization 2.How will it help the company if it has to adjust its strategy in the future? †¢A performance management system acts as a sort of template for organizational goals, and it can be modified fairly easily based on changing goals, conditions and variables †¢If contributions from certain areas with the organization need to change, the goals are available to everyone for easy and instant access 3.Do you think a pen-and-paper performance management system could have been as effective as the electronic system Freeport-McMoRan adopted? †¢No 4.Why or why not? †¢Electronic media is the only way to ensure instant, real-time, and consistent access to company information †¢Pen-and-paper is wasteful, especially since it can be easily outdated by minor changes made to information CASE STUDY 2 1.Why do nonprofits such as the San Diego Zoological Society need an appraisal system if their goal is not to maximize their profits? †¢Profits are not the only reason for appraisals: oEmployee development is also a key factor in determining success, and showing employees their value in the company by linking it to compensation oSetting and tracking goals is another way of ensuring growth in alignment with business objectives 2.What do you think are the pros and cons of using a web-based appraisal system? †¢Pros: instant, real-time access; quantifiable metrics; transparency; contribute to employee performance; helps to determine whether any performance gaps or missing areas exist that  need to be addressed †¢Cons: high implementation costs; not always simple to use; require a lot of explanation; reduces face-to-face contact among employees and supervisors 3.How do you think the new appraisal system will affect employees and the types of employees who work at the zoo? †¢When employees know the business objectives, they are more inclined to act in ways that support them †¢When employees support the business objectives, they feel more loyal to the organization, so retention will increase †¢The zoo will find it easier to hire employees who believe in their objectives and want to support them because they are clearly defined and easily accessible

Vincent Tinto And Student Retention

Vincent Tinto is currently a Distinguished University Professor at the Syracuse University a position he has held since June 1998. Prior to that, he was a Professor of Education from June 1985 to June 1998 and an Associate Professor of Education since September 1975 to June 1985 at the same university. In the period September 1971 to June 1975 he was an Assistant Professor of Education in The Columbia University New York. He is also currently the chair of the Higher Education Program a position he has held since 1999. His academic background is also very impressive. He did his undergraduate studies in Fordham, The Jesuit University of New York in 1963 where he graduated with a bachelor of science in Physics and Philosophy. He went on to Rensselear Polytechnic Institute to pursue his masters’ degree in Physics and Mathematics in 1965. He holds a Ph. D. in Education and Sociology which he got from the University of Chicago in 1971. It is noted that while he was pursuing his doctorate he dropped out of school to join the Peace Corps and this may be one of the reasons why his researches major on student attrition and the ways to retain them in school. In this paper, the discussion will revolve around the arguments that he presents in the course of his numerous researches and in his body of works. The professor is of the view that to retain students in school all that the schools have to do is provide quality education. He tries to explain the reasons why students dropout of school especially after the first year of college (Tinto V. 1975). He also tries to provide the solutions that may work in retaining the students in the school especially through the provision of better and quality education to the students. This is done with the assumption that students want to be in school but other factors end up pushing them away. Looking at the way he approaches the issue, one notices that he lays most of the blame on the faculty. In his opinion, students would rather be in school but the faculty and education systems fail to meet the expectation of the students and hence their inability to continue being in school. They end up not trusting an education system that does not seem to meet the standards they expect an institution of higher learning ought to possess. The reception they get at the school also determines a lot if they will make it to the end of their course or they will drop out midway. According to Professor Tinto, there are three main factors that determine whether or not a student will complete their college education and these are â€Å"academic preparation, commitment and involvement† (Seidman A. & Tinto V. 2005). Although there are other factors, these are the ones identified as being most common among most of the cases. It has become of paramount importance for the schools to be able to retain their students because the graduation rate has become one of the factors determining the rating of a college. In order for a school to upgrade its position or maintain the one it is currently holding if it is a good position, a way has to be found to retain the students who are at risk of withdrawing from school. Professor Tinto among others have been conducting researches to determine what makes student leave school while others faced with similar problems persist. He conducts interviews using high-risk students who have succeeded in college as his subjects. He focuses mainly on those who are in the two and the four year courses and are under prepared and underrepresented in terms of college education. He tries to find out from them which factors enabled them to persist when others failed. As stated before, commitment, preparation and involvement are the key factors determining whether one will remain in school or one will quit midway. In an article he wrote with Cathy Engstrom ‘Access Without Support is not Opportunity’ (http://www. changemag. org), they give the example of Donald who dropped out of college after transferring to a different school. He is an example of students who drop out due to being disappointed by the college. He starts off college in a school where the teachers are concerned with the students’ welfare and the environment is challenging. However, due to familial problems Donald is forced to move to another college which he feels lacks in quality when compared to the previous school. Professor Tinto notes that, although in Donald’s he later went back to school, not all dropouts go back to finish their education. It has been recorded that majority of high-risk students especially those who are low-income do not complete their college education. In the case of the four year degree courses, only about 26 percent of low-income students finish in a period of six years when compared to the 56 percent of high-income students who achieve the same (http://www. changemag. org). The reason given for this is that they are academically under prepared especially because they do not have access to academic resources in a manner similar to that of the high-income students. This leads to feelings of inadequacy and helplessness among the low-income students often resulting in their dropping out of school. They tend to view the time spent in school as a waste of their time which could be used to generate income by working. This decision is made because they cannot foresee ever getting the same grades as the high-income students since they are not on the same level. This means that their lack of preparation leads to their lack of commitment to the education that they are receiving. Lack of commitment then obviously leads to very high rates of dropping out of college. To deal with this problem, the faculty has to get involved since as professor Tinto sees it they are the main perpetrators of the problem. In Donald’s case, although he had not been well prepared for college, in his first school the teachers were concerned with his welfare and hence he was able to feel welcome in that school and able to concentrate on his studies. This corresponds to the idea that student-faculty out of class contact is very important to a students’ academic growth (Tinto V. 1993). When a student feels free to approach a teacher out of class, even if he or she was not well prepared when enrolling in the college, there is a high possibility that the student will succeed. The reason given for this is that the student will be able to ask for assistance and guidance from the teachers. This assistance may be academic or personal for example in choosing a career one may be able to get the best guidance from the teachers who know which are the student’s strong and weak points. A student may also be suffering from personal problems that affect his or her academic performance and by opening up to a teacher may be able to get the extra help required for excellence in the academic field. A teacher may also be able to assist a student with required material for the class or direct the student where to get the material if they do not have it or are unable to afford (Tinto V. 1975). From his research, Professor Tinto has found out that most of the students who succeed in college yet were in danger of dropping out attributed their achievement to contact with a faculty or staff member although this was rare (Tinto V. 1975). This contact with someone affiliated to the school helped the students get into the rhythm of college life and gave them someone to approach whenever they had problems in the school. They also got a point of reference when setting their goals of what they would like to achieve since they now had real life models to emulate and learn from. The student-faculty out of class relationship is very important as it leads to various positive gains by the student thus ensuring their retention in school. The student involved in this sort of interaction feels more satisfied with the faculty and the college as he or she feels welcome in the school. They develop both personally and intellectually while gaining the ability to think critically by being constantly in the presence of someone with experience in the field. The perception that the student has of the quality of the college improves consequently leading to their improved performance and in class while raising their educational aspirations. The overall result of all this is the persistence of the student to graduate since they have dreams to achieve (Tinto V. 1975). All the above is possible because the student has become committed to the education that he or she is receiving which is one of the key factors that the professor talks about. The student feels that there is a responsibility to attain the best grade possible because there are people helping him or her and it would be wrong to let them down. Furthermore, they have their appetites for education and also betterment of their futures through the same whetted and they also feel proud of having done the best that they could. There is also a sense of not wanting to be the one who let the entire school down through bad performance and dropping out. The third key factor that the professor talks about is the importance of the involvement of the student in the school society/community. He has come up with the idea of Learning Communities which involves the participation of both the faculty and the students. These communities work in creating a sense of community in the school that helps the students feel that they belong in a society that welcomes them. These communities are not for students only but faculty members can also form their own communities that aid them in providing the best possible education to the students while making learning easier and more enjoyable for both parties (Tinto V. & Engstrom C. 2002). Learning Communities are described as teams that meet on a regular basis a number of times in a week. These teams have an agenda to improve their work for the collective betterment of the school. The members also want to improve themselves daily by engaging in discussions within the group that aid in the attainment of the schools goals and also their individual goals. This is done independent from the classroom experience which also takes place. However the classroom influences the teams because members of the same group have top have similar interests which are determined by what is done in class. In the case of students, those pursuing similar courses tend to be members of the same group because they can discuss the same things in the group and also have the same goals. The students will meet several times a week at a time convenient for all the group members’ other than class time. Their discussions will revolve around the class work and the problems each encounters when attempting the same. In case there is a major problem common to all the members they have the opportunity to get in touch with a teacher and discuss the problem and get the necessary assistance (Seidman A. & Tinto V. 2005). When it comes to the faculty members, they may decide to meet weekly or twice a month to discuss ways in which they can improve service delivery to aid the students in their education. They also offer their criticism concerning the students and try and work out which ways would be best to improve the students’ performance. They also share the common problems that they encounter when performing their duties and discuss the ways in which they can make their work easier and the best ways they can deal with the problems. It is important for both students and faculty members to be involved for the Learning Communities to work. The students have to be able to count on the teachers support when addressing their issues and know that the teacher will respond to their queries. The teachers have to be available for consultations with the students. The students must be able to find time outside class when they can meet and address their problems and discuss class work. This is when this theory meets a hurdle in its implementation because time is a rare factor in college. It is almost impossible to find the people all having some free time at the same time and if the students manage it the teachers may not be available at that particular time. In conclusion, one has to give Professor Tinto credit for the work that he has done in trying to come up with ways to deal with the problems that students encounter in their college life. He has dedicated a lot of his time to researching on how to make learning easier and pleasurable to students so as to avoid their dropping out of school. He focuses on the failure of the faculty to provide a good learning environment thus causing the students to feel that the education they are getting is not worthwhile. He shows the different ways that this can be remedied to ensure that students remain in school and get good education. From his interviews, he arrives at the conclusion that for a better learning environment to be attained the students and the faculty has to change their attitude towards learning by making the learning institutions more welcoming to students. This is done by improving the out of class faculty-student relationships which aids the students get attuned to college life. It can also be done by forming learning communities which help both the students and teachers improve the education in the school and consequently the overall grade of the school. However, as much as his arguments as very valid and his solutions reasonable there are problems that are encountered in executing them. The students and faculty members claim not to have the time to be involved in the learning communities and in the student-faculty out of class meetings. However if they were to be implemented, they would be able to work beautifully. It is however important to note that not all students will be retained since some dropout of school for other reasons different from the ones discussed by the professor but the ones discussed can be greatly reduces if the measures were to be implemented.

Analysis of the Link between Violence in Media and Positive Behavior in Children

Analysis of the Link between Violence in Media and Positive Behavior in Children Argument Analysis: A Closer Look at Violent Media The article â€Å"Violent Media is Good for Kids† by Gerad Jones argues that violent media can have positive effects on children. Violent media, much like the title already states, can be good for children. Jones gears his paper to an audience of parents, educators, or other adults that generally think violent media is harmful and has negative effects on children. Throughout the paper, Jones discusses success stories of children he has personally worked with. Violent media is often thought of as deleterious to children. Gerad Jones however, an acclaimed comic book author, begs to differ. Jones’s use of emotional persuasion, diction and establishment of credibility allows him to successfully convince those that believe violent media is harmful to children that violent media does in fact have positive effects on children. Jones is successful in using diction to create an emotional appeal, which ultimately benefits his argument that violent media is good for kids. Jones begins his article with a narrative on his more formative years as a young boy. Jones explains how his parents believed violent mediums were harmful to children, much like the members of his audience. The narrative continues on explaining that the lack of violent mediums in Jones’s life made him hide his â€Å"deepest fears and desires under a nice-boy persona† (par. 1) because his parents â€Å"built a wall between [him] and the crudest elements of American pop culture† (par. 1). The beginning of Jones’s narrative employs a strong use of pathos to connect emotionally with his audience. A sense of sadness is conjured when reading that Jones covered up his true feelings under â€Å"a nice-boy persona.† It is generally agreed that young children should not cover up their feelings, but it is instead healt hier to show how you feel. Therefore reading that Jones hid his true feelings implies that as a 13-year-old boy, Jones was not in a healthy and happy state of mind, thus creating a feeling of sadness. The use of the word â€Å"wall† between Jones and violent media is also unsettling because of the images and connotations the word â€Å"wall† evokes. A wall implies isolation and imprisonment. The audience will view the word â€Å"wall† as Jones being confined against his own good, thus again creating a sense of sadness and pity for adolescent Gerad Jones. This emotional appeal successively forces the audience to re-think if isolating a child from violent media beneficial. In order for the audience to be receptive of Jones’s argument, Jones establishes his credibility by referencing appropriate sources and narrating his personal success stories. Jones cites a doctor of psychology, Melanie Moore, to support his claim that violent media is beneficial to children. Moore explains that feelings like â€Å"fear, greed, power-hunger, rage† (par. 7) are normal human aspects and they can be â€Å"experienced vicariously through stories of others† (par. 7) through violent media. Moore continues to argue â€Å"children need violent entertainment in order to explore the inescapable feelings that theyve been taught to deny† which ultimately results in a â€Å"more resilient self-hood† (par. 7). Referencing a doctor of psychology creates credibility for Jones’s argument because it is generally agreed that a doctor of psychology has vast knowledge and understanding of human emotions and things that can affect human emotions. Moore’s statements parallel Jones’s argument, thus making the argument that violent media is good for children more believable and credible. However, Moore is also Gerad’s research partner. This could cause Moore to have some inherent bias, which would lower the reliability of her statements. A lack of credibility in the argument would create a less receptive audience, thus making the argument unsuccessful. Although Moore is Gerad’s research partner, her statements are still valid, despite the possibility of inherent bias. Jones also increases his credibility by narrating a success story of violent media benefiting a child. It is important to note that Jones uses his personal success stories, which again, has some inherent bias. Jones would not use stories that go against his argument of violent media is good for children. Being able to pick and choose his own success stories decreases the validity of his statements. Nonetheless, they are still success st ories, and ultimately do increase Jones’s credibility. Jones goes on to explain how he helped a young girl positively channel her less conventional emotions and thoughts of violence. Jones â€Å"started helping her tell stories† that were â€Å"sometimes bloody, sometimes tender, always blending the images of pop culture with her most private fantasies.† Through working with Jones, the girl came out of it â€Å"more self-controlled and socially competent† (par. 12). This success story backs the argument that violent mediums can benefit children. The audience will cling on to the fact that the girl was able to better control her emotions through violent mediums because it is an example of how violent media can have positive effects. By Jones including a success story of how violent media has benefited a child he further establishes his argument’s credibility because he has evidence to support his claim. This article was written shortly after the Columbine shooting, where two high school students fired guns during school, causing a deadly massacre. Many adults believed it was violent media that drove these children to violence, so Gerad Jones’s article is controversial in the sense that many adults believed violent media could potentially cause another lethal massacre. However, Gerad Jones was successful in arguing that violent media is good for kids by connecting emotionally with the audience and establishing his credibility. Jones avoided discussing violent mediums that were more grotesque than comic books, like GTA, Halo, etc. It was wise of Jones to do this because his argument would not have been as well received had he began arguing that those forms of violent media were beneficial. Gerad Jones simply wanted to change the way people viewed violent media and for them to begin thinking about its beneficial possibilities. Getting that message across would have been more cha llenging using extreme violent media, which is why Jones stayed mainly with less gruesome violent media. By doing this, Jones is successful in the fact that audience members most likely re-evaluated their position of violent media for children and were able to understand its positive benefits.

Plato Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Plato - Essay Example In this tragedy lies heroism and moral fortitude. Although deemed guilty by the then prevailing laws of Athens, he stands righteous in spirit. Even when given the choice between a life in exile or immediate execution, he chose the latter as a matter of adhering to principle. The following passages will elaborate this assessment. Socrates was brought to trial by the democratic Athenian jury, which had scores to settle with prominent members of the previous regime. Socrates’ association with the previous regime made him a target of persecution, irrespective of the veracity of the alleged charges. He was accused of undermining religious and state authority and for also corrupting the minds of young Athenians. But in reality, Socrates made no deliberate attempts to bring down the religious and state authorities. Instead, he encouraged his students to adopt a critical approach to moral actions, also suggesting that the Athenian rulers themselves are not exempt from such scrutiny. E ven when sentenced to death by the Athenian court, Socrates did not try to evade his fate, but rather accepted it with equanimity. Even though he is termed ‘guilty’ by the Athenian court, his rationale for accepting the verdict reveals the moral soundness of his decision, thus, in effect, vindicating his moral righteousness. (Vlastoc, 1991, p.114) For example, â€Å"At 49c-d Socrates elaborates his leading premise to 'one should not wrong any person', adding to this 'not even if one has been wronged by him'. At 49e5-7 he states a further premise 'one should do what one has agreed to do, provided that it is not wrong'. He then proposes that it follows from these premises that it would be wrong for him to escape (49e9-50a3)†. (Bostock, 1990, p.2) By reasoning in this fashion, Socrates puts principles ahead of self-interest. In this broad sense, he is really not guilty. Moreover, his concern for law and order among Athenian civilians made him put public interest ahe ad of his own. For example, â€Å"if Socrates tries to escape, he will be attempting, for his part, to destroy the Laws, and (thereby) the whole city; for a city could not survive if the verdicts reached by the courts were set aside and rendered powerless by individuals. (50a8-b8).† (Bostock, 1990, p.2) Socrates reasons that one should do nothing wrong, further adding that his own life till that point was lived in accord with this premise. Since disobeying Athenian laws would amount to doing wrong, he argues against his own bodily interest and surrenders to the court. He thus accepts the death penalty imposed on him as a matter of righteous conduct and lawful behavior. It is easy to extend this logic and come to the conclusion that Socrates thought that it would always be wrong for any citizen of Athens to disobey any law of the city. But a detailed analysis of all of Socrates’ sayings shows that this is not the case. Moreover, there is ambiguity and contradiction with in the set of Athenian law that creates sufficient doubt about the ‘guilty’ verdict: â€Å"The Laws say that if Socrates escapes he will have both failed to obey and failed to persuade (52a3-4). Now quite a natural way of taking this charge would be to suppose that it claims that Socrates has not obeyed the law against impiety and corrupting the young, and also has not persuaded the jury that he should not be condemned on this account. If that is the correct way of taking it, then our proposed third

Information Systems and Technologies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Information Systems and Technologies - Essay Example Information systems are usually confused by management information systems. However, MIS strictly refers to the management of information systems whereas information systems include systems that include decision making as well. In today's every growing fast paced world, information is termed valuable more then any other tangible asset. The reason is that information systems have slowly and gradually taken over the decision making responsibilities from human beings. In this 'Information Age', these systems have become the basis of conducting efficient business. In today's world, the environment changes every other day. With the changes taking place everyday, it is a requirement for the companies to continuously collect and manage information so that they may be better informed then their competitors. This will lead to the development of a viable advantage that will help organizations in better decision making. Gaining competitive advantage over competitors and rival companies is one of the major strategies that can help companies excel in the long run. The question arises that if the application of IT really provides a competitive edge to organizations. Answers to this question have been discussed and explored over many decades and it will be explored for the many years to come due to the ever-changing and evolving economic conditions of the world and transformation of industries. Due to these explorations, we have found out that usage of information technology effectively in organizations can create legendary results. Examples include the American Airlines Sabre System for traveling reservations, the FedEx's suite of tracking shipments and packages and Amazon.com's approach to internet based retailing. All the above mentioned examples have put forward the idea that information technology can help serve as a competitive advantage if it is used to leverage operational and organizational activities and support the collection of critical data at the right time. COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE IN HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATIONS Information Technology soft wares and systems are tremendously used in today's health care organizations to manage the extensive amount of data and analyzing it critically to help benefit the patients, staff, doctors and the overall organization. The basic idea is not applying the system; however, competitive advantage is gained depending on three factors. These factors are how the system is implemented, whether the implementation done was cheaper or not then the competitors and the strengths of the organization's technical and IT staff. Effective implementation of IT in an organization can make the programs used in the organization faster, less prone to error and convenient. For example, accounts receivable applications have made the collection A/R processes faster, economical and less expensive. To improve organizational performance the right kind of information system must be implemented. The leverage of the processes is the most effective when the process on which the technology is applied are core processes that customers usually use to gauge the performance of an organization. For

Organizing Function of Management Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Organizing Function of Management - Case Study Example Managers distribute responsibility and authority to job holders in this function of management" The physical resources contribute to the greatest part of the balance sheets of the FedEx Kinko's Inc. Thus, the physical resources must be organized carefully. The division of those resources must be planned, coordinated and above all, inline with the organizational goals of efficiency and effectiveness without compromising the customer satisfaction. In the words of their ex Chief Executive Officer, the centre of FedEx Kinko's are organized in the pattern of hub and spoke. Just like all the spokes are connected through each other using the hub, likewise, in a region, all the braches are connected through a 'hub'. These branches, each being the integral part of the network, work in close coordination with the hub to form the setup in totality. Hub locations are opened round the clock and have greater domain of services to offer, thus containing greater number of products, services and equipments. Spokes, the local branches, offer self-serving and full-serving capabilities, but forward higher-volumes to hubs for over-night or specialized production. In order to determine that which stores should be the 'round the clock' stores, they have used a '15 minute rule', the rule used by most of the round the clock businesses. According to this rule, the store which is made the 'hub' must be accessible to the customer within the drive of 1 5 minutes. On one hand, this ensures the efficient use of the existing resources, while on the other hand, this also ensures the increased customer satisfaction and targeted use of the round the clock hubs. While on one hand, this service will attract a great number of individual customers, this will also enable FedEx Kinko's to attract those corporate clients who have bulk of production demand, with complex specifications. To make the customers aware of any changes in the locations of the 24/7 stores, customers are notified through signage, with bag inserts and by FedEx Kinko's team members. If a store is no longer a 24/7 one, the next closest locations are indicated through the signage. Their website is also very useful in providing those information regarding the locations of the stores. Thus, it this way, FedEx Kinko's has maximized the use of its physical resources beyond the traditional store hours, in order to create a value addition. (FedEx Kinko's website, press release) ORGANIZATION OF KNOWLEDGE RESOURCES: In today's rapidly changing world of information technology, knowledge management is one of the crucial issue for all the organizations, since the appropriate amount of knowledge sharing to the appropriate person at appropriate time with appropriate frequency is essential, besides the collection and filtering of the 'knowledge asset'. At FedEx Kinko's, two information systems are being used in order to properly organize the information, related to core as well as support functions. Both the