Role of ict Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Role of ict - Essay Example Processing includes management of data (like computing, storage of data in databases, protection and retrieval of data) and its networking. Transfer includes transmission of data from one place/desktop to other using communication techniques. Both technologies are collectively called information and communication technology (ICT) (tutor2u, 2009). The purpose of introducing ICT in education is to enhance the learning and educational activities of students and support the teaching process by means of computers, internet and the latest technologies. According to Saverinus Kaka (2008, July 25), â€Å"education sector can be the most effective sector to anticipate and eliminate the negative impact of ICT. Technology (internet) in another side can be the most effective way to increase the student’s knowledge†. Students can be made familiar with computer aided simulations and educational games. The objectives of ICT in education are to incorporate latest technology based learning in schools, to endorse literacy about newer technologies in students, to support distance education, and to improve the teaching process by using latest techniques supported by ICT. â€Å"ICT has a distinctive contribution to make to the aims of the national curriculum as a whole† (Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, 2009). In the national curriculum, ICT has played its role in planning work sequences and learning and teaching procedures. It has helped students to enjoy their educational activities because they can relate the technology based learning to their everyday lives. Students have been able to develop their own independent thinking regarding research, analysis of problems and decision-making. The national curriculum has put forth such programs of study that use ICT to enable the students to develop self-confidence and think about new ideas. The ICT based study programs in the national curriculum support safe usage of

Pulte Homes, Inc Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Pulte Homes, Inc - Essay Example A desirable work atmosphere would contribute much to develop the creativity of the employees and they will be exited to develop and implement new strategies for the success of Pulte Homes. It is true that a system where the superiors exert unnecessary pressure on their subordinate will struggle for success and the people occupying such position should not trouble their assistants and it is desirable for the managers to appreciate the productive efforts of their subordinates and they should ensure that a rivalry is not generated among their workers. An unhealthy environment may some times constitute a situation where an employee is embarrassed to mention the name of the firm which he is working for. A favorable environment facilitates better communication and provision for exchange of thoughts among the team members which would motivate them to work for their company’s improvement and the result would be entirely different from that of a pressurized work. Hard punishments for m istakes would destroy the creativity of an individual and staff members should be supported to learn from their mistakes because, even an average performer could become the best in the next season if he is provided with better support and motivation. All these factors indicate the necessity of a healthy organizational culture in order to develop an empire beyond the seas for Pulte Homes. Management and leadership One could find a number of definitions for these two concepts as a result of the attempts made by so many experts to distinguish between them. Leadership sets a new goal or a vision for a group of followers headed by the leader himself, while management directs workers according to the established policies of a firm. As Fayol (1916), Daft (2003) and Griffin (2005) state, â€Å"Management is a set of activities including planning, organizing, leading, controlling and decision making, directed at an organization’s resources like human, financial, physical, and informa tion sources with the aim of achieving organizational goals in an effective and efficient manner† (Quoted in Vuskane, 2010. p.3). Managers therefore utilize the powers vested on them in order to arrive at the pre planned goals and the subordinates obey the instructions of their superiors to obtain the agreed remuneration. Studies have showed that managers generally possess stable families and lead a comfortable life and a resulting risk averting nature is observed among them. A leader, on the other hand, inspires others to follow him. Gardner (1986) had made an attempt to define leadership and according to him â€Å"leadership is the process of persuasion and example by which an individual (or team) induces a group to take action that is in accord with the leaders purposes or the shared purposes of all† (Rost, 1993, p.72). Leaders are always having consideration to others and most of them possess a charismatic style. Even though they give credits to others, leaders neve r turn to be friendly and often keep a distance with them. Gradual development of a firm could be observed if individuals occupying superior positions in business establishments possess both these qualities. Managers possess subordinates while the other has followers and in the present scenario managers are considered as

Analyse the potential benefits of the Doha trade round to the global Essay

Analyse the potential benefits of the Doha trade round to the global economy; what caused the current impasse and what are the dangers now that multilateral trade agreements have stalled - Essay Example The market access negotiations were based on the three key categories, including the following: manufactured goods, agriculture and services (Francois, van Meijl, van Tongeren, 2005; Fung & Siu, 2008). The negotiations on cuts in services and agriculture protections and subsidies have been already initiated in early 2000 and were folded into the Doha Round a year later. The Doha Round negotiations devoted to the agricultural sector have illustrated the complexity of the issue in the global scales, where France and other members of the European Union have shown greater willingness to cut subsidies and protection than the members of the G-20 and the USA did (Fung & Siu, 2008). Despite the negotiation efforts undertaken in 2001 in Doha, Qatar the number of critical market issues still remained ambiguous (Francois, van Meijl, van Tongeren, 2005). The Doha Development Agenda is recognized to be one of the most important events in multilateral trade, which has been initiated during the past decade (Evenett, 2014). However, despite the projected benefits and economic gains, the Agenda has reached an impasse. Failed meeting of WTO members in Seattle in 1999 was followed with a new meeting in November 2001 in Doha, and with a continuation of the meeting in Cancun in 2003. While there have been carried out negotiations in relation to the agricultural subsidies for export and trade liberalization measures, the obligations did not come into force in full extent (Evenett, 2014). Having gained useful experience of operating for several years under the WTO Agreements, developing country Members have shown that results failed to meet their expectations and the benefits received from the package were quite limited (Evenett, 2014). The main reason for the Doha Round impasse is referred to the emerged disagreement between leading players after negotiations have commenced (Evenett, 2014). The Doha Round

Business Feasibility Study†Seventh Heaven Café Essay Example for Free

Business Feasibility Study— Seventh Heaven Cafà © Essay Seventh Heaven Cafe is not only a coffee shop, or rather a place for relaxation. It sells different kinds of coffee, desserts, books and flowers. Customers bring them back or just enjoy them in my shop. Besides, I am good at dealing with problems of Organizational Behavior. I also have great expertise in human psychology and marketing. Therefore, I have the abilities to operate this shop. Seventh Heaven Cafe targets at white collar community and some companies which need flowers to decorate the site of activities. Therefore, it is located at the street corner with elegant environment near transnational commercial corporations in Suzhou. Seventh Heaven has to confront or avoid a number of threats, especially some strong competitors, such as Starbucks, UBC Coffee and DIO Cafe. However my shop has powerful competitive advantages to face the challenges. Additionally, our market-oriented mission is â€Å"make people happy and relaxed in the Seventh Heaven Cafe by provide delicious coffee, warm fragrant memories and dreams from books. † The primary finance objectives are to get first-year sales revenue of 1 million yuan, and break even early at least achieve 3 million RMB in second year. After on track, shop scale and economic benefits will increase year by year. To achieve this goal, we should make sustaining efforts on marketing strategies, such as promotion strategy and price strategy. This new combination coffee shop will be successful and this business idea is worth pursuing. Section 1: Personal Skills, Qualities and Experience I have obtained an MBA degree from the Liverpool University five years ago. After that, I have worked in a local company for four years. Then I came back to my country and planned to do pioneering work. So I have some basic abilities and work experience to operate this coffee shop. I have learned many useful skills and valuable knowledge from university. Firstly, the Organizational Behavior Study covers three levels of analysis, but intertwined, such as individual, group formation and decisions making. So it is practical for me to do the business. Secondly, I was interested in the course of Marketing when I am a student. It has huge effect on my occupational career. However, these courses just are foundation. My work experience background is a critical element for later entrepreneurial career. Nevertheless, I still need some other outside help. About initial capital, it comes from my personal savings (1. 5 million RMB) and my parents’ investment (0. 5 million RMB). In addition, recruitment and selection of good employees is vital part of success. My mother was a senior accountant before, so she could help me manage finance matters. Besides, I also need a first-class barista and a pastry cook, a waitress and a waiter with good looking, as well as a professional purchaser. Section 2: The Business Idea and Market Assessment Product and service Before making decision to start business, I used questionnaire to get and analysis customers’ demand. So Seventh Heaven Cafe is not only a coffee shop, or rather a place for relaxation. It sells different kinds of coffee, desserts, books and flowers. Customers bring them back or just enjoy them in my shop. My coffee shop called Seventh Heaven, this name represents happy, pleasure and relaxed. I want to my customers get out of the pressure and tiredness, enjoy the release of soul and physical relaxation in Seventh Heaven. Relaxation can bring comfortable feeling to you and have benefits to your health. When you come in the Seventh Heaven, you will feel the music in the air washing your spirit and smile of waiters warming your heart. The flowers tinged the air with their light fragrance. At spare time, you could read a good book alone and drink a cup of delicious coffee, or talk with your good friends with some scrumptious snacks. Owning good books, intimate friends and a serene heart, that is a perfect lifestyle. This is something I want to provide to people, enjoy life, and live in the moment. Target market and customers One of our target markets is white collar employees with middle or high income. These people pay more attention on quality of life and have a good consumption level. Another is business customers, which need flowers to decorate the site of activities, parties, events or meetings. Competition However, there are some strong competitors in this market, especially Starbucks. It is the worlds largest coffee shop chain from America. Starbucks enjoyed a higher reputation and strong brand effect in China. There are about 31 Starbucks in Suzhou alone, but some problems are observed in the course of rapid extension. For instance, single and boring of the unchangeable products and service is a big weakness. To the contrary, Seventh Heaven Cafe provides a combination service and products to customers. It is a novel and creative form to attract people. Besides, high quality service and elegant environment are our powerful points of attraction. Sales and marketing strategy To gain more customers, the price of our products is slightly below the Starbucks. Internet advertising and posters are effective for publicity. Furthermore, we use push money and allowance to motivate my employee to increase sales. Critical risk factors Despite of these, some risks still exist, for example some people are reluctant to try something new, or we make losses at early stage. All of budgets are based on the business feasibility study, but there are so many unpredictable changes in the reality, the cash flow may be not enough. Moreover, the shortage and outflow of talent in related field are hidden trouble for the business.

Leadership Success Model Implemented By Procter And Gamble Commerce Essay

Leadership Success Model Implemented By Procter And Gamble Commerce Essay Businesses require strong leadership as an unconditional factor for any kind of long-term success. The concept of leadership is exploited by many authors and there are hundreds of attempted definitions, however because of the complexity of the human actions per se, there is no clear, exact and universal one. Since the difference between high-ranking, multi-national companies and those striving to achieve such a status, lies predominantly in the skillful potential shown by their leading proponents, it is crucial to study some successful leadership models. A concrete example of such models is Procter and Gamble Company. Thus the highlights of effective leadership model are applied to this company, where the foundations and underlying structure of such a model are shown in a fashion where simplicity is idealized above all else. Definition of leadership Leader can be anyone who has an empowering vision, ability to motivate and deliver effective results. A little kid who suggests playing a new game which is more cheerful and involves all of the other children is a leader in his playground environment. That little kid encompasses some leadership characteristics which differentiate him from the rest of the group. He is able to propose something different which sounds interesting and promising and which is relevant to that particular group that follows him. A simple analogy can be drawn between that little kid and a grown up in his working environment. The characteristics that one possesses and the input he/she gives to a company determine his/her place in that working environment. For instance an employee, who finds an alternatively less costly way of producing a particular line of products and leads change in the company, distinguishes his/herself as a leader. The fast pace business world we live today does not allow for incremental c hanges, what you need is fundamental improvements. The person who can lead innovation and produces meaningful results should be at the top of the companys hierarchy. Leadership is a key to companys long-term profitability. But, what do we mean by leadership? An attempted definition of leadership is as follows: Leadership is both a process and a property. The process of leadership is the use of noncoercive influence to direct and coordinate the activities of the members of an organized group toward the accomplishment of group objectives. As a property, leadership is the set of qualities or characteristics attributed to those who are perceived to successfully employ such influence. (Jago 315) Basically what this definition implies is that leadership does not constitute only what one possesses but even what one does. The little kid that was mentioned above is not an appointed leader, but by his actions he establishes himself as such. At this point it is important to mention that leadership would not exist if there wasnt a followership. In order for a leader to succeed he needs to be listened to and followed by others. According to professor Stone followership constitutes 50% of the leaders success. If the little kid would scream and threaten to take the playing ball from the group he would not be exhibiting leadership, and most probably the other kids would not even pay attention to him. However, from that group of kids no one is a designated leader, and since leadership is an evolving process anyone who possesses some basic traits can become one. This represents the basis of the link between followers and leaders, leaders become followers and followers become leaders. At the same time leadership is not a restricted process, there might coexist multiple leaders in groups who are specialist to the function they serve. Contingency and continuity leadership What constitutes a successful leadership does not depend on the type of organization or any model that the leader operates. Leadership is a universal phenomenon as mentioned from Jago; It is the same for a corporation president and for the clergyman. (316). It is universal in the meaning that the two of them have to exhibit some essential leadership traits in order to be effective. On the other hand if we consider the leadership contingency dimension different people can express different patterns of leadership depending on the circumstances. Some leaders can be very effective and others can fail depending on the features of the situation and of the group of people they are leading. The earliest contingency theory pertains to Fiedler who asserts that the contingency of group performance related to the leader is based on the following three variables: group atmosphere, task structure, and leaders power position.citation Thus there are two important factors namely leadership style and situational favorableness. For a leader to be effective there should be an interaction between the leader himself and the features of the place where the leader operates.( Jago 316) Meanwhile, it is important to assess the fact that a good leadership model is the one which continuous even after the leader leaves. The continuity aspect of leadership is crucial therefore in determining an effective leadership. For instance if the manager of a company leaves and as a consequence the company fails introducing an assumed new product line, that would be a reflection of fake effective leadership. On the other hand if the company succeeds in introducing the new product line and achieves great revenues that shows that the formal leader was indeed an effective one. Leadership success model Procter and Gamble (PG) is a U.S based company employing 135,000 people in 180 countries including U.S, Europe and Asia.citation It is the worlds largest consumer goods company marketing about 300 brands, with a range of products such as beauty, health, fabric, home, baby, family and personal care. Based on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats analysis (SWOT analysis) its strengths are: strong focus on research and development (RD), leading market position, diversified product portfolio and strong brand portfolio. As far as the focus on RD is concerned PG invests around $2 billion per year supporting engineers and scientists in different countries. Furthermore, based on its current approach connect and develop PG brings innovation from outside by partnership with external actors. The markets where PG establish itself as a leader constitute about two-thirds of its product categories. Along with that the company has diversified product portfolio of more than 22 product categories in the following segments: beauty, grooming, health care, snacks, fabric care and baby care. An important factor of the portfolio of this company is the range of brands it includes. PG portfolio includes 24 brands which are a crucial source of revenue. This strong portfolio allows the company to be at the top companies in the world by delivering what the consumers expect. Eventually, PG has established itself as one of the most successful companies in the world. The question raises, how does it manage to do so? How does the leadership model contribute to the success of this company? The business world we live today has set up its own rules of competition, change and innovation being the keys to survival and being competitive. The key to effective implementation of these rules is a strong leadership. It is up to the visionary leader to support the business infrastructure to quickly respond to business needs and enable the company to rapidly access information. The leadership model incorporated in an organization is the first and most important brick of success. PG for instance used a leadership program called build from within.citation This program prepares managers in any aspect of their operations ensuring thus that they are ready to climb the next stair. This tactic provides for rapid replacement of any of the top 50 jobs positions. PG recruits school graduates, named in the company as Proctoid, and offers them the opportunity to grow up within the organizations hierarchy.citation Through development of the Proctoids potentials according to their career goals and the needs of the company itself the leadership program ensures the fulfillment of any free working position. Continuous training of the employees who enter the new level is crucial. According to Moheet Nagrath, head of human resources at PG if your direct reports arent ready, neither are you [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] Internal reputation is crucial. citation For instance if an assistant aspires to become a Chief Operating Officer(CEO) he will be provided with all the necessary experience to do so. At the beginning he might be appointed at a lower level where he will be continuously trained until he gets assigned to the desired job. All executives, including the former CEO himself, oversee and train the top employees to occupy the next free spot. In this way, helping employees grow and improve contributes to the companys success as well. The culture of PG provides for high concentration on the people working for the company which assures the discovery of potential talents. It is important to emphasize that leadership traits are not only genetically inherited but are developed through continues and proper training as well. If individuals find the appropriate place and tools to develop themselves, they might turn into future leaders and head towards success. Therefore the PG leadership program is determined in encouraging talent from the inside and even the hiring process rarely occurs from the outside. There are disadvantages related to this kind of approach such as the building of a culture where all employees think alike. However, the most important thing is to realize the disadvantages and find an alternative way of outweighing them. That is a challenge for the leader, the need to undertake changes under pressure of losing the market. Build from within was the leadership program incorporated by PG in the early 2000, but was there a need of change in times of crisis? Who was responsible for designating the appropriate leadership model which would benefit the company billions of dollars and the employees as well? Even though, anyone in an organization has to be the leader in his/her specialization, at the top of the company pyramid stands its CEO. The PG CEO from 2000 to 2010 has been A.G.Lafley, who took the helm in midst of a crisis. At that time the company was totally distracted from meeting its projected goals. The price of the stocks had dropped dramatically and the company had lost $ 85 billion approximately. Citation PG found itself in a crisis, the biggest being a crisis of confidence. Pessimism was characterizing everyone in the companys hierarchy and notions of blame would be interchanged from the units to the leaders and the way around. That is when a true and strong leader can show his/her abilities of leadership. The famous quote of Faye Wattleton The only safe ship in a storm is leadership applies to the case of PG. Faced with such enormous problems up to the point of questioning the continuity of PG as a company Lafley had to prove himself as the leader and drive the company o ut of that ocean of troubles that it was trying to swim. Lafley based his leadership on the statement of Drucker, one of the Americas most famous CEO scholars, who said The CEO is the link between the Inside that is the organization, and the Outside of society, economy, technology, markets, and customers. Inside there are only costs. Results are only on the outside. Citation 3 This expression illuminated the mind of Lafley who could understand his role as CEO between these lines. By finding opportunities from the outside the CEO could enable the success of the company. In order to achieve the projected goals the company has to understand the needs of the outside. For instance, to achieve 4% sales growth the company had to produce a new tide brand.citation 3 Lafley perfectly understood that consumers should be in the center and that is what the company should create, a customer. At this point in time Lafley realized that the insiders of the company new how the organization worked but the input of outsiders were very crucial as well. What Lafley did is identifying the problem and solving it by adding to the model of build from within the connect and develop tactic. This way PG got the ideas from outside and applied its own potentials to them resulting in cheaper and superior products. Lafley is a pure example of showing what a leader should do. In the article written by him what only the CEO can do Lafley takes you to the insight of the job of a CEO. He emphasizes that the leader of the company is the only one who can connect the outside world with the inside of the company. That is the key of a successful leader. In order to connect the outside world to the inside one, there should be taken into consideration four important tasks. The first one is to determine what constitutes the outside, which for PG the most important one is the consumer. According to Lafley the second important task is to determine the business you are in. For instance in his early work as CEO of PG Lafley decided that the core businesses were low-income consumers and developing markets. The next important task is to balance the present and the future. For instance in order to fund long-term debts, PG chose to lower its short-term profits. The fourth task but not the least important is to show the companys values and standards such as trust in PG brands. citation Along with the other important goals stands the development of environmental leadership. PG manages to develop products on economically and ecologically sustainable basis. citation It employs some of the best practices of environmental leadership which deliver green values. The mission statement of PG provides for environmental friendly products which assure superior quality and values for the consumers all around the world. This is a strategic value statement which brings the company more profits as consumers are becoming more aware of the ecological problems and tend to choose products which harm less the environment. Thus, the compliance to environmental friendly products brings competitive advantages to the company itself. The road towards environmental leadership is hard and costly in the short term because there is a need to manage the cultural change of the company and educating the consumers as well. However, due to an effective leadership model undertaking strategic choices PG could outweigh the short-term costs by long-term benefits. The meaningful results of an effective leader Throughout the paper it was emphasized the importance of leadership as a key to companies successes. A.G.Lafley is one of the best concretizations of a great leader. Under his leadership PG market value increased by over 100 billion dollars, sales doubled, profits quadrupled and the companys portfolio brands has grown from 10 to 22. citation mla On average sales and earnings per share have grown by approximately 5% and 12 % a year, respectively. PG stands among the five most valuable companies in the U.S and is also one of the ten most important companies in the world. Lafley was the one who led the transformation of PG, which before he took the helm, did not perform that good on the world and American scale. Due to his abilities as a leader, PG became more consumer-driven and focused more on the external world. He focused mostly on core businesses and brands and tried to conquest firstly the developing market as a strategy to grow further. Lafley has led the transformation of PG. Strategically; he has focused the Company on core businesses and brands, faster-growing and higher-margin beauty, grooming and health care businesses, and winning in developing markets.citation According to A.G. Lafley the first lever to be pulled was getting the company refocused on its purpose and values. Next, he changed the culture to tap outside sources of innovation, developed the chain performance and entered different markets such as China. The Indian market penetration and building of strong supply is an important example as well showing the strategy of PG to enter the market and be innovative. A critical important move to success was bringing partners in to help build the supply chain. Another merit of Lafley and the incorporated leadership program build from within PG has guaranteed its leadership for the next decade as well. At the company level all the managers, including Lafley himself, have been working on creating the next leader, Bob McDonald as the best suitable choice. Lafley, as he leaves the company is very confident in the leadership skills of McDonald and the team that he has put in place. Continuity is one of the most important indicators of a successful leadership; PG seems to have embraced a strong leadership model which will sustain the company for at least the next decade.citation Leadership is an important key factor in guaranteeing long-term profitability for businesses and PG is one the best concretizing example of effective leadership. The attempted definition of leadership mentioned at the beginning of the paper implied that leadership is action and position at the same time. Two important factors determining successful leadership were contingency and continuity leadership. The former shows that leaders can be successful depending on the environment they operate in and the contingent of elements influencing that specific environment. The latter factor is an evidence of effective leadership, because at the moment that there is continuity it is implied that the leader and his model were successful. The definition and the factors of successful leadership were highlighted in the PG Company. It was emphasized that the person who leads the company, for instance the CEO, has a crucial role which only he could do; connect the inner world of the company with the o utside one. A thorough analysis of PG from 2000 to 2010 showed the importance of the leadership program in increasing the profitability of the company and how a leader can face challenges and approach change. The leader stands at the top of the pyramid and he/she is the only one leading transformation. There is no guaranteed model of successful leadership but there always is the chance to channel your energies towards achieving meaningful results.

Anatomy of a Love Letter :: essays research papers

Anatomy of A Letter, Part I   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  You’re right Sandra. A letter from you is the very last thing that I want right now. We have been together for so long and I know you feel that I am throwing it all away as some sort of â€Å"over reaction† but you fail to see the bigger picture. Just put yourself in my shoes for a moment and stop thinking about you and maybe you’ll see the reason why our relationship is beyond repair.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I understand that our relationship was, as you put it, â€Å"stalled† due to a lack of concern about our future together. What I don’t get is that you didn’t come to me once to tell me how you were felling about that huge step in our lives. I had no idea how important it was to you that our careers coincide. You are a very independent woman and I didn’t want my aspirations to hinder your progress in the corporate world. You see, that’s one of our problems, we have a lack of communication. We have known each other since we were children and yet you still find it hard to come and talk to me whenever something upsets you. Instead you found Mr. â€Å"lovedoc† and talked to him.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  And another thing, this whole situation is not about you. Do you know how many times you mentioned yourself in your letter? 33 times!! This is supposed to be about US and how we can get past this together. You know, You didn’t even say your were sorry. Not once did you even apologize. You kept talking about YOU, and what YOU had to sacrifice and what YOU have to give. There is no such thing as a one sided relationship. I gave my all in this relationship too. And unlike you I didn’t need another woman to run to when things got rough. I stayed faithful to you through the goodtime and the bad.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I don’t think you will ever know the pain that I am going through right now. You will never know the heartache I felt when I read those e-mails, one after the other, each spoken with such lust and desire.

Metaphors in the Mechanical Engineering Field :: Language Linguistics

Metaphors in the Mechanical Engineering Field The Mechanical Engineering field involves multiple disciplines. The language from the disciplines converges into a complex dialect of sayings and metaphors. Metaphors are used in the field as â€Å"a figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one thing is used to designate another, thus making an implicit comparison† [1]. The Mechanical Engineering field entails different working environments and types of employment. The metaphors CAD jockey, cube farm, and worth his salt encapsulate different aspects of a Mechanical Engineer. In everyday life common metaphors like tie the knot, pass the buck, and pushing the envelope are used. Pushing the envelope means, â€Å"to approach or exceed known performance boundaries† [2]. The origin is from â€Å"US Air Force test pilot program of the late 1940’s.† The envelope refers to an aircraft’s performance and is difficult to comprehend. It is not clear why the envelope is related to an aircraft’s performance. This comparison is confusing and can mislead people in understanding the concept of the metaphor. The concept of pass the buck is â€Å"pass off responsibility to someone else.† In some card games a marker called buck is used. The marker is used to signify the dealer and the person responsible to deal the cards. Players take turns as the dealer by passing the marker. People familiar with the name of the marker will understand the meaning of this metaphor. The metaphor tie the knot has been used since ancient times to represent the act of marriage. During antiquity, in many parts of the world only, a priest or patriarch knotted together the garments of the bride and groom to symbolize a permanent union [3]. This metaphor has been used for years and is known around the world. It is hard to understand the meaning from the word usage. The meaning of a CAD jockey is a person that uses computer-aided design tools. The origin is around the 1990’s when computer-aided design tools became available to the general public. The metaphor is appropriate for a person that uses computer-aided design tools. Someone not familiar with the acronym CAD will be confused by this metaphor. The metaphor cube farm is â€Å"an office filled with cubicles† [4]. This metaphor began in the 1970’s when cubicles sprang up in the office landscape. The phrase usually has negative connotations about the working environment, which are that the environment is stressful and noisy.