Staffing Process Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Staffing Process - Case Study Example The main role of the staffing coordinator entails the presentation of the best employees to the managers for review ensuring that the right personnel is selected for a particular job. Finding the appropriate personnel for a task is a monumental task that needs extensive knowledge of the industry and resources to elicit the expected results. The coordinator is tasked with the responsibility of setting up interviews with the personnel as well as conducting reference and background checks. Other roles include making staff schedules, handling staffing emergencies, scheduling vacation times for the employees, ensuring employee and customer satisfaction as well as being involved in training and employees orientation. KSAOs skills include having organizational skills, human resource planning knowledge, interpersonal and analytical skills, as well as consultative and problem-solving skills. With this in mind, coordinators ought to be referred to as recruiters, retention specialist as well as managers (Cascio & Aguinis, 2008). Effective reward systems are important to ensure that the organization is competitive, retains its employees thus reduce the employee’s turnover. It the source of motivation and enhances the organization brand name (Gong, 2003). Individuals in this position are considered part of the management team since the coordinating is responsible for the staffing needs of the organization. Managers ought to trust their work to interview the candidates and make hiring decisions. Therefore, the coordinator needs to have a strong attention to details as well a good communication and computer skills. They also need to be flexible and patient since they help shape employees careers. For cycle days, days to start and offer ratios, the order of the recruitment process is from the highest to the least effectiveness. I.e. employee’s referral followed by the employment agency and newspaper recruitment methods.

Tata Motors Going Global Essay Example for Free

Tata Motors Going Global Essay TATA Motors-International Business Indian Automobile Industry Hailed as ‘the industry of industries’ by Peter Drucker, the founding father of the study of  management, in 1946, the automobile industry had evolved continuously with changing timesfrom craft production in 1890s to mass production in 1910s to lean production techniques in the1970s. The automotive industry in India grew at a computed annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11. 5 percentover the past five years, the Economic Survey 2008-09 tabled in parliament on 2 nd July’09 said. The industry has a strong multiplier effect on the economy due to its deep forward and backwardlinkages with several key segments of the economy, a finance ministry statement said. The automobile industry, which was plagued by the economic downturn amidst a credit crisis,managed a growth of 0. 7 percent in 2008-09 with passenger car sales registering 1. 31 percentgrowth while the commercial vehicles segment slumped 21. 7 percent. Indian automobile industry has come a long way to from the era of the Ambassador car to Maruti800 to latest MM Xylo. The industry is highly competitive with a number of global and Indiancompanies present today. It is projected to be the third largest auto industry by 2030 and just  behind to US China, according to a report. The industry is estimated to be a US$ 34 billionindustry. Indian Automobile industry can be divided into three segments i. e. two wheeler, three wheeler four wheeler segment. The domestic two-wheeler market is dominated by Indian as well asforeign players such as Hero Honda, Bajaj Auto, Honda Motors, TVS Motors, and Suzuki etc. Maruti Udyog and Tata Motors are the leading passenger car manufacturers in the country. AndIndia is considered as strategic market by Suzuki, Yamaha, etc. Commercial Vehicle market iscatered by players like Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland, Volvo, Force Motors, Eicher Motors etc. The major players have not left any stone unturned to be global. Major of the players have gotinto the merger activities with their foreign counterparts. Like Maruti with Suzuki, Hero withHonda, Tata with Fiat, Mahindra with Renault, Force Motors with Mann. Key Facts: †¢ India ranks 12th in the list of the worlds top 15 automakers †¢ Entry of more international players †¢ Contributes 5% to the GDP †¢ Production of four wheelers in India has increased from 9. 3 lakh units in 2002-03 to 23lakh units in 2007-08 †¢ Targeted to be of $ 145 Billion by 2016 †¢ Exports increased from 84,000 units in 2002-03 to 280,000 units in 2007-08 TATA Motors-International Business Submitted by: Sameer, Sohail, Sankar, Himanshu, Arun Page 5 Porter’s Five Forces Analysis of Indian Automobile Sector1. Industry Rivalry †¢ Industry Concentration: The Concentration Ratio (CR) indicates the percent of market share held by a company. A high concentration ratio indicates that a high concentration of market share is held bythe largest firms the industry is concentrated. With only a few firms holding a largemarket share, the market is less competitive (closer to a monopoly). A low concentrationratio indicates that the industry is characterized by many rivals, none of which has asignificant market share. These fragmented markets are said to be competitive. If rivalryamong firms in an industry is low, the industry is considered to be disciplined †¢ High Fixed costs When total costs are mostly fixed costs, the firm must produce capacity to attain thelowest unit costs. Since the firm must sell this large quantity of product, high levels of  Ã‚  production lead to a fight for market share and results in increased rivalry. The industry istypically capital intensive and thus involves high fixed costs †¢ Slow market growth In growing market, firms can improve their economies. Though the market growth has  been impressive in the last few years (about 8 to 15%), it takes a beat in even slighteconomic disturbances as it involves a luxury good. Aggressive pricing is needed tosustain growth in such situations †¢ Diversity of rivals: Industry becomes unstable as the diversification increases.

What is penal welfarism? Garlands theory.

What is penal welfarism? Garlands theory. What is penal welfarism? Evaluate the impact it has had on juvenile justice reform in the UK from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present. In order to evaluate the impact of penal welfarism upon juvenile justice reform, the concept will be defined with reference to Garland (2001). The contributing societal factors to the emergence of penal welfarism in juvenile justice reform will then be assessed. The practical and legal achievements of penal welfarism in the juvenile justice system will be identified. Challenges to penal welfarism will be outlined, with particular reference to alternate conceptions of youth justice and criminality. The demise of the penal welfarism approach will be assessed, with specific reference to the motivating societal factors and comparison between the Welsh, English and Scottish juvenile justice systems. Penal welfarism as defined by Garland (2001) as a structural response to crime that is composed of two ideological standpoints. Due process and proportionate punishment, with their inherent liberal ideologies, ensure that all the rights of the juvenile offender are respected. The punishment is fitting to the crime and the circumstances of the juvenile offender. Rehabilitation and offender welfare are approached from a correctionalist viewpoint. This entails that the punishment served by the offender maintains a focus upon the rehabilitation of the offender, as does the approach of professionals who work with the offender during the punishment period. In short, penal welfarism suggests that rehabilitation will be most effective if the offender is provided with positive motivation while in the care of the penal reform system. The logic behind the practice is that if the offender is provided with the opportunity to progress in the penal institution, they will wish to continue to do so w hen released back into society. The notion of penal welfarism is derived from applying the practicalities of the welfarism ideology to the penal system. The welfarism concept asserts that policy requires evaluation in terms of its consequences (Kaplow Shavell, 2002). This assessment is most frequently made using a utilitarian approach, i.e. the usefulness of the approach in question. The logical application of this concept to the penal system dictates that policy regarding offender treatment should be assessed in terms of offender rehabilitation, i.e. the offender will not repeatedly offend upon release and as a result society will be safer. The focus is upon the usefulness of the punishment, i.e. its resulting benefit to society and improvement of personal conditions. Therefore penal welfarism maintains a focus on respecting the rights of the individual and maintaining a rehabilitative approach as this is deemed to be the most beneficial approach for both the offender and for society. The formation and application of penal welfarism to juvenile justice reform is interrelated with the emergence of a welfare state at the turn of the 20th century (Garland, 2002). The welfare state was implemented by the Liberal government in order to meet demands to negate social insecurity while protecting free trade and a capitalist economy (Daunton, 2007). The emergence of free trade had resulted in increased unemployment and harsher social conditions for those at the lower end of the pay spectrum. However, free trade and capitalism were deemed as models that required protection. Therefore pensions, health services and other such welfare services were centralized and nationalized to ensure that these individuals would be protected in the capitalist state. Garland (2002) identifies these welfare systems as being rooted in ideologies of protection and integration, so that even the most disadvantaged members of society are protected by the welfare state. Out of this ideology was born penal welfarism for juvenile justice. As these social and economical reforms based taxation upon the basis of the individual workers rather than according to the class system (Leonard, 2003), each member of society was treated upon the basis of individual circumstance, in theory dispelling the class system. Therefore, within the penal system for juvenile justice, individualism arose where the rights and rehabilitation of each offender was considered. The main legal and practical development in respect to penal welfarism was the separation of individuals under the age of 21 from adults in the justice system. In light of the requirement to individualize and respect the rights of each juvenile offender, juvenile courts were officially established by the Children Act 1908 (Goldson Muncie, 2008). In addition to this, corrective Borstals were created for juveniles under the age of 21. Individuals could be sentenced to a period in such an institution for between one and three years. It was considered that these institutions were to focus on rehabilitation of the juvenile, and the training of the juvenile to be re-integrated with society upon their release (Muncie, 2006). The role of the juvenile justice system was further defined by the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 (Ikin, 1933). This Act entailed the reorganization of reform schools so that they provided education to offenders; and training so that they may find employment upon completion of their sentence. Furthermore capital punishment for any offender below the age of 18 was abolished by the Act. Issues of anonymity were also covered (Ikin, 1933). The media were and are able to report the name of an adult offender if it was deemed to serve public interests. However, the identity of juvenile offenders was protected by the law. The penal welfarism approach to juvenile justice was criticized on both economical and ideological grounds. Economically, this system, and the welfare system in general, was criticized as being born out of fear of free trade and the emergence of corporations as the dominant financial players in society (Platt, 2002). Increased spending on the welfare system and individualist taxation were contributing factors to this. Ideologically, the concept has been challenged with reference to the societal conception of crime reformation and with reference to the individual in the system. In terms of the latter, it is the goal of reformation that is problematic. For example, Hudson (2002) outlines institutional sexism that was apparent in the penal welfarism definitions of rehabilitation. Discrepancies in the social moral code that must be adhered to by males and females highlighted unfairness in the treatment of females in this system. While rehabilitation of the male juvenile offender focused on the criminal act, female rehabilitation focused much more strongly on personal and sexual behaviour within society. In terms of societal conceptions of crime, it has been argued that viewing the juvenile as on a linear path through deviance (diversion) may be more effective in terms of negating re-offending (Austin Krisberg, 2002). Furthermore, re-defining what is considered a criminal act, for example, the redefinition of drug use as a social as opposed to a criminal problem; may result in a more effective approach to the problem in comparison to penal welfarism (Austin Krisberg, 2002). After a period of a Labour government working to enhance the ideology of care for the juvenile offender in the 1960s; the penal welfarism approach began to decline when the Conservatives came to power in the 1970 General Election (Smith, 2007). It was considered that the judicial and welfare aspects had become disjointed, and the focus began to grow upon the judicial proceedings of the system. This is evident by the significant increase in the number of juveniles receiving custodial sentences in the 1970s (Rutter Giller, 1983). The ideology increasingly narrowed onto punishment and control (Geisthorpe Morris, 2002) throughout the 1980s, especially in England and Wales. The issue of juvenile crime was focused onto the victims, with the criminals perpetrated as depraved (Jones, 1994). Echoes of this can be seen in present day society where hooded teenagers are feared by adult society (for an example of this see MacLean, 2008). Importantly, the Criminal Justice Act 1991 brought in a s eparation of systems, one to deal with juveniles requiring judicial attention, and one for those in need of welfare provision (Geisthorpe Morris, 2002). While England and Wales fully segregated these two systems, Scottish practices of juvenile justice policies maintained a higher level of communication between the two approaches. However, societal moral panics regarding serious youth crime and repeat offending has created a concern that juvenile offenders are not aware of the impact of their actions (Jones, 1994). This could possibly be related to the breakdown of community. These concerns have paved the way for a juvenile justice ideology that is based upon restorative justice as set out by the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 (Geisthorpe Morris, 2002). Penal welfarism refers to a system that presents positive motivations for juvenile offenders to develop while in the penal system. The concept arose with the birth of the welfare state. Penal welfarism resulted in the segregation of juveniles from adults in the judicial process, the eradication of capital punishment for juveniles and anonymity of juvenile offenders from the media. As a concept, it was challenged for the welfare state’s impact upon free trade. It was also challenged by its characterisation of the juvenile offender; diversion and decriminalisation were offered as alternate ideologies. The concept demised with the segregation of welfare and judicial proceedings for adolescents. Societal factors for this include a fear of the juvenile offender. This has led to a focus on restorative justice which is implemented in juvenile reform today. References Austin, J., Krisberg, B. (2002). Wider, stronger and different nets: the dialects of criminal justice reform. In J. Muncie, G., Hughes E. McLaughlin (Eds.), Youth Justice: Critical Readings, London: Sage Publications Ltd. Daunton, M. (2007). Wealth and Welfare: An Economic and Social History of Britain 1851-1951). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Garland, D. (2001). The Culture of Control: Crime and Social Order in Contemporary Society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Garland, D. (2002). Penal strategies in a welfare state. In J. Muncie, G., Hughes E. McLaughlin (Eds.), Youth Justice: Critical Readings, London: Sage Publications Ltd. Geisthorpe, L., Morris, A. (2002). Restorative Youth Justice: the last vestiges of welfare? In J. Muncie, G., Hughes E. McLaughlin (Eds.), Youth Justice: Critical Readings, London: Sage Publications Ltd. Goldson, B., Muncie, J. (2008). Youth Crime and Juvenile Justice. London: Sage Publications Ltd. Hudson, A. (2002). ‘Troublesome girls’: Towards alternative definitions and policies. In J. Muncie, G., Hughes E. McLaughlin (Eds.), Youth Justice: Critical Readings, London: Sage Publications Ltd. Ikin, A.E. (1933). Children and Young Persons Act, 1933: Being the Text of the Statute together with Explanatory Notes. London: Sir I. Pitman and Sons. Jones, M. (1994). Images and reality: Juvenile crime, youth violence and public policy. London: National Council on Crime and Delinquency. Kaplow, L., Shavell, S. (2002). Fairness versus Welfare.Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Leonard, M. (2003). Promoting Welfare? Government Information Policy and Social Citizenship. Bristol: Policy Press. MacLean, D. (2008). New hoodies are a yob’s dream. The Shields Gazette, 9th August. Muncie, J. (2006). From Borstal to YOI. In Y. Jewkes H. Johnston (Eds.) Prison Readings. Devon: Willan Publishing. Platt, A. (2002). The triumph of benevolence: the origins of the juvenile system in the United States. In J. Muncie, G., Hughes E. McLaughlin (Eds.), Youth Justice: Critical Readings, London: Sage Publications Ltd. Rutter, M., Giller, H. (1983). Juvenile Delinquency: Trends and Perspectives. New York: Guilford Publications. Smith, R. (2007). Youth Justice: Ideas, Policy, Practice. Devon: Willan Publishing.

Urbanization in Africa Essay examples -- Development, Urban Trend

Urbanization is the movement from a rural society to an urban society, and involves a growth in the number of people in urban areas. Urban growth is increasing in both the developed but mostly in the developing countries. Urbanization is associated with the problems of unemployment, poverty, bad health, poor cleanliness, urban slums environmental deprivation. This causes a very big problem for these developing countries and who are some of poorest countries. Africa urbanization is not as big as most developing countries but is on the rise for it outbursts in city growth lately. (Saundry, 2008). In Africa, one important feature of the urbanization process is that a lot of the growth is taking place in the industrial increase. Urbanization also finds expression in external expansion of the built-up area and the changing of prime agricultural lands into residential and industrial uses (Saundry, 2008). An alternate to the present expansion of the urban population across a wide area of the country in order to save crucial land for agriculture is to construct high-rise buildings and support commercial development in specific zones, which would depend on efficiency, and the right technology and resources (Hanson, 2011). In Africa, the urbanization processes are largely driven by market forces and government policies. This will lead to methods at the same time of change in incomes, land use, health and natural resources management including water, soil and forests and often reactive changes in local governments (The Economist, 2010). So this is saying that government developm ent policies and budget divisions, in which urban residents are often favorites over rural areas and will tend to pull more people into the urban areas. I... ...population distribution designed to reduce the rate of rural-urban migration appears to have had limited success in many developing countries. Policies must be directed at altering the rural economy in order to slow the rate of urban sprawl. Broad land use planning and changing of planning standards and governmental procedures would go a long way to reduce many of the problems that face urban populations in the developing areas, especially Africa. Urbanization can cause a lot of problems for a city or even a country. It can cause cities to become overpopulated which are known as mega-cites, and cause problems with living arrangements and finding a job. Urbanization can also cause health problems. Urbanization is supposed to be good for developing countries on the rise but with this rapid growth in Africa, these problems can become a major concern in the future.

Essay --

When operating a business it is essential that a business analyses where it stand in a market in the present moment as they are then able to grasp at possible enhancements which could be made in order to successfully improve their products or services. It is also important that a business is able keep up with today’s always changing laws and legislations which through the use of the information they are able to adjust to such changes. SWOT analysis is a method used by organisations to help them analysis, evaluate and take into account different factors within and outside the organisations which can have an influence on their product. SWOT stands for Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. It enables businesses to clearly form a logical point of view on a products marketing state. For instance using my business plan to re-launch the Zune I can see that the strength and weaknesses of the business would be factors that are internal such as cost production, quality and pricing. While the opportunities and threats would be the external relating to factors such as competitors, audience, trends and politics. The table below illustrates how SWOT would apply to my business plan: Strength (Internal) The strengths are the advantages that the company has which enable it to operate with little or no problems. In the case of Microsoft one advantage is that it has been in the market for a long time and has a wide experience in marketing. Its reputation is also another strength as it is a well known brand name therefore customers are more likely to prefer their products as they will expect a high quality product. The main strength that Microsoft has is its financial position since the company is worth billions of pounds, this will... ...control in the short-run a good example being minimum wage in the UK which the company has no control over, however the company can respond to that change by shifting its major operations in UK to a country like China where minimum wages are not as high compared to the UK wage regulations. That response would help reduce production cost. Boston matrix helped businesses in assessing when to invest largely in prolonging their products for example at a star category more funds are needed to remain in the market where both market share and market growth are at their peak. If not properly checked it could fall into the cow cash category. It is also found that the product life cycle concept assist businesses in knowing at what stage the product stands. Therefore the firm is able to know when to invest in order to extend product’s life or rather to avoid decline stage.

Father Roles Heaney Essay -- essays papers

Father Roles Heaney Father Roles There are many factors that will shape a young boy’s life, but possibly none more important than the role of that boy’s father. Seamus Heaney and Theodore Roethke both have shown the importance of the father role in their poems â€Å"Digging† and â€Å"My Papas Waltz.† Although the roles of the fathers in these poems were different, the respect and admiration shown by their sons is one in the same. Weather it is Heaney’s father digging under his window, or Roehtke’s father dancing him around as a little boy, the love shown in these two poems, shows a direct relation on the lives they shared with their fathers. Heaney’s poem, â€Å"Digging† showed that while the boy still loved his father, he did not wish to carry on the tradition of potato digging that had been in his family for generations. For example, Heaney wrote that he had â€Å"no spade to follow men like them†(Spence par 1). This quote states that Heaney, although loving his father, did not think he could carry on the tradition. Heaney remembers the way he would bring his grandfather a glass of milk, and would drink the entire bottle, and then would watch his grandfather fall to work once again. This brings about the fact that while still caring a great deal for his father and grandfather, he still would prefer the path of a writer (Glover 542). Ultimately, Heaney chose not to â€Å"follow men like them†, and chose instead on becoming a writer. This is backed up later in the poem when Heaney writes â€Å"Between my finger and my thumb/The squat pen rests/I’ll dig with it.† Heaney had alwa ys watched his father from the upstairs window while he dug, and Heaney would watch and write, and this fanned the fire for Heaney’s desire to become a writer (Pellegrio pa... ...and Theodore Roehtke both had fathers who were hard working, involved men, but both having taken the time to show their sons the attention and love that they deserved. The impact that the fathers played in these poets lives will always be remembered in the poems â€Å"Digging† and â€Å"My Papas Waltz.† Between the lines of these two poems, you can see the importance that Seamus Heaney, and Theodore Roehtke’s fathers played in their sons lives, by showing them love, and compassion, no matter what hey had chosen to do. Weather it was simply bringing his dad a glass of milk, or dancing around the kitchen without ever wanting to let go, the role of father is one of the biggest roles a man can ever accept. â€Å"Digging† and My Papas Waltz† are two great examples of how much difference a father makes if he shows warmth, love, compassion, and possibly most important, understanding.

A Game of Thrones Chapter Five

Jon There were times—not many, but a few—when Jon Snow was glad he was a bastard. As he filled his wine cup once more from a passing flagon, it struck him that this might be one of them. He settled back in his place on the bench among the younger squires and drank. The sweet, fruity taste of summerwine filled his mouth and brought a smile to his lips. The Great Hall of Winterfell was hazy with smoke and heavy with the smell of roasted meat and fresh-baked bread. Its grey stone walls were draped with banners. White, gold, crimson: the direwolf of Stark, Baratheon's crowned stag, the lion of Lannister. A singer was playing the high harp and reciting a ballad, but down at this end of the hall his voice could scarcely be heard above the roar of the fire, the clangor of pewter plates and cups, and the low mutter of a hundred drunken conversations. It was the fourth hour of the welcoming feast laid for the king. Jon's brothers and sisters had been seated with the royal children, beneath the raised platform where Lord and Lady Stark hosted the king and queen. In honor of the occasion, his lord father would doubtless permit each child a glass of wine, but no more than that. Down here on the benches, there was no one to stop Jon drinking as much as he had a thirst for. And he was finding that he had a man's thirst, to the raucous delight of the youths around him, who urged him on every time he drained a glass. They were fine company, and Jon relished the stories they were telling, tales of battle and bedding and the hunt. He was certain that his companions were more entertaining than the king's offspring. He had sated his curiosity about the visitors when they made their entrance. The procession had passed not a foot from the place he had been given on the bench, and Jon had gotten a good long look at them all. His lord father had come first, escorting the queen. She was as beautiful as men said. A jeweled tiara gleamed amidst her long golden hair, its emeralds a perfect match for the green of her eyes. His father helped her up the steps to the dais and led her to her seat, but the queen never so much as looked at him. Even at fourteen, Jon could see through her smile. Next had come King Robert himself, with Lady Stark on his arm. The king was a great disappointment to Jon. His father had talked of him often: the peerless Robert Baratheon, demon of the Trident, the fiercest warrior of the realm, a giant among princes. Jon saw only a fat man, red-faced under his beard, sweating through his silks. He walked like a man half in his cups. After them came the children. Little Rickon first, managing the long walk with all the dignity a three-year-old could muster. Jon had to urge him on when he stopped to visit. Close behind came Robb, in grey wool trimmed with white, the Stark colors. He had the Princess Myrcella on his arm. She was a wisp of a girl, not quite eight, her hair a cascade of golden curls under a jeweled net. Jon noticed the shy looks she gave Robb as they passed between the tables and the timid way she smiled at him. He decided she was insipid. Robb didn't even have the sense to realize how stupid she was; he was grinning like a fool. His half sisters escorted the royal princes. Arya was paired with plump young Tommen, whose white-blond hair was longer than hers. Sansa, two years older, drew the crown prince, Joffrey Baratheon. He was twelve, younger than Jon or Robb, but taller than either, to Jon's vast dismay. Prince Joffrey had his sister's hair and his mother's deep green eyes. A thick tangle of blond curls dripped down past his golden choker and high velvet collar. Sansa looked radiant as she walked beside him, but Jon did not like Joffrey's pouty lips or the bored, disdainful way he looked at Winterfell's Great Hall. He was more interested in the pair that came behind him: the queen's brothers, the Lannisters of Casterly Rock. The Lion and the Imp; there was no mistaking which was which. Ser Jaime Lannister was twin to Queen Cersei; tall and golden, with flashing green eyes and a smile that cut like a knife. He wore crimson silk, high black boots, a black satin cloak. On the breast of his tunic, the lion of his House was embroidered in gold thread, roaring its defiance. They called him the Lion of Lannister to his face and whispered â€Å"Kingslayer† behind his back. Jon found it hard to look away from him. This is what a king should look like, he thought to himself as the man passed. Then he saw the other one, waddling along half-hidden by his brother's side. Tyrion Lannister, the youngest of Lord Tywin's brood and by far the ugliest. All that the gods had given to Cersei and Jaime, they had denied Tyrion. He was a dwarf, half his brother's height, struggling to keep pace on stunted legs. His head was too large for his body, with a brute's squashed-in face beneath a swollen shelf of brow. One green eye and one black one peered out from under a lank fall of hair so blond it seemed white. Jon watched him with fascination. The last of the high lords to enter were his uncle, Benjen Stark of the Night's Watch, and his father's ward, young Theon Greyjoy. Benjen gave Jon a warm smile as he went by. Theon ignored him utterly, but there was nothing new in that. After all had been seated, toasts were made, thanks were given and returned, and then the feasting began. Jon had started drinking then, and he had not stopped. Something rubbed against his leg beneath the table. Jon saw red eyes staring up at him. â€Å"Hungry again?† he asked. There was still half a honeyed chicken in the center of the table. Jon reached out to tear off a leg, then had a better idea. He knifed the bird whole and let the carcass slide to the floor between his legs. Ghost ripped into it in savage silence. His brothers and sisters had not been permitted to bring their wolves to the banquet, but there were more curs than Jon could count at this end of the hall, and no one had said a word about his pup. He told himself he was fortunate in that too. His eyes stung. Jon rubbed at them savagely, cursing the smoke. He swallowed another gulp of wine and watched his direwolf devour the chicken. Dogs moved between the tables, trailing after the serving girls. One of them, a black mongrel bitch with long yellow eyes, caught a scent of the chicken. She stopped and edged under the bench to get a share. Jon watched the confrontation. The bitch growled low in her throat and moved closer. Ghost looked up, silent, and fixed the dog with those hot red eyes. The bitch snapped an angry challenge. She was three times the size of the direwolf pup. Ghost did not move. He stood over his prize and opened his mouth, baring his fangs. The bitch tensed, barked again, then thought better of this fight. She turned and slunk away, with one last defiant snap to save her pride. Ghost went back to his meal. Jon grinned and reached under the table to ruffle the shaggy white fur. The direwolf looked up at him, nipped gently at his hand, then went back to eating. â€Å"Is this one of the direwolves I've heard so much of?† a familiar voice asked close at hand. Jon looked up happily as his uncle Ben put a hand on his head and ruffled his hair much as Jon had ruffled the wolf's. â€Å"Yes,† he said. â€Å"His name is Ghost.† One of the squires interrupted the bawdy story he'd been telling to make room at the table for their lord's brother. Benjen Stark straddled the bench with long legs and took the wine cup out of Jon's hand. â€Å"Summerwine,† he said after a taste. â€Å"Nothing so sweet. How many cups have you had, Jon?† Jon smiled. Ben Stark laughed. â€Å"As I feared. Ah, well. I believe I was younger than you the first time I got truly and sincerely drunk.† He snagged a roasted onion, dripping brown with gravy, from a nearby trencher and bit into it. It crunched. His uncle was sharp-featured and gaunt as a mountain crag, but there was always a hint of laughter in his blue-grey eyes. He dressed in black, as befitted a man of the Night's Watch. Tonight it was rich black velvet, with high leather boots and a wide belt with a silver buckle. A heavy silver chain was looped round his neck. Benjen watched Ghost with amusement as he ate his onion. â€Å"A very quiet wolf,† he observed. â€Å"He's not like the others,† Jon said. â€Å"He never makes a sound. That's why I named him Ghost. That, and because he's white. The others are all dark, grey or black.† â€Å"There are still direwolves beyond the Wall. We hear them on our rangings.† Benjen Stark gave Jon a long look. â€Å"Don't you usually eat at table with your brothers?† â€Å"Most times,† Jon answered in a flat voice. â€Å"But tonight Lady Stark thought it might give insult to the royal family to seat a bastard among them.† â€Å"I see.† His uncle glanced over his shoulder at the raised table at the far end of the hall. â€Å"My brother does not seem very festive tonight.† Jon had noticed that too. A bastard had to learn to notice things, to read the truth that people hid behind their eyes. His father was observing all the courtesies, but there was tightness in him that Jon had seldom seen before. He said little, looking out over the hall with hooded eyes, seeing nothing. Two seats away, the king had been drinking heavily all night. His broad face was flushed behind his great black beard. He made many a toast, laughed loudly at every jest, and attacked each dish like a starving man, but beside him the queen seemed as cold as an ice sculpture. â€Å"The queen is angry too,† Jon told his uncle in a low, quiet voice. â€Å"Father took the king down to the crypts this afternoon. The queen didn't want him to go.† Benjen gave Jon a careful, measuring look. â€Å"You don't miss much, do you, Jon? We could use a man like you on the Wall.† Jon swelled with pride. â€Å"Robb is a stronger lance than I am, but I'm the better sword, and Hullen says I sit a horse as well as anyone in the castle.† â€Å"Notable achievements.† â€Å"Take me with you when you go back to the Wall,† Jon said in a sudden rush. â€Å"Father will give me leave to go if you ask him, I know he will.† Uncle Benjen studied his face carefully. â€Å"The Wall is a hard place for a boy, Jon.† â€Å"I am almost a man grown,† Jon protested. â€Å"I will turn fifteen on my next name day, and Maester Luwin says bastards grow up faster than other children.† â€Å"That's true enough,† Benjen said with a downward twist of his mouth. He took Jon's cup from the table, filled it fresh from a nearby pitcher, and drank down a long swallow. â€Å"Daeren Targaryen was only fourteen when he conquered Dorne,† Jon said. The Young Dragon was one of his heroes. â€Å"A conquest that lasted a summer,† his uncle pointed out. â€Å"Your Boy King lost ten thousand men taking the place, and another fifty trying to hold it. Someone should have told him that war isn't a game.† He took another sip of wine. â€Å"Also,† he said, wiping his mouth, â€Å"Daeren Targaryen was only eighteen when he died. Or have you forgotten that part?† â€Å"I forget nothing,† Jon boasted. The wine was making him bold. He tried to sit very straight, to make himself seem taller. â€Å"I want to serve in the Night's Watch, Uncle.† He had thought on it long and hard, lying abed at night while his brothers slept around him. Robb would someday inherit Winterfell, would command great armies as the Warden of the North. Bran and Rickon would be Robb's bannermen and rule holdfasts in his name. His sisters Arya and Sansa would marry the heirs of other great houses and go south as mistress of castles of their own. But what place could a bastard hope to earn? â€Å"You don't know what you're asking, Jon. The Night's Watch is a sworn brotherhood. We have no families. None of us will ever father sons. Our wife is duty. Our mistress is honor.† â€Å"A bastard can have honor too,† Jon said. â€Å"I am ready to swear your oath.† â€Å"You are a boy of fourteen,† Benjen said. â€Å"Not a man, not yet. Until you have known a woman, you cannot understand what you would be giving up.† â€Å"I don't care about that!† Jon said hotly. â€Å"You might, if you knew what it meant,† Benjen said. â€Å"If you knew what the oath would cost you, you might be less eager to pay the price, son.† Jon felt anger rise inside him. â€Å"I'm not your son!† Benjen Stark stood up. â€Å"More's the pity.† He put a hand on Jon's shoulder. â€Å"Come back to me after you've fathered a few bastards of your own, and we'll see how you feel.† Jon trembled. â€Å"I will never father a bastard,† he said carefully. â€Å"Never!† He spat it out like venom. Suddenly he realized that the table had fallen silent, and they were all looking at him. He felt the tears begin to well behind his eyes. He pushed himself to his feet. â€Å"I must be excused,† he said with the last of his dignity. He whirled and bolted before they could see him cry. He must have drunk more wine than he had realized. His feet got tangled under him as he tried to leave, and he lurched sideways into a serving girl and sent a flagon of spiced wine crashing to the floor. Laughter boomed all around him, and Jon felt hot tears on his cheeks. Someone tried to steady him. He wrenched free of their grip and ran, half-blind, for the door. Ghost followed close at his heels, out into the night. The yard was quiet and empty. A lone sentry stood high on the battlements of the inner wall, his cloak pulled tight around him against the cold. He looked bored and miserable as he huddled there alone, but Jon would have traded places with him in an instant. Otherwise the castle was dark and deserted. Jon had seen an abandoned holdfast once, a drear place where nothing moved but the wind and the stones kept silent about whatever people had lived there. Winterfell reminded him of that tonight. The sounds of music and song spilled through the open windows behind him. They were the last things Jon wanted to hear. He wiped away his tears on the sleeve of his shirt, furious that he had let them fall, and turned to go. â€Å"Boy,† a voice called out to him. Jon turned. Tyrion Lannister was sitting on the ledge above the door to the Great Hall, looking for all the world like a gargoyle. The dwarf grinned down at him. â€Å"Is that animal a wolf?† â€Å"A direwolf,† Jon said. â€Å"His name is Ghost.† He stared up at the little man, his disappointment suddenly forgotten. â€Å"What are you doing up there? Why aren't you at the feast?† â€Å"Too hot, too noisy, and I'd drunk too much wine,† the dwarf told him. â€Å"I learned long ago that it is considered rude to vomit on your brother. Might I have a closer look at your wolf?† Jon hesitated, then nodded slowly. â€Å"Can you climb down, or shall I bring a ladder?† â€Å"Oh, bleed that,† the little man said. He pushed himself off the ledge into empty air. Jon gasped, then watched with awe as Tyrion Lannister spun around in a tight ball, landed lightly on his hands, then vaulted backward onto his legs. Ghost backed away from him uncertainly. The dwarf dusted himself off and laughed. â€Å"I believe I've frightened your wolf. My apologies.† â€Å"He's not scared,† Jon said. He knelt and called out. â€Å"Ghost, come here. Come on. That's it.† The wolf pup padded closer and nuzzled at Jon's face, but he kept a wary eye on Tyrion Lannister, and when the dwarf reached out to pet him, he drew back and bared his fangs in a silent snarl. â€Å"Shy, isn't he?† Lannister observed. â€Å"Sit, Ghost,† Jon commanded. â€Å"That's it. Keep still.† He looked up at the dwarf. â€Å"You can touch him now. He won't move until I tell him to. I've been training him.† â€Å"I see,† Lannister said. He ruffled the snow-white fur between Ghost's ears and said, â€Å"Nice wolf.† â€Å"If I wasn't here, he'd tear out your throat,† Jon said. It wasn't actually true yet, but it would be. â€Å"In that case, you had best stay close,† the dwarf said. He cocked his oversized head to one side and looked Jon over with his mismatched eyes. â€Å"I am Tyrion Lannister.† â€Å"I know,† Jon said. He rose. Standing, he was taller than the dwarf. It made him feel strange. â€Å"You're Ned Stark's bastard, aren't you?† Jon felt a coldness pass right through him. He pressed his lips together and said nothing. â€Å"Did I offend you?† Lannister said. â€Å"Sorry. Dwarfs don't have to be tactful. Generations of capering fools in motley have won me the right to dress badly and say any damn thing that comes into my head.† He grinned. â€Å"You are the bastard, though.† â€Å"Lord Eddard Stark is my father,† Jon admitted stiffly. Lannister studied his face. â€Å"Yes,† he said. â€Å"I can see it. You have more of the north in you than your brothers.† â€Å"Half brothers,† Jon corrected. He was pleased by the dwarf's comment, but he tried not to let it show. â€Å"Let me give you some counsel, bastard,† Lannister said. â€Å"Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armor yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you.† Jon was in no mood for anyone's counsel. â€Å"What do you know about being a bastard?† â€Å"All dwarfs are bastards in their father's eyes.† â€Å"You are your mother's trueborn son of Lannister.† â€Å"Am I?† the dwarf replied, sardonic. â€Å"Do tell my lord father. My mother died birthing me, and he's never been sure.† â€Å"I don't even know who my mother was,† Jon said. â€Å"Some woman, no doubt. Most of them are.† He favored Jon with a rueful grin. â€Å"Remember this, boy. All dwarfs may be bastards, yet not all bastards need be dwarfs.† And with that he turned and sauntered back into the feast, whistling a tune. When he opened the door, the light from within threw his shadow clear across the yard, and for just a moment Tyrion Lannister stood tall as a king.