Miranda Priestly's personality in The Devil Wears Prada Essay - 1

Miranda Priestly's personality in The Devil Wears Prada - Essay Example Similarly, Eysenck also attributed another personality dimension – extraversion, or alternatively introversion, to the question of balance in the brain between excitation and inhibition.(Boeree, 2006). As a result, the introverted person has poor levels of inhibition and may therefore be able to remember in acute and embarrassing detail, every detail of a traumatic or humiliating event. They will have a tendency to adopt particular behavioral patterns to hold off the panic associated with such memories, which will ensure that such behavior is not repeated ever again. This may even develop to the extent of becoming obsessive-compulsive behavior. Priestley’s character demonstrates several obsessive-compulsive behavioral traits that appear to suggest that she is an introverted kind of personality with low levels of inhibition which she tries to compensate for through compulsive behavioral patterns. One of these is her habit of discarding her overcoat prominently on the desk of her assistant and making unreasonable demands which must be instantly satisfied. Priestley’s quest is to attain perfection and success in her job, and she is in a position of constant pressure to maintain those impossibly high standards of perfection. In order to mask her fear of failure, she has developed certain patterns of behavior that manifest as harassment of her assistants, in order to hold off the inner panic and allow herself to feel powerful and omnipotent in her organization. The knowledge that the life of her assistants hinges on her whims and temperamental demands serves to allow Priestley to enjoy the sense of power that holds off her inner panic. While extraverts are able to easily forget and overcome things that overwhelm them, introverts have a highly developed memory and recall everything in acute and painful detail. This serves to explain

Reverse Osmosis for Wastewater Recycling Essay Example for Free

Reverse Osmosis for Wastewater Recycling Essay Reusing treated wastewater for beneficial purposes, such as agricultural and landscape irrigation, industrial processes, toilet flushing, or groundwater basin replenishment, is growing in response to environmental and economic concerns. One of the key factors involved in recycling wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent for another use is the need to reduce total dissolved solids (TDS). This is often done by using a reverse osmosis (RO) system, which relies on pressure differential to force a solution (in this case, water) through a membrane that retains the solute on one side and allows the pure solvent to pass to the other side. While extremely effective on biologically treated wastewater, RO systems need to be coupled with an effective pretreatment system to avoid common issues that can result in system failure, including plugging, fouling, and scaling. One of the most effective pretreatment options for wastewater applications is membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology, in which a membrane process like ultrafiltration (UF) or microfiltration is combined with a suspended growth bioreactor. MBR provides high quality feed water to the RO, minimizes footprint and the cost of civil works, and reduces treatment plant downtime, thereby reducing operating costs. Koch Membrane Systems’ PURON ® submerged MBR technology has successfully been used as the pretreatment option for challenging industrial and municipal water reuse RO systems, and can help make water recycling technologies more cost-effective. Reverse Osmosis Systems Present Challenges for Water Reuse Pretreatment methods are critical when designing RO systems. For example, RO membranes used for most water reuse applications contain a brine spacer, typically made of low density polyethylene mesh netting. If there is a high level of suspended solids in the feed water, this brine spacer can become plugged. Another issue is the high levels of organics contained in many biologically treated wastewaters, which are rejected by the RO membrane and progressively concentrated as the water flows across the membranes. This concentration of organics can foul the membrane, especially towards the RO system outlet. Biofouling can also occur, because the organics in wastewater make an excellent food source for microorganisms. Also, some treated wastewaters contain high levels of bacteria, so biogrowth may occur quickly even if RO feed water is disinfected. Finally, calcium phosphate scaling can cause problems with RO systems operating on some wastewaters. The scaling can be mitigated by operating at lower water recovery, using acid or other antiscalant to minimize scaling, or modifying the operating conditions of the WWTP to reduce the amount of phosphate in the RO feed. These plugging, fouling, and scaling issues mean that the RO system needs to be operated at higher pressures, leading to increased power consumption, increased chemical costs for cleaning, and a shorter membrane life. How can these challenges be minimized and overall water reuse system lifecycle costs reduced? Effective pretreatment of the feedwater before it flows through the RO system is the answer, provided that the pretreatment steps are chosen carefully to ensure that the RO system can work as intended. Reverse Osmosis Pretreatment Options There are many different pretreatment options, and the best for a particular process depends on power, chemical, labor and land costs, wastewater source, and the existing wastewater treatment system. Conventional Pretreatment The conventional effluent pretreatment scheme might be primary treatment, biological treatment and, the most crucial part of the process, solids-liquid separation using secondary clarification. The conventional sedimentation process often doesn’t remove enough bacteria and suspended solids, so sand filtration may be added to improve the solids-liquid separation and provide higher quality water to feed the RO system. Using ferric chloride along with the sand filtration may enhance solids and organics removal. However, upsets in the secondary clarifier can lead to effluent with higher levels of TSS and BOD, causing plugging of the brine spacer with suspended solids and organic fouling. Also, power consumption for RO systems with this type of pretreatment tends to be high, and membrane life is often quite short. Lime-softening has been somewhat more successful in protecting the RO membranes, but this increases operating costs and does not totally prevent fouling of RO membranes. Ultrafiltration Improves Suspended Solids Removal As RO Pretreatment Many of today’s water reuse systems use an ultrafiltration (UF) pretreatment step to emove suspended solids. These systems typically use hollow fiber UF membranes, which do an excellent job of providing water with low suspended solids to feed the RO system. However, the UF system is an extra treatment step, requiring additional footprint, and adding to operating costs. The UF system may also be susceptible to upsets from a conventional WWTP, which can further increase its operating costs. Membrane Bioreactor As RO Pretreatment With an MBR, the UF membranes are submerged in the activated sludge to combine the biological step and the solid-liquid separation into a single process. The membrane acts as a barrier, which improves the effluent quality. The MBR eliminates the secondary clarifier and does not rely on gravity for liquid-solids separation and so allows the activated sludge to operate with a higher mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) concentration. The increased MLSS concentration reduces bioreactor tank volume, saving footprint and capital construction costs. Overall, the MBR process reduces footprint significantly compared to the combination of conventional activated sludge followed by sand filtration or ultrafiltration. The footprint savings due to the wastewater treatment plant alone can be as much as 50 percent, along with additional footprint savings from eliminating other filtration steps. Using MBR technology also simplifies the overall treatment train, minimizing the number of unit operations. Benefits Of Koch Membrane Systems’ PURON MBR Technology Koch Membrane Systems’ PURON submerged hollow fiber UF module offers robust, cost effective solutions for RO pretreatment. The patented membrane module contains hollow fibers, the lower ends of which are fixed in a header. The upper ends are individually sealed and are free to move laterally, as shown in Figure 1. The PURON module is submerged in the mixed liquor. All solids and particulates remain on the outside of the fibers while permeate flows in an outside-in pattern by means of a vacuum that evacuates permeate through the inside of the hollow fiber. | The free moving fibers, combined with central air scour aeration, ensure stable filtration during plant operation, long membrane life, and lower operating costs due to reduced need for energy, cleaning and maintenance. PURON MBR has been used successfully as the pretreatment step for a number of challenging industrial wastewater systems. For example, a Belgian firm that manufactures chemicals for film processing and printing uses large amounts of fresh water for cleaning and production. The firm began reusing its wastewater to reduce its fresh water costs, and selected an RO system to produce water with the low salt and nitrogen content required for its process. The firm installed a PURON submerged hollow fiber MBR as the pretreatment step prior to the RO, and the system has been operating successfully since 2005. Another example is an Australian malt-producing company that sought to reduce its use of fresh water by recycling its wastewater. PURON MBR technology was selected as the pretreatment step for the RO system, since it provided the best quality water to feed the RO while minimizing overall operating costs. The MegaMagnum ® RO system recovers the MBR effluent as product water for reuse. The system has been running since 2006. In fact, the RO permeate quality is equal to or better than the local potable water supply. Space Cost Considerations Treatment operation footprint is a primary consideration in developing the best treatment system. Since the PURON MBR system reduces the volume of the bioreactor tanks and eliminates the secondary clarifier, the footprint for an MBR process is much smaller than tertiary filtration steps with sand filtration or UF. If space is limited, MBR may be the only pretreatment choice that fits in the available space. Other considerations include costs of land, civil works, equipment, power, chemicals and labor, and the payback period used. High land and civil costs tend to favor MBR use. For large municipal treatment facilities requiring RO as a final treatment step, an MBR should compare favorably to conventional wastewater treatment as a pretreatment step prior to RO. In a 20-year analysis the municipality should realize savings in RO membrane replacement and power as a result of the MBR pretreatment step. For an industrial company looking at a short payback, the preference for conventional or MBR technology will depend on the relative cost of civil works and land versus the equipment cost. Conclusions Using RO systems to reclaim and recycle wastewater effluent is growing rapidly, and Koch Membrane System’s PURON MBR technology is now being considered as the pretreatment option for an increasing number of industrial and municipal reuse applications. The PURON submerged membrane modules provide high quality feed water to the RO, minimize footprint and the cost of civil works, and reduce the susceptibility of the RO treatment train to upsets. PURON is a trademark of Koch Membrane Systems GmbH and is registered in Austria, Benelux, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. MegaMagnum is a registered trademark of Koch Membrane Systems, Inc. in the United States and other countries. Wastewater Recycling for the Stone Fabrication Industry As a stone fabricator you’re looking for a wastewater treatment system that keeps you in compliance, but wouldn’t it be nice to save some money too? That’s where our wastewater recycling and treatment systems come in. These zero discharge, closed loop systems collect the water you use for polishing, cutting, and other processes; cleans it thoroughly, and recycles it so you can use it again. Your wastewater is never discharged into the public system during this process, so you have no chance of being out of compliance. Between the money you’ll save on non-compliance fees and the reduced cost of your water bill, the return on your investment will be substantial. And because we use the most durable, well-designed components on the market in each wastewater recycling system, you can be sure this system will run efficiently for as long as you need it to. We even design and manufacture some of those components in house, including: * Filter presses * Clarifier systems * Chlorine dioxide generators * Control panels * More The solid, smart construction of our zero discharge wastewater recycling systems results in a wide variety of beneficial features, including automation options, expandable filter presses that can accommodate your business as it grows, the ability to accommodate flow rates for 10 GPM – 200 GPM, the ability to filter solids water down to below 1 micron, and more.

Albert Camus The Outsider and Robert Brolts A Man for All Seasons :: essays research papers

What could a deeply religious, devout Christian nobleman and an existential, indifferent common man separated by roughly four hundred years have in common? Furthermore, what could Sir Thomas More, an eventual saintly martyr as portrayed in Robert Bolt’s A Man For All Seasons, and Albert Camus’ Meursault from The Outsider, an apparent murderer who does not believe in God, possibly have in common? For starters, both men have led similar lives in a search for the truth, and have very strong personal belief systems. It is for this that they are persecuted and “who, without any heroic pretensions, agree...to die for the truth'; (The Outsider, Camus, p. 119). Both characters, More and Meursault refuse to compromise their beliefs and as a result society condemns them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Despite their obvious differences More and Meursault were similar men in many ways. Both men led routine lifestyles. More is a very devout Christian and as such is immersed in repetitious behaviour. Throughout the play More is often found praying, even during the arrival of the King at his home. More enters the scene just in the nick of time wearing a cassock, just as the King is nearly upon him, and knowingly risks disfavour with his liege because his prayer is that important to him. Norfolk is indignant at this behaviour, “What sort of fooling is this? Does the king visit you every day'; (A Man For All Seasons, Robert Bolt, Act One, p. 26). Also, according to his Steward “Sir Thomas rises at six ... and prays for an hour and a half';, “During Lent ... he lived entirely on bread and water'; and “He goes to confession twice a week'; (A Man For All Seasons, Bolt, I, p. 23). It is in this way that More endeavours in a search for truth about l ife, he looks to God for the answers. Meursault is also immersed in routine, but his is a routine of a simple lifestyle. His week is made up of breakfast at Celeste’s and his nine to five day job and he “used to wait for Saturdays to embrace Marie’s body'; (The Outsider, Albert Camus, p. 75). Meursault also had found his truth, but as Camus states in his after word, “This truth is as yet a negative one, a truth born of living and feeling'; (The Outsider, Camus, p. 119). It is this truth that results in Meursault’s very strong beliefs. Albert Camus' The Outsider and Robert Brolt's A Man for All Seasons :: essays research papers What could a deeply religious, devout Christian nobleman and an existential, indifferent common man separated by roughly four hundred years have in common? Furthermore, what could Sir Thomas More, an eventual saintly martyr as portrayed in Robert Bolt’s A Man For All Seasons, and Albert Camus’ Meursault from The Outsider, an apparent murderer who does not believe in God, possibly have in common? For starters, both men have led similar lives in a search for the truth, and have very strong personal belief systems. It is for this that they are persecuted and “who, without any heroic pretensions, agree...to die for the truth'; (The Outsider, Camus, p. 119). Both characters, More and Meursault refuse to compromise their beliefs and as a result society condemns them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Despite their obvious differences More and Meursault were similar men in many ways. Both men led routine lifestyles. More is a very devout Christian and as such is immersed in repetitious behaviour. Throughout the play More is often found praying, even during the arrival of the King at his home. More enters the scene just in the nick of time wearing a cassock, just as the King is nearly upon him, and knowingly risks disfavour with his liege because his prayer is that important to him. Norfolk is indignant at this behaviour, “What sort of fooling is this? Does the king visit you every day'; (A Man For All Seasons, Robert Bolt, Act One, p. 26). Also, according to his Steward “Sir Thomas rises at six ... and prays for an hour and a half';, “During Lent ... he lived entirely on bread and water'; and “He goes to confession twice a week'; (A Man For All Seasons, Bolt, I, p. 23). It is in this way that More endeavours in a search for truth about l ife, he looks to God for the answers. Meursault is also immersed in routine, but his is a routine of a simple lifestyle. His week is made up of breakfast at Celeste’s and his nine to five day job and he “used to wait for Saturdays to embrace Marie’s body'; (The Outsider, Albert Camus, p. 75). Meursault also had found his truth, but as Camus states in his after word, “This truth is as yet a negative one, a truth born of living and feeling'; (The Outsider, Camus, p. 119). It is this truth that results in Meursault’s very strong beliefs.

Junk Food Research Papaer

It too can be tied in with so many children eating junk food and fast food. There are many reasons that American children suffer from obesity, like not eating healthy meals at home or school, no one to prepare healthy meals for them or simply, love to eat fast food and junk food. Despite limited evidence, there is a growing concern that junk food in schools has contributed to the childhood obesity epidemic. The IBM (body mass index) is a collected weight and height measurements of children who are overweight by eating fast food and junk food.They can run down to the local corner tore and grab chips and a coke for a meal which can lead to unhealthy results later. Studies have shown, that junk foods can lead to certain illness and diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, fatigue and even different types of cancers. Can relate to the serious disease, type II diabetes too well. My father and my late husband was diagnosed with the disease. Watched both my father and my husband gorg e on junk foods and unhealthy foods, then go give themselves insulin shots. I never understood the irony of that concept.Overtime, high levels of sugar and carbohydrates in junk food can lead to type II diabetes. Type II diabetes occurs when your pancreas makes little or no insulin, which help keeps your blood sugar level in the right range for your body. Having type II diabetes can potentially lead to other health risks if the blood sugar level gets too high and too often. High blood sugar levels can also have serious effects on your blood vessels by thinning the lining of them. Believe it or not, thinning blood vessels can lead to heart attacks and stoke in people.One of the main reasons that some men have erectile dysfunction is because the thin lining that the blood vessels and could be an early sign of something more to come. Because junk food doesn't contain the protein or complex carbohydrates that your body needs to maintain consistent blood sugar levels, your blood sugar le vels will drop suddenly soon after eating. You'll crave sugar and likely end up eating more junk food. Over time, this stress damages your body's ability to use the insulin secreted by your pancreas.A healthy diet can help maintain your body's insulin sensitivity. You may wonder if you have to give up all fast food once you've been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Common sense says that fast food is not likely to be on the preferred foods list for people with diabetes. A typical fast food breakfast can put you at or over your daily limit for fat, cholesterol, and carbohydrates. There are, better choices you can make to get the nutrition you need and take advantage of fast food's convenience. First of all, fast food doesn't have to mean eating the fatty offerings.Planning ahead is the key. Many fast food chains now feature healthier choices to eat and these are the restaurants you want to go to grab a quick and fast healthy meal. Doesn't seem like high blood pressure and diabetes go h and and hand. High blood pressure is also one of the leading cause and major risks of heart attacks and strokes. Fast food contains unhealthy amounts of sodium and fat, which can negatively affect blood pressure. About 90 percent of Americans eat too much sodium, according to the Centers for Disease Control.It's estimated that Americans eat on average 3,300 milliards of sodium each day, which is more than the recommended intake of 2,300 milliards, according to the CDC. Roughly a quarter of the sodium you eat comes from restaurant foods, estimates the CDC. Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against blood vessel walls. The heart pumps blood into the arteries (blood vessels) which carry the blood throughout the body. High blood pressure, also called hypertension, means the pressure in your arteries is above the normal range. In most cases, no one knows what causes high blood pressure.What you eat can affect your blood pressure. Controlling your sodium intake is particularly c ritical as you get older, since blood pressure increases naturally with age. The risk of high blood pressure more than doubles once you reach age 35 and over. A single high fat, fast food could meal have a negative effect on blood pressure, according to a study published in â€Å"The Journal of Nutrition† in April 2007. In the study, healthy participants et two fast food meals containing 42 grams of fat on separate occasions, or two low-fat, non-fast food meals.The high fat, fast food meals caused blood pressure to rise and the heart to beat faster, compared the group who ate a low-fat meal. This data supports evidence that excess fat, particular saturated fat, contributes to sustained high blood pressure, according to the study. As you can see, national studies show how junk food can really be a negative substance to the body, no matter how good the taste.. Have you ever notice that you tired and fatigue, but you're getting plenty of est. every night, could junk food make yo u lazy or does being lazy make you eat junk food.Let's find out which one is more than other. A new study finds eating too much junk food doesn't only make you fat, it may also make you mentally slower or less motivated. At least that seems to be true in lab rats. New research from UCLA points found that eating sugary, processed, and high-fat foods can actually cause tiredness, a lack of motivation and decreased performance, according to a study published in the April 10 issue of Physiology & Behavior. In a study, thirty-two female rats were placed on one of two diets for six months.The first was a standard rat's diet of unprocessed foods like ground corn and fish meal. The second was made up of highly processed foods that included substantially more sugar, similar to a human junk food diet. After three months, the 16 rats on the junk food diet became much fatter than the others and they got lazier too. As part of the study, the rats were given a task in which they were required to press a lever to receive a food or water reward. The rats on the junk food diet demonstrated impaired performance, taking longer breaks than the lean rats before returning to the task.In a 30-minute session, the overweight rats took areas that were nearly twice as long as the lean ones. After six months, the rats' diets were switched, and the overweight rats were given the more nutritious diet for nine days. This change, however, didn't help reduce their weight or improve their responses. The reverse was also true: Placing the lean rats on the junk food diet for nine days didn't increase their weight noticeably or result in any reduction in their motivation on the lever task.These findings suggest that a pattern of consuming junk food, not just the occasional binge, is responsible for obesity and cognitive impairments. Have you heard of the term: you are what you eat? Well a person that eats fast food and foods that are high in fat and sugar tends to have a higher risk of contractin g bowel cancer. Although those high levels fast foods. Even though cancer us usually caused by genetic damage that happens inside an individual cell. There are so many different types of cancer that one can have like, skin cancer, blood cancers, colon cancer and even infectious cancer diseases such as AIDS.Some cancer can be contributed to high levels of fat in diets and unhealthy meals. Cancer is caused by a number factors, some of which we can control, and mom we cannot. One of the uncontrollable factors is the presence of gene mutations. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (APPC) recently filed suit against seven major restaurants and fast-food chains in the State Of California. McDonald's, Burger King, Chick-fill-A, Chili's, Applause's, Outback Steakhouse and T. G. I. Friday's. The reason for the suit?These companies are knowingly serving food containing carcinogens without a health warning to the consumer. The APPC commissioned an independent laboratory to test gr illed chicken products from California outlets of all seven chains. Pulp (one of a group of carcinogenic compounds called heterocyclic amines) was found in every grilled chicken sample provided for testing. Heterocyclic amines were added to the list of known carcinogens in 2005 and Pulp specifically has been on the California governor's list of chemicals known to cause cancer for more than a decade. Grilled chicken can cause cancer and consumers deserve to know that this supposedly healthy product is actually just as bad for them as high-fat fried chicken,† says APPC President Neal Bernard, MD. â€Å"Even a grilled chicken salad increases the risk of breast cancer, prostate cancer and other forms of his lethal disease. McDonald's, Burger King and Wend's were accused in a lawsuit of selling chicken they know contains a chemical that can cause cancer even in small amounts. McDonald's, the world's biggest restaurant company, and the other dining chains were sued in a state court in Hartford, Connecticut.The complaint, filed by Washington based Cancer Project on behalf of two Connecticut residents, seeking a class action lawsuit on the behalf of people who bought or ate the grilled chicken from October 2006. It's time to consider that the only way fast-food restaurants will start sharing our growing concern for healthier eating choices is if we stop going. It's time to seriously consider the risk to ourselves and our children, and weigh those risks against the â€Å"convenience† being offered by fast food. We have other options.Fast food is not the only choice for busy parents. If you have a busy life and can't believe there are other option Fast food is relatively cheap, comparing with traditional food. It may cost as low as a few dollars with no service charges or tips at all. It is highly accessible, which many of those fast food restaurants open 24 hours a day 7 says a week with no prior reservation required, and is ready to serve as soon as when people have just finished their orders. People have the choice of to dine in, take away or even drive through for their meals.These advantages, which fit and match the city life style seamlessly, make fast food so attractive and irreplaceable. However, as the raising awareness of people's health in recent days, fast food has been accused as one of the major harms to a healthy life. Fast food, usually serves with oversized hamburgers and fries, contains excessive fat, both trans-fat and non-trans fat, causing serious illnesses such as obesity and earth diseases, and beverages, like cream soda and coke, contains overdosed sweetener, is one of the major reasons causing diabetic.Moreover, preservatives and flavor enhancers mixed into those frozen ingredients would significantly decrease the nutrition value of the meals. In conclusion, fast food is definitely quick, cheap and highly accessible. It is always ready on the fly, and seems to be a very good and simple option when people hope to squeeze their packed schedules for some time. However, people might mistakenly overlook the quality of food, in particular ingredients and nutrition facts, and jeopardize and risk their health.

Literary of Dead Poets Society

Bill Beattie once said, â€Å"The aim of education should be to teach us how to think rather than what to think – rather to improve our minds, so as to enable us to think for ourselves, than to load the memory with thoughts of other men.† All too often, however, individual thoughts are crushed by the powerful weight of conformity. In the film Dead Poets Society, conformity exercises it†s influence and the results prove disastrous for some. For others, the effect of conformity compels them towards individual strength and the discovery of one†s true self. Modern education is one of the largest â€Å"offenders† when it comes to conformity, and that point is illustrated repeatedly in the film Dead Poets Society. At Wellton, students of all walks of life are expected to learn the same lessons the same ways. They are expected to memorize the important facts and regurgitate the same facts during exams. Latin class involves recitation, while chemistry involves memorization, and as long as the students can deliver what they have been told, they are successful in life. The new English teacher, Mr. Keating, challenges his students to think for themselves and to resist conformity. He most memorably illustrates how easily conformity affects people during his lesson involving a stroll in the courtyard. He instructs three of his pupils to walk around the courtyard. The three boys march in unison, and the remainder of the pupils begin to clap in time with the marching. He asks why the boys are clapping, and they do not know. Perhaps they were clapping because everyone else was clapping, or perhaps they were just having a good time. However, it cannot be disputed that the group conformed without thinking. All too often, the words of the textbook are considered undisputed fact. All chemistry textbooks will list the elements with the same symbols and all Latin textbooks will list approximately the same translations. The poetry textbook, written by a Dr. Pritchett, attempts to lump words that are meant to touch the heart into the same factual categories of math and the sciences. Can Dr. Pritchett†s method of analyzing poetry by graphing its importance and perfection be used to measure what one feels? More importantly, is Dr. Pritchett†s method the only method that one must use when measuring the greatness of poetry and can poetry be looked at using only the mind and not the heart? Mr. Keating did not feel that poetry was meant to be analyzed using measurable techniques but rather through the feelings of one†s heart. He summed up his feelings on Dr. Pritchett†s method of measuring the greatness of poetry in one word, â€Å"Excrement.† He took his class on a journey of self-discovery, a journey where they learned that there is not always a right answer or a wrong one. In order to find one†s true self, one must learn to resist conformity and walk one†s own way, as was illustrated in the lesson out in the courtyard. He taught them that just one perspective is not necessarily the only way of viewing a situation as was revealed in the lesson where he stood on his desk. At Wellton Academy, individuality is strongly discouraged, and the fight for individuality often results in dire consequences. Mr. Keating became a mentor, as well as a teacher for his students, and he helped them discover the strength necessary to be one†s true self. Individuality, unfortunately, does not come without a price. Often the price is fear, especially fear of what others will think, but the cost is often much higher. Neil Perry, one of Mr. Keating†s students, paid with his life. He committed suicide when his father insisted he conform, and go on to Harvard to become a doctor. Charlie Dalton was expelled from Wellton for his unwillingness to conform. Todd Anderson found the courage to stand up for himself and realized he had value in the world. It is not just to say that education is only about textbooks and memorization. The memorization of the Periodic Table of Elements in Chemistry has very little impact on a large part of life; such as that of personal relationships, friendships, love, loyalty and trust. All the characters in the film are human, and therefore have the same physical components in their bodies, but their feelings and point of view are unique unto themselves. The true danger of education is the attempt to call for all people to see the world in the same way.

Hrm Practices in South Asia Essays

Hrm Practices in South Asia Essays Hrm Practices in South Asia Essay Hrm Practices in South Asia Essay South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities (see below), also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east. Topographically, it is dominated by the Indian Plate, which rises above sea level as the Indian subcontinent south of the Himalayas and the Hindu Kush. South Asia is surrounded (clockwise, from west) by Western Asia, Central Asia, Eastern Asia, Southeastern Asia and the Indian Ocean. According to the United Nations geographical region classification, Southern Asia comprises the countries of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives, Afghanistan, Iran and Sri Lanka. By other definitions and interpretations (see below), Myanmar and Tibet are also sometimes included in the region of South Asia. South Asia is home to well over one fifth of the worlds population, making it both the most populous and most densely populated geographical region in the world. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation is an economic cooperation organization in the region. South America Backgorund Using survey data from the Americas Barometer by the Latin American Public Opinion Project at Vanderbilt, Corral concluded that â€Å"happiness in Latin America and the Caribbean is related to economic factors as well as social, political and demographic factors. At least within this region, economic development at the national levels explains different levels of life satisfaction among citizens in the region. † Corral found that economic factors- income and perceptions of the individual and national situations- bear a positive correlation with levels of life satisfaction. It is no surprise, then, that survey respondents in earthquake-ravaged Haiti, the poorest country in the region, ranked the lowest on the life satisfaction index at 35. 4 percent. But, most people in the rest of Latin America see themselves as happy. Brazil led the pack at 71. 6 percent, followed by Costa Rica (67. 7 percent), Venezuela (65. 6 percent) and Panama (65. 1 percent), with Trinidad Tobago and Honduras tied at 63. 3 percent. Jamaica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Belize and Peru are all above 50 percent. For the region as a whole, perception of individual economic conditions is by far the strongest predictor of individual happiness, Corral found. Those with better economic profiles are happier. A person’s subjective view of his wealth was more influential on his satisfaction level than an objective measure of wealth. â€Å"It is possible that this relationship is driven by dual causality,† Corral wrote. â€Å"A perceived positive economic situation increases happiness, and as well, happy people tend to perceive better economic situations. Marriage has a positive but not significant effect on life satisfaction among the region’s citizens, Corral found. Churchgoers and those who are surrounded by people they trust register high levels of satisfaction. Women, the elderly, young adults, the better educated and those who live in large cities likewise express high levels of happiness. Having children and being unemployed weigh negatively on individual satisfaction. Co untry People values, Business Tradition, Etiquette Business Culture of South Asia Historically, South Asia is an agricultural country with a very small industrial sector employing about 40 percent of the active labor force. Smallness of industrial sector may seem to be congenial to the development of a healthy industrial relationship but this could not be realized even within a period of fifty-eight years of the country’s independence. While some of the reasons of this failure are historical and traditional cultural background, many are in fact attributable to the poor management system and legal system concerning industrial relations in the country. Usually trade unions are organized mostly on the basis of political, regional and even personal loyalties which was encouraged by the capitalists who often had restored to the policy of buying a fraction of the union or putting up one of their own to divide the union movement by extending some â€Å"under the table favors† to a group of union leaders. In addition, the system of HRM in South Asia is largely due to its own business heritage and traditional historical realities. In fact, historic forces shape HRM practices in that society, and largely influence the efficient HRM system of a society along with other things. Thus to make a correct assessment about human resource management system and practices in South Asia, it is necessary to make a through investigation into the development of Muslim and Hindu employer and employees and entrepreneurship in various phases of history and culture. The above situation as it stands suggests that, as a class of each group does not belong to a highly motivated and committed entrepreneurial class. The easiest explanation rationalizing this situation is, as often quoted, British colonial rule of two centuries in the past are responsible for this. Apparently, the explanation seems to be sensible and logical. However, this needs further explanation and demands clarification and comprehension. It is understandable that the colonial powers ( British rule) did not in their own interest encourage the growth of a significant industrial and efficient HRM practices base in this part of the subcontinent ( India, Pakistan and Bangladesh) and the deadlocks were created by them towards the development of effective HRM system in the area. The overall supply of competent management personnel, their profiles, and culture to which they belong and under which they work, also has significant impacts on the features and practices of HRM system in South Asia national culture. In general, to learn the expertise of building an effective HRM practices is very important for the attainment of an industrial efficiency, but most South Asian managers are traditionalistic. They tend to resist changes and develop participation within boss and subordinates. South Asia managers do not believe in the development of human resources, and they believe that machines are more important than humans. Several empirical studies (Read, 1962; Negahndi and Reiman, 1973) conclude that increased participation leads to improvement in several of organizational effectiveness. However, it should be noted that the closeness of relationship between participation and overall organizational effectives depends on the quality of its human resources. As suggested above, when a large complex organization is more participative minded and more decentralized most of the decisions are made at unit level. In this kind of organization, managerial employees need more technical management skill and knowledge. Top management in large organizations has neither the time nor expertise to make such decisions for unit level (Price, 1968). Properly trained managers and employees of participative organizations can overcome communication problems, make effective decisions at the point of action, and thus contribute to the achievement of more firm effectiveness. Business Culture of Latin America First, the high Power Distance (PD) that Hofstede noted in most Latin American countries has important ramifications. In practical terms, high PD means that social courtesies and formality are more important in Latin America than in the U. S. Latin American managers are expected to be more gracious and respectful than their U. S. counterparts, and the hierarchy is more noticeable For instance, while U. S. managers generally call employees by their first names, it is much more common in Latin America for managers to call employees senorita Martinez or senor Ramirez. Also, people in the Latin American workplace tend to use usted (Ud. , the formal â€Å"you,† rather than tu, the informal, â€Å"you,† when addressing others, and this applies to both supervisors and lower-level employees. When two members of the executive board converse privately, they may call each other â€Å"Jorge† and â€Å"Ana,† but in front of employees they are likely to switch to calling each other â€Å"senor Zapata† and â€Å"senora Gomez. † Finally, Latin American managers typically dress more formally than their U. S. counterparts, and are less likely to work beside their employees and â€Å"get their hands dirty. In addition to courtesy and formality, it is important to note how a high PD rating affects the way meetings are organized. One Mexican manager commented that meetings in Latin America are typically not thought of as a way for supervisors and employees to exchange ideas. Instead, information flows primarily from the top down in meetings. In other words, it would generally be considered inappropriate and disrespectful in Latin America for an employee to correct a supervisor or make a suggestion in front of other employees. At meetings, supervisors expect subordinates to listen attentively, more than offering input. Similarly, participatory management styles and employee empowerment are unfamiliar to most Latin Americans, and in many cases are perceived as neither helpful nor desirable. In some instances, global companies have successfully implemented these kinds of managerial techniques in Latin American subsidiaries, but in other cases attempts to solicit employee input and involve workers in decision-making have been met with hostility. One American manager of a factory in Guadalajara, Mexico was told point blank by the head of a local labor union to stop involving employees in decision-making and asking for their opinions. He told her pointedly, â€Å"You are in charge. You make the decisions! † The deference afforded to managers often has an impact on attitudes toward formal rules and regulations in Latin America. Persons in authority are more likely to be obeyed than a written policy, because of the respect they are given and the position they occupy. This attitude contrasts with the U. S. where most people tend to believe that rules should be applied impartially and without exception, in order to ensure fairness and justice. It is likely to observe all these results of high PD when you visit Latin America, but as one prepare to go to Nicaragua, keep in mind a principle presented earlier: variance within a culture. While Hofstede does not provide Cultural Dimension ratings for Nicaragua, the numbers for Ni caragua’s neighbors are fascinating: Panama and Guatemala both score 95 on PD, and are among the most hierarchical societies in the world, but Costa Rica scores only 35, which is a lower PD rating than even the U. S. earned. For that reason, it is important to be sensitive to how hierarchies play out in Nicaragua specifically. In addition to PD, it is important to mention the low Individuality (IND) rating that predominates in Latin America. In the workplace, low IND means employees tend to value harmony and good relationships more than personal advancement, and are expected to be loyal, hard-working, and willing to do whatever they are asked to do. In return for their hard work and loyalty, Latin American workers generally expect their employers to be loyal to them as well. Because of the group orientation, the employer-worker relationship tends to be more paternal in Latin America than in the U. S. Latin American firms typically treat employees as a sort of extended family, which often involves a wider range of benefits, such as subsidized or free lunches, more inclusive medical coverage, and holiday bonuses. It has already been pointed out that most Hispanic countries score very high on Uncertainty Avoidance (UA), which suggests that most Latin Americans prefer security and avoiding risk. This may help explain why technology is not as prevalent in Latin America as in the U. S. To be sure, poverty is part of the picture, but Latin Americans tend to be less enamored of technology for technology’s sake than many Americans. Due in part to the high UA rating, many Latin Americans perceive less of a need to upgrade, modernize, and replace old technology with cutting edge products. This may affect a given entrepreneur’s attitudes toward technological upgrades, adopting new computing systems, etc. One notable exception to this principle is the use of cell phones- due to infrastructure and bureaucratic issues associated with land lines, there are more cell phones in most Latin American countries than land lines. Lastly, the importance of family and personal relationships also impacts the workplace. For example, it is more common in Latin America to seek employment with family members, hire family members, and look to the family for help in times of need. In addition, many Latin Americans feel more comfortable doing business with people they know personally, and developing that relationship is often considered an essential first step. Americans who try to move things along more quickly and â€Å"get to the point† may become frustrated and/or offend Latin Americans. South Asian HRM Practices Recruitment and Selection

How to Say No Without Feeling Guilty

How to Say No Without Feeling Guilty We’ve all been approached by someone asking for a favor. It could be at work, home, or even out with friends while painting the town red. It usually happens so unexpectedly that we feel pressured and compelled to say yes, regardless of what we currently have on our plate. Sometimes we’re happy to help. We like this person and this favor won’t interfere with our lives in a significant manner. Other times, even though it’s not in our best interest to say yes, we do so anyway because we want to avoid feeling  guilty.But why feel guilty?Before we advance to the how, let’s look at the why. It’s worth deconstructing why we feel guilty for saying no. Guilt is an emotion we feel when we have done something wrong. If you’ve truly wronged someone, guilt is an appropriate emotional reaction. But saying no is not an example of wronging someone.This person might have to seek alternatives to your help, but it’s hardly harmful to their overa ll well-being- especially if it’s a small favor. Saying no puts this person in a position where they simply have to get creative and recalibrate their direction. Besides, it’s highly unlikely you’re this person’s only hope.Another reason we feel guilty is because we’re nervous this person will resent us, or be angry. But this feeling is unreasonable. You need not look any further than yourself. Would you hold a grudge against someone denying you a favor? Most likely not. So, the same standard applies. All this fear of saying no is simply an emotional response to an unlikely reaction by the other party. Logically, it holds no merit.Now that we’ve dispelled this notion, let’s take a closer look at how we can actually say no.1. Offer an alternative solutionâ€Å"Sorry, I don’t have time to help you with building your cover letter, but here’s a link to an article on 5 resume tips to guarantee an interview.†It’s quick, easy, and you offer the person an alternative solution. Just make sure you’re doing this to help, not just because you feel guilty.2.   Show empathy when saying noYou want to show this person you truly understand their problem, but it simply isn’t something you can handle right now.â€Å"I know you really need someone to take care of your dog while you’re on vacation, and you worry he won’t get enough exercise, but my job really just takes up too much of my time right now.†Empathy is what connects us as human beings, so it’s important to convey this on some level.3.   Blame your responsibilitiesAs mentioned in the previous example, work is always a good excuse. In fact, very often it’s the truth. We all work a lot so it’s definitely not a stretch and it most likely won’t raise any eyebrows.4. Turn it into a complimentSpin this into an opportunity to flatter the requester. Everyone loves a good ego boost.†Å"I’m surprised you’re asking me for help on this, I personally think you have far better taste than I do, but I’m very flattered that you’re giving me the opportunity to help you.†And that’s when you drop the no bomb on them. Psychologically, you’re softening the blow while bolstering their ego. It’s a win-win.5.   Say no without apologizingSaying thank you instead of sorry makes a world of difference. Do not apologize or say sorry- that will only  make  the requester think you’re either lying or you feel guilty†¦especially if you keep emphasizing how sorry you are.If you say no in a positive manner, that will make it more likely that the requester will leave the interaction feeling positive and upbeat.So there ya have it. Make sure your no is quick and concise. Don’t drag your answer out for too long, otherwise it will make you look bad. It’s important to say no every now and again because somet imes we truly need the time for ourselves. There’s nothing wrong with that. We’ll conserve energy and time, and hopefully be able to help the next time around.Source:  BusinessInsider

Biography of Yuri Gagarin, First Man in Space

Biography of Yuri Gagarin, First Man in Space Yuri Gagarin (March 9, 1934–March 27, 1968) made history on April 12, 1961, when he became both the first person in the world to enter space and the first person to orbit the Earth. Although he never again went to space, his achievement was one of the most significant events of the space race which eventually saw men land on the moon. Fast Facts: Yuri Gagarin Known For: First human being in space and first in Earth orbitBorn: March 9, 1934 in Klushino, USSRParents: Alexey Ivanovich Gagarin, Anna Timofeyevna GagarinaDied: March 27, 1968 in Kirsach, USSREducation: Orenburg Aviation School, where he learned to fly Soviet MiGsAwards and Honors: Order of Lenin, Hero of the Soviet Union, Pilot Cosmonaut of the Soviet Union; monuments were raised and streets named for him across the Soviet UnionSpouse: Valentina GagarinaChildren: Yelena (born 1959), Galina (born 1961)Notable Quote: To be the first to enter the cosmos, to engage single-handed in an unprecedented duel with nature- could anyone dream of anything greater than that? Early Life born in Klushino, a small village west of Moscow in Russia (then known as the Soviet Union). Yuri was the third of four children and spent his childhood on a collective farm where his father, Alexey Ivanovich Gagarin, worked as a carpenter and bricklayer and his mother, Anna Timofeyevna Gagarina, worked as a milkmaid. In 1941, Yuri Gagarin was just 7 years old when the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union. Life was difficult during the war and the Gagarins were kicked out of their home. The Nazis also sent Yuris two sisters to Germany to work as forced laborers. Gagarin Learns to Fly In school, Yuri Gagarin loved both mathematics and physics. He continued on to a trade school, where he learned to be a metalworker and then went on to an industrial school. It was at the industrial school in Saratov that he joined a flying club. Gagarin learned quickly and was obviously at ease in a plane. He made his first solo flight in 1955. Since Gagarin had discovered a love of flying, he joined the Soviet Air Force. Gagarins skills led him to the Orenburg Aviation School, where he learned to fly MiGs. On the same day he graduated from Orenburg with top honors in November 1957, Yuri Gagarin married his sweetheart, Valentina (Valy) Ivanovna Goryacheva. The couple eventually had two daughters together. After graduating, Gagarin was sent on some missions. However, while Gagarin enjoyed being a fighter pilot, what he really wanted to do was to go to space. Since he had been following the Soviet Unions progress in space flight, he was confident that soon his country would send a man into space. He wanted to be that man, so he volunteered to be a cosmonaut. Gagarin Applies to Be a Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was just one of 3,000 applicants to be the first Soviet cosmonaut. Out of this large pool of applicants, 20 were chosen in 1960 to be the Soviet Unions first cosmonauts; Gagarin was one of the 20. During the extensive physical and psychological testing required of the chosen cosmonaut trainees, Gagarin excelled at the tests while maintaining a calm demeanor as well as his sense of humor. Later, Gagarin would be chosen to be the first man into space because of these skills. (It also helped that he was short in stature since Vostok 1s capsule was small.) Cosmonaut trainee Gherman Titov was chosen to be the backup in case Gagarin was unable to make the first space flight. Launch of Vostok 1 On April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin boarded Vostok 1 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Although he was fully trained for the mission, no one knew if it was going to be a success or a failure. Gagarin was to be the very first human being in space, truly going where no man had gone before. Minutes before the launch, Gagarin gave a speech, which included: You must realize that it is hard to express my feeling now that the test for which we have been training long and passionately is at hand. I dont have to tell you what I felt when it was suggested that I should make this flight, the first in history. Was it joy? No, it was something more than that. Pride? No, it was not just pride. I felt great happiness. To be the first to enter the cosmos, to engage single handed in an unprecedented duel with nature- could anyone dream of anything greater than that? But immediately after that I thought of the tremendous responsibility I bore: to be the first to do what generations of people had dreamed of; to be the first to pave the way into space for mankind. * Vostok 1, with Yuri Gagarin inside, launched on schedule at 9:07 a.m. Moscow Time. Just after lift-off, Gagarin reputedly called out, Poyekhali! (Off we go!) Gagarin was rocketed into space using an automated system. Gagarin did not control the spacecraft during his mission; however, in case of an emergency, he could have opened an envelope left on board for the override code. He was not given the controls because many scientists were worried about the psychological effects of being in space (i.e. they were worried he would go mad). After entering space, Gagarin completed a single orbit around Earth. The Vostok 1s top speed reached 28,260 kph (about 17,600 mph). At the end of the orbit, Vostok 1 reentered the Earths atmosphere. When Vostok 1 was still about 7 km (4.35 miles) from the ground, Gagarin ejected (as planned) from the spacecraft and used a parachute to land safely. From launch (at 9:07 a.m.) to Vostok 1 touching down on the ground (10:55 a.m.) was 108 minutes, a number often used to describe this mission. Gagarin landed safely with his parachute about 10 minutes after Vostok 1 came down. The calculation of 108 minutes is used because the fact that Gagarin ejected from the spacecraft and parachuted to the ground was kept secret for many years. (The Soviets did this to get around a technicality about how flights were officially recognized at the time.) Right before Gagarin landed (near the village of Uzmoriye, near the Volga River), a local farmer and her daughter spotted Gagarin floating down with his parachute. Once on the ground, Gagarin, dressed in an orange spacesuit and wearing a large white helmet, terrified the two women. It took Gagarin a few minutes to convince them that he too was Russian and to direct him to the nearest phone. Death After his successful first flight into space, Gagarin never again was sent into space. Instead, he helped train future cosmonauts. On March 27, 1968, Gagarin was test-piloting a MiG-15 fighter jet when the plane plummeted to the ground, killing Gagarin instantly at the age of 34. For decades, people speculated about how Gagarin, an experienced pilot, could safely fly to space and back but die during a routine flight. Some thought he was drunk. Others believed that Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev wanted Gagarin dead because he was jealous of the cosmonauts fame. However, in June 2013, fellow cosmonaut, Alexey Leonov (the first man to  conduct a spacewalk), revealed that the accident was caused by a Sukhoi fighter jet that had been flying too low. Traveling at supersonic speed, the jet flew perilously close to Gagarins MiG, likely overturning the MiG with its backwash and sending Gagarins jet into a deep spiral. Legacy Nearly as soon as Gagarins feet touched the ground back on Earth, he became an international hero. His accomplishment was known around the globe. He had accomplished what no other human being had ever done before. Yuri Gagarins successful flight into space paved the way for all future space exploration. Sources Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. â€Å"Yuri Gagarin.† Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica.Biography.com, AE Networks Television. â€Å"Yuri Gagarin.†

IT Trade Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

IT Trade - Essay Example The range of mobile apps necessary for enterprises includes native and HTML5 applications, hybrid apps, and special apps. However, companies need to understand their particular needs and pick apps that work best for them. HTML5 apps may be relevant where browser only solutions are required. Native apps may be significant in consumer-facing applications (High 1). As an IT manager, I would allow the use of mobile apps and devices, but only for business purposes. The Policies would be developed that only ensures that the apps used by employees during working hours help in achieving the company goals for the company. There are many benefits associated with the use of mobiles devices and the associated apps. Some of the apps are related to the different roles played by employees in the company. The IT manager should ensure that the employees understand and have relevant knowledge required to operate the different apps in order to enhance work performance and productivity for the enterprise.Mobile apps and devices may fit into the IT and communications sector of the enterprise. The various apps available in the mobile devices may help make work easier for the employees. Communication and sharing of information become easier if the employees understand the different mobile apps available for various uses in the organization. Cloud computing is also a common trend that may be helpful for a manager in ensuring that the company is leading in the IT sector. Cloud computing involves a model for ensuring that there is convenient network access with minimal management effort (David 8). Then shift to cloud computing services is already evident in many organizations as managers are investing a lot of money to develop cloud services for their organizations. The trend in cloud computing is shifting towards developing personal clouds and use them manage other internal platforms and services. Cloud computing may be helpful in companies with many

Case Study Analysis Child Care Centre Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Case Study Analysis Child Care Centre - Essay Example With such complexities, the preparation of an appropriate and profit leveraging staff shift schedule ultimately became a critical concern for the new supervisor, M. In this regard, effective management roles require to be performed by the supervisor in order to mitigate the above stated issue or problem (Whetten, & Cameron, 201, pp. 113). It can thus be affirmed that the above stated issue of concern and the subsequent challenge or problem it imposes, might result in unfavorable impacts on the overall performance of the care centre in terms of delivering appropriate and quality services to every particular child. Question: 2 The employees in the child care centre can be observed to decipher strong reluctance in following the instructed working schedule, showing almost no concern towards organizational requirements. This particular aspect indicates towards the problem of limited cooperation between the employees and the management, wherein, even though the management, represented by t he supervisor in this case, is providing adequate concern to satisfy the employees’ requirements at the highest possible extent. ... 115). Question: 3 There are several options available to the supervisor in the referred case, which can be used to resolve the immediate issue as identified in the previous sections. Contextually, the major three strategies that M can take to mitigate the issue have been suggested hereunder. Firstly, a probable reason for the reluctance deciphered by the employees can be identified to be the increasing situational work stress in the centre. It has been mentioned in the case that employees need to work for long hours on a continuous basis to meet the requirement of the centre on a 24x7 basis. Therefore, in order to minimize the work stress on the existing team members, M can emphasize recruiting a few more personnel, who will be able to work professionally and divide the work stress faced by the current staff members (Firth, Mellor, Moore & Loquet, 2004, pp. 178-179). Moreover, the supervisor can employ proactive strategy in this regard in terms of raising personal resiliency of the e mployees (Whetten, & Cameron, 2011, pp. 116). Secondly, as it can be apparently observed that the staff members lack motivation to work in cohesion and coordinate towards the satisfaction of the organizational goals, effective motivational techniques will be required to mitigate the issue. With this aim, M can implement measures allowing incentives to the employees who willingly abide by the defined working schedule along with putting stress upon their performance based appraisal. Also, M must notify the employees regarding their non-monetary losses, such as poor performance appraisal, owing to their non-abidance to the scheduled work plan. This shall prove fruitful in aligning the personal goals of the employees with that of the child care centre

KIngdoms Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

KIngdoms - Essay Example Plants kingdom consists of over 25,000 different species and is the second largest kingdom ever known (Caroll 177). It consists of all the plant ranging from the tiny green mosses to giant trees and almost every creature on earth which does not have the ability to make their own food depend on them either directly or indirectly. They depend on them directly through eating them or indirectly through eating other animals which depend on the plants (Mader 399). Despite the differences between the plant and animals kingdom, they posses also certain similarities which include the fact that both of them are alive hence plants can make their own food and animals move around to look for food. Both plants and animals also have the ability to reproduce to boost their population (Martin and Hine 376). In this case, animals give birth to babies or lay eggs from which the babies hatch while on the other hand plants reproduce by shedding seeds which they disperse to various places through wind or animals excrement, a term usually referred to as pollination (Wilhelm 201). Both the plants and animals also eliminate waste products from their bodies. For instance, deciduous trees eliminate their wastes through the leaves which usually fall down during autumn season. On the other hand, animal eliminate their wastes materials after respiration process through a process known as excretion. Both plants and animals also respire, and in this case, plants take in Carbon dioxide gas and give out oxygen, while animals take in oxygen and give out carbon dioxide. Vallin and Heath argues that God’s work was miraculous since He created the differences between the plant and animals kingdom perhaps with the reason of to enable them to depend on each other, in a way of controlling the population of the kingdoms (67). For instance, animals would control the plants

Obesity (Law and Economics) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Obesity (Law and Economics) - Essay Example It, therefore, is an economic issue that also involves the intervention of policies and laws of the government. According to WHO, health is a major consideration as a measure of living standards. According to Stettner, WHO defines good health as a status when someone has sound physical, mental or sociological state that warrants him or her to be in a state of well-being (209). It may also refer to a state in which one has no disease. The international community is facing a great health problem with the increasing instances of obesity and its associated effects. Obesity is an epidemic that is recognizable by the WHO, today. It poses global health consequences to various governments. This call for the setting up of an international legal framework that would see various governments set up ways to address the epidemic of obesity. Various countries and jurisdictions have a number of policies that look into the issue and provide necessary intervention measures to deal with it. Instituting such legal frameworks also lead to potential consequences that are unintentional. Policymakers also face many challenges when instituting such laws and policies aimed at finding solutions into the epidemic of obesity (Stettner 210). On the economic front, the international community is undergoing challenging times. ... The economic turndown experienced by the international community may further lead to increased cases of obesity. This is because people may turn to less expensive dietary measures consisting of food that is high in calorie. This is because of the economic hardships. It is essential for governments and global institutions to find ways of institutionalizing policies meant to reduce cases of obesity while addressing the current global economic challenges. Acs, Henderson, Levy and Stanton note that obesity is an issue that affects the business fraternity, the government and citizens or individuals on a common scale (221). It, therefore, presents a range of challenges to various sectors of the government and all levels of the society. The health sector bears challenges of high budgeting and costs involved in addressing the obesity epidemic. There are, in addition, cultural dimensions of this health menace affecting the government. All institutions in the United States (both corporate and public) have different avenues set to tackle the issue of obesity (Acs, Henderson, Levy and Stanton 221). Such avenues aim at promoting public awareness on the effects, causes and costs of obesity. Americans, therefore, receive ethical information about the outrage of obesity among them. The initiatives aim at reducing the costs (direct and indirect) incurred in relation to combating obesity. Businesses have initiatives aimed at determining income that that affect eating among the population. Businesses may also have influence on physical activities including exercise through job tasks. In this view, businesses help address obesity as an economic issue. According to Acs, Henderson, Levy and Stanton, public policy plays an immense role

Violent Computer Games Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Violent Computer Games - Essay Example â€Å"On average, there is a significant tendency for the studies to yield an increase in aggression by those who have played the violent games," said Craig Anderson, an Iowa State University professor and leading researcher on the effects of media violence.† (Violent computer games under Attack). There are enough evidences which prove that playing violent computer games give rise to violence in the society. This is extremely bad for the society, it is high time that this is realized and something should be done about it sooner rather than later.   Every coin is two sided, playing computer games also has benefits. It relaxes a person and it is very entertaining to play games. The relaxation derived from playing games is immense and cannot be out into words. Research also proves that playing games makes the mind sharper and the response rate of the mind goes up by a significant level. â€Å"Nottingham Trent University professor Mark Griffiths said they can be a powerful dist raction for youngsters undergoing painful cancer treatment. He also argues games can help develop social skills for children with attention disorders including autism. Mr Griffith's claims are made in the British Medical Journal out on Friday. The professor of gambling studies at Nottingham Trent University said more research must be done into both the positive and negative effects of gaming. Violent computer games should be banned considering their impact on the society, so far we have been the architects of our own destruction.

Obesity (Law and Economics) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Obesity (Law and Economics) - Essay Example It, therefore, is an economic issue that also involves the intervention of policies and laws of the government. According to WHO, health is a major consideration as a measure of living standards. According to Stettner, WHO defines good health as a status when someone has sound physical, mental or sociological state that warrants him or her to be in a state of well-being (209). It may also refer to a state in which one has no disease. The international community is facing a great health problem with the increasing instances of obesity and its associated effects. Obesity is an epidemic that is recognizable by the WHO, today. It poses global health consequences to various governments. This call for the setting up of an international legal framework that would see various governments set up ways to address the epidemic of obesity. Various countries and jurisdictions have a number of policies that look into the issue and provide necessary intervention measures to deal with it. Instituting such legal frameworks also lead to potential consequences that are unintentional. Policymakers also face many challenges when instituting such laws and policies aimed at finding solutions into the epidemic of obesity (Stettner 210). On the economic front, the international community is undergoing challenging times. ... The economic turndown experienced by the international community may further lead to increased cases of obesity. This is because people may turn to less expensive dietary measures consisting of food that is high in calorie. This is because of the economic hardships. It is essential for governments and global institutions to find ways of institutionalizing policies meant to reduce cases of obesity while addressing the current global economic challenges. Acs, Henderson, Levy and Stanton note that obesity is an issue that affects the business fraternity, the government and citizens or individuals on a common scale (221). It, therefore, presents a range of challenges to various sectors of the government and all levels of the society. The health sector bears challenges of high budgeting and costs involved in addressing the obesity epidemic. There are, in addition, cultural dimensions of this health menace affecting the government. All institutions in the United States (both corporate and public) have different avenues set to tackle the issue of obesity (Acs, Henderson, Levy and Stanton 221). Such avenues aim at promoting public awareness on the effects, causes and costs of obesity. Americans, therefore, receive ethical information about the outrage of obesity among them. The initiatives aim at reducing the costs (direct and indirect) incurred in relation to combating obesity. Businesses have initiatives aimed at determining income that that affect eating among the population. Businesses may also have influence on physical activities including exercise through job tasks. In this view, businesses help address obesity as an economic issue. According to Acs, Henderson, Levy and Stanton, public policy plays an immense role

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

Skype - Essay Example right blend of a sound business vision and an exclusive access to the relevant technologies will dominate the economies in the times to come (Amor 2008: p.4). Since, in today’s info savvy world, every financial venture has a technological aspect associated with it, therefore the converse is also true. That is, every innovative technology has a commercial value associated with it, the right and timely exploitation of which can work wonders for a business. Skype is one such e-business that is based on the exploitation of the synergies existing between business and technology. Skype was founded by Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis in the year 2003 (Skype 2009). The ingenuity of Skype lied in inventing software that enabled its customers to make telephone calls via internet, anywhere in the world by paying a reasonable fee. Besides this, Skype offered additional features as file transfer, instant messaging and video conferencing. Thus Skype represented the long awaited convergence between the regular telephonic technology and the internet, which offered both the features of a regular telephone and the internet assisted communication. The headquarters of Skype are based at Luxembourg, with supporting administrative and software development facilities scattered all across the world. The USP of Skype lies in offering economical voice and video calls by means of voice over internet protocol (VoIP) (Ravindran 2008). Over the time, the accessibility of Skype has been extended to both the landline and cellular phones (Ravindran 2008). According to Chris Lewis, the head of strategy at Skype, right now Skype is vowing reputed hardware manufacturers like Nokia so as to expand the range of platforms from which their services can be accessed (Ravindran 2008). The ultimate cherry over the cake is that at Skype, Skype-to-Skype calls are offered for free (Ravindran 2008). It is not so with other VoIP providers. Thus this prerogative allows the businesses and individuals to save

Utilitarianism Notes Essay Example for Free

Utilitarianism Notes Essay – – – – – – – No Absolutes Morality Depends on individual circumstances Happiness is the most important thing Quality and Quantity of Happiness need to be taken into account The Measure of Usefulness or Fittingness for purpose an action may have Teleological Ethical theories such as Utilitarianism tend to rely on the principle of utility It is the way of measuring how useful an action is in bringing about the consequences that we desire Equality The Happiness of each individual person is equally important No Persons happiness is more important than anothers You can work out the right action mathematically. Not absolute rules but we would all make the same decision under the circumstances. No rules. Principles are used to govern right and wrong rather than rules in Act Utilitarianism In Rule Utilitarianism, J. S. Mill introduced some beneficial rules, which acted as guidelines Hedonistic Principle of Utility †¢ Egalitarian – – – †¢ †¢ †¢ Hedonistic Calculus – – – – Anti-Legalistic Harm Principle – – Put forward by Mill to avoid restricting the freedom of the minority. It states that each person can do whatever they want, as long as it does not negatively impact on the freedom of other people Teleological Ethics. †¢ In order to understand Utilitarianism, you must first study Teleological Ethics, which share many principles with Utilitarianism. †¢ Teleological Ethics is to judge whether or not an action is moral by purely looking at the result or consequence of the action. †¢ This is also known as Consequentialism. Teleological Ethics †¢ In Teleological Ethics, there are no moral absolutes. †¢ Teleological Ethics only consider the consequence of an action, and disregard the motive or circumstances. †¢ Teleological Theories are consequentialist (based on consequences) †¢ Actions only have Instrumental Value, not intrinsic value. (see table below to see definitions) Problems with Teleological Ethics †¢ How do you decide what a morally good or bad consequence is? †¢ There are many conflicting factors †¢ We cant tell the future, we have no way of knowing what the consequences will be! The Principle of Utility †¢ Teleological Ethical theories tend to rely on the Principle of Utility †¢ This is defined as the measure of usefulness or fittingness for purpose an action may have †¢ A Principle of Utility is a way of measuring how useful an action is in bringing about the consequences that we desire †¢ The Principle of Utility of Utilitarianism is Happiness. This is for the following reasons: – It is universally valued and desirable – Subjective (opinion matters) – However, it is also open to abuse as it cannot be easily defined. †¢ This links to Hedonism Hedonism †¢ Hedonism is the belief that happiness is more important than anything else †¢ Pleasure or happiness are often interchangeable and used to mean the same thing â€Å"Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two masters, pain and pleasure. It is for them alone to point out what we ought to do as well as what we shall do. † -David Hume Before Utilitarianism. †¢ Hume linked Utility with Happiness †¢ It is difficult to define Happiness †¢ Aristotle saw no difference between living well (flourishing) and living normally. Well being is part of the good life. This can include comfort and enjoyment Act Utilitarianism Act Utilitarianism is the earliest form of Utilitarianism. It was first put forward by scholar Jeremy Bentham †¢ Act Utilitarianism is a Relativist theory, which means that nothing is always right or wrong and the choice of actions depend on circumstances, which allows flexibility and is intuitive. †¢ It also rejects God, as there is no proof as to whether or not God exists. It also rejects the Bible and religion in general. This removes the need for faith which makes it a theory that can be supported by both religious and secular people. †¢ There are no absolute rules in Act Utilitarianism, which means that there is no unfairness and is a more flexible theory. This makes the people more important than the rules. †¢ Act Utilitarianism uses a Hedonic Calculus to work out the right action for people to do. This creates a simple, objective, mathematical, tangible and logical way of working out what is right and wrong. †¢ It is also a Hedonistic theory, this means that happiness is more important than anything else. This is good because we all agree that happiness is good, and an objective base for morality (meaning of life) which fits in well with modern society. â€Å"The good is that which will bring about the greatest sum of pleasure and the least sum of pain for the greatest number† -Jeremy Bentham Hedonic Calculus. †¢ The Hedonic Calculus is a formula that can be used to work out the right action mathematically †¢ It is simple, objective, mathematical, logical and tangible. †¢ The Hedonic Calculus uses the following factors to establish the presence of happiness: Rule Utilitarianism Rule Utilitarianism superseded Benthams Act Utilitarianism. It was put forward by scholar John Stuart Mill, who had learned about Utilitarianism for most of his life, as his father James Mill was a colleague of Jeremy Bentham. Rule Utilitarianism. †¢ Mill argued that not all forms of happiness or pleasure were of equal value, which was seemingly what Bentham was implying †¢ He also recognised that, in life, it is easy to settle for the more immediate and sensual pleasures, rather than the nobler and more refined ones. †¢ Mill goes beyond the Hedonic Calculus of Act Utilitarianism by recognising that there are many different ways of assessing its value †¢ Mill was concerned to link his utilitarian theory with Jesus teachings by claiming that to love your neighbour as yourself constitutes the ideal perfection of utilitarian morality. †¢ Mill also suggested a positive place for rules within an overall utilitarian approach. His one rule that he introduced was known as the Harm Principle it stated that everyone should be able to do what would make them happy, unless the majority of people affected, are negatively affected. †¢ Mill stated that general rules such as the Harm Principle should be obeyed as they give overall benefit to society, but they can be broken in exceptional circumstances. â€Å"It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied† -John Stuart Mill. Strong and Weak Rule Utilitarianism †¢ Strong Rule Utilitarianism holds that one should never break a rule that is established on utilitarian principles †¢ Weak Rule Utilitarianism holds that there may be situations where breaking the rules is acceptable, in order to bring about the greatest good for the greatest number, but generally keeping the rules (eg. Telling a lie is generally wrong, but there may be circumstances where it acceptable in order to bring about the greatest good for the greatest number). Rule Utilitarianism Preference Utilitarianism †¢ Preference Utilitarianism superseded Mills Rule Utilitarianism. It was put forward by several scholars, who advocated it over a period of time. †¢ They are: – Henry Sidgwick (1838-1900) – R. M. Hare (1919-2002) – Peter Singer (1946-present) †¢ Preference Utilitarianism uses Preference over Happiness or Pleasure as the Principle of Utility. †¢ Preference Utilitarianism also takes other factors into account, such as duty †¢ This means that most people would get what they wanted. Prima Facie Obligations †¢ â€Å"Prima Facie† – At First Sight †¢ This is the idea that we do not value strangers as highly as friends or family †¢ Most of us judge morality as ‘agent relatve’, we will favour some people above others. †¢ Utilitarianism requires us to judge all people equally and not consider Prima Facie obligations †¢ This is a criticism of Utilitarianism as to abandon prima facie duties seems to go against all instinct †¢ Some people argue that people should be treated as ends in themselves and not means to an end. †¢ It is necessary for a utilitarian to defend against this position. Motive Utilitarianism †¢ Henry Sidgwick put forward a theory of Utilitarianism which became known as ‘Motive Utilitarianism’ †¢ It states an action can be considered to be good if its motive was to bring about the greatest happiness for the greatest number, regardless of the actual outcome (which links to Situation Ethics).

Limitation of Ratio Analysis

Limitation of Ratio Analysis Limitation of Ratio Analysis Learning Objective Explain to the participants on the limitation of ratio analysis. Important Terms Creative accounting. Accounting Policies. As we have alredy discussed, it is important to compare in order to be able to analyse and to be able to comment and subsequently recommend in order that a business is as efficient as possible. Limitations of Ratios Accounting Information Different Accounting PoliciesThe choices of accounting policies may distort inter company comparisons. Example IAS 16 allows valuation of assets to be based on either revalued amount or at depreciated historical cost. The business may opt not to revalue its asset because by doing so the depreciation charge is going to be high and will result in lower profit. Creative accounting The businesses apply creative accounting in trying to show the better financial performance or position which can be misleading to the users of financial accounting. Like the IAS 16 mentioned above, requires that if an asset is revalued and there is a revaluation deficit, it has to be charged as an expense in income statement, but if it results in revaluation surplus the surplus should be credited to revaluation reserve. So in order to improve on its profitability level the company may select in its revaluation programme to revalue only those assets which will result in revaluation surplus leaving those with revaluation deficits still at depreciated historical cost. Information problems Ratios are not definitive measuresRatios need to be interpreted carefully. They can provide clues to the companys performance or financial situation. But on their own, they cannot show whether performance is good or bad.Ratios require some quantitative information for an informed analysis to be made. Outdated information in financial statementThe figures in a set of accounts are likely to be at least several months out of date, and so might not give a proper indication of the companys current financial position. Historical costs not suitable for decision making IASB Conceptual framework recommends businesses to use historical cost of accounting. Where historical cost convention is used, asset valuations in the balance sheet could be misleading. Ratios based on this information will not be very useful for decision making. Financial statements certain summarised informationRatios are based on financial statements which are summaries of the accounting records. Through the summarisation some important information may be left out which could have been of relevance to the users of accounts. The ratios are based on the summarised year end information which may not be a true reflection of the overall years results. Interpretation of the ratioIt is difficult to generalise about whether a particular ratio is good or bad. For example a high current ratio may indicate a strong liquidity position, which is good or excessive cash which is bad. Similarly Non current assets turnover ratio may denote either a firm that uses its assets efficiently or one that is under capitalised and cannot afford to buy enough assets. Comparison of performance over time Price changesInflation renders comparisons of results over time misleading as financial figures will not be within the same levels of purchasing power. Changes in results over time may show as if the enterprise has improved its performance and position when in fact after adjusting for inflationary changes it will show the different picture. Technology changesWhen comparing performance over time, there is need to consider the changes in technology. The movement in performance should be in line with the changes in technology. For ratios to be more meaningful the enterprise should compare its results with another of the same level of technology as this will be a good basis measurement of efficiency. Changes in Accounting policyChanges in accounting policy may affect the comparison of results between different accounting years as misleading. The problem with this situation is that the directors may be able to manipulate the results through the changes in accounting policy. This would be done to avoid the effects of an old accounting policy or gain the effects of a new one. It is likely to be done in a sensitive period, perhaps when the businesss profits are low. Changes in Accounting standardAccounting standards offers standard ways of recognising, measuring and presenting financial transactions. Any change in standards will affect the reporting of an enterprise and its comparison of results over a number of years. Impact of seasons on tradingAs stated above, the financial statements are based on year end results which may not be true reflection of results year round. Businesses which are affected by seasons can choose the best time to produce financial statements so as to show better results. For example, a tobacco growing company will be able to show good results if accounts are produced in the selling season. This time the business will have good inventory levels, receivables and bank balances will be at its highest. While as in planting seasons the company will have a lot of liabilities through the purchase of farm inputs, low cash balances and even nil receivables. Inter-firm comparison Different financial and business risk profileNo two companies are the same, even when they are competitors in the same industry or market. Using ratios to compare one company with another could provide misleading information. Businesses may be within the same industry but having different financial and business risk. One company may be able to obtain bank loans at reduced rates and may show high gearing levels while as another may not be successful in obtaining cheap rates and it may show that it is operating at low gearing level. To un informed analyst he may feel like company two is better when in fact its low gearing level is because it can not be able to secure further funding. Different capital structures and sizeCompanies may have different capital structures and to make comparison of performance when one is all equity financed and another is a geared company it may not be a good analysis. Impact of Government influenceSelective application of government incentives to various companies may also distort intercompany comparison. One company may be given a tax holiday while the other within the same line of business not, comparing the performance of these two enterprises may be misleading. Window dressingThese are techniques applied by an entity in order to show a strong financial position. For example, MZ Trucking can borrow on a two year basis, K10 Million on 28th December 2003, holding the proceeds as cash, then pay off the loan ahead of time on 3rd January 2004. This can improve the current and quick ratios and make the 2003 balance sheet look good. However the improvement was strictly window dressing as a week later the balance sheet is at its old position. Ratio analysis is useful, but analysts should be aware of these problems and make adjustments as necessary. Ratios analysis conducted in a mechanical, unthinking manner is dangerous, but if used intelligently and with good judgement, it can provide useful insights into the firms operations.

Holography Essay -- Hologram Descriptive Essays

Holography Holography has been around for sometime now, but has become increasingly more popular in recent years. Holograms are now found in virtually all types of products. These products consist of currencies, checks, stock certificates, credit cards, passports, ID cards, computer software, audio/visual tapes and CD ROMs, aircraft, software, electrical/electronic appliances, building materials, food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food, building materials, branded fashion wear, tickets for performances and major sporting events, textbooks, toys, the list goes on. Although the possibility of holography was suggested as early as 1947, it could not be demonstrated until a pure coherent light source, the laser became available in 1963. The techniques of holograms are also applicable to sound, and bats may navigate by ultrasonic holography. Holographic techniques also have applications in storing dental records, detecting stresses and stains on construction and retail goods, detecting forged paintings and documents, and producing three-dimensional body scans. Holography is a method of producing three-dimensional images by means of laser light. Holography uses photographic techniques involving the splitting of two beams apart. So you may be wondering, what exactly is a hologram? The easiest way to describe it is a three dimensional picture. Like if you had a picture of a big marble, and had a smaller marble behind it you would not be able to look around the big marble to see the little one. Holography though, has very little to do with photography. A photograph is an actual image; a snapshot taken in a seconds time to preserve a memory. â€Å"A hologram contains information about size, shape, brightness, and contrast of the object being recorded.† (www.holoworld.com/holo/quest2) â€Å"The information is stored in a very microscopic and complex pattern of interference. The interference pattern is made possible by the properties of light generated by a LASER.† (www.holoworld.com/holo/quest2) In order to have a hologram be effective and accurate it needs two things: 1. Light needs to be highly directional 2. One color If it is done correctly your eyes and brain perceives the object as being in front of you. Basically it is a mind trick. Earlier I mentioned holography. This is a method that allow... ...le conversation though! BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. American Bank Note sees secure future Westchester County Business Journal July 7, 2000 Volume 39. Issue 28 pg. 9 2. AMPLIFIERS HOLOGRAPHY, Poptronics, March 2000, Vol 1 Issue 3, pg10 3. http://www.enter.net/~holostudio/holonews.html 4. ELECTRONIC holography, Electronic Engineering Times, 12/15/97 Issue 985, pg33. 4. Foilmark Plans $5 million expansion for holographic unit. Converting Magazine, March 2000 Volume 18. Issue 3 pg.22 5. www.holoworld.com 6. www.holograms.bc 7. Holograms Are for Real Machine Design February 25, 1999 Volume 71 Issue 4 pg.48 8. Hologram Maker Reviews problems in Accounting Khasru, B.Z. Westchester County Business Journal February 8, 1999. Volume 6 pg. 5 9. HOLOGRAPHY-Technological innovations VOXEL Inc., Computer Graphics World, Nov 96, Vol.19, Issue 11, pg20 10. www.members.eunet.at/lexlechz/hologram 11. Multipedia, 1995 12. http://www.oldcoloradocity.com/magictown/ 13. Optics Industry Report Laser Focus World January 2000 Volume 36 Issue 1, pg.69 14. Protecting the right image. Modern Power systems. November 1999 Volume 19. Issue 11 pg. 59

Strategic Plan Outline

UNIVERSITY OF BELIZE MGMT 490 – BUSINESS STRATEGY AND POLICY How to Structure The Strategic Plan Guidelines Executive Summary This is written to the scope and level of content that an â€Å"outsider† can read the summary and grasp the vision, mission of the organization, its overall goals and objectives, major strategic issues and the key strategies implemented to attain the goals. Section 1 – Current situation 1. Brief Background and History of the Company and the Industry 2. Strategic Posture: Current Mission, Current Vision Current Values Current Objectives Current Strategies Current Policies 3. Past Strategic Performance Indicators (if available): Market share Sales Growth Net Profit Margin Return on Equity Investment Other? (Depending on the type of business/industry) Section 2 – External Environment, Opportunities and Threats (EFAS) 2. 1 General Environment (PEST, Gap Analysis, etc) 2. 2 Task Environment (Porters five forces, Strategic Map) 2. 3 External Factor Analysis Summary Section 3 – Internal Environment, Strengths and Weaknesses (IFAS) 3. 1Value Chain analysis . 2Corporate Structure 3. 3Corporate Resources: Marketing Finance Human Resource Operations and Logistics Information Systems 3. 4Internal Factor Analysis Summary Section 4 – Competitive Strength Assessment based on Key Success Factors Quality/product performanceCustomer Service Capability Reputation/imageOther? Manufacturing capability Technological skills and know-how Dealer/distribution capability New product innovation capabili ty Financial resources Relative cost position Section 5 – Analysis of Major Strategic Factors SFAS . 1 Key Internal and External Factors (SWOT) 5. 2 Competitive advantages/disadvantages, Competitive position improving/slipping 5. 2 Review of Mission and Objectives Section 6 – Alternatives and Recommendations 1. Strategic Alternatives 2. Recommended Strategies Section 7 – Implementation Plan for new strategies recommended Section 8 – Evaluation and Control Plan for new strategies implemented Section 9 – Financial data and Analysis – Includes information on resources to finance the implementation of the Strategic Plan APPENDICES BIBLIOGRAPHY THE PRESENTATION OF THE PLAN Time Allowed: 30 minutes Presentation should be as follows: a) Brief History of Company (Section 1) b) Current Situation (Section -1) c) External Environment Opportunities and Threats (Section 2) d) Internal Environment Strengths and Weaknesses (Section 3 e) Analysis of major strategic factors, strategic alternatives and recommended strategies (including financial analysis) (Sections 5, 6 & 9)- 15 minutes Question and Answer Session

Why There We Have Winners and Losers in the Automotive Industry

One reasons that has exposed some automobile companies to severe vagaries of recession while sparing others is the existence of structural differences between the so called auto â€Å"transplants† or foreign auto mobile manufacturing in the United States and the major automobile companies incorporated and domiciled in the United States i. e. General Motors, Chrysler, Ford and the like.The so called ‘transplants’ better represented by Toyota, Hyundai and the like are structured in such a way that they can access credit from their mother countries most of which for instance were not severely affected by the recent recession if compared with the United States (Ohno, 1988). Their deep pocket and this ready pool of credit from their mother countries made them less susceptible to the vagaries of financial meltdown. Another factor that has prejudiced some automakers while favoring others is what analysts have called bad practices of the Big Three United States automakers .These ‘bad’ practices are the ones that are responsible for the big cost differentials that have existed for some time now between them and the ‘transplant’. Another tragedy that has benefited the transplants at the expense of the Big Three is the high prices of automobile fuels that have been occasioned by the recession (Ohno, 1988). In this regard the Big Three US automakers known for their SUVs and Pickup Trucks which normally consume more fuel have found themselves uncompetitive due to the avoidance of fuel guzzlers in the United States due to the high oil prices and reduced disposable income due to inflation.Most of those who have avoided these fuel guzzlers have migrated to the cheaper and more fuel efficient car made from the so called transplant i. e. Toyota, Hyundai, et al. The labor costs have also overwhelmed the Big Three US automakers more than others from foreign countries manufacturing in the United States (McCracken, 2006). This is due to t he fact that their workers are unionized and therefore able to press for high salaries while their non-unionized counterparts in the so called transplants do not have such powers (McCracken, 2006).Importance of the New Product Development for Corporation In regard to Toyota’s New Product Development Process with the launch of the Prius The development of new product whether in form of new innovations, new applications or even completely new goods is a necessary component in business because it enhances the viability of the company. By developing new product the company is able to make a mark in the industry which is one of the best survival strategy that today’s companies have perfected in their bid to withstand cutthroat competition that characterize today’s business environment.The importance of continuously and consistently developing new product in today’s business world is better captured in the statement â€Å"innovate or die† which has of la te become a popular catchphrase adopted by both small and large corporate bodies in reference to increasingly knowledgeable consumer demand for the latest and finest products. One of the companies that have embraced the idea of developing new products in an effort to remain competitive while still providing their customers with the newest and finest goods in the respective market is Toyota Corporation.Toyota which is the second largest automaker globally realizes that in order to maintain its brand visibility as a top automaker worldwide it has keep on innovating and coming up with new and more superior models (McCracken, 2006). All these Toyota models that have been launched in succession by Toyota Corporation are informed by this strategy. This strategy has been employed by Toyota for a long time now. However the most recent product of Toyota’s innovative product development is Toyota Prius. The development of Toyota Prius is in line with Toyota’s management desire t o develop newer and more superior cars for this century.The superiority of Prius as a new and different product from the other is better demonstrated by its superior features that include more spacious cabin space, relatively higher seat position, aerodynamic exterior, a 20km/little fuel economy, and a relatively small engine placed horizontally with a variable automatic transmission (McCracken, 2006). References Ohno, Taiichi, (1988). Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production. New York: Productivity Press McCracken, Jeffrey, (2006). Detroit’s Symbol of Dysfunction: Paying Employees Not to Work. The wall street journal online. 06 March 2006