Mcdonald?S a Good Image with Bad Ethics

McDonald’s: A Good Image with Bad Ethics Aimee Gibison Introduction McDonald’s Corporation has been growing and spreading internationally for the past three decades. Although McDonald’s seems convenient, cheap and clean there are many negative aspects of the business. In spite of paying their employees low wages and negatively impacting other cultures, McDonald’s and chains like it, have managed to position themselves as a positive piece of Americana. McDonald’s promotes its positive image and products with greasy fries, and a clown named Ronald McDonald.The unethical practices of this large fast food corporation are known but do not seem to detract from the all-American image that the corporation seeks to project. History In the 1950s a new style of eating was introduced by brothers, Dick and Mac Donald. Their original small burger stand was soon transformed into one of the largest, well-known transnational corporations. Ray Kroc, a milk shake mach ine salesman bought McDonald’s from the Donald brothers and made the burger shack into a business characterized by conformity and uniformity. â€Å"Kroc †¦ believed fervently in the ethic of mass production† (Schlosser, 2004).Under the influence of this mass production ethic, McDonald’s developed new, uniform production methods such as using frozen beef patties, instead of fresh ground beef, and developing a genetically-modified potato rather than using locally grown produce to ensure that all McDonald’s fries have the same uniform taste. â€Å"McDonald's Corporation (McDonald's) is the world's largest foodservice retailing chain. The company is known for its burgers and fries which it sells through 31,000 fast-food restaurants in over 119 countries† (McDonald’s Corporation, 2006).With so many McDonald’s located world-wide, many find it somewhat refreshing to see a familiar place when traveling in unfamiliar places. By homogenizi ng products and appearance of the stores, McDonald’s sells this feeling of comfort and familiarity. Spreading Out to New Markets Because it is internationally known and markets a homogeneous image, McDonald’s remains a household name with offerings known for a uniform taste. But McDonald’s is trying to reach a broader market as well. The corporation is trying to reach out to a healthier crowd of customers by releasing salads with fruits and vegetables.To reach international customers, the company has also added specialty foods for different countries. â€Å"The McArabia (chicken patties on unleavened bread with garlic sauce and onion), the McPepper (a double-patty burger seasoned with black pepper sauce), the Bulgogi Korean pork barbecue sandwich, a teriyaki pork burger with lemon-flavored mayonnaise, and, soon to find its way onto the menu, the Mushroom Pinwheel, a five-pointed pastry concoction filled with chicken and mushrooms, are all specialty menu items f or different cultures in some Chinese or Middle Eastern countries† (Old McDonald’s has some smarts in China, 2006).McDonald’s also donates a portion of their earnings to Ronald McDonald houses, located across America, which helps children with life threatening illnesses. Efforts like this portray a corporation committed to the welfare of their customers. However, while the overall image of McDonald’s is that of a wholesome, family oriented business, there are contradictions to this image. The Ethical Problems Big Business Domestically Although McDonald’s makes the effort to support children with life threatening illnesses, the diet offered by this corporation and others contributes to obesity, heart disease, asthma, and possibly mad cow disease.What kind of message are we giving our children when we promote healthy eating, and â€Å"at least 59 of the nation's 250 children's hospitals have fast-food restaurants? † (Tanner, 2006) Environmental ly, McDonald’s practices are also questionable. Unlike a fresh ground beef patty at a local butcher shop, â€Å"a typical fast-food hamburger patty contains meat from more than one thousand different cattle, raised in as many as five countries† (Schlosser, 2004). This raises the possibility of a particular patty containing contaminants of unknown origin.As noted previously, instead of locally grown potatoes, the corporation uses their own genetically modified potatoes. The practices of using food from extreme distances, is problematic environmentally. From a public health perspective, the use of beef from multiple sources makes contaminated sources far more difficult to trace. Impact on Foreign Cultures Not only do McDonald’s products harm individual and environmental well-being, they are also having an influence on some East Asian cultures with the corporation’s entry into those countries. â€Å"Critics claim that the rapid spread of McDonald’s a nd its ast-food rivals undermines indigenous cuisines and helps create a homogenous, global culture† (Watson, 2006). Chinese parents want to connect their children to the world outside of China, so they reward them with a trip to McDonald’s, but in so doing they are also taking away from their culture. â€Å"In twenty years [Yunxiang Yan, a UCLA anthropologist] predicts, young people in Beijing (like their counterparts in Hong Kong today) will not even care about the foreign origin of McDonald’s which will be serving ordinary food to people more interested in getting a quick meal than in having a cultural experience† (Watson, 2006).Another major change brought to the East by the entry by McDonald’s and American corporations into Asian countries, is the new obsession with American culture. â€Å"Prior to the arrival of McDonald’s, festivities marking youngsters’ specific birth dates were unknown in most of East Asia. In Hong Kong, for instance, lunar-calendar dates of birth were recorded for use in later life- to help match prospective marriage partners’ horoscopes or choose an auspicious burial date† (Watson, 2006).With the presence of McDonald’s restaurants in Asian countries, and the accompanying American cultural norms, children in these countries are recognizing the potential for celebration of individual birthdays. McDonald’s exploits this cultural change to market party packages to Chinese children who want to celebrate this new occasion. In many respects, McDonald’s emergence in Asia is permanently altering culture, and norms of the past are being lost in their McDonald’s party packages and Big Macs.In addition to contributing to cultural changes in China, McDonald’s has offended other cultures through some of its actions. The chain has stirred up controversy with some United States Hindus, many vegetarians, and some Japanese. â€Å"McDonald's, the fast foo d giant currently embroiled in a row concerning undisclosed beef flavoring in French fries, has made a formal apology to those it has offended† (McDonald’s resolves french fry dispute, 2002). This may seem like a petty dispute, but is not a small issue to Hindus who believe that the cow is sacred.In response to this offense to Hindus, vegetarians, and others, McDonald’s offered an apology, and paid the groups ten million of dollars in settlement. In addition, â€Å"fast food giant McDonalds is facing criticism in Japan after a number of its apple pies were found to contain a banned food coloring agent (McDonald’s apple pies found to contain banned food coloring in Japan, 2006). In 15 McDonald locations across Japan there has been an apple pie recall due to the use of an illegal coloring agent known as azorubin.McDonald’s has claimed that the substance is not harmful, using consumers in the European Union and Australia as examples where people consu me apple pies containing azorubin, seemingly without ill effect. McDonald’s has, however, recalled the pies and announced that they will no longer purchase their pies from the China-based factory using azorubin. Controversy in the United States Another controversy arose in a Southlake McDonald’s because of a bacon ranch salad. Chrissy Haley, wife of an assistant coach of the Dallas Cowboy’s, found a rat in her salad after ordering that salad and a Happy Meal for her child.According to newspaper reports, Haley and her nanny found the dead rat under a large lettuce leaf in a shared salad. McDonald’s has yet to respond, apologize, or even ask if the women are okay. â€Å"Both women have had blood and stool samples tested repeatedly over the last five and a half months and are undergoing sessions with Dallas clinical psychologist Dr. Rycke Marshall† (Whitt, 2006). Chrissy Haley, who has tested negative for any illness, is suing McDonald’s for $1 . 7 million, for both the dead rodent in her salad and McDonald’s response (or lack thereof) to the incident.The corporation has chosen not to cooperate during the course of the law suit, which was set to reach court in September 2007. Labor Relations Besides health issues, the company also has issues with its workers. The corporation pays minimum wage to their workers, who essentially do assembly line, factory-type work. If the work done by burger manufacturers and drive-thru cashiers were reclassified as factory work, that would â€Å"add about 3. 5 million manufacturing jobs to the U. S. conomy, at a time when such jobs are rapidly being exported over seas. From a statistical point of view, it would make the U. S. seem like an industrial powerhouse once again, instead of an ageing superpower threatened by low-cost competitors† (Schlosser, 2004). In the 31,000 McDonalds world wide, most of the workers get paid minimum wage in spite of the fact that the company is now worth more than a billion dollars. The Backlash There are an increasing number of people who speak out against McDonald’s and similar corporations.George Ritzer is well known for his efforts to raise awareness of the impact of globalization and global corporations by speaking at different colleges around the country. In the article â€Å"Nuggets of Wisdom† author Madelyn Pennino refers to an Elizabethtown College assembly at which Ritzer spoke to students about the illusion created by McDonald’s, of bargain prices and convenience for people ordering a super-sized meal (2006). In reality, this bigger, faster, and cheaper choice is actually not very convenient. â€Å"Efficiency has become inefficient† Ritzer said referencing the huge line waiting in the drive thru (Pennino, 2006).One of the goals of Ritzer and other anti-McDonalds activists is to spread awareness of real costs of doing business with the corporation and to make sure that the name McDonaldâ €™s does not become synonymous with America around the world. Conclusion Over the past four decades McDonald’s has been transformed from a local burger shack serving fresh beef patties, into a huge corporation using mass production methods to produce and sell their products. One of the results of this international expansion has been a number of books, articles, and even documentaries outlining practices deemed unethical.There are many things that might be done to address the ethical problems raised by the behavior of multinational corporations: laws, legal action and public pressure arising from activists. In the end, public awareness might be the most important tool. If individuals are enlightened about McDonald’s practices and their impact on health, environmental pollution and culture change, we can choose to not patronize its restaurants. The action may not shut the McDonald’s down, but it might limit the impact of the corporation. References McDonaldâ €™s apple pies found to contain banned food coloring in Japan. 2006, September 23). MarketLine Business. McDonald’s corporation. (2006, November 26). MarketLine Business. McDonald’s resolves french fry dispute. (2002, June 6). MarketLine Business. Old McDonald’s has some smarts in China. (2006, December 11). Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved March 2, 2007, from LexisNexis. Pennino, M. (2006, October 19). Nuggets of wisdom; Author paints picture of out fast-food culture. Intelligencer Journal. Retrieved March 2, 2006 from Lexis Nexis. Schlosser, E. (2004) Special report on slow food. In J. Johnson (Ed. , Global Issues, Local Arguments. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education. Tanner, L. (2006, December 4). Study finds allowing fast food in kid’ hospitals sends mixed message to families. Chicago. Retrieved March 2, 2007, from LexisNexis. Watson, J. L. (2006) China’s Big Mac attack. In J. Johnson (Ed. ), Global Issues, Local Arguments. Upper Saddle R iver, NJ: Pearson Education. Whitt, R. (2005, November 23). I smell a McRat; McDonalds serves up a rodent then scurries for cover. Dallas Observer. Retrieved on April 20, 2007 from Lexis Nexis.

Pop Music Magazine Comparison

The magazines that are being compared are two different styles of magazines. One is a pop band magazine and the other is rock. The people in these magazines stereotype the word â€Å"HAMMER† it shows the long hair and shouting into the microphone. The other magazine stereotypes nice clothes and nice hair. The people who read this magazine are emulators they look up to these people and will go at and wear what they wear. They act how they act. The aim of the magazine is to persuade the readers to go out and buy their CDs. The large hammer font connotes heavy metal and banging. They use hooks to try and get the buyers attention like ‘free CD' or ‘free posters'. The use of language is completely different, one says ‘SCREW THE CRITICS' and the other is ‘BLUE ARE BACK' This shows one that is abusive and the other is more formal. There is a close up on blue then there is a long shot of Gareth Gates. The Brat Awards. The institution is â€Å"The Brat Awards†. Presenters where Rob Carpenter and Ashley Curtis, Rob Carpenter represented himself as a typical presenter. He was slick and cool he kept the show moving he was very confident. The audience where famous people they were drunk. Rage against the vending machine too cool to come up and collect their award. The genre was rock. If I was too improve the award ceremony I would have a different location. Pop Band Comparison. The ‘Big Brovas' are attracting a teenage audience. They connote ‘gangsters', ‘ghettos' and ‘rude boys'. They are doing this to attract a certain type audience e.g. ‘townies'. The institution of ‘Big Brovas' is Top Of The Pops. They represent themselves as rude boys when they are probably not at all like in real life. Compared to the ‘Darkness' they are a lot in my opinion because the ‘Darkness' uses high-pitched voices. The tight trousers they wear connote this. ‘Big Brovas' convent swaying and bopping up and down. The ‘Darkness' convent jumping up and down and a lot of movement. The ‘Darkness† institution is Top Of The Pops. Their audience would be older than teenagers. They represent themselves as scruffy people e.g. ripped vests long hair and tight trousers. Pop Music The name of the act is ‘Girls Aloud'. They are a group of young women who came from the institution of pop stars. The name of the song is life got cold. They use white clothes and white make-up to connotes the word cold. They are a pop band whose audience is mainly young girls. They represent themselves as very nicely dressed attractive women. The name of the act is ‘Good Charlotte'. The song name is ‘The Anthem'. The audience is gothic people, he attracts an audience with a rebellious look. The institution is Top Of The Pops. The genre is punk and rock. The act is ‘Lemar'. The song is ‘dance'. Lemar is a male pop singer. His image is clean cut and nicely dressed. The audience varies. The institution is pop stars. Radio Advert. Client's Name: Woolworth Writer: Steven Briesner Duration: Unknown Music Bed: Whistling from Ed, Edd n Eddy SFX: Door Slamming SFX: Footsteps Male Voice: Perfect boys you've just recorded your first number one. Now lets show the people out there this brilliant song. Music: Loud Whistling MVO: That's Brilliant. MVO2: Your Right and it's available now at Woolworth's. MVO3: At the great price of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½2.49 MVO4: Woolworth's we're worth it. Popular Music This magazine aims to entertain people as David Bowie is a singer from the older generation older people who look at this may laugh from fond memories of their youth the magazine does this well with the main feature of David Bowie. The genre of this magazine is heavy metal/rock this was the fashion when David Bowie was a popular singer. This magazine would be for people with special interests in this sort of music. The font and style of writing tells the audience what sort of genre this is has a black background and a man with white make-up on which signals a genre of the gothic nature. It hooks are things that are on in today's magazine like ‘Brand new collectors record section' I don't think they use hooks very well in this magazine because it isn't really anything good in the offer. the only main colours used is black and white, the white make-up connotes the gothic genre. The main feature is a close-up (c.u) of David Bowie. He is stereotyping the typical grunger who is always in a depressive state. The ideology of the magazine is they believe in sucide and stuff many famous gothic stars have been known to go into a depressive state and commit suicide.

Literacy, Technology, and the Social Self Essay

Introduction The way we define who we are is a direct result of what we know. â€Å"Literacy reflects contradictions and complexities in how we understand ourselves and construct roles for ourselves through language in that world. X. † Since the arrival of the Feed in ____, emphasis on the individual has become less central in our lives. This lack of focus has led to relationships that are left vulnerable and weakened. In this section we will be considering the impact of the decline in literacy on the â€Å"Social Self. † In basic terms, the Social Self is defined as how an individual interacts with the social world presented to him/her and how he/she approaches the formation of relationships. Individualism All throughout history, individualism has been key to the advancement of humanity including – most importantly ? the spreading of freedom. The world we live in has been changed greatly through the individual’s critical understanding of literacy. The vigilant and knowledgeable use of the written word is what carries one’s claims to the world. â€Å"Emancipatory literacy is a necessary foundation for cultural action and freedom, a central aspect of what it means to be a self & socially composed agent. X† This type of literature is used to empower the people who use it. It involves engaging in acts of writing and reading that are used to liberate humanity. How can anything be changed without the use of this emancipatory literacy? â€Å"We must write as if our lives depended on it. X† Literacy gives a voice to our ideas, and creates a space for us in the world to work toward change and to reflect on that change so that it is not forgotten. â€Å"A Lesson Before Dying† is a novel by Ernest J. Gaines. It encompasses the theory of emancipatory literacy through its character Jefferson. A young black prisoner on death row, Jefferson transforms the racist mind of a white prison guard, Paul, mostly through his demeanor while in prison. Paul felt sympathy for Jefferson in a time when colored people were greatly looked down upon. It seems likely that not too long after Jefferson was electrocuted, Paul would have forgotten what Jefferson had taught him- that  all people, regardless of race, are equal. However, Jefferson left behind his notebook in which he wrote his thoughts on the days leading up to his death. The words in that notebook exist forever, unlike to the feelings that Paul was feeling. The permanent physical reminder of Jefferson for Paul is one reason of why literacy is so important. X Another aspect of how literacy affects individualism is in its contributions to self-construction. Literacy provides the opportunity to define one’s self through written language. It gives a way to build a self with in the world in order to participate in that world. â€Å"Literacy reflects contradictions and complexities in how we understand ourselves and construct roles for ourselves through language in that world. X† Only through reading and writing can one gain independence by experiencing things that, without literature, would be impossible to encounter. Imagination and creativity come from a brain that has been well educated and completely exposed to what cannot be seen in every day life. Books take on that challenge- the challenge to exercise the mind in ways that enhance self-discovery. With this self-discovery comes self-worth, which is evident not only in how we treat ourselves, but also how we treat others. Relationships Sets of experiences in our lives lead us to accept different positions for various aspects including political and theological stances. Literacy provides these experiences that educate us to know what we like and what we do not like. This understanding of who we are and what we believe give us commonalities to base relationships on. Relationships are defined by a significant connection or similarity between two or more things, or the state of being related to something else. X People form relationships with others who have the same interests and beliefs. Being literate is the key to a healthy relationship. The Continuing Decline of Literacy in the Future When forced to examine the future of our world and the consequences of the unavoidable continuation in the decline of literacy, it becomes quite clear that humanity is in trouble. If society continues to travel in the direction that it has been for quite some time now, the Social Self, along with many other aspects of humanity, will greatly suffer. Conclusion While some of the qualities that enhance the Social Self come from innovative technology, the heart of these qualities lies within books. Books engage our minds and ignite cognitive thinking. It promotes imagination and intelligence. By ignoring literature, society has diluted its unique identifications that make this world a more interesting place to live. Works Cited: Ernest J. Gaines. A Lesson Before Dying. 1993. Vintage Contemporaries. New York. Mark Warschauer. Electronic Literacies: Language, Culture, and Power in Online Education. 1999. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Mahwah, New Jersey. Catherine Snow, Wendy Barnes, Jean Chandler, Irene Goodman, Lowry Hemphill. Unfulfilled Expectations: Home and School Influences on Literacy. 1991. Harvard University Press. Cambridge, Massachusetts. Robert P. Yagelski. Literacy Matters: Writing and Reading the Social Self. 2000. Teachers College Press. New York.

Health Care System, Its Components And Essential Functions & Essay

Health Care System, Its Components And Essential Functions & Activities Related To The Business Of Healthcare - Essay Example Health care operations includes any of the subsequent behaviors or actions of the enclosed body to the degree that the actions are connected to enclosed purposes, and any of the following behaviors of an planned health care display in which the enclosed body contributes: (1) Carrying out quality evaluation and upgrading actions, counting results assessment and expansion of clinical strategies, granted that the acquiring of generalizable information is not the most important reason of any studies ensuing from such behavior; population-based actions connecting to humanizing health or dropping health care expenses, procedure improvement, case administration and care organization, contacting of health care suppliers and patients with knowledge about dealing options; and connected purposes that do not comprise handling; (2) Assessing the capability or credentials of health care specializes, assessing practitioner and supplier presentation, health chart presentation, carrying out teaching programs in which students, apprentices, or practitioners in areas of health care study under management to put into practice or develop their ability as health care providers, education of non-health care professionals, authorization, certification, certifying, or credentialing a

Individual Presentation( about homeless people) Essay

Individual Presentation( about homeless people) - Essay Example Lack of physical space exposes individuals to unhygienic conditions which can lead to serious health issues. Moreover, the insecurity that the lack of a permanent shelter imparts on an individual causes serious outcomes in terms of his or her psychological well being. When it comes to the case of children these implications are much serious. Homelessness amongst children can lead to serious consequences affecting their growth and their future. It has been found from experiences around the world that homeless children are prone to risks of abuse, child labor, addiction and health issues. Physical and sexual abuse of children who live on streets is a very common incidence being reported all across the world. Forced child labor is also a very sad but common consequence of homelessness amongst children. The plight of these children without homes must be an eye opener for all of us. It must be realized that a shelter is a basic right for every human being. The implications of homelessness have always been proved to be serious. Governments and Human Rights organizations must take serious measures to ensure that every individual has a shelter. Especially, no child must be deprived of a safe shelter. Every measure be taken that the welfare of the homeless is taken care of. It becomes our responsibility as a fellow citizen, as a fellow human being USDHUD. (2007). The Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congres. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Community Planning and Development. Retrieved from http://www.huduser.org/Publications/pdf/ahar.pdf> Bassuk, E.L., et al. (2011). America’s Youngest Outcasts: 2010. The National Center on Family Homelessness. Retrieved from

Case study (Social work) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Case study (Social work) - Essay Example Although social workers are activists for groups that are oppressed within society, they may not recognize their own privilege as educated people. Badwall, O’Connor and Rossiter, (2004) in exploration of organizational change as a reflective process present a case study that examines how privilege and oppression impact on change induced conflict within a social agency. The conflict is considered and discussed by three personnel working within the agency. This paper will examine this case study from each of four perspectives: individual, systems, structural and community; the individual perspective will identify the strengths of each of the main characters and the central conflicts created within the agency; the systems perspective will discuss how change impacts on the interrelations between the organization and its personnel; the structural perspective will focus on how institutionally embedded injustices, such as race, class and gender influence specific individuals and the organization as a whole; the community perspective will identify and explain one specific social problem that exists within the case study community. I. Individual Perspective There are number of organizational changes such as anticipatory, reactive, incremental, strategic, as well as changes through tuning, adaptation, reorientation and recreation. These changes are unavoidable in human organizations and have consequences for the way that individuals respond. Human responses in this changing environment are diverse. In this regard, anticipatory changes are characterized by the changes in an organization that can be anticipated and can be prepared for by virtue of planning and proactive strategies. Reactive changes refer to changes made in response to an unanticipated situation within the organization. Incremental changes occur by virtue of the introduction of new subsystems to the organization’s constructs; while strategic changes take place when an alteration in the organiz ation results in the application of a new strategy as a means of taking the organization in a more appropriate direction. Individuals respond to these changes in diverse ways; some may respond with unrealistic optimism or feelings of shock on acceptance of the reality of the situation or they can view those changes as constructive institutional direction. These responses manifest in different ways, such as laughing off the changes or regarding them with suspicion or by simply accepting those changes without question. Essentially organizational change or any alteration to normative structures can be perceived differently by individuals. II. Strength of main characters Amy’s strength is her academic background and knowledge of social issues; as a white female academic, she took a year-long sabbatical in order to connect her academic experience with the practical reality of working in the field. She was determined to expose the link between the university’s social work pr ogram and the community’s social work. With this motivation, Amy joined the health agency and began work as an assistant to the receptionist, a post she felt provided an effective opportunity for her to become more acquainted with the staff members and clientele. She also thought it could help her learn about the structural premise of the organization such as its objectives, health programs and other projects and services. During her post Amy became familiar with a project designed

ARTICLE TO BE READ DEMOGRAPHIC AND DISAPPEARING MERCHANDISE

TO BE READ DEMOGRAPHIC AND DISAPPEARING MERCHANDISE - Article Example The main contributors to the major losses experienced by retail organizations through shrinkage include shoplifting and employee theft, which is mostly rampant among the young workers (Avery, McKay & Hunter, 2012). Methods Data used in this research was obtained from the annual employee survey in the United States (Avery, McKay & Hunter, 2010). However, workers from stores with over 50 employees participated for generality purposes. The method was appropriate because it shunned individualism which might have led to victimization. However, most of the findings comprised the female subjects representing 83.7% of the total number of all the study’s participants. In addition, the study did not include other industries and firms; hence it never attained the highest generalization aspect. The entire study proved very sensible as the findings were from retail workers coming from 726 company stores (Avery, McKay & Hunter 2010). Suppose it is necessary, one is capable of conducting the entire study again because its data emanated from annual employee survey (Avery, McKay & Hunter, 2012). In addition, researchers incorporated the human resource department with the intention of ensuring high accuracy in their findings (Avery, McKay & Hunter 2010). ... These changes in their personality and ethical development, older employees are therefore less prone to shrinkage related behaviors but tend to blow whistle whenever they sense fraud or theft cases (Avery, McKay & Hunter, 2012). Therefore, stores with higher employee mean age tend to have lower shrinkage cases because proper ethical behaviors exhibited by older employees foster collective honest attitudes in the entire workforce. The evidence provided by the author appears reliable. This is because age composition in many retail shops most of them prefer employing older employees than younger ones. However, the evidence does not provide core reason behind the influence of younger workers’ attitudes by older workers. According to Guerin, businesses incur great losses annually due to shrinkage cases resulting from shoplifting and employees’ theft. In addition, study cites 66% of the retail shoplifting employees opts to steal if they see their colleagues stealing successfu lly (Guerin, 2010). The study also cites 13% of the same category prefers stealing from the business regardless of the consequences (Guerin, 2010). Avery, McKay & Hunter argue suppose retail staffs pay attention to customers with the intention of preventing them from stealing and encourage employees to adhere to the specified code of conducts, they will significantly reduce shrinkages in the business. This is via actively moving around the store, proper positioning and reporting any wrongdoing to the administration (Avery, McKay & Hunter, 2012). Contribution to the Literature Variety of factors tends to influence the rate of shrinkages evident in retail organizations, for instance, nature

Market Model Patterns of Change Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Market Model Patterns of Change - Research Paper Example The introduction of Pepsi and other competitors into a market changed Coca cola’s business operations. Among these was the adoption of increased advertisement to popularize the brand. In addition, it introduced new incentives to the market like sports sponsorship and holiday campaigns. The company has also introduced new products like bottled water. The company entered new markets and increased the number of outlets in the globe (Petretti, 2008). In the short run a business seeks to maximize on the profits by increasing production, decreasing production and continue producing. Coke started operating aggressively in France in 1999. Its primary concentration was customer satisfaction. This is evident through incentives offered to retailers and middlemen. This has made coke available to the customer. It has also acquired shelf spaces in areas that the customer can easily access the product. Coca cola aims to reduce it cost of production in the long run. This could be achieved thr ough the change in capacity levels in order to reach low cost, which is evident through its plan to increase production in china. It would be achieved through introduction of new production line. ... Needless to say, the company was sued by its distributors as it sought to expand its market of powdered sport drinks. This created a bad reputation to the Coca Cola Company. It however created a problem within its distribution channel. Coca cola has faced tough economic conditions. According to Gill (2008), these conditions have led to low consumption of the beverages. It has encountered high ingredients cost and a decline in sales. In countries such as India the company has received criticism from activists. It has been accused of depleting underground water where the bottling plants are located. The company has to improve on its corporate social responsibilities in order to remain competitive in the industry. Competitors are forging partnerships that are aimed at increasing their market share in certain markets (Gill, 2008). Pepsi and Tingyi holding corporation established an alliance that aims to exploit the China market. Coca cola moved in to increase its production in the market by building new production lines. On the other hand, Pepsi has been able to improve its market share to almost 20 percent as compared to coca colas’ 17 percent. Coca cola has experienced a decline in profit levels. In Europe it registered a 4 percent decline in sales. This is due to the economic crises facing the continent (Gill, 2008). Pepsi produces soft drinks as well as snacks. Coca cola has been able to improve on its products as well as come up with bottled water. This indicates that the competition is stiff. Petretti (2008) denotes that these companies are innovating new ideas to remain relevant in the market. Pepsi has been reported to have spent around 3.5 billion dollars in marketing its products. Pepsi has recently realized

Augustine's Contribution to Epistemology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Augustine's Contribution to Epistemology - Essay Example Augustine deems the course by which the psyche progresses from the fixation with the object towards deliberation that of the divine as a constitutive part of the cleansing and refinement that is salvation, and as arising in the two-natured Christ, through partaking in Christ’s body.1 Augustine devoted his life to the fundamental quest for truth.2 The epistemological groundwork of his hermeneutic is originated in this expedition for truth.3 Augustine recognizes that Scripture will be understood by a man who possesses an intellectual core. Every human spirit comprehends through the means of enlightenment by a heavenly luminosity. Some men are bestowed with the grace of seeing ideas more clearly while others less clearly. Hence, in the usual course of events, the human intellect does see the divine facts moderately, not immediately in his life.4 The very character of substance hinders the human psyche from the absolute wisdom of the understandable. Augustine adopted the doctrine dated back from the time of the philosophers, Aristotle and Plato, that certain factors thwarts the soul in his search for truth and knowledge. In reference to the bible, Augustine supposes that matter deters the exact forethought for veracity. Moreover, he believes that being endowed with the birthright of original sin from Adam and Eve hinders humans to be guided by the divine light, which, in turn, will help them clearly perceive reality. Original sin darkens the path of human intellect towards certainty. Augustine believes that the corruptible body impedes the quest for knowledge and the main vice that dominates the soul is pride.5 Humility, through the Incarnation and the words of the Holy Scripture, heals pride. The Incarnation facilitates the dialogue between humans and God. Philosophical and biblical reasons predominate Augustine’s speculations of his works. However, the human psyche does not perceive truth directly. Augustine gave emphasis that the human inability to see the truth precisely in his life renders God and truth ineffable; hence, his theology accentuated that God is known better by not knowing him.6 Furthermore, celestial origin is beyond description and human words are simply unsuccessful in clearly describing it. Men utilize remarks, unsuitable they may be, just to say something rather than nothing.7 Moreover, Augustine highlights that such events can never be known.8 Beliefs an individual has known cannot be modified by a more complex fact unless that individual views that reality with his own eyes. Thus, faith continues an individual’s pursuit for wisdom. This insinuation of reliance is astonishing for Christians since their religion is rooted in a variety of historical occurrences. Now and then, some people believed that Augustine’s great contribution to epistemology is to rescue the cognitive status of belief.9 Although substandard to wisdom, it is nevertheless essential to human life in general, but especially i n religion.10 For the reason that Christianity is founded on the works of authors from long ago that individuals in this present time barely even know, what they only did was to believe in what they have written. Augustine associates ontology to epistemology for the reason that teaching and learning are spliced into being.11 For instance, language is often already a part of being, and such it is inseparable to its mnemonic function—teaching and learning.12 Thus, in Augustine’

News Write- Ups Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

News Write- Ups - Case Study Example The alleged stabilization of the global economy by IMF has been achieved through efforts from both the U.S and Europe. The stabilization became apparent through economic indicators in the U.S that seemed more positive or optimistic while, on the side of Europe, the measures that had currently been undertaken in Greece demonstrated perceptible recovery. Learning and Benefits In view of the news article, I have managed to understand that the global economy has had numerous problems in the recent past. However, the economic crisis at international level has stabilized after prolonged periods of backdrop since the problem invade the global economic system. According to the news, the world has the grounds to be optimistic although there is no guarantee regarding financial security. This is because other principal economic and financial threats still challenge the current state of the global economy. According to IMF chief, certain risks still exist in a global economy with the leading bei ng massive debts that emanate from the public and private domain. In addition, augmenting oil prices offer substantial risk to the growth of the global economy in diverse ways. The only way to tackle the threats is addressing the matters that pose the greatest risks. Source: Edwards, N. and Qing, K. G. (Mar 18, 2012). Global economy on recovery path, risks remain: IMF chief. Reuters. Retrieved from: News write-up 2 Summary Stocks have assumed a downward trend for the next five days indicating the longest slide down in this year. The problem has occurred at a period that has seen persistent European debt and at the commencement of tentative corporate earnings. This implies that the problem is a triple tragedy within the country considering all the problems hitting the economy. The backdrop in stock has seen numerous falls in stock exchange earnings, in Europe. Companies from that have recently swept the markets have considerably lost out in the stocks slide down. Connection The losi ng splash is speculated to have commenced on the previous Tuesday after the Federal Reserve admitted to being concerned about the vigor of job augmentation, and asserted that it was not obligated to offer additional or supplemental assistance for the financial system. Unlike other companies, Alcoa presented promising quarterly results in terms of profits and sales. However, their success has been attributed to cost-cutting through layoffs some of their workforce. Investors in the U.S were astonished with the performance since they expected backdrops similar to those from companies in Europe. Most European companies experienced backdrops in the five days since the stock commenced the losing trend. Learning and Benefits In view of the news article, various factors have contributed to the recent stock slide down the most imperative factors being the debts that emanate from borrowing. The article presents the idea that Spain and Italy has recently accumulated numerous borrowing costs. I n fact, Spain’s borrowing expenditures almost reached extents that would otherwise pressurize other nations to request for bailouts. The stocks slide down has caused Dow to move approximately 550 points below its previous levels. In Spain and France, the falls approximated 400 pints, which is

Essay about recent hate crimes and statistic Essay Example for Free

Essay about recent hate crimes and statistic Essay Lifeless bodies with slashed throats were found in the mountains of Virginia nearly six years ago. This is quite a disturbing image; the unfortunate result of a hate crime. What exactly is a hate crime? The American Psychological Association defines hate crimes as violent acts against people, property, or organizations because of the group to which they belong or identify with (1). The different groups usually involved include homosexuals, ethnic groups, and religion affiliations. Dr. Jack McDevitt, a criminologist at Northeastern University in Boston, said hate crimes are forms of messages the offender wants to send to members of certain groups letting them know they are unwelcome in that neighborhood, community, school or workplace (APA, 1). According to CNN.com, Darrell David Rice of Columbia, Maryland, was found guilty of committing the 1996 slayings of hikers Julianne Marie Williams and Laura Lollie Winans, who were the girls in the opening disturbing image. Rice is serving an 11-year sentence in federal prison in Petersburg, Virginia, for attempting to abduct and kill a female bicyclist in the same park in 1997. U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft called the killings of Williams and Winans hate crimes and said Rice could also receive the death penalty, in addition to the present sentence (Frieden, 1). Examples of hate crimes provided by Stephen Wesslers Addressing Hate Crimes: Six Initiatives include (3):  ·the dragging death of African-American James Byrd, Jr., in Jasper, Texas  ·the deadly attack on Matthew Sheppard, a gay student in Laramie, Wyoming  ·the shooting rampage targeting minority citizens in Chicago  ·the shootings of children at a Jewish community center in Los Angeles  ·the murder of Joseph Santos Ileto, a Filipino-American mail carrier A report done by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) states that 7,947 hate crime incidents were reported. In 1995, a comparison of states showed that California was at the top of the charts with 1,751 incidents reported, and Florida stood with 164 incidents (2). The total number of hate crimes only decreased by less than a hundred between 1995 and 1999. While these numbers may seem relatively small, the Southern Poverty Law Center has posted more dramatic statistics: every hour someone commits a hate crime, every day eight blacks, three whites, three gays, three Jews and one Latino become hate crime victims, and every week a cross is burned (1). In order to prevent the hate crimes from occurring, different things are being done in order to prevent and deal with the hate crimes. In schools, the Anti-Defamation League websites suggests planning ahead by doing the following (1): 1.Work with your school administration to establish a plan for responding promptly to hate incidents and hate crimes. 2.Educate school staff on how to recognize hate-motivated incidents and hate crimes. 3.Establish procedures for reporting hate-motivated incidents/crimes. 4.Establish school policies which clearly indicate that hate-motivated behavior will not be tolerated. On a wider scale, since the 1980s research on hate crimes has increased, especially from those in the fields of criminology and law enforcement. There focus is primarily on reporting the frequency of the problem and preparing criminal justice responses to it. While many hate motivated crimes go unreported, the number of reported incidents is up. However, with special training, people are prepared to deal with the situations. According to Wessler, the first professionals to respond to the scene of a hate crime are police officers. How they act in the situation will affect  the outcome of the incident. Wessler stated, law enforcement agencies have a pivotal role in responding to, investigating, prosecuting, and preventing hate crimes. Training is given to the police officers in order to carry out their role. Wessler said the training includes how to recognize and investigate potential hate crimes, have clear protocols on how to respond to hate violence, and develop innovative programs for preventing the hate crimes. Along with the professional training of police personnel, laws against hate crimes have been enforced in some states. As of 1999, there are only eleven states that do not have hate crime laws: South Carolina, Hawaii, Wyoming, New York, Kentucky, Rhode Island, New Mexico, Kansas, Arkansas, Georgia and Indiana. The anti-hate laws may not be well known but there are some out there. For example, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act provides assistance to state and local law enforcement agencies and amend federal law to streamline the investigation and prosecution of hate crimes. This bill will change the already existing law, adding crimes against sexual orientation, gender, and disability. This law also allows authority to respond to all crimes covered by the existing law, meaning crimes based on race, color, national origin, and religion (1). The number of hate crimes is slowly being decreased and the number of laws against hate crimes is slowly being increased, but the truth is, they are still out there. It may seem impossible to eliminate all the hate crimes that are occuring, but with more research, training, and handling each situation as they arise more seriously, America is slowly on its way to eliminating the problem of hate crimes. Works Cited American Psychological Association. 1998. Anti-Defamation League. 1999. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Uniform Crime Reports. 1995. Frieden, Terry. 10 Apr. 2002. National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. NGLTF Communications Department. 25 Sep. 2002. Southern Poverty Law Center. Wessler, Stephen. Addressing Hate Crimes: Six Initiatives That Are Enhancing the Efforts of Criminal Justice Practitioners. Feb. 2000.

Important Events in Louisiana History Essay Example for Free

Important Events in Louisiana History Essay The State of Louisiana has a colorful and important past unbeknownst to laymen. These events helped shape the picture of its culture and what is the present day United States. In the 18th century, this state was established as a French Colony and within a little over 30 years, was passed on to the Spanish after the French-Indian War. Control of Louisiana allowed ships from Europe or Mexico to dock from the ocean and move inland through the Mississippi river. The influence of the empires at the time, are still carried over to today. This state recognizes no â€Å"official language† but some residents speak French and Spanish. Aside from this, most of the population is made up of Christians due to the influence of its colonizers. During the 19th century the most important event was the inclusion of this state to The United States of America. The French held the territory at the time but the newly formed United States was worried that at any time, France could close off the Mississippi and form a chokehold on the existing trade routes. President Thomas Jefferson authorized the liaison to France to negotiate a purchase for the territory around the river to prevent a stranglehold. Napoleon at the time encountered too many setbacks with his plan for Louisiana and decided to sell the whole territory. The liaison, Robert R. Livingston, worried that approval from Washington might take too long decided to push through the talks and came to a price of fifteen million US Dollars. President Jefferson was surprised at first but decided to push through with the purchase since it would double the government’s current land area and make way for the expansion west. This served as a precedent fro the purchase of territory and did not spill a single drop of blood. It paved the way for frontiersmen in the years to come and paved the way for the United States to be connected to two great oceans. In1901, speculators in Louisiana discovered oil. Along with forestry, this introduced a wave of economic growth which introduced economic growth. This alleviates the United States’ dependence on foreign oil and places worth on this area of land which was previously valued only for its accessibility to the Mississippi river. Reference List 1. About Louisiana. Louisiana. gov. Last checked 06 May 2008 from http://www. louisiana. gov/wps/wcm/connect/Louisiana. gov/Explore/About+Louisiana/

Contemporary relevance of Porter’s Five Forces to corporate strategy

Contemporary relevance of Porter’s Five Forces to corporate strategy Introduction Porters Five Forces introduced back in 1979 by Michael E. Porter from Harvard University in his first book Competitive Strategy. It becomes international best seller, and considered by many to be a definitive work on corporate strategy. The book itself had been published in nineteen languages and re-printed almost sixty times, changes the way business leaders thought and remains a guide of choice for strategic managers the world over. It has become an important tool for analyzing an industry structure and strategy process [Morrison M., 2008]. Porters work has had a greater influence on business strategy than any other theory in the last half of the twentieth century [referenceforbusiness.com]. The tool provides a simple perspective for assessing the position and competitiveness of a corporation or business organization within the industry. Porter points out five forces which the upturn and downturn, will affect the profitability and existence for a corporation or business organizatio n. Business leaders and managers might be interested in this paper for the purpose of this paper is to discuss the contemporary relevance of Porters Five Forces to corporate strategy. An attempt also being made to find what is missing from this model related to corporate strategy in current business environment. In so doing, a comparison will be made between Porters Five Forces and another tool for corporate strategy. Another assessment made concerning the business environment in Porters era and current business environment. Porters Five Forceshttp://wiki.telfer.uottawa.ca/ci-wiki/images/e/e4/Porters.gif The development of this framework is based on the idea of attractiveness of an industry. As for the attractiveness itself, is determined by the profitability within the industry. More profit means the industry is more attractive and low profitability means a low attractive industry. The way of thinking in the model is to achieve a better competitive position against other players. The competitive advantages developed from strengthening the own position within this Five Forces. The Five Forces framework is based on microeconomics. It considers supply and demand, substitutes and complementary product, and the relationship between production volume and cost of production; also the market structures such as monopoly, oligopoly, or perfect competition. Threat of new entry The chances in which new competitors can enter the market and drive the current players price down. The threat to entry depends on six major forces of barriers which Porters describes as: economics of scale, product differentiation, capital requirements, cost disadvantages independent of size, access to distribution channel, and government policy. The decision of the new-comer also pretty much influenced by their expectation on the existing player. If the incumbents known for previously fought vigorously to new entrants, or possess such substantial resources to fight back (such as excess cash, unused borrowing power, available productive capacity, or clout with distribution channel and customers), the new entrants will likely to have second thought on entering the market. This also happened if they know that the incumbents seem likely to cut the prices. New entrants fear more also when the industry growth is so slow so that newcomers can gain volume only if they take it from the incu mbents. Bargaining power of supplier Another force Porter mention in the model is how powerful the supplier to drive up the prices of is corporate input. The term supplier includes all sources of input that are needed to provide the product. A supplier of group is powerful when it is dominated by few companies and more concentrated than the industry it sells to. The products are also differentiated or unique means relatively no substitutes for the particular input so that it built up the switching cost. The power of supplier also increase when there is a possibility for the supplier for integrating forwards in order to obtain high prices or so. Also when the industry is not an important customer of the supplier group or when it is not obliged to contend with other products for sale to the industry. Bargaining power of customer Similarly, bargaining power of customer settle on how powerful is the customer can impose pressure on margins and demands. Buyer are powerful if it is purchase in large volumes and/or the product it purchases is standard or undifferentiated, means they can always find alternative suppliers. Customer will also become more powerful if the products it purchases from the industry form a component of its product and represent an significant fraction of its cost, in other words, the customer become more price sensitive. Furthermore when they know that the company earns low profits, which create great incentives to lower its purchasing cost; and when the industrys product is unimportant to the quality of the buyers product or services, then the bargaining of customer increase. More threat comes from the possibility of the customer to integrating backward and has the ability to produce the product themselves. Another factor mentioned by Porter is that customer will be more prices sensitive w hen they recognize that the industrys product does not save the buyer money. He gave an example of logging of oil wells, where an accurate survey can save thousands of dollars in drilling costs, therefore affect the market price. Substitute products The extent of which substitute product can be used in place of one product. Porter highlighted the characteristics of substitute products that deserve the most attention as those products that are subjects to trends improving their price-performance trade-off with the industry product or are produced by industries earning high profit. Porter also said that substitutes come into play when the competition within industry increases which lead to price reduction or performance improvement. Jockeying among competitor for position within industry This factor describes the strength or the intensity of competitiveness among the existing players within the industry. High rivalry limits the profitability of an industry. Factors that shape the intense rivalry in a industry are: (a) payers are roughly equal in size and power (b) the growth of the industry is slow, precipitating fights for market share (c) lacks of differentiation and switching cost of the products (d) strong willingness to cut the price either because the fixed cost are high or the product is perishable (e) high barriers to exit the industry (f) capacity is normally augmented in large increments, and (g) diversity of strategies, origins, and personalities of the rivals. Other than the intensity, the dimension basis in which the rivalry takes place also reflects the strength of the rivalry such as price, products features, support service, delivery time, and brand image. Whether the competition takes place in the same dimension, or the rivals converge to compete on same dimensions. Strategy Crafting What do you want to achieve or avoid? The answers to this question are objectives. How will you go about achieving your desire results? The answer to this you can call  strategy. William E Rothschild, Former General Electric Corporate Strategist, CEO of  Rothschild Strategies Unlimited LLC Corporate strategy is about how a firm or business organization should make a decision of series of steps to achieve the desired goal. To create the best decision, the decision maker must be able to analyze the current and expected factors associated with internal as well as external environment. With strategy, one company can be more prepared and comfortable to operate on the market, because good strategy should have examined all the forces involved in business activities. Strategy planning can be developed in three levels, which are: company level, business unit level, and functional or departmental level [Morrison M., 2008]. Corporate strategy Æ’Â ¨ concerned with overall purpose and scope of the business to meet stakeholder expectations. This level of strategy concerned with the selection of business in which the company should compete and with the development and coordination of the portfolio of business. This is a crucial level since it is heavily influenced by the investors in the business and acts to guide strategic decision making throughout the business. Corporate strategy is often stated explicitly in a mission statement along with the formulation of visions and goals. It also decide on how business unit to be governed; through direct corporate intervention (centralization) or through autonomous government (decentralization). Corporate strategy also seeks to developed synergies across the business units. Business Unit StrategyÆ’Â ¨ is concerned more with how a business competes successfully in a particular market. It concerns strategic decision about choice of products, meeting needs of customer, gaining advantage over competitors, exploiting or creating new opportunities or market, etc. The strategic issues is about developing and sustaining a competitive advantage for the product and service that are produced. Functional or Departmental Strategy Æ’Â ¨ the strategy level of the operating divisions. It is concerned with how each part of the business is organized to deliver the corporate and business unit level strategic directions. The functional units translate them into discrete action plans that each division must accomplished for the strategy to succeed. Operational strategy therefore focuses on issues of resources, processes, people, etc. Functional units involved in higher level strategies by providing input into the business unit level and corporate level strategy, such as providing information on customer feedback. Business environment in current era Current business environment much likely to be characterized by more dynamic market situation. The digitalization and globalization contribute to this dynamic movement. The power of information technology (IT) grows more and more each day. And as it grows, all players in the market can have access to more information. The world is flat, globalization made great improvement in distribution of logistics and communication, enable all business to operate globally. Meanwhile, the customers have the chance to shop also on a global level, and compare the prices globally. The trends and demand now changed as the increased commoditization in so many areas. Companies now must be able to differentiate themselves by give more value for their products. One way to do that is by improving customer experience, through the improvement in the service area. Customers now want individual service and attention, and have high expectations for the goods and services they buy. Other tools for corporate strategy David P. Baron nonmarket approach: 4Is Business environment consist of market and nonmarket environment. An effective corporate strategy must be able to facilitate both market and non-market goals of the company. In relation to this, Baron introduced his 4Is, with emphasis on non-market environment. This framework together with Porters Five Forces formed the integrated strategies. The nonmarket environments are social, political, and legal setting that affects the interaction of the corporation outside and in conjunction with, the market environment. Barons define the characteristics as four Is. The first is Issues, of what nonmarket strategies address. Issues in nonmarket environment cover the regulations, proposed laws, court judgments, etc. Second is set of relevant institutions for the particular industry. Regulators or government is usually always become the relevant official body that affect a corporation decision making process. NGOs are also another example of institutions. Interests are individuals and groups with preferences about the industry. Baron includes this factor to address the identity and goals of those with a stake in the issue. Also information concerning with what the interested parties know or believe about the relation between actions and consequences and about the preferences and capabilities of the interested parties. This factor let us to think, what info needed to reach the goal? what is persuasive for the other parties? Prejudices, rumors, state reports, almost all public relations stuff is included in this factor. SWOT model Æ’Â ¨ covering external and internal forces Another tools being used for corporate strategy is SWOT. SWOT models addressing the internal and external forces. The Strength defines what characteristics impose by a company that can be used to keep hold on the market or even expand it. Weakness is really the opposite, this factors is any kind of lack the company has that can affect its existence in a bad way. Both strength and weakness is internal factors. Meanwhile, the external factor is covered by the Opportunity and Threat. Opportunity discuss about all issues or current condition of the environment that can give a better chance for the company to improve the operation. The threat talks about all threatening situation from the environment in which the company operates. More of this are, opportunity and threat, be explored more in Porters Five Forces model. Contemporary relevance between Porters Five Forces and corporate strategy Any organization, especially ones dealing with corporation or business environment realize that their success depend on both internal and external factors. With his Five Forces, Porter tries to emphasis on the most important or most influencing forces to the business profitability and existence. The competitors, the new entrants, new substitute, also the bargaining power of both supplier and buyer covered most aspects of a business activity. Indeed, Porters Five Model focuses heavily in competitive strategy, which is essential. To be specific, the Five Forces, mentioning competition, are related more to analysis of external forces from the market environment of the strategy. Of course, all business organization will always seek the best way to maximize corporate profit and determining the attractiveness of an industry. This is a need that will always be in managers mind in every industry, from every era. Therefore, through his model, Porters tries to give a framework that can help the decision maker to create a strategy where enable the company to stay in the market, defend their current position, and even grow the market size. It supports the decisions about to enter or to exit from an industry or market. As a business leader, it is important to understand the competition in the industry. The model can be used to compare the impact of one competitive force on our own company and to the impact on the competitors. With the knowledge of power and intensity of competitive forces, the strategy can be developed in way that gives the company options to influence the forces to improve their own position, such as new positioning or differentiation of product. It also gives the details on how to prevent the new entrants. Not only new entrants, the strategy should be able to cope with the substitute product that is getting more and more accessible now for the customer. Bargaining power of supplier and buyer is more relevant to supply and demand. It is essential to know which side of supply and demand equation our business is referring to. The framework tells us how profitability can be affected, in good way and in bad way from the context of industry rivalry and competition. It creates to positi on the firm to leverage its strengths and defend against the unfavorable effects from the five forces. Generally speaking, the model talked about the profitability and survival of a company. Referring to the definition of corporate strategy, Porters Five Forces seems irrelevant. Corporate strategy designs the grand strategy for the company grand purpose. And almost no company has a mission statement for to be the most profitable or so. Most company longing for sustainability; to be able to hold on success for a long term period. They achieve this by creating more value through their business, managing portfolio business, and developing business units; things that we dont learned through Porters Five Forces. Profitability is just one way to get to the grand purpose. That is the reason why, for the grandiose strategy of a company, to be based on only Porters that is focus on profitability, is unadvisable. The strategy such as focus and differentiation for competitiveness can be implemented at business unit level strategy to create competitive advantage. It may be relevant in corporate l evel as for the interest of stakeholder, indirectly. When the business unit strategy is achieved the desired goal, which most likely to be more profit, this is also will considered as favorable by the investors. Corporate strategy also concerned about the development and coordination of portfolio of business. The complexity that portfolio has cannot be found in the Porters model. Multi-variance product, multi-company in different industries, all this density of current market environment made Porters Five Forces become less practical. Other relevance is the dimension of competition. It is something that decided at the corporate level. Porters mentioning that based on the competitive advantages, we must choose the dimension of competition and it is best to create a battle field in that dimension, not in other dimension. This is about knowing our company competitive advantages and where to compete and win over the rivalry. What others are missing? Porters Five Forces did not describing the other external factor like regulator and social environment of the company. Porters Five Forces made based on the economic situation on the eighties. During early eighties, the economic situation is more stable and predictable development in industries compared to today dynamics. It is also characterized by cyclical growth and also by strong competition [D. Recklies, website]. Thus, in Porters era, the main objectives of many business organization or corporation are profitability and survival. Porters model focuses on analysis of the actual situation of companys customers, supplier, and competitor; and predictable development from new entrants as well as substitutes. Global and networked markets, as mentioned previously, force the business players to think more in the corporate strategies. Now, it is not enough to only position oneself as a price-leader or quality leader. Competitive advantages now comes from the ability of the company to de velop a way to maintain the relationship with more mobile customer and also to manage the networks that could be located in other part of the world. Porters Five Forces treats customer and supplier as third parties, which they no longer are. Corporate, suppliers, and customer now have extended relationship. And how this relationship managed is not less important than competitive advantages, because it creates values which harder to obtained and maintained than profits. This side of Porters Five Forces, lack of value-adding analysis made Porters Five Forces is less applicable in corporate strategy. In addition to that, in spite of always strengthening position within the industry with competitive advantages to compete against the competitor, co-operation with competitor by mergers and acquisition is also one way to maintain the existence and survival of a business organization. Hence, this model cannot keep up with dynamic situation in the current business environment. Globalization and digitalization Porters did not include how technology developed and that it is a strong force on competitiveness. Whereas, Porter did not explicitly mention it as a force, but it IS there. New entrant and new substitutes could mean that the competitor could have innovations background. New machines can affect the bargaining power of supplier too, in example. Not to mention how information spread unbelievably fast, and wide, around the internet. Experts coined the term of internet economy for this decades in which internet have been so embedded in everyday life. Various e-business applications have strongly influenced almost all industries. The development of the information system gives new opportunity for players from outside industry to chance the basis of competition in a market. Porter did not mention how technology will affect the competitiveness. The difference is that on Porters era, technology is something more like a tool to implement the change. But now, with its more rapid growth compare to eighties, technology has become a most important driver to a change. Non-market environment Needless to say, nonmarket environment, as brought up by Baron, also one important forces that must be considered in crafting the strategy. Any kind of corporation or business organization must dealing with social, politics, and legal arrangement, directly and indirectly. Of course, Baron extended work from Porters Five Forces expected to be able to give the best model to develop the so-called integrated strategy. Dynamic market structure Porters model assumes relatively static market structure. Yet, todays market is far from static. Dynamic market entrants, supported by more technological breakthrough, may change the entry barriers, the business model within short time. The model also assumes that all companies always try to get competitive advantages and win over other player in the industry. The dynamic market structure have new way of thinking of survival than to compete and kill each other. It is designed to analyze individual business performance. It is not considers strategies such as synergies and strategic alliances (mergers, acquisition), electronic linking of information system of all companies along a value chain, virtual enterprise-networks or others [D. Recklies]. This model also cannot assist the more complex structures of industries. The analysis cannot cope with multiple group products, by-products, and segments. And narrowing the focus only in one industry is too risky in todays corporate strategy. T his model also not yet considering that sometimes it may be possible to create new market than compete in the existing market. Nevertheless, later in his paper on 2008, he includes how technology is one factor that can greatly affect competitiveness and rivalry in an industry. Not only had that, he also included other factors such as government and complementary product that can affect the companys profitability. In this paper, he also mentioned how a change in industry structure shifts each of the five forces. In general, Porters Five Model has some limitation in todays market environment application and on its relevance with corporate strategy. In relation to corporate strategy, Porters model might be a little help for defining in which dimension or market out company wants to operate, although this dimension might be converted again once the strategy derived to business unit level. However, with all the lack Porters Five Forces had, the model is not completely obsolete to current business. Porters is an economist, so the model is basically the simple way of how he describes the microeconomics. He describes the attractiveness of the industry that is influenced by the five forces. This is also explains why the model always repeat and focusing more in profitability; for economics talks about profit maximization. Even now, business still operates in five forces framework describes by Porter. The model enable the decision maker, the managers, to think about the environment surrounding their i ndustries in a structured way, easy-to-understand way as a starting point for further analysis. Conclusion In summary, while Porters Five Forces seems less reliable concerning the current competitiveness in the industry (in terms of technology or innovations involvement), it is still manage to help strategic focus of the company in profitability and survival within the industry. The models assist more in business unit level strategy and less applicable in corporate strategy level. Corporate level strategy talks more about value which we hardly find in the Five Forces. Yet, indirectly the success in business unit level strategy supports the achievement of corporate strategy. Porters Five Forces is still relevant to current strategy planning, yet today business players must considered more things such as the growth of globalization and technology and how it will affect the other factors, if not creating its own forces. The tremendous growth of technology nowadays cant be separated in any aspects of life, and that including corporate strategy. However it might be, technology leads to innovation which will influence the every step a company have to defend its market and even expand its market. Certainly, a corporate strategy should not be carelessly made without take note of the non-market environment. In addition to that, examination on the nonmarket environment also should be conducted to support the strategy on market environment of a company. Another kind of analysis also may be needed to examine the dynamic state of markets. Porters framework becomes one of the tools in developing a strategy, maybe as a starting point, but not the most important or the only model being used. A good strategy never should use only one or few model as a basis.

Halfway Houses/Hawthorn Heights Essays -- Criminal Justice

As the need for increasingly punitive community-based sanctions grew, the demand for a greater variety of programs and services became apparent, as did the importance of a more seamless transition from total incapacitation to total freedom of prisoners re-entering society. A variety of community corrections methods have developed over the years, one being the institution of halfway houses. To adequately understand residential community corrections, one must consider the origins, components, and effectiveness of halfway houses. Initially halfway houses in the United States were operated by nonprofit organizations as a means for recently released prisoners to find their footing upon re-entry. Between 1816 and 1930, the function of the halfway house was to provide interim food and shelter while the offender looked for work and became financially stable enough to support themself. Participation was strictly voluntary as state support was lacking, primarily due to the fact that it was and is strongly believed ex-offenders should minimize their contact with one another. (Alarid and Del Carmen 182) A transition to treatment and correctional supervision via halfway house in the 1950’s garnered great support as concern regarding parole revocation and crime increased. In a matter of years halfway houses began to receive government assistance and financial support. Funding sources were dramatically increased through the 1968 Safe Streets Act and a focus on community corrections was prevalent. By the time funding began to decrease in the 1980’s, halfway houses had found their place in corrections as an alternative to incarceration and a safe place for offenders to transition out of prison, reducing potential problems due to overcrowding. (A... ...do V. Del Carmen.Community-Based Corrections. Eigth. Belmont: Wadsworth, 2011. 179-206. Print. Klein-Saffran, Jody. "Electronic Monitoring vs. Halfway Houses: A Study of Federal Offenders."Alternatives to Incarceration. Fall 1995: 24-28. Web. 29 Mar. 2012. . Lagos, David. NC Courts. NC Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission . Compendium of Community Corrections Programs in North Carolina . Raleigh: , 2010. Web. . Shilton, Mary K. U.S. Department of Justice. Bureau of Justice Assistance. Increasing Public Safety Through Halfway Houses. 2003. Web. content/3-halfway-houses-pub-safety.pdf>. Halfway Houses/Hawthorn Heights Essays -- Criminal Justice As the need for increasingly punitive community-based sanctions grew, the demand for a greater variety of programs and services became apparent, as did the importance of a more seamless transition from total incapacitation to total freedom of prisoners re-entering society. A variety of community corrections methods have developed over the years, one being the institution of halfway houses. To adequately understand residential community corrections, one must consider the origins, components, and effectiveness of halfway houses. Initially halfway houses in the United States were operated by nonprofit organizations as a means for recently released prisoners to find their footing upon re-entry. Between 1816 and 1930, the function of the halfway house was to provide interim food and shelter while the offender looked for work and became financially stable enough to support themself. Participation was strictly voluntary as state support was lacking, primarily due to the fact that it was and is strongly believed ex-offenders should minimize their contact with one another. (Alarid and Del Carmen 182) A transition to treatment and correctional supervision via halfway house in the 1950’s garnered great support as concern regarding parole revocation and crime increased. In a matter of years halfway houses began to receive government assistance and financial support. Funding sources were dramatically increased through the 1968 Safe Streets Act and a focus on community corrections was prevalent. By the time funding began to decrease in the 1980’s, halfway houses had found their place in corrections as an alternative to incarceration and a safe place for offenders to transition out of prison, reducing potential problems due to overcrowding. (A... ...do V. Del Carmen.Community-Based Corrections. Eigth. Belmont: Wadsworth, 2011. 179-206. Print. Klein-Saffran, Jody. "Electronic Monitoring vs. Halfway Houses: A Study of Federal Offenders."Alternatives to Incarceration. Fall 1995: 24-28. Web. 29 Mar. 2012. . Lagos, David. NC Courts. NC Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission . Compendium of Community Corrections Programs in North Carolina . Raleigh: , 2010. Web. . Shilton, Mary K. U.S. Department of Justice. Bureau of Justice Assistance. Increasing Public Safety Through Halfway Houses. 2003. Web. content/3-halfway-houses-pub-safety.pdf>.

The Horses :: Literary Analysis, Muir

Read the following poem by Edwin Muir from The Faber Book of Beasts (pp.119–20). Then write a short essay of no more than 600 words explaining what the poem is about and consider whether you think the poem is more traditional or dissenting. The first part of this essay will analyse the meaning of the poem called The Horses, written be Edwin Muir. Initially it would be useful to understand what is meant by traditional and dissenting. Traditional: of, relating, or being tradition,(E. Dictionary, 2006). Dissenting: to have a disagreement or withhold assent, (E. Dictionary, 2006). Muir, came from an isolated place and lived around two world wars, (b. May 15, 1887, Deerness, Orkney, Scot.—.d Jan. 3, 1959, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Eng), (Encyclopedia, Britannica, 2010). It is a tempting thought that living on a lonely island and through two world wars, heavily influenced him for the poem. Edwin Muir's poem 'The Horses' tells the story of a devastating war on mankind, perhaps that of a nuclear war, that has left the world on the brink of extinction, 'Barely a twelve month after The seven days’ war that put the world to sleep,' (Assignment, Book, 2008). Muir's poem could be seen to parallel Genesis(Old Testament),(Encyclopedia, Britannica, 2010). A good example of religious connotation of words, the seven days war, covenant, Eden and servitude, in the beginning and our father,' (Assignment, Book, 2008). When, Muir uses the word 'piled' in the sentence 'Dead bodies piled on the deck,' (Assignment, Book, 2008), One has the sensation that the poet wants to show the reader of the depth of disregard for the dead in the poem. It also clearly emphasises the chaos and destruction that the war has brought upon man and that there was no time for the simplest of burials. Muir, in being rhetorical, is showing that the survivors' need for a simpler life a purer life away from the existence of a technology driven society that caused the seven days war. The poem shows a strong sense of irony with, 'Our life is changed; their coming our beginning.' (Assignment Book, 2008). Muir, has used alliteration and this can be seen in the repeated f in, 'far past our fathers' land,' reinforces how much man has changed and returned to a past way of life and possibly a rhyme for forefathers when reduced to 'far...fathers,' (Assignment, Book, 2008).

Massage Speech Format -- essays research papers

Introduction: How many hours of sleep did you get last night? Not very many? Have you ever thought about why that might be? Your muscles might have been sore or just not been relaxed enough, or maybe there’s a lot of tension in your life right now. Whatever the reason, think twice next time before allowing yourself to get less rest than you really need. A short massage can help you’re rest and relaxation reach it’s most high. Proposition: Getting a massage regularly has numerous benefits for all people. I. Although the sports massage is the most well-known kind of massage, there are several others that can produce different physical, mental, and emotional results. A. There are over 21 different kinds of massaging methods, which include the following: Watsu, Esalen, Sports, Shiatsu, Swedish, Pfirmmer Deep Muscle Therapy, Neuromuscular Therapy, Jin Shin Do, Hakomi, Trager Psychophysical Integration, Myofascial Release, Trigger Point and Myotherapy, Polarity Therapy, On-site of Chair Massage, Craniosacral Therapy, Reiki, Manual Lymphatic Drainage, Deep Tissue Massage, Rolfing, and Thai massage or Nuad Bo-Rarn. B. The methods used range from being floated in a warm pool, to sitting on a chair, to creating your own massage by laying on top of a tennis ball. Transition: As you probably already know, massage is best known for it’s physical benefits. The different methods are used to pin-point certain body parts directly. But mental and...

Formalism and Realism in the Movie Hero

Movie: Hero Director: Zhang Yimou Cast : Jet Li, Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Maggie Cheung Year of production: 2002 Country of production: China Language: Mandarin Film synopsis: The Qin King was obsessed with conquering all of China and becoming the first Emperor. He had been the target of assassins throughout the other states. Among them none inspired as much fear as the three legendary assassins, Broken Sword, Flying Snow and Sky. To anyone who defeated the three assassins, the King of Qin promised great power, mountains of gold and a private audience with the King himself. Following this Nameless came to the palace bearing the legendary weapons of the slain assassins, sitting in the palace, and told his extraordinary tale. Journal question: How does the colour cinematography of Hero (Zhang Yimou, 2002) contribute to formalism? â€Å"In art theory, formalism is the concept that a work’s artistic value is entirely determined by its form—the way it is made, its purely visual aspects, and its medium. Formalism emphasizes compositional elements such as color, line, shape and texture rather than realism, context, and content. . In Hero, Zhang Yimou combines cinematography with mise en scene to bring his own vision of the story, particularly with the use of certain colours. There are a total of five colours in this movie which choosed to express different versions or point of views ; black, white, red, blue, and green. Zhang Yimou uses the four colours, Red, Green, Blue and White, to tie in four different segments of the story. On the other han d, each of them also contains a different story The King of Qin’s palace is black, enlivened only by splashes of red. This forms the beginning and the end of the story and the overall feel of this sequence extends into the first fight between Nameless and Sky. The chosen colour metaphorically represents the battle between good and evil. Red dominates the first version of the story by Nameless in which he describes the calligraphy school, the attack by the Qin army, the stabbing of Broken Sword and the subsequent fight between Flying Snow and Moon. The color of red brings emotion, such as love, anger, passion nd romance. It portrays the tension between lovers and their passion for revenge to the King Qin. The costumes of the characters are in red, as well as the props. The red is a Kodak red as said by the film’s cinematographer. It's a much more saturated solid red. Blue becomes the colour for the second version of the story by the King himself. During the part of the story telled by the King, it evolved some fighting sequence in a lake. Since the colour of water is blue, so this section of story surrounded by blue colour with costumes and props and also location as well as the lake. Blue also represents peace, calmness and detachment. The colour suits the King as he shows peace in discovering Nameless true plan, which is to kill the King. The story version of the king surrounded with blue colour as well. Green is the colour for the story that Nameless doesn’t necessarily know since it covers the first meeting of Broken Sword and Flying Snow and also the failed assassination attempt. Since green colour known for memories and knowledge, it used to portray the flashback scene which evolve broken sword and flying snow. Broken Sword believes that the King of Qin has the power to unite these kingdoms for the greater good of the future. White is the final colour, dominating the deaths of Flying Snow and Broken Sword and alternating with the black sequences back in the palace. this scene is achieved through mise en scene, cinematography and post-production. The characters wear white and the props are in white colour. The lighting is over exposed to highlight the white colour . The scene reflects truth of the characters’ intentions. Reading synopsis: The Language of Film Mise en scene, cinematography, editing and sound can be combined to form a language that is used to tell stories and express meanings. Reference: Abrams, Bell and Udris (2001) â€Å"The Language of Film†, Studying Film, London: Arnold, 92-116. Emily Gems: Joyful Crystals ; Gemstones Retrieved 15th August, 2011, from http://crystal-cure. com/black. html

Nursery Nurse

Explain different transitions children and young people may experience from 0-19 years and how adults can support them through them. Babies weaning – young children may not like their new routine, such as different sleep patterns, different foods, not as much milk, Children may begin to have disturbed sleep patterns, be more irritable whilst awake and less motivated to try new foods. Its good through this stage of their transitions that the parents remain calm and keep a soft voice at all times to prevent the child from getting distressed.To help the child with sleep patterns, play calm soothing music, make it a calm environment (classical music helps) and a dark room. To help them with different foods, try encouraging them with making sounds like ‘mmm’ and ‘yummy’ you can also try some of their food and make smiley faces to indicate that it’s nice to eat. Crawling to walking- when a child starts to walk, they can become distressed that they ar en’t getting to where they want to, parents can help this with holding their hands to gain balance. hen their baby is starting to walk, parents should make the environment safe and secure Potty training- The reassurance that nappies offer can be enormous for both child and parent, for some children it is more difficult recognising the signs of needing the toilet. Supportive relationships understand that when their child has an accident, they are to show that it's okay. That they can be cleaned up, everyone moves on and reassurance is given for trying again the next time.Starting Nursery- When children don’t want to leave parents or are feeling unwell, separation can be a very upsetting for them. Starting nursery can be daunting for children. Supportive relationships help children through this potentially difficult time by reassuring the child that it's ok to be upset at leaving their parent/carer, you know how much they love them, that you also have fun activities plan ned and would they like to join you. Supporting this transition is for the child's independence, their ability to deal with times of separation.Going up a year in primary school- can be scary for some children, having a new class room with new children, new teacher and a different environment. Supporting children across the school by adults making themselves known to children. Personalities, attitude and approach will reassure the children on the type of support they could expect. Starting secondary school- starting secondary school is a completely different emotion to starting primary school, secondary school is a lot igger, full of bigger and older children, this can be distressing for new children and year 7s who have just started. Making a positive attitude to starting their new school is the best thing a parent can do, encourage them to start clubs to make friends and feel more comfortable in their environment. Teachers could help as well by keeping a close eye on the children, helping them to be confident, getting them the join in on group activities. Puberty- can be a horrible experience for children both girls and boys especially for those who start earlier than others.Parents and carers should help to make understand that what happens and goes on in puberty is perfectly normal and that everyone at some stage will go through the same, teachers could help make children more aware by teaching the class all about puberty, so when the time happens they’ll know what to do. Bereavements- is a sad time in a family’s household, it’s an extremely emotional stage in peoples life, children may be upset as they would of lost someone they had loved and to see their family upset is also a hard thing to see.Parents and carers can help their children to realise that death is a part of life even if it is sad and upsetting to go through. Moving house- is a big part in a child’s life, sometimes it can lead to moving schools as well, which is d ouble as hard as it should have been, moving home is not nice to go through as children get attached easily, also they would remember all the memories they’ve had their, whereas others may want to leave their house to a new one.Parents can help by letting them know that they will make new friends and that they are going to love their new home just as much as their old one. New baby- having a new baby can be extremely hard to deal with, the child may feel left out and neglected if their parents aren’t spending enough time with them and just with the baby, this can cause problems at school where they become disruptive to gain attention back of their parents. Parents and carers can help deal with this if they make sure that they are spending just as much time with their child as well as the new baby.

Appex Corporation Analysis

Fastest growing high-technology company in United States Revenues grew 1600% between 1987 and 1990 As of April 30, 1990 – 172 employees: 153 salaried and 19 (Hourly compensated) Hire rate: 10 new people every month Cellular Telephone Industry High growth industry Roaming – 10% of total subscriber revenues Papers Products & Services CICS – 60% of the revenue IS -? 40% of the revenues – 75 customers, 250 markets in IS. S. , 34 markets in Canada Marketing: Cellular Business, Mobile Phone News (Magazines), Monthly Newsletter Challenges faced by Shirker Gosh when he joined Apex:Everybody did things on their own time, attitude towards customers: â€Å"We'll call you back† No formal business procedures Decisions -? Key Executives People had particular expertise, but everybody did anything people did whatever interested them Nobody had any sense of their JDK Structure – Informal & Fluid Employees – Focused, Committed, Hardworking Worked in clo se interaction, Responsive & Effective Innovative technical solutions Project based, Continued the structure when the projects increased Quick Cash spend and no Expense monitoring Atmosphere changing from Entrepreneurial to ChaoticFire-fighting every day, No underlying planned structure Anything a week away had no priority Operation Sequence: Brian (Ideas) C Michael (Reality) 0 Allen (Sales) Mark (Money) Attrition due to chaotic environment Customer Complaints: NO response, technical assistance requests not addressed Increased demand could not be handled Fall behind schedule, miss installation dates, failures in product development – No Information Flow No Financial planning, No recruitment planning Solution: System of Accountability and Structure, Defined areas of responsibility Innovative Structures:Circular Structure: Concurrent circle expanding out from middle circle. (Innermost) Senior executives C Managers & Employees (Functions) Customers (Environment) Non-hierarchical organization in which information flowed continuously and freely within organization and between the organization and the customers (environment) Failure: a. Employees could not relate and were completely unfamiliar b. New hires didn't know how to fit c. Power structure, Decision making power, Performance evaluation – all grey areas d.Completely geared towards responsiveness and planning oriented asks failed e. â€Å"A mentality developed that the customer was the enemy' Horizontal Structure: Traditional vertical structure transposed in sideways Failure: a. Employees unenthusiastic Need for Control through traditional hierarchical structure. Hierarchy kcal, Functional Structure: Functions organized as 5 teams: Sales/Marketing, Software Development & Services, Engineering & Technology, Operations, and Financier HER & Admit.Issues: How many distinct teams, Who should head, Responsibilities now and after growth Diagram: (which minimized the sense of hierarchy) Horizontal for f unctions reporting to CEO Gosh), displeased the board of directors Titles given informally, but people cared a great deal about the titles, desk locations – Start of Company politics Succeeded in focusing on completion of tasks System of accountability was in place Heads started creating sub-functions Popularization of teams Inhibited working relationships, increasing expenses Personalities arose, Standards set up by individuals rather than company policies The ‘Ego Box' Meeting Source of Authority: Functional, not managerial expertise Difficult to measure managerial expertiseNeed for broader functional expertise: Reshuffling, Hiring, Promoting and Demoting Emerging need of the company – Quality control instead of fire- fighting by the â€Å"great Band-Aid† people Paul Godsons: Product Teams, Functional teams informed about product happenings on a daily basis No system specified who had the authority to make which decisions Conflict between Product manager s and Operations Product teams did not know where their authority ended Senior executives attended meetings, but needed time for their main responsibilities No systems to set priorities about how resources should be allocated among the team Business Teams -? Intermediaries, representatives from Senior management, Authority in decision, resource allocation Shortcomings: a) More tail than tooth b) Escalating Infrastructure Costs c) Customer Focus Diminished d) Less concerned with Company goals, No P&L accountability, ‘Who-cares† Attitude Divisional Structure: 2 Broad Divisions: Inter Carrier Services (CICS) & Cellular Management Information Systems (IS) Operations: Utility functions that serviced both divisions HER.