Poem Interpretation: Cloudy Day

This man locked between four walls, has all the time to relive the crime, his horrible mistake that sent him to jail. Deprived of liberty, he remembers what life was like when he was free. Every second he spent outside those walls. All the people who cared for him. He was never grateful for the life he was living. It used to be no bars, no chains,no guards to wake you up in the morning. Now that time has changed as they even tell him when to bath. Sitting in the dark, watching miniature shadows creep by.These little beasts lurk in his room and become his only friends, he start talking to them, yelling at them, until they turned him mad! But then a breeze fortunately wakes you from his insanity, it makes him feel alive, the cold breeze awakens his senses. Suddenly he smells the shame brought upon himself. He feels the guilt weighing on his shoulders. He tasted the bitterness of his actions. He hears the screams over and over again until the images come back to haunt him again.As the g ushes of wind crash against the building, he smell the freshly cut grass, he see the branches, the leaves,and tries to remember the taste of berries hanging of the tree. It was standing there outside his reach, the figure breathed slowly and continuously as the rocking head looked at him purposely, it started pointing straight at him, mocking him because he is free. To evade reality, is now a nesesity. His insanity is making him angry. He needs too let himself cool off, but being locked up alone is the same as being locked in your mind.With no one to talk too he needs to look within for answers and comfort. He needs someone to to look forward in seeing again. He loves her but sometimes forgets she is there waiting. But this night the cold wind blows through his cell. The stone so cold he thought he was going to freeze. He decided to make the next four years of his life a time to learn and grow. Instead of letting himself go to the icy night he wanded to feel alive. He wanted to have something to look forward to.She was the one who was going to guide him to freedom. In the prison yard, they weren't isolated from the wind that creeped through your neck during the walk. This used to irritate him but now he has learned to embrace it. That feeling, rushing through his veins, the hairs on his arms stand on end, that shiver does not weaken him, on the contrary it makes him alive. That is what he has learned to embrace because it is one of the last feelings he is able to look forward to since love is so far out of reach.

Reproductive Health Among Adolescent Girls Health And Social Care Essay

Reappraisal of literature is a systemic hunt of a published work to derive information about a research subject ( Polit and Hungler, 2011 ) . Conducting a reappraisal of literature is disputing and an informative experience. The reappraisal of literature was based on extended study of books, diaries, and international nursing indicates. A reappraisal of literature relevant to the survey was under taken which helped the research worker to develop deep into the job and addition information on what has been in the yesteryear. An extended reappraisal of literature was done by the research worker to put a wide foundation for the survey. For the intent of logical sequence the chapter was divided in two parts. 2.1 Part I: Reviews related to generative wellness among adolescent misss. 2.2 PART II: Reviews related to effectivity of stripling to adolescent attack on generative wellness.2.1 Part I: Reviews related to generative wellness among adolescent misss.Mc Call-hosenfeld JS et al. , ( 2012 ) conducted an experimental survey in Pennsylvania ; they investigated the impact of single on adult females ‘s are reception of a comprehensive panel of preventative services in a part that includes both urban and rural communities. Outcome variables were a showing and inoculation index blood force per unit area, lipid panel, sexually familial infections or single degree variables includes predisposing factors, enabling and need – based steps. The research worker found that overall usage of preventative services, were low single variableness in adult females ‘s reception of guidance services is mostly explained by psychological factors and seeing an gynaecologist..Fengy et al. , ( 2012 ) conducted a cross sectional study of 17,016 adolescent misss and imma ture aged 15-24 year old in both rural and urban Asiatic citations, China, through interview and computing machine assisted self interview for sensitive inquiries. To place the forecasters perceptual experience of homosexualism. The 40 % of stripling and immature grownups who hold a positive position of homosexualism for both males and females. Preferred beginning of films, pictures, self identified sexual orientation, sexual and generative wellness cognition, household values, gender function and attitude towards prenuptial sex. The most common and of import forecasters for a respondent ‘s perceptual experience of homosexualism were his/her cognition of sexual and generative wellness. Shelia G et al. , ( 2012 ) conducted a experimental survey sing characteristics of physical and sexual development of generative behaviour among adolescent misss at Russia. In this appraisal the adolescent generative behaviour designation and the factors impacting was made in female striplings age 14-19yr [ randomly formed via uninterrupted choice ] information of the province of their wellness their attitudes towards kid bearing and their hazardous wonts have been evaluated. High frequence of catamenial abnormalities, 24.7 % delayed formation of the bone pelvic girdle, 25.2 % the prevalence of chronic external genital diseases were found. Iliyasuz et al. , ( 2012 ) conducted a qualitative survey sing sexual and generative wellness communicating between female parents and their stripling girls in North India Assam. The research worker employed structured interviews and groups to look into generative wellness communicating patterns among 108 female parents and girls transcript were analyzed utilizing the grounded theory attack.A sum of 136 female parent reported discoursing generative issues with their girls. The bulk of girls get generative wellness instruction from their female parents ; parents were more likely to discourse matrimony, menses, prenuptial sex, STI infections and sex instruction demand to be empowered with cognition and accomplishments to better the range and quality of place -based generative wellness instruction. Palke VD et al. , ( 2011 ) conducted a survey sing impact of sex instruction on cognition and attitude of adolescent school kids in Bihar. Reproductive capableness is now in earlier age, but the topic of adolescent gender in most societies, there is a broad spread ignorance about hazards are unprotected sex jobs among adolescent misss. Unfortunately demand of sex instruction is non perceived and fulfilled in India particularly in rural countries. The present survey was conducted to measure the demand and show the impact of sex instruction among adolescent school kids, by analysing pre and station intercession questionnaire and there was a important addition in cognition about gender, catamenial hygiene. Sexually familial disease, it has important impact on cognition of adolescent school kids. Ezekwere et al. , ( 2011 ) conducted a survey sing sex instruction, sex information, sex patterns, among adolescent misss in Nigeria. A entire 304 misss selected by multi-stage sampling technique studied primary and subsequent beginnings of gender information, chiefly the by the media, equals, households and schools, found that largely they were non involved in proviso of early sexual induction and un protected sex was common among them. The survey highlights the demand to make a consciousness at earlier phase of adolescent period sexual instruction of adolescent misss through parents and instructors had to be initiated. Wong LP et al. , ( 2011 ) conducted a big cross sectional survey sing attitude towards dysmenorrheal impact and intervention seeking, among 1,295 adolescent misss ( 13-19 year ) from 16 public secondary schools in rural territories of Malaysia. Dysmenorrhea was reported in 76.0 % of the participants multivariate analysis shows that being in upper secondary degrees was the strongest forecaster for hapless concentration, absenteeism and hapless school class due to dysmenorrheal is a normal rhythm and merely 14.8 % sought medical intervention, instruction should be extended to parents and school equal leaders to turn to the generative wellness demands of striplings. Lazarus JV et al. , ( 2011 ) conducted a quasi experimental survey sing generative wellness consciousness programme to measure the cognition, attitude and behaviour. Generative wellness informations was collected from the pupils aged ( 11 – 16 year ) by utilizing a image and group treatment. In entire 313 questionnaire has distributed, and the mean mark in the pretest cognition was 5.9 and 6.8 in station trial mark was p ( 0.003 ) , which increased significantly t=4.5, p=0.000. The attitude average mark in pre trial was 4.3 in station trial was 6.8 which shows the increased important. The average behaviour pretest mark which showed a important P =0.019. Hence the intercession significantly improved the adolescent generative wellness cognition & A ; attitude. BiscoFreudenthal J et al. , ( 2011 ) conducted a survey sing making community consciousness of generative piece of land infections including STD infections. The purpose of this survey was therefore to research people perception intervention seeking behaviour and apprehension of information about RTI/STD. Qualitative contact analysis was employed for the information analysis. The major findings was that the most common intervention seeking behaviour was taking self medicine. Shyness of venereal scrutiny, negative attitudes towards dirty diseases. The chief media beginnings of RTI/STI information were wireless, Television and other entree to wellness information was more hard. Health instruction messages should be more accessible in rural countries. Van Rossem et al. , ( 2011 ) conducted the study to measure the range and impact of societal selling and generative wellness communicating runs ( selected wireless and telecasting plans ) sing household planning and HIV/AIDS in Zambia. The consequences evidenced that the generative wellness and societal selling Campaigns in Zambia reached a big part of the population and had a important impact. The consequences suggested that future generative wellness communicating runs that invest in wireless scheduling may be more effectual than those puting in telecasting scheduling and future runs should seek to increase their impact among adult females. Portillo et al. , ( 2011 ) conducted a cross sectional survey sing sexual and generative wellness among adolescent misss at High school in Spanish. The survey focused to find the extent of information about forestalling sexually transmitted diseases, cognition and usage of prophylactic methods. It includes 641 pupils who agreed to finish the questionnaire by school. 84.5 % pupils know at least one preventive method 84 % , It is necessary to set up or beef up information programme on sexual wellness for stripling. Fehr KR et al. , ( 2011 ) conducted a survey to measure the cognition and usage of Folic acid in adult females of generative age Folic acid reduces the hazard of nervous tubing defects 50 % , adult females of generative age group should be cognizant of the importance of the folic acid and nervous tubing defects. They used footings such as Folic acid cognition and Folic acid awareness to seek articles published, adult females were although cognition degrees were associated with instruction and wellness attention professional ‘s magazines and intelligence documents, wireless, Television, as common beginnings of information, and this cognition will let them to do informed determinations about Folic acid among adult females. Mc Call JS et al. , ( 2011 ) conducted a survey sing preventative guidance among generative aged adult females. Preventive wellness intercession frequently occur less often among rural adult females compared to urban is an of import characteristic of comprehensive preventative wellness attention commissariats.Data were collected by telephone study during 2004-2005 participants aged 18-45 year in the cardinal Pennsylvanias. The survey assessed the independent part of reding for smoke, intoxicant, drug usage, birth control, nutrition, physical activity. Most adult females do non have recommended preventative guidance, while rural adult females are less likely than urban adult females to have reding educating rural wellness attention suppliers about the demand for preventative guidance. Jousha et al. , ( 2011 ) narrated on rubber dialogue and experience among sexually active immature adult females in New south Waless, Austraila by utilizing feminist narrative attack. Ten adult females ‘s narratives were collected via on-line interviews. The findings revealed that none of the adult females initiated or negotiated usage of the male rubber publicity relies on the r4coginition of the gender factors that impede immature adult females ‘s rubber dialogue and usage. Schemes that overcome gender kineticss and empower adult females to negociate rubber usage have the ability to advance rubber usage among this group. Lawan et al. , ( 2010 ) conducted a survey sing menses and catamenial hygiene among adolescent misss in Gujarat.This survey examined the cognition and patterns of adolescent school in around menses and catamenial hygiene.Data was collected quantitatively and analyzed utilizing pre experimental survey, the survey findings showed that bulk had just cognition of menses, although deficient in specific cognition countries, most of them used healthful tablets as absorbent during their last menstruations, changed catamenial dressings about 1-5 times per twenty-four hours and bettering entree of the stripling to reproductive wellness demands. Sivagami, et al. , ( 2010 ) conducted a qualitative survey on community perceptual experience and intervention seeking behavior sing generative piece of land infections including sexually transmitted infections in Lao by utilizing 14 focal point group treatment and 20 in depth interviews. It held among 76 adult females and 56 work forces. The major determination was that both male and female participants had a assortment of misconceptions about the causes and symptoms of RTI/STIs and their remedy and a reluctance to seek wellness attention. The chief grounds for non traveling to wellness installations were fright of societal favoritism or shyness. They suggested beef uping wellness instruction and publicity through intercessions at the community degree to better the quality of RTI/STI direction. Minto et al. , ( 2010 ) reviewed the efficaciousness of HIV/STI behavioural intercession and identified factors associated with intercession efficaciousness for American African females in the United provinces by utilizing meta- analysis from 37 relevant surveies. The consequences showed that behavioural intercession had a important impact on decrease in HIV/STI hazard sex behavioral. They concluded as behavioural intercessions were efficacious in forestalling HIV and STIs among African American females. They suggested that carry oning more research to analyze the possible part of bar schemes that attend to community degree and to better communicating between RTI/STI patients and clinicians. Thakor HG et al. , ( 2010 ) conducted a STIs prevalence survey on cognition and patterns related to STIs and HIV among 125 sex workers in an urban country of Gujarat, India. 85-90 % were cognizant about assorted symptoms / diseases transmitted by insecure sexual pattern in male and female. 23.4 % took intervention from wellness worker for such jobs ; 87.9 % were cognizant that consistent usage of rubber could protect them from HIV infections and 2.6 % reported for non intervention of STD.58 % were non cognizant about behavoural alterations needed to cut down the hazard.2.2 PART II: Review related to effectivity of stripling to adolescent attack on generative wellness.Denison JA et al. , ( 2012 ) conducted a quasi experimental survey on equal instruction make a difference an rating of HIV bar in youth-led theoretical account trained voluntaries equal pedagogues age ( 18-25 year ) in school, to learn HIV bar and Reproductive wellness. This rating programme effects on pupils HIV cogniti on, attitude and behaviours of adolescent misss by utilizing a non randomized quasi experimental design among 2133 pupils had significantly higher degrees of cognition sing HIV P & lt ; 0.001 and Reproductive wellness P & lt ; .001 more positive attitude towards the Reproductive wellness and HIV.The young person led or peer pedagogue theoretical account is associated with increased HIV and Reproductive wellness cognition and ego 0kanlawon FA et al. , ( 2011 ) conducted a survey to measure the effectivity of equal instruction in a secondary school sing generative wellness among adolescent misss in Karnataka. The survey employed pre and station trial intercession quasi experimental design, The experimental group was the adolescence misss to give equal instruction programme for 6 months pre and station trial informations in the experimental and control groups were compared and analyzed. The cognition of generative wellness issues was p & lt ; 0.5. Hence the intercession significantly improved the adolescent generative wellness cognition efficaciousness and sexual hazard taking behaviours. Drummond P et al. , ( 2011 ) conducted a survey by utilizing peer instruction to increase the sexual wellness cognition among West African refugees in Western Australia. Ten bilingual west African equal pedagogues conducted a 3 hours workshop on sexual wellness for little groups of western African refugees ( n = 58 ) who late settled in Perth, western Australia.There were important additions in the participants knowledge on sexually transmitted infections and HIV, their spread and the steps to protect against infection. They Concluded that the equal instruction attack was successful in helping new and emerging community to work efficaciously on sexual wellness subjects by and large considered as ‘taboos ‘ or excessively sensitive to discourse. Stephenson. J et al. , ( 2010 ) assessed the effectivity of school-based peer-led sex instruction among 9,000 students aged 13-14 old ages at England. Schools were randomized to either peer-led sex instruction ( intercession ) or to go on their usual teacher-led sex instruction ( control ) . Peer pedagogues, aged 16-17 old ages, were trained to present three 1-hour schoolroom Sessionss of sex instruction to 13- to 14 old ages old students from the same schools. The survey findings concluded that compared with conventional school sex instruction at age 13-14 old ages, this signifier of peer-led sex instruction was really effectual associated with alteration in teenage STDs, it merits consideration within broader teenage STDs bar schemes.

Doctrine of Social Responsibility

Doctrine of Social ResponsibilityThe doctrine of social responsibility holds that individuals and organizations should advance the interests of society at large. They can do this by abstaining from harmful actions and by performing socially beneficial acts. Although the doctrine of social responsibility applies to people and organizations, much of the discussion focuses on business and the extent to which social responsibility should influence business decisions.Examples of Social Responsibility?AnswerWhen individuals and organizations say they are motivated by social responsibility, they are referring to a feeling of ethical obligation to act in ways that benefit society.In recent years, the mantra of social responsibility has been taken up by small businesses, non-profits, and corporations alike. Some notable examples of corporate efforts at social responsibility include: Ben & Jerry's, which started the Ben & Jerry's Foundation and donates 7.5% of profits to charitable causes Kenn eth Cole, which has supported AIDS awareness and research Pedigree, which distributes grants and food to animal shelters.Each of these companies has recognized that success in business alone falls short of contributing to the societies they share in, and have taken the extra step to address their ethical obligations.On an individual level, everyone can engage in acts of social responsibility, every day. Consider the consequences of your actions on society as whole. Turn off lights and electronics when they aren't needed to conserve energy. Donate money to trustworthy organizations that work to further causes that interest you.VolunteerRemember, the smallest act of individual social responsibility can have a powerful impact when multiplied by an entire community.Voluntary Hazard EliminationCompanies involved with social responsibility often take action to voluntarily eliminate production practices that could cause harm for the public, regardless of whether they are required by law. F or example, a business could institute a hazard control program that includes steps to protect the public from exposure to hazardous substances through education and awareness. A plant that uses chemicals could implement a safety inspection checklist to guide staff in best practices when handling potentially dangerous substances and materials. A business that makes excessive noise and vibration could analyze the effects its work has on the environment by surveying local residents. The information received could be used to adjust activities and develop soundproofing to lessen public exposure to noise pollution. Community DevelopmentCompanies, businesses and corporations concerned with social responsibility align with appropriate institutions to create a better environment to live and work. For example, a corporation or business may set up a foundation to assist in learning or education for the public. This action will be viewed as an asset to all of the communities that it serves, wh ile developing a positive public profile. Related Reading: Role of Social Responsibility in Marketing PhilanthropyBusinesses involved in philanthropy make monetary contributions that provide aid to local charitable, educational and health-related organizations to assist under-served or impoverished communities. This action can assist people in acquiring marketable skills to reduce poverty, provide education and help the environment. For example, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation focuses on global initiatives for education, agriculture and health issues, donating computers to schools and funding work on vaccines to prevent polio and HIV/AIDS. Creating Shared ValueCorporate responsibility interests are often referred to as creating shared value or CSV, which is based upon the connection between corporate success and social well-being. Since a business needs a productive workforce to  function, health and education are key components to that equation. Profitable and successful bu sinesses must thrive so that society may develop and survive. An example of how CSV works could be a company-sponsored contest involving a project to improve the management and access of water used by a farming community, to foster public health. Social Education and AwarenessCompanies that engage in socially responsible investing use positioning to exert pressure on businesses to adopt socially responsible behavior themselves. To do this, they use media and Internet distribution to expose the potentially harmful activities of organizations. This creates an educational dialogue for the public by developing social community awareness. This kind of collective activism can be affective in reaching social education and awareness goals. Integrating a social awareness strategy into the business model can also aid companies in monitoring active compliance with ethical business standards and applicable laws. For other types of responsibility, see Responsibility (disambiguation). Social responsibility is an ethical theory that an entity, be it an organization or individual, has an obligation to act to benefit society at large. Social responsibility is a duty every individual has to perform so as to maintain a balance between the economy and the ecosystem. A trade-off always[citation needed] exists between economic development, in the material sense, and the welfare of the society and environment. Social responsibility means sustaining the equilibrium between the two. It pertains not only to business organizations but also to everyone whose any action impacts the environment. [1] This responsibility can be passive, by avoiding engaging in socially harmful acts, or active, by performing activities that directly advance social goals. Businesses can use ethical decision making to secure their businesses by making decisions that allow for government agencies to minimize their involvement with the corporation. For instance if a company follows the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines for emissions on dangerous pollutants and even goes an extra step to get involved in the community and address those concerns that the public might have; they would be less likely to have the EPA investigate them for environmental concerns. [3] â€Å"A significant element of current thinking about privacy, however, stresses â€Å"self-regulation† rather than market or government mechanisms for protecting personal information†. According to some experts, most rules and regulations are formed due to public outcry, which threatens profit maximization and therefore the well-being of the shareholder, and that if there is not outcry there often will be limited regulation. [5] Critics argue that Corporate social responsibility (CSR) distracts from the fundamental economic role of businesses; others argue that it is nothing more than superficial window-dressing; others argue that it is an attempt to pre-empt the role of governments as a watchdog over powerful corporations though there is no systematic evidence to support these criticisms. A significant number of studies have shown no negative influence on shareholder results from CSR but rather a slightly negative correlation with improved shareholder returns. [clarification needed][6] The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits by Milton Friedman The New York Times Magazine, September 13, 1970. Copyright @ 1970 by The New York Times Company. When I hear businessmen speak eloquently about the â€Å"social responsibilities of business in a free-enterprise system,† I am reminded of the wonderful line about the Frenchman who discovered at the age of 70 that he had been speaking prose all his life. The businessmen believe that they are defending free enterprise when they declaim that business is not concerned â€Å"merely† with profit but also with promoting desirable â€Å"social† ends; that business has a â€Å"social conscience† and takes seriously its responsibilities for providing employment, eliminating discrimination, avoiding pollution and whatever else may be the catchwords of the contemporary crop of reformers. In fact they are–or would be if they or anyone else took them seriously–preaching pure and unadulterated socialism. Businessmen who talk this way are unwitting puppets of the intellectual forces that have been undermining the basis of a free society these past decades. The discussions of the â€Å"social responsibilities of business† are notable for their analytical looseness and lack of rigor. What does it mean to say that â€Å"business† has responsibilities? Only people can have responsibilities. A corporation is an artificial person and in this sense may have artificial responsibilities, but â€Å"business† as a whole cannot be said to have responsibilities, even in this vague sense. The first step toward clarity in examining the doctrine of the social responsibility of business is to ask precisely what it implies for whom. Presumably, the individuals who are to be responsible are businessmen, which means individual proprietors or corporate executives. Most of the discussion of social responsibility is directed at corporations, so in what follows I shall mostly neglect the individual proprietors and speak of corporate executives. In a free-enterprise, private-property system, a corporate executive is an employee of the owners of the business. He has direct responsibility to his employers. That responsibility is to conduct the business in accordance with their desires, which generally will be to make as much money as possible while conforming to the basic rules of the society, both those embodied in law and those embodied in ethical custom. Of course, in some cases his employers may have a different objective. A group of persons might establish a corporation for an eleemosynary purpose–for example, a hospital or a school. The manager of such a corporation will not have money profit as his objective but the rendering of certain services. In either case, the key point is that, in his capacity as a corporate executive, the manager is the agent of the individuals who own the corporation or establish the eleemosynary institution, and his primary responsibility is to them. Needless to say, this does not mean that it is easy to judge how well he is performing his task. But at least the criterion of performance is straightforward, and the persons among whom a voluntary contractual arrangement exists are clearly defined. Of course, the corporate executive is also a person in his own right. As a person, he may have many other responsibilities that he recognizes or assumes voluntarily–to his family, his conscience, his feelings of charity, his church, his clubs, his city, his country. He ma}. feel impelled by these responsibilities to devote part of his income to causes he regards as worthy, to refuse to work for particular corporations, even to leave his job, for example, to join his country's armed forces. Ifwe wish, we may refer to some of these responsibilities as â€Å"social responsibilities. † But in these respects he is acting as a principal, not an agent; he is spending his own money or time or energy, not the money of his employers or the time or energy he has contracted to devote to their purposes. If these are â€Å"social responsibilities,† they are the social responsibilities of individuals, not of business. What does it mean to say that the corporate executive has a â€Å"social responsibility† in his capacity as businessman? If this statement is not pure rhetoric, it must mean that he is to act in some way that is not in the interest of his employers. For example, that he is to refrain from increasing the price of the product in order to contribute to the social objective of preventing inflation, even though a price in crease would be in the best interests of the corporation. Or that he is to make expenditures on reducing pollution beyond the amount that is in the best interests of the corporation or that is required by law in order to contribute to the social objective of improving the environment. Or that, at the expense of corporate profits, he is to hire â€Å"hardcore† unemployed instead of better qualified available workmen to contribute to the social objective of reducing poverty. In each of these cases, the corporate executive would be spending someone else's money for a general social interest. Insofar as his actions in accord with his â€Å"social responsibility† reduce returns to stockholders, he is spending their money. Insofar as his actions raise the price to customers, he is spending the customers' money. Insofar as his actions lower the wages of some employees, he is spending their money. The stockholders or the customers or the employees could separately spend their own money on the particular action if they wished to do so. The executive is exercising a distinct â€Å"social responsibility,† rather than serving as an agent of the stockholders or the customers or the employees, only if he spends the money in a different way than they would have spent it. But if he does this, he is in effect imposing taxes, on the one hand, and deciding how the tax proceeds shall be spent, on the other. This process raises political questions on two levels: principle and consequences. On the level of political principle, the imposition of taxes and the expenditure of tax proceeds are governmental functions. We have established elaborate constitutional, parliamentary and judicial provisions to control these functions, to assure that taxes are imposed so far as possible in accordance with the preferences and desires of the public–after all, â€Å"taxation without representation† was one of the battle cries of the American Revolution. We have a system of checks and balances to separate the legislative function of imposing taxes and enacting expenditures from the executive function of collecting taxes and administering expenditure programs and from the judicial function of mediating disputes and interpreting the law. Here the businessman–self-selected or appointed directly or indirectly by stockholders–is to be simultaneously legislator, executive and, jurist. He is to decide whom to tax by how much and for what purpose, and he is to spend the proceeds–all this guided only by general exhortations from on high to restrain inflation, improve the environment, fight poverty and so on and on. The whole justification for permitting the corporate executive to be selected by the stockholders is that the executive is an agent serving the interests of his principal. This justification disappears when the corporate executive imposes taxes and spends the proceeds for â€Å"social† purposes. He becomes in effect a public employee, a civil servant, even though he remains in name an employee of a private enterprise. On grounds of political principle, it is intolerable that such civil servants–insofar as their actions in the name of social responsibility are real and not just window-dressing–should be selected as they are now. If they are to be civil servants, then they must be elected through a political process. If they are to impose taxes and make expenditures to foster â€Å"social† objectives, then political machinery must be set up to make the assessment of taxes and to determine through a political process the objectives to be served. This is the basic reason why the doctrine of â€Å"social responsibility† involves the acceptance of the socialist view that political mechanisms, not market mechanisms, are the appropriate way to determine the allocation of scarce resources to alternative uses. On the grounds of consequences, can the corporate executive in fact discharge his alleged â€Å"social responsibilities? † On the other hand, suppose he could get away with spending the stockholders' or customers' or employees' money. How is he to know how to spend it? He is told that he must contribute to fighting inflation. How is he to know what action of his will contribute to that end? He is presumably an expert in running his company–in producing a product or selling it or financing it. But nothing about his selection makes him an expert on inflation. Will his hold ing down the price of his product reduce inflationary pressure? Or, by leaving more spending power in the hands of his customers, simply divert it elsewhere? Or, by forcing him to produce less because of the lower price, will it simply contribute to shortages? Even if he could answer these questions, how much cost is he justified in imposing on his stockholders, customers and employees for this social purpose? What is his appropriate share and what is the appropriate share of others? And, whether he wants to or not, can he get away with spending his stockholders', customers' or employees' money? Will not the stockholders fire him? (Either the present ones or those who take over when his actions in the name of social responsibility have reduced the corporation's profits and the price of its stock. ) His customers and his employees can desert him for other producers and employers less scrupulous in exercising their social responsibilities. This facet of â€Å"social responsibility† doc trine is brought into sharp relief when the doctrine is used to justify wage restraint by trade unions. The conflict of interest is naked and clear when union officials are asked to subordinate the interest of their members to some more general purpose. If the union officials try to enforce wage restraint, the consequence is likely to be wildcat strikes, rank-and-file revolts and the emergence of strong competitors for their jobs. We thus have the ironic phenomenon that union leaders–at least in the U. S. –have objected to Government interference with the market far more consistently and courageously than have business leaders. The difficulty of exercising â€Å"social responsibility† illustrates, of course, the great virtue of private competitive enterprise–it forces people to be responsible for their own actions and makes it difficult for them to â€Å"exploit† other people for either selfish or unselfish purposes. They can do good–but only at their own expense. Many a reader who has followed the argument this far may be tempted to remonstrate that it is all well and good to speak of Government's having the responsibility to impose taxes and determine expenditures for such â€Å"social† purposes as controlling pollution or training the hard-core unemployed, but that the problems are too urgent to wait on the slow course of political processes, that the exercise of social responsibility by businessmen is a quicker and surer way to solve pressing current problems. Aside from the question of fact–I share Adam Smith's skepticism about the benefits that can be expected from â€Å"those who affected to trade for the public good†Ã¢â‚¬â€œthis argument must be rejected on grounds of principle. What it amounts to is an assertion that those who favor the taxes and expenditures in question have failed to persuade a majority of their fellow citizens to be of like mind and that they are seeking to attain by undemocratic procedures what they cannot attain by democratic procedures. In a free society, it is hard for â€Å"evil† people to do â€Å"evil,† especially since one man's good is another's evil. I have, for simplicity, concentrated on the special case of the corporate executive, except only for the brief digression on trade unions. But precisely the same argument applies to the newer phenomenon of calling upon stockholders to require corporations to exercise social responsibility (the recent G. M crusade for example). In most of these cases, what is in effect involved is some stockholders trying to get other stockholders (or customers or employees) to contribute against their will to â€Å"social† causes favored by the activists. Insofar as they succeed, they are again imposing taxes and spending the proceeds. The situation of the individual proprietor is somewhat different. If he acts to reduce the returns of his enterprise in order to exercise his â€Å"social responsibility,† he is spending his own money, not someone else's. If he wishes to spend his money on such purposes, that is his right, and I cannot see that there is any objection to his doing so. In the process, he, too, may impose costs on employees and customers. However, because he is far less likely than a large corporation or union to have monopolistic power, any such side effects will tend to be minor. Of course, in practice the doctrine of social responsibility is frequently a cloak for actions that are justified on other grounds rather than a reason for those actions. To illustrate, it may well be in the long run interest of a corporation that is a major employer in a small community to devote resources to providing amenities to that community or to improving its government. That may make it easier to attract desirable employees, it may reduce the wage bill or lessen losses from pilferage and sabotage or have other worthwhile effects. Or it may be that, given the laws about the deductibility of corporate charitable contributions, the stockholders can contribute more to charities they favor by having the corporation make the gift than by doing it themselves, since they can in that way contribute an amount that would otherwise have been paid as corporate taxes. In each of these–and many similar–cases, there is a strong temptation to rationalize these actions as an exercise of â€Å"social responsibility. † In the present climate of opinion, with its wide spread aversion to â€Å"capitalism,† â€Å"profits,† the â€Å"soulless corporation† and so on, this is one way for a corporation to generate goodwill as a by-product of expenditures that are entirely justified in its own self-interest. It would be inconsistent of me to call on corporate executives to refrain from this hypocritical window-dressing because it harms the foundations of a free society. That would be to call on them to exercise a â€Å"social responsibility†! If our institutions, and the attitudes of the public make it in their self-interest to cloak their actions in this way, I cannot summon much indignation to denounce them. At the same time, I can express admiration for those individual proprietors or owners of closely held corporations or stockholders of more broadly held corporations who disdain such tactics as approaching fraud. Whether blameworthy or not, the use of the cloak of social responsibility, and the nonsense spoken in its name by influential and prestigious businessmen, does clearly harm the foundations of a free society. I have been impressed time and again by the schizophrenic character of many businessmen. They are capable of being extremely farsighted and clearheaded in matters that are internal to their businesses. They are incredibly shortsighted and muddleheaded in matters that are outside their businesses but affect the possible survival of business in general. This shortsightedness is strikingly exemplified in the calls from many businessmen for wage and price guidelines or controls or income policies. There is nothing that could do more in a brief period to destroy a market system and replace it by a centrally controlled system than effective governmental control of prices and wages. The shortsightedness is also exemplified in speeches by businessmen on social responsibility. This may gain them kudos in the short run. But it helps to strengthen the already too prevalent view that the pursuit of profits is wicked and immoral and must be curbed and controlled by external forces. Once this view is adopted, the external forces that curb the market will not be the social consciences, however highly developed, of the pontificating executives; it will be the iron fist of Government bureaucrats. Here, as with price and wage controls, businessmen seem to me to reveal a suicidal impulse. The political principle that underlies the market mechanism is unanimity. In an ideal free market resting on private property, no individual can coerce any other, all cooperation is voluntary, all parties to such cooperation benefit or they need not participate. There are no values, no â€Å"social† responsibilities in any sense other than the shared values and responsibilities of individuals. Society is a collection of individuals and of the various groups they voluntarily form. The political principle that underlies the political mechanism is conformity. The individual must serve a more general social interest–whether that be determined by a church or a dictator or a majority. The individual may have a vote and say in what is to be done, but if he is overruled, he must conform. It is appropriate for some to require others to contribute to a general social purpose whether they wish to or not. Unfortunately, unanimity is not always feasible. There are some respects in which conformity appears unavoidable, so I do not see how one can avoid the use of the political mechanism altogether. But the doctrine of â€Å"social responsibility† taken seriously would extend the scope of the political mechanism to every human activity. It does not differ in philosophy from the most explicitly collectivist doctrine. It differs only by professing to believe that collectivist ends can be attained without collectivist means. That is why, in my bookCapitalism and Freedom, I have called it a â€Å"fundamentally subversive doctrine† in a free society, and have said that in such a society, â€Å"there is one and only one social responsibility of business–to use it resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud. â€Å"

Cultural Diversity Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Cultural Diversity - Research Paper Example Cultural Diversity Racism eats the thread of society and it threatens to destabilize the stability of a society. Cultural diversity is one of the ways to address the need for education regarding prejudice among races. I believe that cultural diversity is one of the ways in which a society can be a success, especially in times where globalization is the trend. True, in our culturally diverse society, acceptance is easier compared to times before. Cultural diversity is here to stay. However, prejudice is hard to shake off. There are times though that even if the people are liberated and sophisticated enough, prejudice still kicks in. It may be a thoughtless remark or something not offending. It may even go unnoticed but then in one way or another, it makes an impact to the person being spoken to. This usually happens in schools where a child’s learning abilities are almost always being classified according to his race and this is probably the biggest racial concern in the commun ity. According to Cohen (1998) â€Å"Members of a society can work together because they tend to share assumptions and have learned to focus on the same limited portion of a reality that would otherwise be too complex to comprehend or even conceive† which basically means that people tend to stick with people with their own cultures because they share the same similarities. Cohen also made it a point to say that the assumptions that the people have are learned, and it is like culture, it is taught by elders and other people around them. This means that an African American can actually fit in a Caucasian setup, if he was brought up with the Caucasian culture. Alexandria, VA has a diverse population. All races are represented and color is a part of life in this place. Growing up, I never really put an importance to race and color because it was so trivial. Seeing people from other races always seemed normal and this did not put any tinge of racial consciousness in me. Although t he Caucasians are often outnumbering the other races (US Census Bureau), it is not very significant as to affect my beliefs in race and color as a child growing up. Since our community is a diverse one, all races and colors are treated the same way. I am an African American. As a kid, my family always made it sure that I never felt different than others. In school, I was never bullied for my race of color. Maybe because there were many kids in there that are my race, or perhaps there are just many kids that are like me: they just do not care about one’s cultural background or race. I believe other people are just like me as well. There were a lot of immigrants in school, or if they are not immigrants, children of immigrants. There are a lot of African Americans in there, that’s probably why I never felt any different from the other children in school. We had almost the same experiences as with Latinos and Asians among Caucasians. Nevertheless, our parents, teachers and other older people made sure that there were no racial divides. They saw to it that each of us were treated in the same way and we were not looked upon by race/color. There are a lot of African Americans in our community. The mayor in Alexandria, VA is actually African American. Also, there are a lot of groups that support us. They look out for news and for events that can promote our distinct culture in the society, they look out for our people and we help each other. They are like me: we have the same color, same hair, same priorities and observations. We understand each other therefore we lookout for each other. The society treats us well, that’

How does DNA relate to you Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

How does DNA relate to you - Essay Example s is because, the telomeres; as a result of preventing fraying, they also prevent aging and the development of malignant tumors that threaten appropriate health (The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Washington Post, 2008). Moreover, through participating in exercise, the telomeres experience extended life by making them appear younger and thus staying in place. This leaves an individual healthy showing the direct relationship between an individual and the DNA in them. In addition, DNA is unique in everyone, which, in turn, makes every person unlike the other who follows mutation during replications. These mutations occur during terms of misprints and entire changes in replicated DNA. Therefore, this information indicates that only DNA of identical twins is similar (Port, 2008). In terms of survival, for one to live in adverse conditions, genes contained in the DNA effect changes (Designed DNA, 2012). These changes lead to evolutions and adaptations that allow an individual to cope in adverse conditions. In addition, changes could be physical in the form of shape of the teeth or hair color and even the behavior of an individual so as to escape danger (San Diego University of Man, 2001). In conclusion, the relation between an individual and DNA cannot be refuted as it is the DNA that accounts for the unique characteristics they possess. The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Washington Post. (January 29, 2008). Exercise linked to â€Å"Younger† DNA. The Seattle Times. Retrieved on 2nd July from

Dubai Ports World (DP World) Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Dubai Ports World (DP World) - Assignment Example Like most companies, DP World seeks growth and profitability through strategic initiatives, judicious financial management, and conducting routine internal assessments of its strength and weakness and understanding the industry threats and opportunities. In addition, positioning itself where it can take advantage of new market opportunities and grow is one thing. Coming up with new ways to conduct current operations is another. Modernizing its information technology infrastructure, sustaining a commitment to community projects in which it operates, understanding the political, social, economic and technological factors that influence its business and providing a work environment that DP world supports through training and development will position DP World to take advantage of opportunities to grow and expand into new markets. Core Industry Dubai Ports World (DP World) operates in the international marine terminal business (port operations) providing development and logistics services (DP World, 2010). Specifically, the majority of DP World management is in container handling services as part of an overall strategy of managing container, bulk and terminal cargo. In addition to containers, DP World also operates general cargo, bulk cargo, Ro-Ro vessel (such as car handling), and passenger terminals. DP World also operates P&O Maritime Services, DP World Cargo Services and DP World Intermodal. According to the DP World website, P&O Maritime Services is a ``specialist provider of maritime services to industry and government`` (DP World, 2010). DP World Cargo provides stevedoring (loading and unloading) services. These services include containers, bulk, general cargo, project cargoes, car carriers, reefer vessels and passenger vessel stores and baggage handling. DP World Intermodal operates what it refers to as ``outside th e gate`` (DP World Intermodal, n.d.) services to help clients streamline their supply chains, specifically in the railway services industry. This service is more formally called Container Rail Road Services Private Limited, or CRRS for short (DP World Intermodal, n.d.). Its P&O operations are diverse and include government shipping services, cargo services, port services (including skilled crews, shore support staff and vessel maintenance), offshore specialized marine services to the offshore oil and gas industry, defence, chartering (including ship brokering and chartering for mining and bulk minerals) and agency services (including ship agency, chandlery and manning services) (P&O Maritime, n.d.). Chandlery services cover supplies and equipment. Key Substitute Products / Services According to an OAS overview (Rossignol, 2007, p. 7), companies in this strategic assessment include (with number of ports in operation, millions of TEU throughput): 1. HPH - Hutchinson Port Holdings (45, 33.2). 2. PSA – Singapore Port Authority (25, 32.4). 3. APMT - APM Terminals (40, 24.1). 4. P&O Ports (acquired by DP World). 5. DP World (42, 35.2 – when combined with P&O Ports). 6. Evergreen Marine Corp (240, 11.5). 7. Eurogate (10, 11.4). 8. COSC - China Ocean Shipping Company (34, 8.1). 9. SSA Marine (150, 6.7). 10. MSH - Mediterranean Shipping Company (215, 5.7). Global growth is a key vision for DP World and this variable could be used as one of the key strategic measures. Growth can be measured in terms of TEU units. TEU is short for twenty-foot equivalent units as this is the majority of the industry

Trust and Power within Business Network Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Trust and Power within Business Network - Essay Example It is critical and strategic issue which needs to be dealt very carefully, this element of trust is vital in all kinds of relationships whether it is within the business or with the external stakeholders. It is very hard to make this trust however one mistake can hurt the reputation very badly and create serious consequences for the future of the business. Power is the acquisition of assets and its control which gives dominance to a party over the other. It is to have the control and ability to influence the decision of the other party. Power has its own benefits and draw backs within a business network. Too much or less of it has its own effects. However it has been seen that where there is trust there is less likelihood of power causing any harm to the social or business network (Group H.R., 2000). When we talk about long term success of the business then this success is dependent on the development of positive networks in the industry. Business networks are an opportunity for the owners of the business and the team of employees to improve themselves continuously. They are a collection of companies linked through agreements for business purposes who work together to get over all benefits for the members in doing so they need to make business dealings and work together and invest and divest money Thinking Made Easy, p21, 2009). A company in the business network tends to learn from one another's mistakes and successes and based on that they derive solutions to their own problems. Apart from the business perspective networking helps in social activities and events. It leads to strong bonds and close relationships with the business partner which is good for the business in the long term (Daft, p110, 2001). The relationship must be enduring and permanent in nature. Trust is by all means the most critical and significant factor in enhancing the relationship and strengthening it. This development of trust comes with the passage of time and honesty in business. It may take a long time period to develop but once it is lost one can end up loosing the chances of success of further business with any particular group or team. Countries all around the world have realized the importance of business networking and the role of relationship building, trust and power within a network. Therefore they have been working on this, such as the Australian has developed a Business Network Program (BNP) for the promotion of networks in Australia. The government has granted $24 million for this in order to increase the competitiveness and growth of SMEs (Australian Government business Initiative, 2009). Trust is a valuable asset for a business and leads to competitive advantage over the rival businesses. Where there is trust then more people would like to work with you. It will lead to increased sales, profits and turnover for the business. Trust gives more power to the business and enhances its market position. Trust facilitates the learning process within a network and moderates the effects of power and makes a positive continuation to the network as a whole. In times of global crises a lot of firms are going through losses but in order to counter the current state of the economy businesses do not stop their production. They operate on debt basis and they are able to get the raw

Case Study 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Case Study 1 - Essay Example The Nissan Motors Co., Ltd, operates in the retail automotive industry. Its core business is the manufacturing, sales and distribution of automotive products and marine related equipment and parts. The company is also involved in provision of financial and other support services in the motor industry. According to the 2012 financial report, the company had an annual sales turnover of  ¥9,409.0 billion (Nissan Motor Co., Ltd, 2012: P6). The Nissan Company Ltd has played a significant role in the general Indonesian economy. The company employs approximately 157,365 full-time employees annually in its global market with 10% coming from Indonesia. The company has also contributed significantly to the automotive industry, which accounts for 48% of the national GDP of Indonesian economy (Nissan Motor Co., Ltd, 2012: p13). Planning is very important for the lantern success of the company. According to the 2012 financial report, Nissan Company has identified various issues that call for strategic interventions. The company is operating under a mid-term plan termed as â€Å"NISSAN POWER 88† in the financial year 2011 to 2016. Under this plan, the company hopes to improve customer-driving experience, improve the power of the Nissan Brand and ultimately raise the quality of the Nissan car. With this plan, the company hopes to increase its share in the global market and also raise its operating income (Nissan Motor Co., Ltd, 2012: p17). In order to achieve this short-term plan, the Nissan Company has identified a number of strategies and tactics identified below: The company has established strategic alliances and partnership with other companies. The most successful alliance has been with Renault Company; this alliance was established in the year 1999. The other key strategic alliance was with Daimler AG Company that was established with the intension of sharing production technology (Interbrand, 2013:

Disease Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Disease - Essay Example r of the chromosomes from either parent, a genetic malfunction can occur resulting in the development of an extra genetic material in chromosome number 21. Additional genetic material on chromosome 21, which is responsible for the features of the Down syndrome, can result from three primary genetic variations; trisomy 21, this is when a child is born with three copies of chromosome 21 in all the cells instead of the usual 2 copies. Mosaic Down syndrome, where the child is born with some cells having an extra copy of chromosome 21. Mosaic down syndrome is caused abnormal cell division after fertilization. Translocation Down syndrome occurs when part of chromosome 21 is attached (translocate) onto another chromosome, prior to or at conception (Sherman, 2007). Children born with Down syndrome often have intellectual and physical disabilities. At adult age, a person with Down syndrome present with an IQ equivalent of a nine-year-old. Often, people with Down syndrome presents with stunted growth, webbed neck, low muscle tone, narrow roof of the mouth and flat head. Additionally, they present with abnormal outer, large tongue, flattened nose as well as separation of the first and the second toes (Porth,

The Lebanon Crises (1958) Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Lebanon Crises (1958) - Term Paper Example In Lebanon, the big problem was the fragile nature of the social and political structure of the country. Lebanon was a multi-confessional state with Christians and Muslims sharing power. The new Government appointed by President Chamoun in 1956 seemed to tilt more towards the West. On January 5, 1957, President Eisenhower appeared before Congress to announce a new US policy for the Middle East. He asked Congress to pass a resolution authorizing economic assistance and the use of US forces to prevent a Communist takeover in the Middle East (Meo 132-144). Lebanon was the only Arab country to announce publicly its support for the doctrine. The decision by President Chamoun to endorse the new US policy, and accept aid under the terms of the Middle East Resolution, caused a major foreign policy rift between the Government and the opposition in Lebanon and led to the formation of the united National Front, an opposition grouping composed of Muslims and Christians (Meo 132-144) This rift coincided with Chamoun's plans to amend the electoral law before the elections in June 1957. The passage of the new law increased the number of seats in the Chamber of Deputies and had a direct impact on the outcome of the elections, outside influences also affected the outcome. The United States provided covert funds for pro-Government candidates, while Egypt and Syria supported and funded the opposition (Eveland 248-250). Since assuming the Presidency, Camille Chamoun had made a determined effort to destroy the power of the feudal landowners who formed the backbone of the Lebanese political system.

Producers Reaction to Raw Material Price Changes Essay Example for Free

Producers Reaction to Raw Material Price Changes Essay These days all over the world people use products of crude oil. Most of people cannot imagine their life without products such as diesel or gasoline. However, these are only the finished products, which go through specific stages of production. They are made out of crude oil, which sometimes is called „black goldâ€Å". Fuel; however is not the only production made out of crude oil. Lubricants, asphalt, paraffin wax, tar – all these are product made out of crude oil. As stated by US Energy Information Administration (EIA): estimated consumption of oil in the world in 2011 will be 87. 421 million barrels of oil each day. Obviously, crude oil is an important material in the modern world. It has an important role in economy as well. The cost of crude oil affects economy both directly and indirectly. Nowadays, debates about rising prices of fuel or heating are almost an everyday topic. The price changes of fuel are always mentioned on financial news on TV. Naturally, it is interesting what influences the cost of crude oil. How the rise or fall of price affects the price of fuel, and how businesses deal with the fluctuating prices. 1. Crude Oil as a Raw Material When talking about product price changes it is important to understand how the price of raw material is calculated and how it is affected. The perception of how the price is set for the raw materials gives an opportunity to better understand the price of the final product, and all the fluctuations related to the final products’ prices. Also, it helps to recognize how various political decisions or world-wide events, including disasters or new innovations, affect various markets. As for crude oil prices, the statistical and analytical agency within the U.S. Department of Energy called Energy Information Administration (EIA) has defined seven key factors which have an influence on and each contribute to the price of crude oil. 1. Production. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) consortium provides about 60 percent of all the oil production traded on international markets and 40 percent of the world’s oil production. All actions and statements of this organization can and do affect world oil prices, because of the dominant crude supply market share. Changes of the amounts of crude oil production lead to changes in price. If OPEC cuts the production, it generally means a rise in price of oil. 2. Supply. The other oil suppliers still represent 60 percent of the world’s oil supply. Even though non-OPEC suppliers as a group are 50 percent larger than OPEC, they have almost no spare capacity. Non-OPEC suppliers are considered to be â€Å"Price Takers†, rather than â€Å"Price Setters†. They respond to market prices, not like OPEC, who manipulate them. Consequently, non-OPEC suppliers practically produce near to full or at full capacity. Any fault in production has the effect on increasing oil supplies. As well, it gives OPEC the capability to further manipulate world supplies. 3. Global oil inventories. The supply and demand is balanced by global oil inventories. For example, if more oil is produced than demanded, the excess supplies can be stored. This principle also works in reverse order. If consumption exceeds demand, inventories can be used to meet the growing demand. The bond between oil inventories and oil prices makes corrections possible in either direction. If oil futures rise in comparison with the current spot price for oil, the need and urge to store oil will increase. As well, spot oil prices will drop, if market makers notice an inventory build. That is the response to balance demand with supply. 4. Financial markets. Oil is not only sold by its physical form, but also there are trade contracts for future delivery. This type of sales is called â€Å"futures†. In order to avoid future oil price increases, some major customers, like airline companies, purchase futures. That is because oil price changes have a significant impact on their ability to operate profitably. Also, often oil futures contracts are sold to lock in a price for a specific period of time. 5. Demand. The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is an international organization of U.S., Japan, most of European countries, and other advanced countries. The organization is responsible for 53 percent of the world’s demand for oil. Even though OECD countries consume more than non-OECD countries, the rate of growth in OECD countries is considerably slower. OECD demand went down during the period from the year 2000 to 2010. However, non-OECD countries’ demand went up by 40 percent during the same period of time. 6. Non-OECD demand. For the last decade China together with Saudi Arabia and India had the largest growth in crude consumption among non-OECD countries. There is a direct relationship between the rate at which oil consumption rises and the rate of economic growth. It is not surprising that for China and India, the use of crude oil is increasing at a very fast pace compared to the United States’. Besides that, developing countries also usually have more manufacturing-related industries, which have a tendency to consume higher amounts of crude oil. 7. Spot market. Crude oil is sold all over the world. There are many different â€Å"streams† of crude oil, however they are likely to move in lockstep with one another regarding the prices. All these streams are put in a certain process of production to make product which are used, such as: gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, lubricant and other various petroleum products. All of the financial channels on TV are talking about crude oil prices. However the essential point here is the price of the final products. Any events that have the power to disrupt the flow of crude oil and end products have a significant effect on the price of those goods. Geopolitical events, massive oil leaks, natural disasters like hurricanes or earthquakes, terrorist acts, etc. all are included to the list of event which can and do influence the price. Both supply and demand are rather inelastic, this means that any of the above events, or perceived risk of the happening, usually leads to higher prices, espe cially in the futures market. All these factors clearly show how easily the system of oil trading can be shocked, leading to huge swings in the price of crude oil. Also, it has to be pointed out, that most of the world’s oil supply is located in countries or parts of the world that are politically instable. All this explains why the price we pay for oil product is so volatile. Example how natural tragedies affect the price of crude oil: In 2010 April 20th in the Gulf of Mexico a huge oil spill took place. It was one of the biggest oil spills in history. Without a doubt it had a significant impact on the oil prices. Figure 1. History of oil prices. Clearly, the chart shows that the price of oil rose when the clearing begun. This proves, that certain events have influence on oil prices. 2. Gasoline usage Gasoline is the most popular Transportation Fuel in the U. S. Gasoline is one of the most popular fuels consumed in the United States and the main product made from oil. Usage of petrol in 2010 was approximately 132 billion gallons, which means about 360 million gallons a day. Gasoline used as energy for transportation stands for more than 64%, 48% of all petrol consumption and more than 18 % of all consumed energy in U.S. Petrol is mostly used in cars and light trucks. It is also consumed by owners of boats, recreational vehicles ran by fuel and landscaping, farm, construction equipment. Benzine is made year-round, however, the highest demand and the biggest imported quantity is seen in the summer. The graph shows the amount of gasoline consumed in U.S. 1950-2010: Over 260 million vehicles on the streets Nowadays, in the United States, gasoline is the fuel used by most passenger engines. There are more than 260 million vehicles that use gasoline, the amount of them increases each day and they manage to travel over 12,164 miles per year. There are around 170,000 fueling stations that ensure comfortable refueling for users. Above two-thirds of fuel consumed for moving is in the form of petrol. Each benzine station usually sells three types of petrol: * Regular * Midgrade * Premium 3. Determining gasoline prices The changes of gasoline prices affect all the countries and their economies. Each person that owns a vehicle run by petrol is affected individually. Every day the retail price of gasoline changes, but only few people know what exactly makes the prices fluctuate. There are several different factors that has sway on fuel prices. The first and also the biggest reason that influences the price of petrol is the cost of crude oil from which it is obtained. In 2000, average retail price of gasoline was only 2.37$ per gallon and the total price included only 55% of crude oil. After more than 10 years the costs of it grew and the percentage of crude oil now seeks over huge 66%. In the last few years the consumption of petrol fuel grew so rapidly that the producers of these had many difficulties succeeding to fulfill their cutomers needs. The growth of demand of fuel is another huge factor that has affected the cost of petrol. The demand isntantly grew up and the supplies went down. This made a huge influence on petrol price. In addition, another great reason of gasoline price growth is refining costs and profits. In 2000, it made approximately 15% of total price of fuel. After 10 years, the percentage of those costs consisted over 12%. The percentage reduced, but it still remains high and definately makes a huge impact on retail fuel price. Crude oil price change influence on producing gasoline The price of crude oil is one of the main factors that influences the cost of retail gasoline. The cost of crude oil changes each day. The price depends on many different factors. The change of the crude oil price hugely affect the retail price of gasoline. When the price of crude oil grows, eventually the cost of petrol also rises. The growth of crude oils price reduces the production of gasoline, diesel, gas. Producers lowers the production of petrol and fuel and also increases the retail prices of them. When the price reach highest point, the demand of fuel, gas and gasoline reduces. After the price and demand stabilizes, price starts to reduce and demand begins to grow. Conclusion First of all we can say that prices of oil production generally are set by OPEC. They provide crude oil all over the world, so generally they can control prices of oil. Moreover, other suppliers still represent 60 percent of the world‘s oil supply, however they don‘t set prices, they are more like „price takersâ€Å". So OPEC certainly manipulates the power they have. Global oil inventories help to balance supply and demand; the excess supplies are more likely to be stored, when growth of the prices is forecasted. OECD is mainly responsible for the demand of oil. Even though OECD countries consume more than non-OECD countries, the rate of growth in OECD countries is considerably slower. Crude oil is the main material which is used to make gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, lubricants and other various petroleum products, but it doesn’t set the total price of fuel, the main thing is the final product. Moreover, the price of crude oil can be affected if the system is disturbed, because of natural disasters like hurricanes or earthquakes, terrorist acts, etc. Talking about gasoline, it is the most popular fuel consumed in the U.S. and the main product made from oil. Petrol is used in almost all cars, light trucks and boats. Usage of petrol in 2010 was approximately 132 billion gallons, which means about 360 million gallons a day. Gasoline used as energy for transportation stands for more than 64%, over 48% of all petrol consumption and more than 18 % of all consumed energy in the United States. Furthermore, there are around 260 million vehicles that use gasoline, the amount of them increases each day and they manage to travel over 12,164 miles per year. To sum up, the main things which fluctuate prices of fuel are: the fluency of crude oil supply system and the actions and statements made by OPEC. All in all, raw materials’ prices change and influence producers’ behavior. In the case of crude oil production, prices tend to go up, because of relatively inelastic supply and demand. Yet, more efficient technologies are created to minimize or replace use of crude oil products.

Barclays Bank PLC Is A Multinational Company Essay Example for Free

Barclays Bank PLC Is A Multinational Company Essay Amenities to attract highly skilled and creative persons at all important levels ? Tradition of closeness to key customers and target customers A business can differentiate itself by performing its existing value activities or reconfiguring in some unique ways. And the sustainability of that differentiation will depend on two things: a continuation of its high perceived value to buyers and a lack of imitation by competitors. There are many alternative strategic directions in which Barclaycard could implement in their current strategy of differentiation. These may include technology innovation or product/ service differentiation. Product/service differentiation Product differentiation occurs when, owing to differences in physical attributes, ancillary service, geographic location, information, and/or subjective image, one firms products are clearly preferred by at least some buyers over rival products at a given price (, 1990, ). For firms seeking to make their demand curve less elastic, successful differentiation provides an insulated position against competitors by enabling firms to sell a larger quantity at a given price or by allowing the firm to create brand loyalty in customers resulting in lower sensitivity to price. This uniqueness may build an entry barrier for competitors to overcome (, 1992; , 1980). However, being unique may require a trade-off with investment if achieving differentiation requires costly effort such as extensive research, product design, high quality materials, or intensive customer support. Thus, the firms employing the differentiation strategy cannot ignore costs and risk (, 1980). Horizontal product differentiation focuses on differences in attribute variety among competing brands. It occurs when one brand contains more of some attributes but less of some other attributes in comparison to another brand (). Consumers different tastes will exploit differing strong and weak points among brands given identical prices (, 1992). The shift towards consumerism is accelerating with significant implications in many of the markets in which we operate. Fundamentally, our view is that consumerism involves a shift in power from institutions towards consumers. The rapid transformation of the credit card industry – first with the severing of the traditional tie between bank accounts and credit cards and second, with the emergence of credit as a true commodity in the credit card industry illustrates this so well. Consumers in the past were grateful if they received credit it was seen as a right granted to a special few by a bank and hence banks held power over individuals. The value proposition was the availability of credit. Technology Innovation In the case of Barclaycard, it is could improve its operations and competitive advantage through real time design data driven tools. This tool would improve their credit limit strategies and increase their interest earning balances. A Fair, Isaac Model Builder for the decision trees may be used as this tool uses historical data to assist in identifying optimal account management strategies. Fair, Isaac Model Builder for Decision Trees is a PC Windows based application designed specifically to support data driven strategy design. It gives lenders the power to rapidly create new strategies in real time using multiple performance dimensions, to process large datasets rapidly so strategies at any point for greater understanding of the portfolio and transfers strategies to and from production application with ease, putting new strategies into production faster. This real time, highly interactive approach dramatically shortens the time between strategy creation and roll out. With Barclaycard objectives of the new strategies to increase interest bearing balances, increase turnover, control bad debt, and address attrition, Fair, Fair Isaac can be a big help for the organization. While the average number of cards in a person’s wallet has increased over the last five years, the value to an individual of having multiple cards will diminish in an environment where credit is a commodity.

Business Strategy Affecting Information Systems And Organizational Decisions Commerce Essay

Business Strategy Affecting Information Systems And Organizational Decisions Commerce Essay A strategy can be defined as a plan. A business strategy can be defined as an explicit description of the strategic destination of a business in terms of what it targets to achieve, as well as the road map of getting to that place or operational status quo. Such a strategy is the means through which an enterprise communicates its vision, mission statement and set objectives. In response to various market forces such as demand and supply, the managers of a company devise this business strategy. To achieve set organizational goals, managers make various decisions which are key to the optimization of processes and resources. Such decisions include financing decisions; investment decisions; operational decisions among others. Hence the need for any organizations information systems to offer the best decision making support to management. An information system is an organized combination of interrelated components which are people resources; computer software and hardware resources and in frastructure which operate within set boundaries to achieve a common goal. There is strong link between a business strategy and the IS (Information System) strategy as well as the organizational strategy of any business. Prosperous business entities come up with an overruling business strategy which dictates the complementary IS and organizational strategy to be employed. The relationship between these three strategies is called the Information Systems Strategy Triangle. According to the Information System Strategy Triangle, understanding business strategy means providing answers to the questions listed below: 1. What is the business goal or objective? 2. What is the plan for achieving it? What is the role of IS in this plan? 3. Who are the crucial competitors and co-operators, and what is required of a successful player in this value net? ( Adapted from Stephanie Overby, Found to Fail CIO Magazine, May 1, 2005, pp. 49-54). Managements decisions about the organizational structure, staffing issues and other elements of the organizational strategy and decisions regarding IS components such as hardware and software applications are all dependent on the type of strategy which a business adopts and pursues. There is therefore the need to balance these three strategies though organizational design which positions the IS and organizational strategies as complements of the business strategy. As such, the business strategy affects the information systems and organizational strategy of a company in that any changes in a firms business environment not only necessitate business process re-engineering or rethinking the business strategy of giants such as Roche, but revamping the IS infrastructure as well. Where a firm designs its business strategy to use IS to gain a competitive advantage, constant innovation in IS becomes necessary (Stephanie Overby, Found to Fail CIO Magazine, May 1, 2005, pp. 49-54) Resultantly, the three strategies must be constantly reassessed. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ QUESTION 2 : What generic strategy does Roche appear to be using based on this case? Provide a rationale for your response. Roche mainly employs the Innovation strategy through the use of IT, driving change in organizational culture and the consequent change in business processes. Firstly the innovation strategy is evident in that the organization has had to embrace and organizational revolution to accommodate the technological revolution. The shift in approach in Research and Development Roche moves towards a system which encourages a warmer style of teamwork as opposed to the ultra competitive culture in which scientists fought for scarce resources and did not encourage flow of information. In the new system, the preferred team members are young, ambitious researchers with the agility to handle change. Klaus Lindpaintner, Roches worldwide head of genetics research says A young researcher can be fully up to speed with the most modern stuff and be less distracted by all of the other things that 50 year-olds focus on. In addition, there is increased interaction between researcher from different background s or technical expertise for example biologists and statisticians collaborating on how to use data from a Genechip experiment. Secondly, as Roches business strategy has resulted in the generation of large amounts for data which need to be screened and processed, the innovation strategy is seen in the information technology that the company employs to deal with this flood of data, for example the Zeiss machine which is used to increase efficiency and speed in the screening of potential drugs, shortening the time it takes to get the product on the market. Innovation is also demonstrated in the way Roches computer services experts had to devise a way to use computer capacity effectively, for the storage of raw data and experiments. Roche has quite evidently begun a form of Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) as a response to the new breakthroughs in medical research. The beginning of research cycle has changed and has more possibilities, as a result the processes that follow have to upgraded to handle the increased volume of information, as a result Roches business will be completely remodelled over time. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. QUESTION 3: Apply the hyper-competition model to Roche. Which of the 7 Ss are demonstrated in this case? The hyper-competition models chief proponent is Richard DAveni, the professor of business strategy at the Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth College. Mr. Daveni believes that business can no longer be business as usual due to shifting market rules which render it impossible, in an extended time frame, to sustain a companys competitive advantage. The world over, the business environment has slid into a status of hyper-competition where survival for any business goes beyond issues to do with maximizing profits. To ensure that a business continues and survives there is a need for business entities is to focus strategic energies on toppling the market leader by eliminating their present competitive advantage. This new paradigm comes in the wake of four main contributors to the new age of hyper-competition, which are adjusted consumer preferences and the resultant changes in product and service demand; constant upgrades; research and development in the field of information technology; world globalization which merge all nations into one global market thus nullifying geographical and industry divides, and deep pockets among competitors (Daveni). Due to the impact of the four forces listed above, there is need to devise new ways of upsetting the market. Mr. DAveni came up with a new set of rules key in this new era of hyper-competition, and labeled these simultaneous or sequential strategic thrusts , strategic soothsaying, surprise, speed signals, shifting the rules and stakeholder satisfaction. Ground breaking developments in human genomics as well as molecular biology in the Pharmaceuticals industry sparked the need for Roche to adopt Davenis new set of rules to stay afloat in the world of hyper-competition. The following are the Ss which are demonstrated in the case study for Roche Group. 3.1 SOOTHSAYING, i.e. Discontinuing the pursuance of obsolete business thrusts and ideas in favour of currently applicable methodologies of innovation and team collaboration. Ensuring a speedy and timely identification of peoples susceptibility to illness or infirmity. Roche hires new employees and leverages on existing employees to best prepare for efficient implementation of new ideas. 3.2 STAKEHOLDER SATISFACTION Effective maneuvering of Roches value chain to maximize value addition to cancer drugs, thereby increasing their profitability and efficiency in treating cancer ailments. Ensuring a speedy detection of side effects caused by the use of certain drugs such as probable toxicity. Employing the Gene Chip to aid treatment and monitoring of patients, which translates to better health care insurance for Roches customers. Maximizing returns to shareholders by producing competitive pharmacy drugs which best meet customer expectations. 3.3 SPEED Critically evaluating and analyzing large volumes of data in a shorter period of time using the Zeiss machine. Achieving the rapid discovering of new and better pharmacy drugs and nipping in the bud toxicity risks through early identification. Team collaboration in favour of encouraging scientific team competition means that teams take lesser time to be productive due to the pool of intellectual capital, unlike where individual teams would be stuck with outdated ideas, trying to preserve their careers. 3.4 SIMULTANEOUS AND SEQUENTIAL THRUST. Researchers can now consider multiple ideas on a daily basis rather than to spend years focusing on one idea. Having different initiatives running at different times. 3.5 SURPRISE Investing in new technology 3.6 SIGNALLING Developing markers for cancer Media briefing showing the direction market will take. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ QUESTION 4 : How do information systems support Roches business strategy? Roches business strategy has resulted in the generation of large amounts of data which needs to be processed screened, analyzed then either discarded or stored. 4.1 Screening The head of clinical research believed that the best hope of finding new drugs fast would be to test as much compounds as possible and discarding as quickly as possible, those that had lower odds of succeeding. This resulted in the procurement the Carl Zeiss machine which has assisted Roche with efficient and faster testing of compounds per day.. 4.2 Processing / Experimenting- the Genechip has assisted Roche in reducing the time it takes to identify disease markers when conducting experiments on tissue samples. This contributes positively to the business strategy in that it increases the speed at which new products can be identified and developed. 4.3 Storage All the data generated as a result of Roches new strategy which is experiments that are either discarded or continuing with further investigation needs to be stored on the companys data systems. Roches computers services experts have had to devise an effective way of storage that ensures that all the employees are allocated sufficient storage in their respective areas of responsibility. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦

a world lit only by fire Essay -- essays research papers

Antigone   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Antigone was the daughter of Oedipus. She had two brothers, Polyneices and Eteocles, and a sister Ismene. Oedipus had been the King of Thebes. However, he had killed his father and married his mother not knowing they were his parents. Oedipus was disgraced and had left the kingdom. His two sons were too young to rule, so Creon, their uncle served as ruler of Thebes. When Polyneices and Eteocles grew older they allowed their Uncle Creon to continue to rule because of the dishonor, which had been caused by their father. In time, each of the brothers wanted to rule Thebes. Arguments ensued. Polyneices felt he should be the ruler because he was the eldest. Eteocles, also wanted to rule, but was forced to leave Thebes by his brother.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Polyneices went to Argo and recruited an army against his brother and Thebes. During the battle Polyneices and Eteocles killed each other committing the sin of fratricide. After the death of their brothers, Antigone and Ismene were the only remaining members of the royal Oedipus family. Antigone was to marry Haemon, Creon’s son thus uniting both royal families. Creon gave Eteocles a hero’s funeral because he fought for Thebes. Polyneices was not to be given a proper funeral but left out in the open for animals to eat and carry off.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Antigone felt she and Ismene had an obligation to bury Polyneices, as there were no longer any males alive in the family. ...

The Character of Othello Essay -- GCSE Coursework Shakespeare Othello

The Character of Othello      Ã‚      Shakespeare's Othello is not simply a play which embodies the conflict between insider and outsider. The paradigm of otherness presented in this play is more complicated than the conclusion, "Othello is different; therefore, he is bad." Othello's character is to be revered. He is a champion among warriors; an advisor among councilmen; a Moor among Venetians. Yes, Othello is a Moor, but within the initial configuration of the play, this fact is almost irrelevant. His difference is not constructed as â€Å"otherness.† Othello, by his nature, is not an â€Å"otherized† character. Besides being the dark-skinned Moor, Othello varies in no real way from the other characters in the play. Further, Othello and Iago can be seen as two sides of the same destructive coin. With Iago as a foil and subversive adversary, Othello is not faulted for the indiscretions he commits. It is the invention and projection of otherness by various characters in the play, especially Ia go, which set the stage for the tragedy of dissimilarity which is to ensue. Continually confronted with his difference, and apparently associated inferiority, Othello eventually ingests and manifests this difference in a violent rage against the symbol and defining emblem of his otherness, Desdemona. Yet, who is to blame? Which character is redeemed through our sympathy so that another can be condemned? Othello, the dark-skinned murdering Moor, himself. The separation of his otherness from explicit and innate evil contrasted with Iago's free-flowing and early-established taste for revenge and punishment, alleviates Othello from responsibility. Surely, Othello has wronged and is to be held reprehensible--with his death--but even this is a self-infli... .../www. Galileo pechnet.edu Bloom, Harold. "Introduction" Modern Critical Interpretations, Othello Ed. Harold Bloom, Pub. Chelsea House New Haven CT 1987. C. W. Slights. "Slaves and Subjects in Othello," Shakespeare Quarterly v48 Winter 1997: 382. J. Adelman. "Iago's Alter Ego: Race as Projection in Othello," Shakespeare Quarterly v48 Summer 1997: 130. Jones, Eldred. "Othello- An Interpretation" Critical Essays on Shakespeare’s Othello. Ed. Anthony G. Barthelemy Pub. Macmillan New York, NY 1994. Neely, Carol. "Women and Men in Othello" Critical Essays on Shakespeare’s Othello. Ed. Anthony G. Barthelemy Pub. Macmillan New York, NY 1994. Norman Sanders, ed. Othello. Cambridge: New York, 1995: 12. Snyder, Susan. "Beyond the Comedy: Othello" Modern Critical Interpretations, Othello Ed. Harold Bloom, Pub. Chelsea House New Haven CT 1987.   

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury :: essays research papers

In the book Fahrenheit 451 there are many characters that have short parts and go by unnoticed to some. Other characters have noticeable parts but they are short and by the end of the book you forget about them. The minor characters are used to support ideas or to give background for the main character or characters. They have an important part in all stories and yet, for some reason, they are forgotten quickly and not given a second thought. In the book there are more than two minor characters but to bore you with all of them would be cruel so we won’t bother. The two that we will discuss are the ones that appealed to us the most. The first character I want to talk about is Clarisse McClellan. Clasrisse is a free spirited girl who is used to describe the way things are now in the world that Guy (the main character) and she live in. she is a teenager who live with her uncle, who is a very smart man of the old time and he tells her about the way things used to be. The main reason Clarisse is in the story is to show the ills of the world that is described in the book and to show Guy a new way of life. This is the basis for the changes that happen to Guy, emotionally, later in the book. After Clarisse serves her purpose in the plot, she is killed off. The other character that we feel is influential in the book is captain Beatty. Beatty opens Guys eyes to the truth as he sees it. He Finally tells Guy about the way things really used to be. He tells him the truth about what firemen used to do and the way the world used to work. But unlike Clarisse, Beatty likes the new world more and he tells Guy the way things used to be in a way that is distorted a little to make it seem horrible.

Banyan Tree Brand Expansion Essay

1. Identify the primary issues in the case. When expanding the brand globally, the existing methods and new methods need to ensure that brand image and core value must not be diluted by too generic target market or vague market position. When expanding the brand into different countries and regions, the competition within a specific location and competition between different locations are impossible to neglect. 2. What value propositions does Banyan Tree offer as an experiential brand? By leveraging the natural surroundings unique to each location and adding consistency in the designs, facilities (including spas), ambience (including romance), and services (including warm hospitality) offered, Banyan Tree created strong brand identity and a unique value proposition that was associated with self-indulgence and pampering experience. 3. Evaluate Banyan Tree’s expansion plan. What are the potential risks that Banyan Tree should be aware of and how can it mitigate such risks? Banyan Tree’s expansion plan is fast and ambitious. It ensures the brand exist globally in most popular destinations. The positive aspect of the geographic expansion is that it helps to reduce low-revenue period caused by seasonality. It also allows the company to take advantage of cross-marketing opportunities. Besides the expansion plan of new resorts, existing resorts expansion also helps to increase the revenue, and it requires less capital expenditure and cash flow. To offset the investment layouts, plans were in place to commerce selling resort residential properties in Lijiang, China and Bangkok, Thailand. But there were risks involving in it. These include various uncontrollable circumstances other than natural and man-made crises. To mitigate such risks, management agreements are good approaches that can reduce the risks of loss and responsibilities of development and maintenance. Based on current resources, is it realistic and achievable? It is realistic and achievable, but requires time to complete it. Since at present Banyan Tree hotel or resort generally have interest on ownership dependent on a list of variables including familiarity, profitability and partner. It takes time to lease the ownership and to only focus on the management, and it also needs consideration on the benefits and drawbacks comparing with the ownership management. 4. Please take a look at the financial statements and make recommendations for its growth strategy.  According to Banyan Tree’s revenue by geographic region, it shows that there is a large potential market in North-East Asia. At present, the company has done successful business especially in South-East Asia. One of the reasons would be the geographic and cultural similarity. However, the North-East Asia is farther, and the political and economic reasons may also affect the business. What is more, the culture there is slightly different from the one in South-east Asia. However, the North-East Asia market is so big and potentially profitable. First reason is that people are getting richer and more purchasing power in this area, such as people in China. Second, there are abundant beautiful natural scenic destinations where are good locations for building new resorts. Third, at present the service standard in Singapore is still higher than the average level in this area. Therefore, Banyan Tree’s next step should invest on the resorts and hotels in this area, or establish management agreement in order to get into this market quicker with lower capital risks. 5. Explain Banyan Tree’s facilities design style. Banyan Tree’s facilities design style offers a more traditional, luxurious environment with a classic design. This especially is reflected in Banyan Tree Spas.