Organisational Obstacles and Challenges

Organisational Obstacles and Challenges Introduction Many corporations are looking for talented and competent employees who can produce the best results. Such workers should also be ready to learn new skills and concepts in order to make their companies successful. Employers are currently focusing on the best traits and values whenever recruiting new workers. This practice explains why various researchers have identified several competencies that can make corporations profitable.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Organisational Obstacles and Challenges specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Employers expect every job applicant to possess certain values such as passion, discipline, ethics, creativity, competence, determination, and curiosity. Individuals with such traits will be ready to promote the best practices and strategies. The above values will make it easier for individuals to look for new skills and lessons in an attempt to make their companies successful. These concepts will become critical in the future. Globalisation is forcing many corporations to hire individuals who can deal with organisational obstacles and challenges. Comparing and Contrasting the Articles According to Fernandez-Araoz, many companies hire individuals who have attended the best colleges. However, managers who lack the required technological and competitive skills cannot compete in the global market. New leaders should have the best skills in order to adapt to every new challenge. Employers should focus on certain aspects such as motivation, engagement, and curiosity. Whenever identifying new talents, ‘it is appropriate to look for motivation because it ensures individuals do not focus on their personal goals’ (Fernandez-Araoz 2014, p. 8). According to the author, employees should possess four unique qualities. These qualities include ‘insight, engagement, curiosity, and determination’ (Fernandez-Araoz 2014, p. 8). The best managers an d employees will eventually improve the level of collaboration and team leadership. The practice will also promote the concept of change leadership. Change leadership is the capacity to align a corporation and transform it in order to become successful. Interviewers should assess the above abilities and competencies in order to get the right individuals who can provide the best results (Fernandez-Araoz 2014). Good employees should be passionate about their jobs. They should also be happy and ready to serve their respective customers. The article also explains why employers should hire individuals who can learn new values and skills. This approach will ensure every corporation emerges successful.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Employers should be able to retain their talented workers. This ‘strategy is necessary because every competitor is working hard to get talented employees’ (Fernandez-Araoz 2014, p. 9). Employers should ensure every worker portrays a strong connection and engagement with his or her occupation and workmates. The workers should also be ready to overcome setbacks and problems. Some factors such as experience, desire, experience, performance, and intelligence will ensure every firm hires the right people (Fernandez-Araoz 2014). The above practice will make it easier for employers to get the right talents. The article â€Å"Minds Viewed Globally† explains why individuals should embrace five specific minds in order to become competent employees. The ‘first mind is associated with discipline’ (Gardner 2008, p. 3). Every disciplined employee will work steadily in order to achieve the greatest goals. A disciplined mind will focus on the best practices and ideas. A good employee should also possess a synthesising mind. This person will be ready to collect information from various sources and combin e it in a proper manner. This mind will also become relevant in the coming years because more people are using different technological resources. The ‘individual will produce quality ideas and concepts that can be understood by the other employees’ (Gardner 2008, p. 5). An employee with a creative mind will be ready to achieve the best objectives. This person will always be eager to break new grounds. A creative mind is capable of identifying new values and questions that can make a difference. The individual will also present quality answers in order to make his or her corporation successful. A creative mind will always be ready to deal with the issues and challenges affecting the targeted company. An individual with a creative mind will always be a step ahead in an attempt to achieve the greatest potentials. Persons with respectful minds possess another powerful value known as respect (Gardner 8). Respectful persons will address every challenge affecting their groups or teams. Respectful persons will always understand others and promote teamwork. Every ethical person will focus on the issues affecting his or her working environment. Such individuals will present the best ideas in order to deal with the problems affecting their teams. The ‘ethical mind will examine how human beings can serve others without focusing on their personal gains’ (Gardner 2008, p. 9).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Organisational Obstacles and Challenges specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Ethical workers will always work hard in an attempt to improve the conditions encountered by others. These five minds will produce the best results. Individuals possessing these five minds will ensure their companies are on the right track. The companies will embrace the best strategies in order to get the targeted goals and potentials. The author of this article believes that such minds will ensure every e mployee deals with the obstacles affecting his or her company. Such workers will also be ready to focus on new skills that will make them more productive and resourceful. The practice will produce the best results within a short period (Gardner 12). The article Howard Gardner goes further to explain why different corporations will be hiring ‘disciplined, resourceful, creative, and ethical workers in the future’ (Gardner 2014, p. 18). This approach will ensure every employee promotes the best ideas and concepts. This idea supports the current use of modern technologies and resources to deal with various organisational challenges. Conclusion The above two articles encourage workers and managers to focus on the best talents in order to remain productive. The first article by Fernandez-Araoz supports some unique values such as passion, commitment, engagement, and curiosity. These values can promote the best organisational practices. The second article by Garner identifies f ive minds that will become meaningful in the coming years. That being the case, employers will always expect their workers to have discipline. Employees should also promote specific values such as creativity, competence, determination, curiosity, and engagement. Readers should examine these two articles differently and carefully in order to identify the best competencies that can make their businesses successful. List of References Fernandez-Araoz, C. 2014, ‘21st Century Talent Spotting’, Harvard Business Review, vol. 92, no. 6, pp. 1-11.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Gardner, H. 2008, ‘Minds Viewed Globally: A Personal Introduction: An Overview of the Five Minds for the Future’, Harvard Business Press, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 1-20.

About the Supplemental Security Income Program - SSI

About the Supplemental Security Income Program - SSI Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a federal government benefit program providing cash to meet basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter to persons who are blind or otherwise disabled and have little or no other income. Monthly SSI benefits are paid to persons with limited income and resources who are disabled, blind, or age 65 or older. Blind or disabled children, as well as adults, can qualify to get SSI benefits. How SSI is Different From Retirement Benefits While the SSI program is administered by the Social Security Administration, the way in which SSI benefits are administered is very different from how Social Security retirement benefits are paid. SSI benefits do not require and are not based on the recipients prior work or a family members prior work. In other words, no current or prior employment is required to qualify for SSI benefits. Unlike Social Security benefits, SSI benefits are funded by general funds from the U.S. Treasury generated by income taxes paid be individuals and corporations. Social Security taxes withheld from workers paychecks under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) do not help fund the SSI program. Total SSI funding, along with maximum monthly amounts to be paid to SSI recipients, are set annually by Congress as part of the federal budget process. SSI recipients in most states can also have their benefits supplemented by Medicaid to help pay for doctor bills, prescriptions and other health care costs. SSI beneficiaries may also be eligible for food stamps in every state except California. In some states, an application for SSI benefits also serves as an application for food stamps. Who is Eligible for SSI Benefits Anyone who is: aged (age 65 or older);blind or disabled. And, who: has limited income; andhas limited resources; andis a U.S. citizen or national, or in one of certain categories of aliens; andis not absent from the country for a full calendar month or for 30 consecutive days or more; andis not confined to an institution (such as a hospital or prison) at the governments expense; andapplies for any other cash benefits or payments for which he or she may be eligible, (for example, pensions, Social Security benefits); andgives SSA permission to contact any financial institution and request any financial records about you; andfiles an application; andmeets certain other requirements. What Does  Ã¢â‚¬ËœLimited Income’ Include? For purposes of determining SSI eligibility, Social Security counts the following as income: money you earn from work;money you receive from other sources, such as Social Security benefits, workers compensation, unemployment benefits, the Department of Veterans Affairs, friends or relatives; andfree food or shelter. What  Are ‘Limited Resources’? For purposes of determining SSI eligibility, Social Security counts the following as limited resources: cash;bank accounts, stocks, U.S. savings bonds;land and real estate;vehicles;personal property;life insurance; andanything else you own that could be converted to cash and used for food or shelter. NOTE: For complete details on the SSI program, including qualifications and how to apply for benefits, see the  Understanding Supplemental Security Income home page on the SSA website.   SSI Payment Details Amounts of SSI benefit payments are set annually by Congress and are typically adjusted every January to reflect the current cost of living.  Maximum (SSI) payment amounts increase with the cost-of-living increases (COLA) that apply to Social Security retirement benefits. Some states provide supplemental SSI benefits. SSI benefit payments are not taxable. Possible Benefit Reductions Exact benefit amounts paid to individual SSI recipients may be less than the maximum depending on non-SSI income, like wages and other Social Security benefits. Persons living in their own home, in the home of another person, or in a Medicaid-approved nursing home may also have their SSI payments reduced accordingly. The monthly amount is reduced by subtracting monthly countable income. In the case of an eligible individual with an eligible spouse, the amount payable is further divided equally between the two spouses.   Updated current maximum and average SSI payment amounts can be found on the SSI Statistics web site. SSI Work Incentive Programs Helping people with disabilities achieve independence by taking advantage of employment opportunities is one of the Social Security Administration’s highest priorities. SSI’s work incentive programs help disabled and blind SSI recipients to continue to work while minimizing the risk of losing their SSI or Medicaid benefits. Certain work incentive programs allow SSI recipients to exempt some of their work income from their list of resources. Others allow SSI recipients to continue to receive Medicaid coverage even though they are not receiving monthly SSI cash benefits. SSI recipients may be eligible to take advantage of more than one work incentive program. As with Social Security retirement benefits, working can reduce the amount of the recipient’s SSI benefit payments. Complete information on SSI work incentive opportunities can be found in the SSA’s â€Å"The Red Book - A Guide to Work Incentives.†

E-business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

E-business - Essay Example In order to cater to a wide variety of audience and considering the hectic life schedules of the target customer, the firm has introduced an online store named ‘scoop shops’. Access to the web page would help a customer to find the product as well as the different product specifications including nutritional requirements. The web page also has a store locator that helps customers to locate a particular store. In addition, the web page also has a section that is devoted to generating feedback from the customers. This helps in gathering a large database of customers as well as analysing the demands of the customers. It also helps in garnering knowledge about any gap in the product or service offering. However, the organization’s website does not have a section that can help customers place orders directly over the internet. This limits the scope of the website as customers can only view product information. The web page, however, has a section that links it to socia l networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. This has enabled it to get access to millions of internet users in a highly cost effective manner (Singh, Becker & Wiliams, 2009, p.134). The website of Ben and Jerry unlike its competitor Baskin and Robbins do not have a section that segments customers based on their needs. ... Moreover, the web page is designed in a manner so that it attracts and suits the needs of the US based consumers. This is detrimental to the company’s strategy of international business expansion. Consumers may often get confused as they would not find any section dedicated to their personal needs. The web page also does not provide information regarding the detailed pricing of the products of the store. Hence, online consumers would find it difficult to compare the food items of the firm. It is also important to note that pricing constitutes one of the most important factors that influences the decision making process of the consumer. Hence, non availability of pricing data emerges as one of the key constraints of the web page. In order to address these constraints, the firm must undertake a radical change of the layout of its website. The opening page emerges as a highly attractive one but should also contain more specific information regarding the product line of the organi zation. It should also contain a section that would effectively try to segment the customers based on the product requirements. This would enable easy navigation for the customers who can easily find the product of their choice. This would reduce the confusion among the customers and would also serve to segment the customers on the basis of their needs and wants. The organization should also make efforts to provide more details of the product offering which would compulsorily include pricing details of the products. This would tend to offer a more informative outlook to the customers. The section of customer feedback must also be modified to an extent that on one hand it tries to analyse the demands of the customers and on the other hand, it tries to portray any gaps in the product

HR manager of a large cinema chain based in London Coursework

HR manager of a large cinema chain based in London - Coursework Example The recruitment manager requires few qualities in order to select the right person at the ‘right place and time’. There are several policies for the process of recruitment. In accordance with the provided scenario stetting, the HR manager desires to recruit a cinema manager for a large cinema chain business in London so that the individual can perform according to the policies and principles of the business. The recruitment along with the selection process forms a part of the HR strategy. The main objective of the HR manager for the purpose of recruitment is to employ an individual who can work hard to achieve the desired goals of the business. The analysis of the skills required, judging the ability of the individual along with making an evolution of the performance capability of the individual are the key determinants for the HR manager (Sims, 2005). The process of recruitment is one of the critical tasks of the HR manger as it is the method of attracting new individua ls in the organisation to achieve its set out goals. HR planning (HRP) is important for an organisation to achieve its strategic goals. HR planning is done with the concept that people are amid the most important resources for any organisation. They are the core component of the business as they work in accordance with the requirement of the business development. It is the decision making procedure which helps in identifying the right person for the job. Motivating the employed person facilitates to attain greater performance and create a bridge between the management along with the people planning activities. HRP is of two forms i.e. the â€Å"Hard† and â€Å"Soft† HRP. Hard HRP focuses on the allocation of the right person with the quality needed for the business to flourish. On the other hand, soft HRP endeavours to build the culture of the organisation by achieving the

Free

Freedom Road Term Paper Essay Howard Fast, the author of the book Freedom Road, was born on November 11, 1914 and died at the age of 89 on March 12, 2003. Fast lived a long and adventurous life. A few of the things he did throughout his lifetime were; joining the American Communist party in 1943, serving a prison term in 1950 for refusing to cooperate with the House Committee on Un-American Activities, and his books were purged from American school libraries. On the other hand some of the positive things that happened in his life was that in 1953, he was rewarded the Stalin Peace Prize and in June of 1937 he married his first wife, Bette Cohen. In adjunction with his adventurous lifestyle, Fast spent most of his time writing. He wrote seven works of nonfiction, two autobiographies, fifty-two novels, five short stories one essay, and seven Masao Masuto Mysteries under the Penn name E.V. Cunningham. As well as writing, he created two films based off novels. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Fast) In the book Freedom Road, Howard Fast tells a fictional story based off the true events that occurred during the Constitutional Convention. The beginning of the book does not start the way most books start. This novel starts by talking about the main character, Gideon, as if we are supposed to know who he is. At first, this is confusing but after a couple of pages, you catch on and start to understand a lot easier. The first thing we are told about in the book is how all of the freed men from the small town of Charleston, had left a few weeks back to go vote. However, neither the town nor the men who left knew what voting actually was. Not knowing what voting was, made everyone who stayed in town very nervous and worried, they were not sure whether or not those men would be coming home or not. Therefore, when they men were spotted walking back into town everyone was extremely excited and could not wait to hear all about this voting thing. However, it seemed that none of the men were really talking, until one of them tells the town that they have some big news to share with everyone. Thus far, into the book, we have yet to hear from the main character, and we have actually been reading from his wives point of view. Once the returning men started talking, the book transitions from the wives point of view to Gideon’s, and that is when things start to pick up. We learn that the men’s big news is the fact that Gideon was elected to be a delegate. Because of his prowess in battle, the other ex-slaves looked to him as their leader in peacetime, but he was an uneducated man who felt himself unsuited for leadership. Yet knowing that his people wanted and needed him, he was determined to make himself fit into the pattern their hopes had cut out for him. However, none of them truly knew what a delegate was or what exactly a delegate did. The only thing they really knew was the Gideon would be receiving a letter once all the votes were counted to tell him if he had won the election. Several months go past in the book and nothing happens, no one in the town hears anything about Gideon being elected. Then one day, the postal man comes around and hands Gideon the letter that he had been waiting for. At this point in the book, we find out how afraid he is to go to Charleston because he is a â€Å"nigger.† He feels as though he is not very smart. He does not want to go â€Å"to city full of white houses†¦ full of white folks making fun†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (p. 16-17). So in order to help him overcome that fear Brother Peter tells him the people need a leader and because of how strong Gideon is physically and mentally, he was chosen to represent them. Because of Brother Peter, Gideon decides to go to Charleston. When he arrives in Charles and he realizes that, he has no money and no place to sleep, so he ends up sleeping under a hay barrel for the first night. It is the next morning when Gideon is offered a couple of cents for some physical labor, he reluctantly accepts the job realizing that he has no other option but to. Because of that money he is able to rent a room for the nights he will be at the convention, buy some food, and clothes that will look appropriate for the convention. Moreover, this is when we start getting into the convention. For the first couple of days Gideon was determined not to speak at the convention, in fear of making a fool of himself in front of all the educated white folk. Yet one day he is outraged and just cannot help himself, he gets up and speaks. Nevertheless, he was still embarrassed that he could not find the right words for what he was saying and for the fact that he sounded very uneducated compared to some of the rest. However when he was given some books that taught him how to read and speak properly, he began to speak out more and voice his opinion. To his surprise he was heard, people started to listen to what he was saying, and even siding with him. Fast explains that the Constitutional Convention worked because, though neither black nor poor whites were overly fond of each other, both realized they had a common enemy in a planter group. With the help of Gideon’s voice, and many others they fought against the planter group. The fought for a system of public schools, the abolition of imprisonment for debt, a simple and fair divorce law, a statute making it impossible for a wifes property to be sold in settlement of her husbands debts, and a measure for universal suffrage – which, came as close as man had ever come to giving women a break and land. Even though he fought for all of these things, the most important ones for Gideon were fair and equal education, and land. Throughout his time at the convention lets his wife slip away from him and stands by while a white northerner helps Gideons oldest son, Jeff, through medical school in Scotland; there was no medical school in America free enough from prejudice to accept him. Gideon loses site at what he loves the most in his life, and lets them all slip away because freedom seems more important than family. Some of the themes of this book are love and understanding, vigilance and perseverance, and hope. The reason why I say that a theme is love and understanding is because in the beginning of the book we hear about how his wife has stayed by his side through thick and thin. She waited for him though the war that he willingly signed up to go fight for. She let him go vote because she realized that even though no one knew exactly what it was, it was something of importance to her husband. In addition, though she has just gotten her husband back and did not want him to leave again; she understood that t his was something that he needed to do. She stood by his side, maybe not physically but mentally, throughout the entirety of the convention. Although this theme is not a main theme in the book, I think that it is a rather important one. The other theme I had mentioned was vigilance and perseverance. I believe these two themes are the main themes of the book, because everyone in this book is persevering in one way or another. Brother Peter insists that Gideon goes to the convention. Everyone at the convention is pushing for exactly what it is that they want written down, and his son is moving to a land unknown to him for an education that he cannot receive where he is. The last theme I had mentioned was hope. I believe that hope is the most predominant theme throughout the book, because every single person has hope. In the beginning, the town and the men who left were hoping that this voting thing was not going to get them killed. Gideon’s wife hoped that he would not leave her again, and when he did, she hoped that he would be okay and that she would get to see him again. The people of the convention all held on to the hope that what they say and what they want will be written down into a law. Then we have Gideon himself, he has hope that he will be able to read, write and give all freed slaves the right to an education. The theme of hope plays repeatedly throughout the story. All of the stories characters played a large role in the book, everyone influenced the book in one way or another, but a few of the characters that stood out to me are Brother Peter, Gideon, and Cardozo. The first character that really stands out to me is Brother Peter. I think the fact that he did not stand up and ask people to vote for him, as a delegate was a selfless act. All of the people in town look up to him and ask him for advice, they would have easily voted for him as they did Gideon, but brother Peter knew that Gideon would have more to learn from being a delegate than he would. Brother Peter also knew that Gideon would have more of a fight in him than he would. I th ink the reason why Brother Peter was so pushy about Gideon going to the convention was that he knew that Gideon would get things done. The other character that stands out to me is Gideon. Gideon starts in the beginning of the book being illiterate, but pushes though the struggle of learning how to read and write by himself. He also struggles with the fact that he is poor and does not measure up to some of the other people in the convention. Gideon fights for education and freedom so much that he lets go of everything that he truly loves. He lets his wife slip away and his son leaves. He forgets that he has people waiting for him back home. Even though I hate that he loses sight of the place he came from and his family, he over comes many struggles and fights to achieve his goals. The other character that stands out to me is Cardozo. Cardozo is the first person at the convention that comes up and talks to Gideon. I like the way Cardozo sees things differently, he is a black man that has been free all his life, got an education, socialized around white people his entire life. Therefore, when he first talks to Gideon he wants him to explain why black people should have en education. Once Gideon explains himself Cardozo understands, and helps Gideon as much as he can. He introduces him to all the right people, he supports him in the convention, and most of all he gave Gideon books that taught him how to read and write. He gave Gideon what he had come to fight for. I think it takes very kindhearted people to stand by someone who cannot even form the words to fight by themselves. Before I actually started reading this story, I thought it was going to be another extremely boring history book, however once I started I could not put it down. The way this story was written was fabulous. The way Fast incorporated Gideon’s thoughts, his writing and speaking was interesting. I loved that the real facts of what happened during that time was not just thrown in our faces, it was mixed into the fictional story that kept you interested. I think the way that we are lead through the past so effortlessly was a fascinating way to keep reader interested. I like the way Fast incorporated all the different kinds of people at the convention. In the story, the laws of freedom, education, and land would not have got through without the black folks and poor white folks being there. I think the way Fast portrayed Gideon, as a strong illiterate freedman was a great way to grab the reader’s attention and walk us through the past in a wonderful way. I think the only thing that Fast is really missing is more of Gideon speaking. Fast does an excellent narration of illiterate folks, but he does not do enough of it. Overall, this book was great, I will most likely be keeping it, and not reselling it so I can re-read it repeatedly.

Discussion of Murder Mysteries Essay -- Papers

Murder mysteries have a motive to start off the investigation. Murder mysteries always have detectives, murder/ killing, alibi ´s, victims, weapons, evidence, a twist in a tail, a bit of suspense or maybe a lot of suspense. The location and the setting are some of main factors for a murder mysteries. If a murder mystery doesn ´t contain any of these, it cannot be defined as a murder mystery. Lamb to the Slaughter was written by Roald Dahl. It was first published in 1954. Lamb to the Slaughter is written in speech of time the story was published. In Lamb to the Slaughter the use of present day modern language so automatically gives the impression that it is written in present day modern and now. Roald Dahl is more famous for writing children ´s story. Roald Dahl always writes about ordinary people who get involved in difficult situations for his stories for adults. Lamb to the Slaughter is more prominent as an adults story. This is a murder mystery and one of the two short stories that I am going to investigate. The other short story which I will be investigating is The Speckled Band. The Speckled Band was written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It was first published in 1892. The Speckled Band is also written in speech of the time the Speckled Band was first Published. The language of that time seemed to be much formal as accurate English and much less slang was used. Holmes and Watson speak very typically English and p... ... manner that the reader ´s suspension of disbelief is never broken. We are with Mary Maloney from the first sentence of the story, and only at the end do we realise that we never really knew her at all. The irony of it all is that the police who were puzzled why they could not find the murder weapon we are consuming it. This was almost a sick comical twist to the ending. When she laughs didn ´t seem funny but more sinister and evil. Compare The Speckled Band, Lamb to the Slaughter is easy to work out from the Speckled Band and more predictable. So if you are looking for a challenge The Speckled Band is the one to read but I think for the younger reader ´s Lamb to the Slaughter would be better. The Speckled was much more complicated and had much more twists and turns in it, and you weren ´t sure what was going to come next.

Problems We Face in Our Daily Lives

E & B Hassan Anjum Problem 1 Inconvenience of getting ready in the morning Background: This is a problem that every person faces, be it a kid getting ready for school or an adult going to office. Why do people complain about it? Obviously the reason is pretty simple. It is time consuming. People want a solution that helps them to cut this time. Solutions tried (TIPS): There isn’t any such specific product which helps people to tackle this problem. But we do have some tips regarding this situation on the internet http://www. wikihow. com/Get-Ready-in-the-Morning ttp://parentables. howstuffworks. com/family-matters/3-free-get-ready-school-printables-make-your-mornings-easier. html (This isn’t relevant to the topic but is an interesting idea for kids to learn getting ready themselves in the morning. ) http://www. wikihow. com/Get-Ready-for-School-%28for-Girls%29 Possible solution (Product) : It is a wild idea but I really fancy the idea of some iron man machine look alike which has all the tools and equipment ( Eg Robotics controlling hairbrush , tooth brush etc) for getting ready in the morning.Morever, we have an input device ( probably an augmented reality screen which helps us to decide what clothes to wear). And all these processes involved in getting ready are controlled by robotics. All we have to do is choose what clothes to wear and enter the machine. All the functions are performed simultaneously. Morever this machine would have the capabilities to give one a bath. So the 2nd problem of bathing could be integrated as well. Just a wild idea . I know it sounds a bit complicated but still a possibility.Problem 2 Sound Pollution Background: Sound or noise pollution is another common problem that one faces in his daily life. It can be caused in many forms. Be it some construction work going on in the community, the roaring of vehicle engines in the morning, highway noise or probably some late night party going on in the neighbourhood. Noise poll ution has become a serious concern due to its adverse effects. Solutions that already exist: http://www. youtube. com/watch? =-jevPIJmABA&feature=related This vid shows us the different materials to sound proof a room. Pretty common thing And as Janet and Josh have mentioned already http://www. audimutesoundproofing. com/ Something portable but too big to carry around. Possible solutions : Sound proof remote (Press a button and it sound proofs the room) P. S , Yes this idea has been discussed and mentioned before. Other solutions such as sound proof walls, ear muffs are too mainstream. And SORRY for the delay !!