Las Ferreterias de Mexico

Good management- Most of the Employees value rewards of different nature and they are therefore motivated by positive rewards. Employees are known to put less effort to those activities or tasks that are not well rewarded and hence in order to motivate them in their work, a good scheme for rewarding them is important. These rewards are different in nature and include compensation, awards, off duties and many others. Mr. Gonzalez came up with the idea of implementing compensation plan as a way of improving performance of the employees in the company.His intention was to include managers, buyers and salesmen in this new compensation incentive. However, the consultancy firm found this to be difficult since it was challenging to measure the performance of the salesmen and buyers. The consultancy firm therefore advised Mr. Gonzalez to use the plan for managers of the companies only without including other staffs. The success of any plan or policy depends so much on the involvement of peop le who will be affected by that plan in its development.Employees will always support implementation of a plan they were involved in its development. For instance, considering their views before the development of the scheme will make them to own the plan and therefore support it when it comes to the implementation of the plan. This means that for the success of the new compensation plan, Mr. Gonzalez had to make sure that he involved all the parties who will be affected by the new plan. In the development of the new compensation schemes, Mr.Gonzalez sought the services of the consultancy firm who worked together with the human resource and finance department representatives. The involvement of these two departments was important in order take care of financial and human resource considerations during the plan implementation. However, the plan did not involve other staffs who were to be affected by the plan. This include managers from other departments such as store managers and sal es manager who were the beneficially of the new plan.This could make it difficulty for the company to implement the plan since there may be tradeoffs between the performance of the whole team and that of individual managers (Gerhart et al, 2009). During the development of the plan, it was necessary to take and consider the views of other managers and not just human resource and finance managers. This would have made the plan makers to consider all the issues like bonus pool allocation, performance measures to be used and other important issues that may affect theimplementation of the plan. This would have ensured issues like how the bonus will be allocated among the managers. The plan allocated 70% of the bonus to the store managers and the rest to corporate staffs and regional managers. Though, store managers perform a crucial role in sales, other department managers may not be comfortable with the way the bonus is allocated. The allocation of the bonus could have been agreed by al l departmental managers before the implementation of the new plan.BONUS POOL ALLOCATIONAccording to the new compensation plan, the bonus pool would be allocated among store managers depending on the bonus units they have earned. A 5% earning in ROI would earn a store manager one unit of bonus. Any additional percentage earning in ROI would earn an additional bonus unit. This formula will continue to apply as the percentage in ROI earning increases. The allocation will also put into consideration those store managers who have been in their position for a period less than a year.The allocation of bonus among regional managers would be different where the formula used will consider the bonus unit that has been earned by stores in the managers’ region divided by all total unit bonus that have been earned by all stores in the company. Finally according to the new compensation plan, bonus pool for the corporate staff would be divided by the CEO, depending on the ROI earnings of the corporation in that year. The formula used in the compensation plan is very clear and simple hence understandable by all managers. A good bonus plan should be simple and clear to the parties who are affected by that plan.This would make it simple for those party affected by the plan to implement it. Clarity of the compensation plan means that the plan has little or no ambiguity and uncertainty about the standards that will be used to measure the performance of the beneficiaries. This means that the superiors are not in a position to show any favourism or bias when measuring the performance of their subordinates. In this company, the formula applied is based on the allocation of bonus pool among the store managers according to the unit bonus they have earned relative to the ROI earning.The formula is simple and managers can easily understand it and work hard to increase their ROI earning in order for them to increase their bonus units. Again, the formula is fixed and it may not be p ossible for those people who will be assessing the performance of the managers to show any bias or favouritism. This will ensure the efficiency of the compensation plan. This also applies to the formula used to calculate bonus for regional managers and corporate staffs. A good reward system should produce some impacts to the corporation.The system used should be aimed to improve the performance of the organisation after its implementation. Managers and other staffs ought to be motivated to work hard by the reward system as they strive to earn the promised bonus. Their increased performance will be reflected in the increased performance of the whole company. In addition, a good reward system ought to be timely where employees are rewarded immediately without any delay. This will motivate workers to work even harder in the next period thus improving the performance of the corporation in the long term.THE PRINCIPLLE OF CONTROLLABILITYAccording to the controllability principle, all empl oyees ought to be held accountable only for those variables that are within their control (Giraud et al, 2008). Employees ought not to be penalized when things fail because of bad luck as well as not being rewarded when things succeed because of good luck. Thus managers should be held accountable for the outcomes of the variables they control. At managerial level, many factors that affect the performance of an organisation are only partially controlled. However, managers are usually in a position to make decisions that may make the uncontrollable factors affect result in a positive way.The advantage of this method is that managers can be held accountable for the areas they are intended to influence. This will direct all the effort of the managers to the areas that can improve the performance of the organistion (profit centre). For instance, the compensation plan employed by Mr. Gonzalez will hold managers accountable for their profit centre.The main profit centre of the corporation are the stores thus basing the compensation plan of the managers on performance of this area will ensure that, managers effort are directed to the profit centre. Managers will also be more responsible since they will be accountable for all the factors they are controlling in the stores. However managers should also be rewarded for those factors they do not control and yet affect the outcome of their division outcome.BONUS DECISION ON CORPORATE PROFITThe new compensation plan is based on the ROI earnings at the end of financial year. The allocation of bonus among corporate staffs is based directly on the ROI earning of the corporate while among the managers it is indirectly based on ROI earnings. This means the bonus compensation plan may have impact on the corporate profit as it becomes expenses to the company.Increased ROI does not necessarily translate to increased profit and therefore basing bonus compensation on ROI may reduce the profit of the company due to increased expenses. The payment of all bonuses may be too expensive to the corporation thus reducing the profit of the organisation. However, this does not mean that the increased performance of the managers would not increase the profit of the corporation.QUESTION TWO CHALLENGES OF USING ROI Though the use of ROI to measure the performance of different division has a many advantages, it also has many disadvantages (Rachlin, 1997). Using this method to measure the performance of managers in the corporation may pose a number of challenges to Mr. Gonzales. According to Hoffman and Rogelberg (1998), the method may be referred to as a discretionary system since it does not include all the staffs of the corporation. The plan only covers the managers and does not cover other players in profit generation such as salesmen and buyers.This means that the plan will not motivate all the workers together since it only covers some of them and not all of them. This will be difficult for all the employees to be unite d in order to achieve a common goal of improving performance of the organisation. Increasing ROI earnings can only occurs when all the employees of the organisation combine their effort together to achieve a certain level of ROI earnings. This is not possible when all the staffs are not rewarded fairly for their effort.ROI performance measures show the ratio of the profit in relation to the investment used to generate it. This measure at times may be problematic for instance when it comes to the determination of the investments that were used to generate a given level of profit. It is difficult to measure the amount of fixed asset that was used to generate a given level of profit. Mr. Gonzalez may find it difficult to relate the profit generated in a given store with fixed assets that were used to generate that profit. This because fixed assets will be used in more than one financial year.The use of ROI earnings to measure the performance of managers may lead to sub optimization whe re managers concentrate only on the ROI earnings of their division without necessary working to improve the performance of the whole corporation. Improving the ROI of a certain division is usually a short term goal which may not increase the performance of the organisation in the long term. Managers and other staffs may work very hard only for the purpose of earning the bonuses in the new compensation plan without necessary aiming to improve the performance of the company.The measure of earning on investments may also include those factors that are not controlled by the managers. This may include liabilities and assets that are not controlled by division managers and yet they affect the profit of a given store. Division managers usually control receivables and payments within that division and they should only be accountable for that. Holding division managers accountable for factors they do not control may be unfair to them. Thus Mr. Gonzalez ought to look for a method of measuring performance that will be fairer to all the managers.The use of ROI method may also create unhealthy competition among the store managers. Bonus pool is allocated among store managers according to the percentage of ROI they have earned in their stores. The managers can therefore do anything possible to increase their ROI so that they can increase their bonus. This may involve manipulating their revenue and expenses in order to report high profit figures at the end of financial period. This behaviour will create unnecessary short term pressure among the managers which can be avoided using a different method of measuring the performance of the managers (Eva & Mika, 2010).This may have a negative impact to the long term performance of the company. Each division may also work more independent without co-working with other divisions since different divisions will be operating like rivals which may also not improve the long term performance of the company. It is also difficult to know whe ther the increase in sale in a certain store is as result of the new compensation plan (Sammer, 2006). It may take sometime before Mr. Gonzalez knows whether the implemented plan is successful.This is because there are other factors that are not controlled by the manager that may result in increased ROI earning. The use of the ROI method compare all managers on the same platform without considering differences in areas like their division, their region and many other differences. For instances, managers in different departments carry out different operations that have different expenses and revenues. These differences will also affect their department profitability and thus their earnings in ROI.Different regions also have different rate of sales and although efforts put by manager in that region matters, regional differences will also affect the outcome of those regions. The use of ROI to measure the profitability of the manager does not put into consideration factors like regional differences which will affect the outcome of a certain region. Thus rewarding managers using ROI earnings which do not consider such factors will be unfair to some managers who may come from those regions that are not favourable.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)In 1979, Dr. Norman Rosenthal moved from his home in South Africa to New York. Over a short period of time he found that the short days, compared with those in South Africa, were affecting his energy levels, and that these feelings would usually persist until spring. In 1984 at the National Institute for Mental Health, this one doctor's brush with seasonally induced depression began the study of what is commonly called winter blues, or more clinically, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).What is it and who gets it?Affecting approximately 5% of the US population SAD is a seasonally induced depressive disorder that manifests itself during the darker months of the year, typically between October and April, with symptoms often completely abating shortly thereafter. A person with SAD has problems responding to the seasonal changes in light. Though nearly anyone can potentially be affected, the prototypical SAD patient is a woman in her 20's or 30's living in a far northern climate experiencing feelings of anxiety and fatigue.seasonal affective disorderIn order to meet the clinical definition of suffering from SAD, a person must exhibit the symptoms through two consecutive winters. (Morano, 2003)Americans are more than twice as likely than European to have SAD. This can be the result of several factors, including cultural response biases, genetic differences, seasonality and climatic variations. (Lam, 2002) Women are also more than 4 times as likely as men to exhibit symptoms of SAD. (Hardy, 2004) Children of SAD sufferers are also likely to suffer from SAD, as this order is believed to be genetic, and hereditary.SAD definitely has a stronger prevalence as you move into northern climates, but studies have only shown this prevalence to be modest (Lam, 2002).SymptomsSAD tends to generate a 'hibernation-like response' (Morano,

How to Write a Lead Paragraph

How to Write a Lead Paragraph How to Write a Lead Paragraph How to Write a Lead Paragraph By Mark Nichol Absent or in spite of a photograph or other visual information, the headline is the first thing most readers notice. But even the most captivating headline has to be followed by a lead paragraph (known in journalistic jargon as a lede) that convinces the reader that the article is worth reading. What’s the function of a lede? (The odd spelling supposedly derives from the tradition of distinguishing the noun lead or the adjectival form in â€Å"lead paragraph† from the homonym lead, as in â€Å"lead type.†) An article is a story, and the lede is the pitch to woo the reader. But that analogy is of dubious use if your storytelling overtures are along the lines of â€Å"Let me tell you about this crazy thing that happened to me today† no more useful than clearing your throat or shuffling papers before you give a speech. In person, your audience might patiently and politely await your account, but readers, knowing you’re not there to have your feelings hurt, will likely not hesitate to move on. But what if you cut to the chase and said, â€Å"A guy pulled a gun on me today†? Your audience will almost certainly invest some time and effort into hearing what comes next. By the same token, a lede must be constructed to attract attention. What content, exactly, goes into a lede? The first paragraph of an article provides the main points without digressing into details; those can follow in subsequent paragraphs. A lede tells the reader something interesting and/or newsworthy, providing context and perspective. Ideally, it speaks to the reader’s curiosity, and perhaps their desires or fears. It might introduce conflict or controversy. The traditional lede for a news article includes what journalists call the 5 Ws (and sometimes an H thrown in for good measure): This term is shorthand for who, what, when, where, and why (plus how). Of course, a lede that includes all five (or six) elements is usually overstuffed; it’s better to focus only a couple or at most a few of these. (One of the most celebrated newspaper-article ledes, in reference to a man who was shot and killed because he attacked a fast-food worker over an order of fried chicken, tells you only who and what and is reticent about the what: â€Å"Gary Robinson died hungry.†) The challenge to writing a good lede is achieving both specificity and brevity. To be specific, remember who and its friends. Pick one, or another question, to answer, and wrap the lede around it. To accomplish brevity (ideally, a lede should consist of less than thirty words), choose strong, vivid nouns and verbs, eschew verbosity and redundancy, and make every word count. To test the lede, read it aloud, and omit adjectives, adverbs, and wordy constructions and, especially in these search-engine-driven times, focus on keywords. To craft an effective lede, avoiding writing what readers already know and telling readers what you’re going to tell them. Keep to one point, and avoid attribution and specific numbers (an exception to the specificity rule). Think of the lede as an elevator speech the proverbial opportunity to sell your story to a movie producer or book publisher with a brief pitch during the interval the two of you share an elevator ride. This is your chance; take it. What if you just can’t put a lede together? Write a placeholder sentence, and come back to it later after you’ve completed the rest of the article the result may show you the way. You might also think about potential ledes before you even begin to report or research, or during the process. You may not end up using anything you come up with at that stage, but it will get you thinking. Also, keep in mind that the traditional journalistic lede isn’t the only way to go. Besides the summary form, there’s also the anecdotal lede, the question, the quotation, and the direct approach or a combination of forms. Remember â€Å"A guy pulled a gun on me today†? Though the question, quotation, and direct forms are challenging to pull off, the anecdotal form, a hallmark of what is called narrative journalism or narrative nonfiction, is increasingly popular and often intuitively constructed. Here’s the lede to a true first-person story I might write: â€Å"I had always wondered how I would react if someone pulled a gun on me. Today, I found out.† Would you like to read more? Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Freelance Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:7 English Grammar Rules You Should Know11 Writing Exercises to Inspire You and Strengthen Your Writing20 Criminal Terms You Should Know

Music Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Music - Essay Example However, in October 2005 the famous three (Dave Gahan, Martin L. Gore and Andrew Fletcher) released Precious (the 1st single from the CD), and soon after it the CD itself. It is crucial to pay profound attention to the track list of the CD so that to have a better understanding of the overall mood and musical qualities of Playing the Angel. The opening song of the CD â€Å"A pain that I’m used to† is exclusively powerful and emotional. It is very integral, and at the same time filled with various musical elements. The â€Å"industrial† noise at the beginning of the track transform into pulsing rhythm at the background and the reserved vocal line of David Gahan. Bit by bit the sound comes back to the roughness and the craziness of the initial motive. Contrasted to this musical aggression are the â€Å"phlegmatic† guitar parts. â€Å"John The Revelator† is the seconds track of the album, and it is close in its musical characteristics to the first one. Its zest is in the combination of vivid rock’n’roll-style melody, electronic effects and old-fashioned accompaniment. â€Å"Suffer Well† has amazing refrain that is at the same time extremely expressive, ecstatic and elevated. â€Å"The Sinner In Me† is gloomy and a bit tense, with a lot of nice electronic effects. But its problem is that is it situated between two real masterpieces – â€Å"Suffer Well† and â€Å"Precious†. â€Å"Precious† is the first single from Playing The Angel and reminds of their earlier song Enjoy The Silence. In both songs the voice of Depeche Mode’s frontman David Gahan has similar vocal qualities: it is melancholic and a bit â€Å"distant†. The song has a very remarkable keyboard party that contains magical elements in each and every sound and in its overall harmony. â€Å"Macro† is one of the two songs at the CD with Martin L. Gore’s vocal. The refrain of

It took a long time, but there is now a good standard of protection Essay

It took a long time, but there is now a good standard of protection against unfair standard contract terms imposed by one par - Essay Example In the past, one party to a contract could violate the contract by exploiting the loopholes in the English Law. But today, legal safeguards are in place to stem such practices (Gretchen 2000, p.67). UK has various statutes stating that when one of the parties to a contract disobeys the contract, the other is at liberty to seek legal redress. Contract law encompasses issues as whether a validly executed contract is in place, what it entails, whether the actions of a party amounts to contract violation, and the level of compensation that a victim of contract violation is entitled to. Historical development Standard clauses were in a contract conceived out of the need for discipline among parties in business practices; however, it was insignificant in pre-commercial practices (Howells, and Weatherill, 2005p.p.101). In ancient times, the largely primitive societies employed other methods of implementing the dedication of parties to an agreement. Before the advent of contract law, deals a nd promises between individuals were done through familial connections or under religious organizations. In the ancient system premised upon barter, transactions were self-enforcing since transactions would be deemed complete by both parties at once. In contrast, Blythe (2005, p.77) argued that many parties is such transactions would notice problems with the commodities after the transaction was complete, but these historical challenges have been usually arbitrated through property law. The lack of fair standard terms in contact law would complicate the issue, since clear rules guiding the promise such as the conduct of both parties was lacking. In the ancient English law, the then primitive society continued to employ notions of issues to do with property instead of a pledge (Gretchen 2000, p.67). In the society’s ancient forms of transactions involving informal contracts, familial connections helped in securing the credit in as much the same way as when a community or an et hnic group provided hostages for the period within which the debt was to be settled. Other types of security included promising a property such as land or giving away individuals as pawns (Bar 2004, p.54). Some credit options were basically commonly accepted across board: livestock, for example, would be assigned to a concierge whose services were paid with a fixed proportion of the animal’s young ones. The problems arising from the quantification of values of assets impacted the enforceability of the largely casual agreements, especially following the expansion of business transactions beyond familial connections in the second half of the twentieth century. These business activities eventually led the development of solid, enforceable, binding laws of contracts in the modern United Kingdom (Heidemann 2007, p.35). Modern statutes put in place enforceable promises, which basically went hand in hand with the expansion of the country’s market economy. In contrast though, cases of violations of standard terms of contract even after the enactment of the first major contract law in 1977 persisted. The Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977, which basically aimed to streamline the behaviour of parties in a contract were still rampant in the United Kingdom (Forte 1999, p.121). Legal safeguards The English law of contract has sections dealing with unfair standard terms

Whats wrong with school teacher play student, learns to lie and cheat Essay

Whats wrong with school teacher play student, learns to lie and cheat - Essay Example Glanz realized that the students found the classes boring, lied and manipulated their teachers, and they did not work hard to get good grades. She realized that the students did not learn much in the classrooms as they were demotivated and turned off by the fact that they had little responsibility and power over their education. They expected the teachers to do everything for them and assumed that their role was to sit down and listen. They thought that the teachers were bores and their role was to distribute the information required for the students to pass tests. Glanz was saddened by the fact that teachers did not realize the communication gap that existed between them and their students. She learned that political corruption had made some students believe that there was no need to put in effort as it had little value. Students had a low opinion over honesty and this attitude encouraged many of them to cheat in their exams and feel no remorse about their actions. As Glanz returned to her former school, she decided to demand more from the students by making sure that they were responsible for their education. She did not accept their excuses easily and ensured that they put in effort in every aspect of their education (Banas 658). Students find many classes boring, put in little effort to pass their exams, use excuses to refrain from doing homework and other tasks, and manipulate teachers to complete their tasks. I think that this has been the trend for many students but there are an exceptional few who work hard to get good grades. In my opinion, many classes are boring and the teachers are sometimes bores. This is because the students do not play an active role in class. They are expected to sit in class quietly as the teachers give instruction. Therefore, the students feel detached from the learning process. I agree with Glanz as she concludes that students are demotivated because they have little responsibilities and

Mass Media Influence On American Society Media Essay

Mass Media Influence On American Society Media Essay It is the power that shapes and molds the mind of virtually every citizen, young or old, rich or poor, simple or sophisticated (Sweet Liberty, 2000, 1). The media is a part of everyday life in America. News and events outside of ones home or neighborhood are brought to their area via the newspaper, magazines, radio, television, and the internet. As the quote above mentions mass media, and its components, are very powerful and are capable of influencing ones mind, as well as their behavior. The images and stories introduced to children and young adults make it difficult for these viewers to distinguish between fact and fiction (Cable News Network, 1998, 3), thus stimulating confusion and blind emulation. In Torrs Violence in Film and Television, film and television editor, Harvey Roy Greenberg, says that different forms of aggression, either spoken, sung, danced, or written have appeared in practically every clime and time. In other words, the media and violent entertainment have been around since ancient times. In the Stone Age, violent images were painted and carved into their stone canvases, the Romans enjoyed gladiatorial combat, and the Victorian English enjoyed plays and puppet shows often featuring murder and swordplay as ways of exciting the audience (Torr, 2002, 15). Violence on television, or portrayed in literary form, may have been more mild and censored in the past, but all the same, the public was still vulnerable and easily influenced by what they witnessed and experienced. Hollywood, currently, is very candid and graphic in its productions, especially depending on the director and editor. However, in contrast with todays wild interpretations and brutal killings, in the 1930s, Hollywood abided by production codes. These codes regulated all aspects of screen content, with an elaborate list of rules outlining what was permissible to show and what was not (Torr, 2002, 22). As times changed and American society became more informed about reality and the violence which took place, the codes were modified, eventually leading to film ratings. Although Americans were more aware and the ratings provided some restrictions, this did not mean that emulation and confusion were eliminated completely. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ virtually from the cradle, children in the United States are bombarded by violence on TV, in movies, and in song lyrics (Cable News Network, 1998, 2). Children are easily swayed and influenced by the many images and pictures presented to them through the media. By high school graduation, children will have spent roughly 50 percent more time in front of a television than in front of a teacher (Dudley, 1999, 32). Parents, often times, are too drained or pre-occupied with their own lives, leading their children to find comfort in watching television or playing video games which, consequently, become the prime examples for their actions and behaviors. For all too many Americans, the real world has been replaced by the false reality of the TVà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Sweet Liberty, 2000, 2). These children hear the news and watch shows and films where innocent people are being stolen from or being killed, but they have nobody there to teach them the difference between what is real and what is not, what is right and what is wrong. An article printed in Time magazine, titled Suburban Smackdown, is a great example of how the media persuades children to impersonate what they view on television. The article concentrates on the violence of wrestling and how some children and young adults are putting on shows, costumes, masks and all, for their neighbors based on these wrestling characters they see on TV. It may not be the Rock vs. the Undertaker on prime-time TV, but the high school boys of the Extreme Wrestling Federation of Sayerville, N.J., try hard to make their contests look just as real' (Fonda, 2000, 49). It may be fun and games for a lot of these kids, but images seen on a Best of Backyard Wrestling video included kids jumping onto barbed wire, setting their opponents on fire, and other kids somersaulting onto mattresses studded with sharp objects (Fonda, 2000, 49). And the violence seems to be trickling down from teenagers to tots (Fonda, 2000, 49). The Wrestling Federation and the high school boys imitati on is similar to a slippery slope. The professional wrestlers are not setting a good example for these boys by promoting fights and violence for no reason, other than winning a trophy, and these high school boys are not setting a good example for even younger children because they are expressing that violence is fun and okay. One year before this article was published, in Dallas, a three-year-old boy was killed after his seven-year-old brother stiff-armed him in the throat, trying to imitate a move he had seen on television (Fonda, 2000, 49). After hundreds and thousands of years of media influence, it cost childrens lives and innocence for the pro-wrestling federations to run dont-try-this-at-home ads during their matches. Children are a large majority of the population influenced by the media, but it is not them alone who imitate and follow what they see and hear on a daily basis. Media experts say the last four decades of research have shown a clear correlation between violence on television and the development and display of aggressive values and behavior by both children and adults (Torr, 2002, 99). Adults watching the news are influenced by the events occurring locally as well as internationally; however, it not so much what they hear, but more how it is being presented. For example: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦which items are emphasized and which are played down, the reporters choice of words, tone of voice, and facial expressions; the wording of headlines; the choice of illustrationsall of these subliminally and yet profoundly affect the way in which we interpret what we see or hear (Sweet Liberty, 2000, 2). Not only does the news affect the way adults think and view the society, but film and violent enterta inment also play a large role in influencing their behaviors and actions. A good, very recent example involves Mel Gibsons movie The Passion of Christ. . . . A Fort Bend County man has fanned the flames of the fervor when he confessed to killing his girlfriend after viewing the movie in hopes of seeking redemption (Klentzman, 2004, 1). The Passion of Christs message influenced this man in a positive way, in confessing for his mortal sin, but the other side to this positive media influence is not so bright Leach, the man convicted of the murder, suffocated his girlfriend and got the idea of making it look like a suicide from the weekly series CSI (Klentzman, 2000, 2). Music and its lyrics have also played an enormous role in shaping and molding American societys minds. Todays music is absolutely nothing like the Oldies. The modern-day society is accustomed to hearing music where 50 percent of the lyrics are what are considered bad words. Heavy metal and rap lyrics have elicited the greatest concern, as they compound the environment in which some adolescents increasingly are confronted with pregnancy, drug use, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, injuries, homicides, and suicide (Dudley, 1999, 55). Artists like Marilyn Manson and Eminem have parents worried because they do not want their children being exposed to such vulgar language, afraid they will try to emulate these particular artists and the stories conveyed through their lyrics, often times including the subjects of beating their wives or slitting their wrists. Another good example of how the music world influences peoples minds and behaviors is the suicide of Nirvanas Kurt Cobain. When Kur t Cobain died, I died with him was the note left by an eighteen-year-old who, along with two other friends, executed a suicide pact following Cobains death (Dudley, 1999, 34). MTV and other music stations play a crucial role in young adults lives. With continuous coverage of celebrities and music artists, many people find the need to conform. Parental awareness, supervision, and discussion are critical variables in heading off additional tragedies (Dudley, 1999, 34). Video games have become a more recent trend, but just as the other sources of media, these games have the potential of influencing and molding the minds of children and adults. In the past, video games like Pong, consisted of a ball which would bounce off of two sticks. Nowadays, video games like Mortal Kombat or Grand Theft Auto, consist of cursing, shooting, beating, and killing humans and monsters. The National Coalition on Television Violence found that more than 75 percent of video games contained violent images (Sherrow, 1996, 71). Many researchers believe that video games have a stronger effect on children than merely watching television because the players take a direct and active role in the violence; the researchers also believe that the players of these games will become desensitized towards violence and disregard human life because, in these games, they are able inflict pain, but no pain is inflicted back on them (Sherrow, 1996, 71). Many of these images mimic reality, us ing lifelike scenes and situations. What we see happening, is that there is so muchà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦realistic-type violence portrayed in movies and other situationsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦They think that if you shoot somebody, they get upà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Cable News Network, 1998, 4). As well as promoting violence, video games also encourage anti-social behavior. Instead of going outside and playing sports or interacting with other people, many people choose to stay indoors, in a dark room, playing on their video game systems. With the advancement of technology, how can one forget the Internet? Since its development in 1993, the Internet has been an excellent resource for research, entertainment, and communication. However, the Internet also has many flaws. Like video games, the Internet also encourages anti-social behavior; one may be able to communicate through AIM services and such, but it is possible to be addicted to the Internet. Those addicted to the Internet do not feel the need to socialize in another setting, perhaps outside. Also, the Internet has many websites for games, interesting facts, and useful yellow page information; however, it also has many websites very inappropriate for children and young persons, like pornography or violence. As mentioned above, lines of communications are often opened up through the Instant Messaging services, although this may be a positive thing, it can also lead to dangerous and harmful situations. For example, children using the Internet and talking to their f riends through instant messages may enter chat rooms. These chat rooms are full of strangers and people of all ages trying to take advantage of young minds. For instance, there have been many cases where older men have posed as 10-year-old boys in order to meet up with a child of the same age group and rape or kidnap them. Parents may try to block and limit what their children see or do on the Internet, but with the education and information children and young adults receive today they can easily break the locks placed upon their access on the computer. Although media images may be enlightening, a lot of the time they are disturbing and provocative, especially depending on the audience. Common sense just tells you that theres obviously an influence. Television is the most powerful medium in the world. Movies, the entertainment industry, the music industry, theyre very powerful (Cable News Network, 1998, 14). As one is able to tell, the mass media is present in our everyday lives. By watching the news, reading the newspaper, watching the television set, or going to the movie theatres, the media is always there. Whether one may realize it or not, in one way or another, the media has influenced their behaviors and/ or actions. From birth to death, people in America will live in a society in which their education and their futures revolve around the mass media and its messages, whether they are positive or negative; it is the American way of life.