Maritime Logistics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 3

Maritime Logistics - Essay Example This has made business to come together through multilateral and bilateral trade agreements, to integrate their maritime logistics operations in a more efficient and effective manner (Wisner, Tan and Leong, 2011). The term maritime logistics can not be separated from supply chain management because both concepts have got some underlying commonalities on areas of their operations (Song and Panayides, 2012). Whereby, supply chain management encompasses bringing together business operations through coordinated activities to ensure that there is flow of input from supplies to manufacturers till goods and services reaches to the final consumer (Wisner, Tan and Leong, 2011). Therefore, this assessment focuses on providing a sharp insight on the principles of third party logistics, advantages and disadvantages of third party logistics and suggested improvement that could be implemented at Hitachi Company(selected company for assessment) to make maritime logistics more effective and efficient. `. Third party logistics refers to a company or an organization that focuses on providing outsourced logistic services to other firms (Neubauer, 2010). For example, Hatachi Company was selected as one of third party logistic companies for this assessment (Schoenfeldt, 2008). The principle of third party logistics involves complementing logistic supply chain management by offering outsourced logistic services to their customers (Goldsby and Martichenko, 2005). Whereby, third party logistic providers have extended their services by acting as forwarders and hauliers. Recently, third party logistic firms not only provide physical logistic services but also additional services such as forwarding (Goldsby and Martichenko, 2005). Third party logistic providers have expanded their services to incorporate consumption services (Schoenfeldt, 2008). This expansion has made customers

Disaster Management Paper 1.4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Disaster Management Paper 1.4 - Essay Example Security procedures enhance security and the whole preparedness to thwart, react and recover from the underlying acts of catastrophe. Insurance program enables individuals to be put under appropriate insurance life assurance cover in case of any incident. External actions incorporate emergency management office, fire department, police department, emergency medical services, telephone companies and electricity utility. The management office will aids in handling the victims and connecting with the families and diverse offices regarding the emergency (Collins, 2000). Moreover, it will coordinate all the operations of the rescue with all the existing parties. Fire department will aids in putting off the fire within the metropolitan city thus mitigating the underlying situations. It will coordinate all the processes of fire within the city and the kind of the precautions that ought to be taken depending on the type of the fire within the city. Police department will aids in securing the scene to prevent further injuries thus bringing the situation under control. Moreover, it will keep people out of the crime scene and keeping the people at bay from the place of accident. Emergency medical services will aids in offering immediate medication to the people affected to avoid health risks (Collins, 2000). The people involved in the accident will be given first medical attention before taking them to the hospital. The expertise will also handle the situations thereby mitigating health risk. Telephones companies will coordinate will all the operations of the involved parties thus facilitating the entire operation of rescue in time of the accident within the metropolitan

The Economy Of Delta State In Nigeria Economics Essay

The Economy Of Delta State In Nigeria Economics Essay Nigerian economy, at first was based mainly on agriculture; it exported agricultural products like cocoa, rubber, palm products, cotton, groundnut, hides and skin etcetera. But then oil was discovered in the south-south of Nigeria i.e. Rivers, Bayelsa, Edo and Niger Delta states, and agric production was abandoned. The essay question is What are the economic cost and benefits of oil industry in Delta, Nigeria? The objective of this essay is to find out what the economy cost and benefits of the oil industry in Delta state, Nigeria, and also I will examine just how the state has put up with the production of oil and also the effects i.e. the cost and benefits. 1.1 State Background Delta State is named after the delta region of the River Niger. Its capital is Asaba  [1]  . It is found in the south-south areas of Nigeria. Delta state consists of different ethnic groups like Urhobo, Igbo, Ezon, Isoko and Itsekiri but consist mainly of the Igbo people.Nigeria has a population of 151, 870, 000 people of which Delta state has a population of 4, 098, 291; the males are up to 2, 674, 306 while the females are up to 2, 024, 085  [2]  . Delta state is the second oil producing state in Nigeria after Rivers State, of which this oil production tends to be the most dangerous business in this economy. The local governments that produce oil in the Delta state are Warri North and South, Burutu, Isoko North and South, Ughelli North and South, Okpe, Ethiope East and West, Sapele and Ndokwa East and West  [3]  . The biggest oil refinery is found in Warri, which is a local government in Delta. 1.2 Map showing the location of Delta state in Nigeria: 4Delta State. 1.3 Research Methodology My process of research was divided into two methods; primary research and secondary research. 1.3.1 Primary Research My primary research involved The use of a questionnaire: The questionnaire was created addressing specific questions like; what has the government put in place to help the economy? and also what has the economy benefited from the oil production? A survey was used to get more personal information like; Government share of income and income of Petroleum Company. Interview was done; I interviewed the people living in the villages, the leaders of the town/villages. Asking them what the costs and benefits has been for oil production. I also interviewed employees from the Petroleum company (SHELL) I took pictures of the benefits from the oil production. 1.3.2 Secondary Research Secondary information was gained from the various websites, textbooks and articles. The information includes: a study of economic theory relating to externalities. Textbooks were used to get definitions. The internet was used to review other information that is relating to this topic. The reason for this is to see how this state is managing with its externalities. Internet was used to get background information on the state Internet was also used to get the cost of oil production in the state Images of the cost of oil production in the villages were gotten form the internet. The use of articles in the newspapers was used to get information on the current situation Problems Proposed Solutions Interviews and with the people in villages and the leaders of villages Language barrier Finding someone to help in translating. Interview with the employees of SHELL Release of private company information Use of other sources to get information like the radio, internet, newspapers etcetera Sharing of questionnaire and survey on land Riots in these areas were questionnaires were being distributed Go to areas where there is no riot to distribute questionnaires and do a survey.1.3.3 Possible difficulties and proposed solutions. 2 PRIMARY DATA ANALYSIS The employees and few people living in Delta were given questionnaires to find out certain information, about what the oil industries and the government have done with the economy from the benefit of oil production. The questionnaire was given to 20 employees at SHELL who were randomly selected from various departments and 20 people living in the economy. This section is showing the sets of results gotten from these individuals. Table 1: Results concerning responsibility by individuals in the community Issues Number of people Government Politicians Oil Industries Who do you think is responsible for the pollution in Delta? 20 2 0 18 90% of the people living in the community believe that the oil industries are the cause of the pollution which is right, and it is good to know that only 20% believe that the government is responsible which is not true. Table 2: Results concerning responsibility by SHELL employees Issues Number of people Agree Disagree Unsure Do you think it is your responsibility to make it right? 20 10 4 6 In the above pie chart 50% of the employees at Shell think it is their responsibilty to make things right in the economy that means they sould be able to stop the pollution the oil company is causing. This illustrates that half of the people in company are taking respnsibility for their actions. Table 3: Results concerning responsibility by the individuals in the community Issues Number of people Agree Disagree Unsure Do you think it is your responsibility to make it right? 20 5 7 8 40% of the individuals in the community are not sure whose responsibility it is to stop the pollution in Delta, 35% of the individuals dont think it is their responsibility to control pollution in the economy. This illustrates that most of the people in this community could be seen as ignorant since it is a few that are ready to take some responsibility to make things right. Table 4: Results concerning government action by the individuals in the community Issues Number of people Agree Disagree Unsure Is the government doing anything about the situation? 20 5 12 3 From the pie chart it has been shown that government is not taking action from the negative externality taken place in the state which is not good. From the primary data analysis it is seen that there are some problems Delta such as pollution etc and this is due to market failure. From the economic theory it is seen that if the marginal social benefits is > the marginal social costs or vice versa there would be market failure  [5]  . Market failure is due to the positive and negative externalities in the economy. The next section in this essay is going to state those economic cost and benefits of the oil production in Delta State. 3 INDENTIFICATION OF ECONOMIC COSTS AND BENEFITS. This section will contain the analysis of the economic costs and benefits in Delta state. There are a lot of problems in Delta state such as oil spills, waste dumping and gas flaring. The main problem in Delta is the oil spillage. The type of oil produced in the south-south is deep sea oil, which causes oil spillage and then leads to pollution; air, land and water pollution, the cause of this pollution has led to the damage of soil, water and air. The oil spills has caused farmers in the area not to fish and farm again because the pollution has spread in their sea and lands, thus thousands of people have been affected especially the poor people and those who rely on traditional way of living such as fishing and agriculture. But there are not only costs in the oil production there are also benefits in the fact that the state is making a lot of money in producing oil since oil is needed in a lot of countries. Externality occurs when the production or consumption of a good or service has an effect upon a third party  [6]  . If this effect is dangerous it can therefore be called a negative externality but if the effect is advantageous it is said to be a positive externality. Negative externalities bring about external costs and positive externalities bring about external benefits. The production of oil in Delta state can bring about both external costs and external benefits. 3.1 External Costs from Oil Industries. The people in the economy have endured oil spillage for years now. Oil spills are caused by corrosion of oil pipes, poor maintenance of infrastructure, and leaks during processing at refineries.  [7]  This oil spillage usually happens on the land and in the sea. The cause of oil spills in water is that, the oil has contaminated the water, so the fishes in the sea would die that means there wouldnt be any fishing or it would become poisonous and if it is poisonous when it is eaten the people in the economy would get ill. It could also harm the plants; plants could die because of oil spills and also animals that drink from the water. Also some places in Delta are not yet developed; in those places the people that live there usually have their bath in the sea so if they do that where the water has been affected the people could get skin disease. The oil spills on land would destroy crops; damage the soil the farmers use in farming for their family. The production of oil is making th e rich to get richer and the poor to stay poor and die of poverty. Gas flaring is when gas is burnt unsteadily. Gas flaring occurs when oil is pumped from the ground, this oil burnt then produces gas and the gas produced is burnt as waste in enormous flares. Thus the burning of this gas results to the damage of the environment, especially the areas which are nearest to the oil industries. The government and the industries have done nothing to stop the people from burning the gases and also they havent given any solution to the situation. People in that area are now having health problems; there would be air pollution thus leading to people inhaling chemicals that are not good for their health and sanitation problems; there would be water pollution, chemicals from the gas flare would make water dirty, that is the water the people in the area used to take their bath is going to affect their hygiene because the water would very dirty. The people in this area do not have money for medical bills and they do not have health insurance. The farms of these p eople living in this area have been destroyed so there is no other source of getting money to pay medical bills so this leads to the increase in death rate in that area. When oil is made from the industries, waste are also produced these waste are then dumped on the land and in the sea, thus destroying the environment and weakening the peoples right in their standard of living. The government have not tried anything to stop people from disposing this waste on the land and the sea, they have not realised that the sea has been contaminated by the various mixture of the oil and if they had they would have treated their water. These chemical substances in oil are very toxic and it can affect the people living in the area. People in this areas are dying of hunger, because their farms have been destroyed so there is nowhere else to get food from, farmers are now unemployed because their plants are dying so they have nothing to plant and sell to make money, hunters are also unemployed because the animals are dying due to them drinking water from the sea or eating plants that were poisonous. The children of these hunters and farmers cannot go to school again because there is no money to pay their school fees. Poverty hits these innocent people who depend on livelihoods Due to the negative impacts on the production of oil there have been a lot of complaints by the local communities, because of these complaints it has made some people from this community to become militants. Since the production of oil has caused poverty it has led some of these militants too undergo criminal acts like stealing the oil that has been produced; militants steal this to make money out of it, and also illegal bunkering of oil; that is shipping oil illegally to another country to make money without the consent of the government. Also another cause of militancy due to the production of oil is because the government, the industries and the politicians have refused to do something about the oil spillage, the government has not done anything to develop the state practically because they are gaining from the oil production and keeping the money to themselves; the people from the economy have watched these politicians, governments and the industries get richer so this now leads the militants among them in kidnapping the rich peoples children, there are also armed robberies; these militants rob the rich, and if people are being too aggressive when they are being robbed then the militants might kill them, so this could lead to death, they also take on fights with the Nigerian security forces; this makes the security force to fight back extremely and not considering the people in that area. Militants could go into fraud also known as 419 in Nigeria, they could do business that could cheat people and by cheating them, they could get money from them. All negative things are done because of the government, the industries and the politicians ignorance to the situation. Picture below shows gas flare at Ughelli West, Delta State, Nigeria. 8 Picture below shows the militants with their guns 9 Picture below shows damage of crops because of oil spills. 10 Figure 1: Diagram showing external cost of oil production in Delta State. Price of oil Welfare loss MSC MPC Negative externality P* a p1 Q* Q2 Quantity of oil. In figure 1, it shows that the marginal private cost of the industry is lower than the marginal social costs because of the pollution that was brought about when oil was produced, this pollution might have caused breathing problems for people and also poisoned food like fish. The industry would just be concentrating on its own private costs; because of this the industry would produce at Q1. At Q* marginal social cost is equal to the marginal social benefit resulting to a market failure. Too much oil is being produced at too low a price; this causes the misallocation of the societys resources. There is welfare loss i.e. where marginal social cost is greater than marginal social benefits. There are also negative externalities of consumption i.e. the pollution that is caused and how it affects the consumers. Negative externalities would make marginal social benefits less than the marginal private benefits. Figure 2: Diagram showing negative externality of consumption. Price of oil Welfare loss MSC P1 P* MPB Negative externality MSB Q* Q1 Quantity demanded. In figure 2 it shows that the oil industry keep on producing oil, and there is still oil spillage, they pay no attention to the negative externality they are creating, Marginal social cost becomes equals to marginal private cost. There is over-use of oil from Q* to Q1, there is also a welfare loss because Marginal social cost is greater than Marginal social benefits. It is difficult to reduce this pollution. First of all the costs of pollution are external in the sense that the cost of pollution are not paid for by the agents causing it, so there is no economic incentive in the market system to cause them to stop Second of all the people benefiting from the activities; those are the people producing the oil, they are causing pollution and imposing some costs on others. So the pollution needs to be reduced although the victims are meant to be compensated. 3.2 External Benefits from Oil Industries. The oil industries may have destroyed the communities in Delta but they have also made a lot of money for the state because of the production of their oil. As it is said above Delta state is the second oil producing state after Rivers state. The economy has benefited from the oil production. The money used from the oil production has been used for the improvements of infrastructural facilities such as construction of roads, bridges and provision of pipe borne water which benefits the villagers, increased use of electricity, better transport facilities and usefulness of petroleum products. The biggest oil company in the Delta state, The Shell Petroleum Development Company (Shell), a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, is the main operator on land. Shell is located in Warri. Many Nigerians specifically those from Delta state are employees of Shell, working in an oil company means that those employees would be making a lot of money this means that there would be an increase in income per capita thus an increase in urbanization that means Delta would be more developed in the standard of living. Shell has provided a lot of benefits for the economy and for the workers. Such benefits is the provision of education for the children of the employees at the shell company, provision of houses, cars and also they pay for all the bills of the employees. Shell has contributed money to the construction of new private and public schools, schools for people of low and high classes. There are also schools for the residents of the state that is for those who could not afford to go to school. This is thus increasing the literacy rate in the economy. Educational competitions are organised and also sports to promote academic and physical excellence which benefit the individuals in the state. SHELL has also benefited from its own production of oil such as increased revenue from sales; their increase in production brings about huge profits to the company. There is also an increase in development in the SHELL Company; there is now advance technology like drilling equipment in which they can use to prevent or stop the oil spills. There is also an improvement in International relations such as an increase in production which has led to an agreement with oil consuming economies such as the United States and China. The oil company shell has tried to do its best in developing the economy but because of the corruption problems in Nigeria it affects the economy. The money used for infrastructure development has been taking by the government or the politicians for their own benefits. Pipe borne water that has been installed for the villagers has broken and the government take the money that has been giving to use it to fix it. Oil spills caused by the production of oil has spoilt the road, the money contributed by the economy to fix the roads has been stolen by the government. The public schools where children are meant to be going for free the government waste time in paying teachers their salaries, so these teachers go on strike and refuse to teachers these children, thus making the literacy rate unstable. There are benefits from the production of oil, but because of corruption by the government all the benefits are not taking place. If the benefits take place, there would be positive externalities because of the oil produced. Since there are positive externalities it means that the there would be welfare gain i.e. the marginal social benefit is greater than marginal social cost. The diagram below illustrates where the welfare gain is and that is between Q1 and Q*, it also shows that oil is produced at Q1 , if the production of oil is increased to Q* more welfare would be gained. Figure 3: Diagram showing positive externality. Price Welfare gain MPC P1 MSC P* MSB Q1 Q* quantity. Picture below shows an over-head bridge in Delta. Picture below shows house of a shell employee in Delta Picture showing a factory in Delta Picture below shows one of the good roads in Delta. 4 THE FUTURE This section is going to impose ways the government can control the negative externalities in the state. There are different ways the government can control these negative externalities but first of all the government should stop being ignorant and help the economy. If government stops being ignorant they can enforce laws to control and monitor pollution in the villages; introduce more national and marine; ensure that forestry companies re-plant trees; regulate use of contaminated land. Government can impose tax on oil companies to increase the private costs, if the government should do that the Marginal private would move upwards, there might still be welfare loss but it would be less than before. There should also be subsidies that is the amount of money paid by the government to a producer, it lowers the firms cost, these subsidies could be inform of grants, reduced taxation etcetera. With the money gotten from oil production government can use it to compensate victim of the negative externalities of oil production so that victims would not sue the offending firms. The government can pay damages to victims through free health coverage. Also since oil has now taking over the agricultural production which has caused the farmers and fishermen their jobs cause of the pollution, the government should build centers where they bring in professionals to teach them skills like mechanics, welding, painting, etcetera. If government cant find professionals they can encourage companies there to teach them the skills. If the government does this there would be fewer crises because those people would no longer be unemployed and there would now be less kidnapping, armed robbery, fraud etcetera. But if the oil industry continues with its act of polluting the environment the government should control their output in some way because it will not be possible to ban, if that doesnt work out the government could make new environmental laws and if the oil industry dont follow it then they would have to pay some amount of money since they have disobeyed the law, paying the money would increase their private costs. The diagram below shows the result if the oil industry has to pay tax. Figure 4: Diagram showing negative externality. MSC Price P* welfare loss MPC + tax P2 MPC P1 Q* Q2 Q1 Quantity of oil. Firms should also be able to help, at the moment in Delta state the oil industry that is really helping in the negative externalities in the economy is SHELL. Other firms should take part in helping and do things like changing its production of its techniques and operation like economizing on the amount of waste disposal from the oil production. Changing the materials used in packaging the oil, something that can be recycled should be used that it would be used again thus prevent burning of waste disposal. If government does this for the state there would a short term effect of pollution but in long term there will be no pollution. Therefore there would be less cost on the production of oil and also an increase in economy growth. But if government takes no action there would be a long term effect of oil production, and also a decrease in economy growth and an increase in the negative externalities of the economy. In conclusion it is only the government that has the power in stopping the increase of negative externalities in the economy especially if the industries do no take action, but if government takes no action and continues taking bribes or being corrupt the economy would therefore be suffering for the costs of oil production.

insider trading Essay -- essays research papers fc

Insider Trading   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In our economic economy today, we have gotten a few high profile cases were people have tried to make money by using illegal tactics, and these are illegal tactics are based on the insider information. These high profile cases were on Martha Stewart and President George W. Bush. This is why I chose to write my paper on what exactly â€Å"Insider Trading† is. Insider trading has to do with stocks, on the stock market. The stock market is basically an organized place where stocks and bonds are traded. The members of this exchange usually buy and sell the stocks for others while charging a commission for doing this work for their clients. Although more and more people are now trading online stockbrokers are not as in demand for their services as they once were which is why Charles Schwab investment firm has laid off more then 1800 workers in this past month, which amounts to a 10 percent reduction in the work force. There are certain limitations on stocks before they can be trade d and listed on the stock market. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) the largest in the United States was founded in 1970 and handles over 70% of all trades. Then there is the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ) which is the fifth largest stock trade in the world. On the stock market there are a lot of illegal things that go on that are unethical. The most known crime that goes on is insider trading scandals. The way insider trading occurs is when one person or many people have information on a company that the rest of the public doesn’t know of and use it to make a profit on the stock market. This trading in the United States has been illegal since 1934 and is protected by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This requires all companies to disclose statements to the public before offering any securities on the public market. The SEC views insider trading unfair to the investors. The SEC also regulates stock exchanges, brokers, an d dealers in securities, and also sets the margins for bank credit in security trading. So basically the law prohibits â€Å"insider trading†, the way insider trading happens is when corporate directors and officers find out information on their company because of the position they hold before anybody else does is known as inside information. This information can and probably d... ...in 1989 the federal jury handed down a 98-count indictment against Milken for violations of federal securities and racketeering. In 1990 Milken pled guilty to security and fraud charges of insider trading, and the more sever counts against him were dropped. The regulation of insider trading can’t be judged on the grounds that it promotes the goals and efficiency, market integrity, or fairness. The real reason for banning insider trading was for trading stocks based on knowledge the rest of the public was to be thought of as theft. In conclusion this paper on insider trading is not to show the good of it, but that it cannot be harmful if done the right way. And for those companies not willing to participate in insider trading have a contract with their employees giving them more money in salaries, rather then giving them inside tips on potential stock trading tips. Bibliography 1) http://www.SEC.com 2) http://www.encyclopedia.com 3) http://www.integrity-interactive.com/compliance/mkt_press_insidertrading.htm 4) http://www.bartleby.com/65/in/insidert.html 5) http://www.bartleby.com/65/se/Securiti.html 6) http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nf/20020918/bs_nf/19434

Labour education crisis Essay

The man who promised us, ‘Education, education, education,’ as the main priority of his government has failed again. Blair along with forever changing line up of education secretaries has again been branded a hazard to our children. The new crisis in hand for our Labour government evolves our youngsters within Primary education. The recent report has revealed that the number of children who can read and write properly has fallen in the last three years, as almost 250,000 seven year olds are not hitting required standards, for the second year running. In English only 75% have reached the required standards, leaving government hopes of 85% English pass rate for 11 year olds by 2002 in tatters. The report has shown three tenths of Primary school children are behind in reading from as young as seven. Four tenths our poor at writing, leading to one quarter of eleven year olds being classed as semi-literate! Chief school inspector Mr David bell has described the situation as disastrous and has said, ‘I don’t think we could possibly be happy with what primary schools are achieving. ‘ These chilling figures reported by Ofsted are causing concern amongst parents throughout the country. Although Mr Bell is claiming the route of this problem is due to the teachers and Heads of the schools. As it has been suggested that one in ten of our head teachers are ‘weak’, that’s a figure just over 2,000 that are simply not up to the job. If the leaders of the schools are ‘weak’ what hope does it hold for our teachers? Although Heads are saying they are being used a scapegoats Mr Bell insists that they are to blame, ‘They lack knowledge and skill. ‘ This standard is simply not adequate as the government has admitted. This has left other parties, including the Liberals suggesting an education reform and the Tories claming the situation has reached crisis level. Although PM Tony Blair has barely mentioned the report, and went ahead with a speech on education standards. This new crisis has fallen into the hands of Estelle Morris’ successor Charles Clarke. The Education Secretary has been told by Ofsted the targets set for 2004 will not be achievable. This will make his job even harder as situations are just being passed on with each new education secretary. Along with Primary education being seen as a shambles Ms Morris has left the problems of AS and A level system with Mr Clarke. After last years mark fixing fiasco new guide lines need to be set to stop this embarrassing situation recurring. That saw up to 4,194 candidates having their A-level grades increased in 2002. As well as the A-level marking situation causing problems it now seems that AS and A-level lecturers are unhappy with the system. They are calling for a return to a system such as the old one qualification of the A-level over two years. Suggesting that it’s simply too much for students. These measures come just two years after curriculum 2000 was introduced, bringing in the AS and A2 exams. Although now former chief inspector of England schools, Mr Tomlinson, has been asked to make a report suggesting ways of maintaining the A-levels standards and credibility. Universities are unhappy with a possible move to re-secure the A-level as they feel by keeping the name it will cause confusion. The A-level was first introduced in 1951 and has changed dramatically. This in turn effects what people feel constitutes as an A-level in standards they require, which worries the Universities. Who have also been affected by Labours education crisis due to the clearance procedure after the mess-up with A-level marking. The last thing on the agenda for Labour in terms of education is the staffing shortage in Primary and Senior schools. At the start of the academic year many school remained closed due to staffing shortages. And it appears this situation to is getting worse. As a survey for the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teacher suggested that nearly 63% of teachers have considered leaving their jobs within the past 5 years. And in another survey for the National Opinion Poll of 1,007 NASUWT members discovered that 30% felt that no political party had the right education policies. In conclusion it seams that all areas of or education system our in danger and have been effected, all that is left to say is good luck Charles Clarke, who now has the mammoth task of getting things on track. A job that both David Blunkett and Estelle Morris have failed to achieve.

Philips VS Matsushita Case Study

N.V. Philips (Netherlands) and Matsushita Electronic (Japan) had followed very different strategies and emerged with very new and different organizational capabilities. Philips built its success on a worldwide portfolio of responsive national organizations while Matsushita based its global competitiveness on its centralized, highly efficient operations in Japan. During 1990s, both company faced major challenge to their competitive positions and organizational model, and at the end of the decade, both companies were struggling to reestablish their competitiveness. At the start of the new millennium, new CEOs at both companies were implementing yet another round of strategic initiatives and organizational restructuring.Observers wondered how the changes would affect their long-running competitive battle. The name Philips has become more popular but the company we know as Panasonic nowadays is the brand name of Matsushita. Philips was the producer of only light-bulbs. They became the le ader in industrial research. After dividing Product Division and National Organization, they innovated new products (e.g. color TV, Stereo TV, TVs with teletext). But throughout the times of business, Philips continued profitless progress. However, throughout three decades, seven chairmen experimented with recognizing the company to deal with its growing problems.After 1990s Philips started overcoming the profitless progressing problem by cutting its cost through decentralizing its production in different part of the world (e.g. digital audio tape and electric-shaver product lines were relocated in Japan). But after 30 years quest Philips recognized that building efficiency in global operation has failed. On the other hand Konosuke Matsushita, a 23 years old inspector started his business with Osaka Electric Light Company, started production of double ended socket.The company Matsushita grew rapidly and expanded into battery powered lamps, electric irons and radios. On the 14th anni versary of Matsushita, KM announced to his 162 employees a 250 year corporate plane broke into 25 years section, each to be carried out by successive generations. His plan was codified in company creed and in the â€Å"Seven spirit of Matsushita†. CreedThrough our industrial activities, we strive to foster progress, to promote the general welfare of society, and to devote ourselves to furthering the development of world culture. Seven Spirits of MatsushitaService through Industry Fairness Harmony and Cooperation Struggle for Progress Courtesy and Humility Adjustment and Assimilation GratitudeKey Findings of this Case: Philips: Starting its business with one product focus.Organization development through separation of National Organization and Product Division. 7 chairman’s change within 3 decades in different attempt of recognition. Production diversification and shutting down 75 production facilities for cost cutting in 1987. During 1990s Operation Centurion reduced h eadcount around 22% of the company employees. In 2001 Gerard’s decision of outsourcing the products that can’t add value. Matsushita:Starting Business in 1918 as a double ended socket producer. On the 14th anniversary of Matsushita, KM announced to his 162 employees a 250 year corporate plane broke into 25 years section, each to be carried out by successive generations Advancing with a flood of new products, around 5000 electronic products. Became the first Japanese company to adopt the divisional structure, giving each division clearly defined profit responsibility for its product. Having a clear and specific target for the future growth of the company and each division has to .pay their 60% profit to the parent company. Building Global Leadership through VCRs in 1980s.KM changed the plan of controlling. Instead of controlling input, he started to monitor the output. Wherever the location is, there will be a manager  from the headquarter. That’s how they mana ge the relationship between the Headquarter and Subsidiary.Suggestions:According to our point of view Philips should have specification on the national organizations and the production division. Each should have been given a target that would judge their performance. Instead of just minimizing and diversifying production, they should have recruited young blood. Because young blood brings innovation in business. Considering their excessive cost of production, they should have outsource as much as possible to minimize cost and maximize profits of their company. Most importantly all the divisions should have been monitored by the headquarter, so that the performance and the cost effectiveness would be more emphasized.

Nazi Movies and their Purpose

Nazi Movies and their Purpose Don DeLillo in Running Dog said, â€Å"Those Nazis had a thing for movies. They put everything on film [†¦]. Film was essential to the Nazi era. Myth, dreams, memory† (52). The phrase perfectly underlines the situation which happened in Germany during Nazi regime.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Nazi Movies and their Purpose specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Movies have become the priority for the country. Even money and income were not that attractive and important as movies. Whys did it happen? What were the reasons for the increase of the interest in the movies during the Nazi regime? All these questions are going to be answered here. There is a great value in the Nazi movies as during this era Hitler and his supporters needed to manipulate others applying to the propaganda via mass media and choosing the movies Hitler was sure to support the interest of people in this particular way of insertion of nec essary ideas in the nation. It is easy to follow the increase of the movies production in the Nazi Germany with the beginning of the regime. The main reason for this is propaganda. Nazi rulers wanted to manipulate people and their thoughts, that is why the choice of the mass methods for this may be considered as the best one. People were interested in movies, there is no need to make them watch those and the propaganda ideas were really powerful there. Germans came very seriously to the movie production as the quality of the movies and ideas presented there were really important for the realization of the Hitler plan. Hitler wanted to make sure that all people in the country do not have doubts in the strength of the nation and in the possibility to win. Hitler Youth Quex (1933) is the movie about the conflict between Communist father and Hitler directed son. At the end of the movie Hitler ideology wins. Kopf Hoch, Johannes! (1941) and Triumph des Willens/Triumph of the Will (1934) w ere the best propaganda movies which showed that Nazi nation was the best in the world and it deserved victory and occupation in other countries. One of the main ideas Nazi cinematography wanted to deliver to people was that the nation was one of the most powerful in the world and they deserved ruling other nations applying their great totalitarian systems which gave them opportunity to reach the highest power.Advertising Looking for essay on history? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Moreover, the movies showed the heroism and strength of the soldiers in Nazi army who gave their lives for the benefit of the whole nation being proud to serve the country in such a way. In conclusion, it should be stated that the importance of the Nazi movies was to make people think in the way Hitler wanted. The politics of the country was to help all citizens think in the way they needed. NO one had to think another way round. It was i nadmissible for others to doubt Hitler and his ways of running business and politics. The overwhelming subjection to Nazi politics, absence of the personal point of view and the consideration of the Nazi nation as the only deserving one in the world was the main purpose of them propaganda movies. To make sure that the whole nation has one and the point of view, the possibility to manipulate people and the desire to make sure that any time people are able to do all possible to help Hitler and his army win, the movies were full of patriotic ideas. DeLillo, Don. Running Dog. London: Pan Macmillan, 2011. Print.

Electroplating works Essays

Electroplating works Essays Electroplating works Paper Electroplating works Paper This research was found from a website that gave the process of electroplating and how it works.  It basically explains what electroplating is and what its function is in the process of electroplating. A section from this website gives detail parts of how electroplating works:  Electroplating is the deposition of a metallic coating onto an object by putting a negative charge onto the object and immersing it into a solution, which contains a salt of the metal to be deposited. The metallic ions of the salt carry a positive charge and are attracted to the part with a negative charge. When they reach it, the negatively charged part provides the electrons to reduce the positively charged ions to metallic form This research explains how electroplating works on a small scale and how it does its job of coating the component with a layer of metal.  Below is the description of how electrolysis works. This process is identical to the electroplating but the electrolysis process is in a small scale, as shown below in the diagram  The information below gives a brief description of electroplating nickel from start to finish. Imagine that we have an object that is made of copper or steel, and that it has been properly cleaned, and that we now want to plate it with nickel. A wire is attached to the object, and the other end of the wire is attached to the negative pole of a battery (the wire is blue in this picture). To the positive pole of the battery we connect the red wire; the other end of the red wire we connect to a rod made of nickel. Now we fill the cell with a solution of a salt of the metal to be plated. It is theoretically possible to use a molten salt, and in rare cases that are done, but most of the time the salt is simply dissolved in water. The NiCl2 ionises in water to Ni++ and two parts of Cl-, because the object to be plated is negatively charged, it attracts the positively charged Ni++. The Ni++ reaches the object, and electrons flow from the object to the Ni++. For each atom of Ni++, 2 electrons are required to neutralize it or reduce it to metallic form. This information explains how nickel is plated onto a raw component. It describes how the raw component that is being electroplated is attached to the cathode (negative part) in the circuit. The anode is just the positive part in the circuit and is not attached to anything apart from the solution  After the attachment of the component there is a salt of nickel chloride NiCl2 in the solution. This will dissolve to form ions, Ni++ and Cl-. The nickel ions will be attracted to the cathode, which has the raw component e.q. steel, thus coating the metal on the cathode part with nickel. The chloride ions will then be attracted to the positive part, anode and therefore the process is complete. The reason that nickel is attracted to the raw component is because the cathode, containing the raw component has a negative charge and the nickel has a positive charge and therefore opposite attract.  Section 3, analysis of information and conclusions  Research piece 2, secondary information  This research describes how electroplating works and what types of electroplates are available. Electroplating is the electrochemical process of depositing a metallic coating on the base material of an object when it is immersed in a plating solution in such a manner that a suitable low voltage electric current flows through it, causing the metallic coating to be attracted to the object to be plated. Electroplated finishes, including:  Chrome plating, Copper plating, Nickel plating, Sliver plating, Zinc plating brass plating, cadmium plating, chromium plating, hard chromium plating, gold plating, tin plating and zinc plating. The description of electroplating is the same as the research in research 1, but this research has the types of coating available.  Research piece 3, secondary information  This research was obtained from a website that gave relevant information on what a metal finish and what electroplating is.  WHAT IS METAL FINISHING?  Metal finishing is the process of changing the surface of an object; for the purpose of improving its appearance and/or durability. A metal finish is the altering or changing of the surface by a process, to improve the appearance and the resistance of the metal.  ELECTROPLATING  Electroplating is an electrochemical process used to deposit a metallic coating on the base material of an object by immersing it in an electrically charged solution so that a suitable low voltage electric current flows through it, causing the metallic coating to be attracted to the object being plated. Electroplating is a process to coat a raw component with a layer of metal to protect it from corrosion and other factors. It also helps to improve the appearance and function of the raw component.  Question 1, Primary information  This information was obtained from an interview, which took place at the electroplating company by the manger or head employee.  This information gives the relevance of electroplating and how it does it function. The information describes the technique used to coat the raw component with the metal. The process of electroplating is similar to that of electrolysis. The electroplating process involves raw components being coated with a layer of metal so that it can give it a protective and decorative finish depending on what raw material is being used. For example electroplating a steel component with chrome to give it a decorative finish rather than protective finish.  From this research the raw component used to electroplate is usually steel. What this shows is that steel need to be protected from factors such as corrosion by being electroplated, so this means that electroplating steel will be beneficial because it protects it from factors. Section 3, analysis of information and conclusions  Research piece 4, primary information  This is a photograph of the electroplated produced. It has been electroplated with zinc. The raw component used was steel. The reason this material has been electroplated with zinc is because it is highly resistant to corrosion and protects it from damage. The effectiveness of the coating of this raw component is to protect it from corrosion. It does this by forming a layer of metal, which is highly resistance that does not let the inner metal be exposed to factors.  The quality control that is kept to insure this product has no faults is a member of staff that checks the items once they have been electroplated. If there is a fault in the electroplated product it will have to go thought the whole process of electroplating from start to finish again so that all faults are whipped out. The quality assurance of the electroplated products to the user is that it will be made to high standards to insure that quality control has been kept throughout the whole of its process and there have been no faults.  The input of this process is the raw materials, raw component the solutions etc. The process of the electroplated product is being electroplated under conditions that are quality controlled and the output is the quality assured product. Research piece 5, primary information  This is another photograph of an electroplated pr duct that has been electroplated with black zinc on a steel component. The effectiveness of this is to keep it protected from major facts such as rust, corrosion. This is because it may be used for purposes that may have factors that can damage the inner metal so thus it is coated in a better metal. The quality control over this product is to keep it fault free. It does this by checking each electroplated product to insure it is not damages in anyway. Once it has been approved that it is fault free it is quality assured and the products then sold or given back to the company that asked for it to be electroplated.  The input is the raw material, raw component, and solutions of zinc. The process is to coat the raw component with a layer of metal to protect it from major factors like corrosion. The output is the electroplated product with no faults.

How to Meet a Member of Congress Face-To-Face

How to Meet a Member of Congress Face-To-Face While more difficult than sending them a letter, visiting your Members of Congress, or their staff, face-to-face is the most effective way to actually influence them. According to the 2011 Congressional Management Foundation’s report Perceptions of Citizen Advocacy on Capitol Hill, personal visits by constituents to the Washington or district or state offices of members of Congress have â€Å"some† or â€Å"a lot† of influence on undecided legislators, more than any other strategy for communicating with them.  A 2013 CMF survey found that 95% of the Representatives surveyed rated â€Å"staying in touch with constituents† as the most critical aspect of being effective legislators. Identify Your Members of Congress It is always best to meet with the Senators and Representatives who represent your state or local congressional district.Find your U.S. Representative based on your zip code.Find your U.S. Senators based on your state. Individuals and groups can arrange personal meetings with Senators and Representatives either in their Washington offices or in their local offices at various times during the year. To find out when your Senator or Representative will be in their local office, you can: call their local office, check their website (House) (Senate), get on their mailing list. Whether you arrange to meet with your elected officials in Washington or their local offices, here are some rules to follow: Make an Appointment This is just common sense and courtesy. All Congressional offices in Washington require a written appointment request. Some Members do offer walk-in meeting times in their local offices, but an appointment request is still highly recommended. Appointment requests can be mailed, but faxing them will get a faster response. Members contact information, phone and fax numbers can be found on their websites   The appointment request should be short and simple. Consider using the following template: [Your Address] [Date]The Honorable [full name] U.S. Senate (or U.S. House of Representatives) Washington, DC 20510 (20515 for House)Dear Senator (or Representative) [last name]:I am writing to request an appointment with you on [date]. I am a member of the [your group, if any] in [your city], and Im concerned about [issue].I realize that your schedule is difficult to project at this point, but it would be ideal if we could meet between [time] and [time].I believe [issue] is important because [1-2 sentences].My home address is [address]. I can also be reached by phone at [phone number] or email at [email address]. I will contact your office during the week of [1-2 weeks before the visit] to confirm the details of the appointment.Thank you for considering my request to meet with you.Sincerely,[name] Prepare for the Meeting Plan to discuss no more than two issues. Meetings are scheduled to last from 15- to 45-minutes.Learn everything you can about your issue.Learn everything you can about points in opposition to your standpoint and be ready to argue against them.Identify and be ready to discuss any key data points that support your argument.If you have any supporting handouts, charts or graphics, bring them with you. Consider taking extra copies in case staff members request them. At the Meeting Arrive about 10 minutes before the appointment time. At least, be on time. Dress neatly and conservatively. Be courteous and respectful. Relax.Do not be upset if you end up meeting with the legislators staff. They are often more knowledgeable of individual issues than the legislators themselves, and they WILL inform the legislator of your views and requests.Introduce yourself to the legislator or their staff members: tell them who you are and where you live. Warm them up: Try to start by complimenting something the legislator has done recently; their vote on an issue, a bill they sponsored, etc. After a minute or two of such small talk, state your standpoint on the issue(s) you came to discuss. No matter how passionately you feel about the issue, do not rant-and-rave. Nothing diminishes your credibility more than an in your face demeanor. Tip: The lawmakers know you pay their salary.Be ready to answer questions and discuss your points in detail.In the conversation, focus exclusively on how the issues you are addressing affect your state or local congressional district. Explain how your issues will impact specific population groups, businesses, or the economy of your state or community. If the legislator disagrees with you, stand up for yourself, debate the issues, but do not become over-argumentative. Keep trying to emphasize the positives of your standpoint. Always try to end the conversation on a positive note.Close the meeting with a clear â€Å"Ask.† Members of Congress respond best to clear, specific requests. For example, you might ask that they vote for or against a piece of legislation or introduce legislation to address your issues.   General Meeting Tips Don’t be nervous. Speak naturally and confidently. Arrive on time and be considerate of your member’s time constraints and their staff’s time. Always be courteous and concise in presenting your points and request. After the Meeting Always send a follow-up letter or fax thanking your legislator or staff members. Also include any additional information you may have offered to provide in support of your issue. The follow-up message is important, because it confirms your commitment to your cause and helps build a valuable relationship between you and your representative. Town Halls In addition to individual meetings with their constituents, members of Congress hold local public â€Å"town hall† meetings at various times during the year. At these town halls, constituents can ask questions and give feedback to their members. Locations, dates, and times of town hall meetings can be found on the members’ websites.

Arguementative Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Arguementative - Research Paper Example THESIS According the American Heritage Dictionary (2011), abortion is defined as the induced termination of a pregnancy, achieved via destruction of embryo or fetus. Abortion therefore refers to ceasing the process of child birth before the child is born. Opting for an abortion is not an easy decision, but there are many unfortunate circumstances where women find themselves with no other choice. Several reasons for opting for an abortion may include: rape pregnancies, accidental pregnancies, divorce, illness of the mother or the mother being underage etc. Abortion has for long been viewed unfavorably by most societies. In America, abortion was legalized only in five states in 1970 and in all states in 1973 (Levitt & Donohue, 2001). Women who do opt for abortion to avoid giving birth to unwanted babies face many difficulties in areas where abortion has not been legalized. If a woman is too young or unhealthy to bear a child, or if the baby is unwanted, she should have the right to ter minate her pregnancy before bringing the child to life. This will not only save an unwanted or abandoned baby from being born but will also give the woman a chance to live a healthy life and make a career after attaining whatever education she may seek chances of which would be rare if she gave birth to a baby while being in her teens. Unprepared couples or those not wanting another baby do not prove to be good parents and it is not fair for any child to be born in a home where he or she is not welcome and where his or her parents cannot support the baby. In worse cases where abortion is not an opportunity and the baby is not given for adoption either, the baby is either abandoned, or is brought up very poorly by the parents or parent. There are cases where pregnant women are murdered by their partners who are unwilling to have a baby and share the responsibility or in some extreme cases; even the newly born infants are murdered by one of the parents. All this can be avoided by taki ng a timely step namely that of abortion if contraception did not work. Even if given a chance to live, unwanted babies are deprived of normal lives where parents care for children and support them. Unwanted children often have abusive, frustrated parents who do not care for the children, resulting in unhappy lives for such children. ANTI-THESIS There are always two sides of a picture and it is pointless to prove an argument while ignoring the counter arguments available. There is some available research and literature in favor of not legalizing abortion as well. Lott and Whitley (2010), cited in UFI (2010) conducted one study to find the relationship between abortion and crime rates. They concluded that contrary to what Levitt and colleagues (2005) previously found, crime rate specially that of murders had actually increased with legalizing abortion. The researchers supporting this finding explain that with legalized abortion, pre marital and extra marital unprotected sex has also become a more encouraging option which has therefore elevated the rate of related crimes. Some people who oppose legalized abortion claim that abortion is another form of discrimination. Dr. Garton in her book ‘Who broke the baby?, cited in Murti (2006) says that we have actually conveniently excluded

Conraceptive use Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Conraceptive use - Essay Example Over a long period these studies have turned to be more thoroughgoing and have enhanced in analytical sophistication and size. This topic has been highly debated and researched and still being studied to find out any association between the mortality and the prolonged use of oral contraceptives. However, according to the study conducted by Colditz (1994), the prolonged utilization of oral contraceptives is found to be unassociated with increased risk of mortality of women. This research results seem to be valid and there is no linkage between the use of oral contraceptives and mortality among females as the study has been conducted for a period of twelve years. Through the design selected, the researcher gathered data for 12 years to follow the impact of oral contraceptives on the health of women. The instrument utilized was questionnaire and the responses collected then were further categorized into groups. The number of participants was 166,755 females between the ages of 30 to 55 years and the data was initially collected in the year 1976 that was followed till 1988. The design chosen seems valid for conducting a study over several years but this design does have certain drawbacks. The first and foremost drawback is that it lacks randomization thus causing imbalances in characteristics of patients. Moreover the recognition of cohorts could be difficult because of the confounding variables. Since a particular sample is selected, the masking or blinding is complicated as in the given case all the respondents were registered nurses of ages between 30 to 55 years. Moreover it is always a time consuming option to perform a cohort research as in the given research it took 12 years to get the research results. However apart from the drawbacks the design provides a chance to match the subjects involved in the cohorts thus limiting the impact of confounding factors. Moreover the outcomes of such study can be standardized and

Catholic Bioethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Catholic Bioethics - Essay Example The existence of the creation also depends on the God as the Creator regarding all the powers and capacities possessed by Him. God does everything perfectly as depicted in His work of creation (Gen. 1.31). This perfectness further explains that God is transcendent. Genesis 1-3 also teaches Christians that humankind is made in God’s image. The image of God stimulates spiritual intelligence and free will. It is stated in Genesis 1 that, â€Å"Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth" (Gen. 1.26). The use of words, such as likeness and image, portrays advanced meanings about the creation of humankind in a unique way compared the rest of other living things. Likeness means that, God created humankind to be spiritually like Him, by giving man and woman the power and ability to rule over the rest of God’s creation, just like God rules over humankind and the rest of His creation. His image further implies that God wanted the humankind to have a significant spiritual capability that comprehends Him and His nature as well as learn to conform to H is nature. Further, humankinds can put on God’s image and be resurrected into His Family through life experience by building a godly character. Genesis 1-3 has a clear implication for marriage, sexuality, labor, and the consequences of sin. Marriage is typically founded on a firm companionship between man and woman. In Genesis 1: 26-28, the highpoint and goals of God’s plan for marriage are depicted when God decides to create man and his companion, and more importantly, with spiritual intelligence. It is further provided that, â€Å"God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and

Population density Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Population density - Dissertation Example Though the two theories tend to be in discordance, in unison they reflect the importance of the links that exist between the different existing scope modifiers like various institutional variables and the prevalent economy type of that community, to the population growth rate. Thus, there are no doubts that population density and growth rate has signi?cant in?uence over the socio-economic and demographic characteristics of any community (rural and urban). †¢ Higher population density and a high population growth rate subsequently results in increased demands for natural resources like water, food, fuel, agricultural land, an others from the natural resource pool. Rapidly expanding population thus results in over exploitation of natural resources, owing to the persistently rising demands. †¢ High population densities or rising population growth rate leads to elevation in agricultural activities that in turn intensifies deforestation, promoting urbanisation and greater land u se conflicts. †¢ Population growth expansion leads to higher energy demands and use (especially fuel oil and its derivatives, since they form the common energy sources both for urban and rural communities). †¢ population growth and density also ascertains the need for various essential public services like health, water, food, education, housing, transport, etc. thus, affecting the process of governmental budgetary allocation. The significant influence yielded by population on the natural resources, and socio-economic characteristics of a community, makes it necessary to study the orientation in population density and distribution, in order to plan and implement any program associated with growth and development of a State. To under the trends in population density and distribution it is necessary to study and analyse periodically the available standardised data (presently the data from census is used for analysis) on size and spatial distribution of population over a spec ific length of time. However, on studying the various available literatures on population density and its effects on the socioeconomic characteristics of a community, it is seen that very little research has been conducted in this regards. A closer look revealed that it was primarily owing to the complex nature of the term, ‘population density,’ not much work has been done on it (Fonseca and Wong, 2000). Thus, it makes it difficult for the researcher to differentiate between the cause and effect, while analyzing the multidimensional aspects of human density, and its relationship with socio-economic aspects. The intricate nature of the population density is also reflected in the association of various other factors, besides the socio-economic one, like historical or environmental factors, that assist in the formation a specific density range like clustered, linear, or randomly distributed, as regards any urban or rural population (Argent, Smailes, & Grif?n, 2006). 1.2 De nsity The term density forms to be one of the most important dimensions within the geographical aspects of development, and is seen as the economic output that is generated from a unit of land. The term, â€Å"refers to the economic mass per unit of land area, or the

Performance Management Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Performance Management Assignment - Essay Example number of studies hve suggested tht, provided the design nd implementtion of PM re pproprite, it hs the potentil to ffect employee ttitudes in wy tht mkes significnt nd positive contribution to compny performnce. Current pper pper provides criticl nlysis of orgniztionl system of performnce mngement bsing on the findings retrieved nd mterils vilble. I first provide theoreticl overview of the term of performnce mngement, then reserch its ppliction to subsidiry compny, finlly comment on chnges of performnce mngement tht re supposedly needed to be implemented into orgniztionl ctivity. The expression "performnce mngement" ppered in the lte 1980s nd cn be regrded s n extension of "performnce pprisl"-- prctice used to evlute n individul employee's pst performnce. Tody, however, performnce pprisl is considered s one of severl key elements of PM, the others being the communiction of compny strtegy through individul objective setting, links to trining nd development plnning, nd possibly compenstion (Brlow, 2001:501). Despite the fct tht much of the reserch hs been performed within the U.S. context, little reserch hs been crried out on PM in interntionl settings nd even less so in MCMC subsidiries operting in diverse cultures. This derth of reserch mens tht we know little bout the effects of PM on job stisfction mong employees in MCMC where the mjority of the work force re of host-country ntionlity, nd where the host-country's culture my differ substntilly from tht of the MCMC's home country. Moreover, our limited knowledge of the impct of PM on job stisfction is indictive of the pucity of reserch concerning the ttitudes of host-country employees nd especilly of nonmngeril employees in MCMC. It is well known tht employees with negtive ttitudes re likely to perform poorly, cuse disruptions in opertions, nd eventully jeoprdize the vibility of the orgniztion. Furthermore, it hs been documented tht job stisfction is relted to turnover. s Mendonc nd Knungo (2004) hve noted, job stisfction nd turnover re incresing chllenges for MCMC operting in developing countries, whose lbor mrket lcks mngeril nd technicl tlent. Vrious spects of PM hve been studied in both the interntionl nd comprtive contexts. For instnce, scholrs hve ddressed such issues s the impct of ntionl culture on mngement by objectives, differences in mngement style nd performnce pprisl in the United Sttes, Indonesi, Thilnd, nd Mlysi (Zhu, Dowling, 1994:2), nd ntionl culture nd its impct on PM/performnce pprisl in Hong Kong, Tiwn, Singpore, Gret Britin, Jpn, Kore, the United Sttes, Mlysi, the Philippines, Indi, nd Chin. The mjority of these studies, especilly the ones with comprtive ttitudinl dt, hve provided evidence tht culturl differences influence elements of PM nd tht the trnsferbility of PM between countries cnnot be ssumed. However, little interntionl nd comprtive reserch hs exmined ctul effects of PM per se on host-country employees. Consequently, while we know tht MCMCs commonly dopt stndrdized PM policies nd prctices t both their home country nd in overses subsidiries, we do not know wht effect such stndrdized PM hs on host-country employees. The effects of PM hve received greter ttention in domestic settings, but even there the reserch is limited. Most studies hve commonly concentrted on

Cruise ship tourism Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Cruise ship tourism - Case Study Example The structure of the cruise industry is more likely to resemble monopoly because the industry has executed a lot of changes in the brand that is so much different from the carnival of the past. The pricing in the cruise industry has continued to lead, with an average price per person in a day being approximately $175, compared to other industries that are slated to be $ 235. The cruise industry has also improved the onboard products and ships thus making it have a competitive advantage above the rest of other industries. Driving such a change has been the core objective and vision of Carnival (Gibson, Papthanassis, & Milde, 2011). The aspect of consistently providing quality cruise vacations exceeding the expectation of the industry’s guests is more likely to make the company become a monopolist since its services will exceed those provided by other industries.Question 3  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The various brands operated by Carnival Corp. do not have synergies. It is wise for Carnival to acquire brands outside of the contemporary market niche in order to bring a different brand into the market. This will ensure that the company effectively competes with other companies within the industry (Gibson, Papthanassis, & Milde, 2011). Carnival should also acquire brands outside of the contemporary market so as to improve its field-sales force as well as to grow direct-sales effort that include an inbound and outbound channel of personal vacation planners. The acquired brands will also help Carnival direct its efforts in stimulating demand.

Performance Management Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Performance Management Assignment - Essay Example number of studies hve suggested tht, provided the design nd implementtion of PM re pproprite, it hs the potentil to ffect employee ttitudes in wy tht mkes significnt nd positive contribution to compny performnce. Current pper pper provides criticl nlysis of orgniztionl system of performnce mngement bsing on the findings retrieved nd mterils vilble. I first provide theoreticl overview of the term of performnce mngement, then reserch its ppliction to subsidiry compny, finlly comment on chnges of performnce mngement tht re supposedly needed to be implemented into orgniztionl ctivity. The expression "performnce mngement" ppered in the lte 1980s nd cn be regrded s n extension of "performnce pprisl"-- prctice used to evlute n individul employee's pst performnce. Tody, however, performnce pprisl is considered s one of severl key elements of PM, the others being the communiction of compny strtegy through individul objective setting, links to trining nd development plnning, nd possibly compenstion (Brlow, 2001:501). Despite the fct tht much of the reserch hs been performed within the U.S. context, little reserch hs been crried out on PM in interntionl settings nd even less so in MCMC subsidiries operting in diverse cultures. This derth of reserch mens tht we know little bout the effects of PM on job stisfction mong employees in MCMC where the mjority of the work force re of host-country ntionlity, nd where the host-country's culture my differ substntilly from tht of the MCMC's home country. Moreover, our limited knowledge of the impct of PM on job stisfction is indictive of the pucity of reserch concerning the ttitudes of host-country employees nd especilly of nonmngeril employees in MCMC. It is well known tht employees with negtive ttitudes re likely to perform poorly, cuse disruptions in opertions, nd eventully jeoprdize the vibility of the orgniztion. Furthermore, it hs been documented tht job stisfction is relted to turnover. s Mendonc nd Knungo (2004) hve noted, job stisfction nd turnover re incresing chllenges for MCMC operting in developing countries, whose lbor mrket lcks mngeril nd technicl tlent. Vrious spects of PM hve been studied in both the interntionl nd comprtive contexts. For instnce, scholrs hve ddressed such issues s the impct of ntionl culture on mngement by objectives, differences in mngement style nd performnce pprisl in the United Sttes, Indonesi, Thilnd, nd Mlysi (Zhu, Dowling, 1994:2), nd ntionl culture nd its impct on PM/performnce pprisl in Hong Kong, Tiwn, Singpore, Gret Britin, Jpn, Kore, the United Sttes, Mlysi, the Philippines, Indi, nd Chin. The mjority of these studies, especilly the ones with comprtive ttitudinl dt, hve provided evidence tht culturl differences influence elements of PM nd tht the trnsferbility of PM between countries cnnot be ssumed. However, little interntionl nd comprtive reserch hs exmined ctul effects of PM per se on host-country employees. Consequently, while we know tht MCMCs commonly dopt stndrdized PM policies nd prctices t both their home country nd in overses subsidiries, we do not know wht effect such stndrdized PM hs on host-country employees. The effects of PM hve received greter ttention in domestic settings, but even there the reserch is limited. Most studies hve commonly concentrted on

Into the World Essay Example for Free

Into the World Essay Individuals venturing into new experiences may encounter obstacles, but may also experience personal growth. † ‘Into the World’ is can be defined as aspects of growing up and transitions into new phases of an individual’s life. It can mean transitioning naturally, or change being thrust upon a person. In either case, any individual venturing into new experiences will encounter obstacles, but they will also experience personal growth. This is evident in the prescribed text, The Story of Tom Brennan by JC Burke, as well as my chosen text, I Was Only 19 by Redgum. The concept of ‘new experiences’ may not always start off positively. For example, in Burke’s novel, the protagonist, Tom Brennan, one fatal accident forced him and his family to flee their hometown of Mumbilli, forcing every character to undergo a catharsis. This causes Tom to become very withdrawn and introverted as he grows bitter and resentful of the whole situation and slowly getting pushed ‘back into that big, black hole’. He becomes very depressed, antisocial and isolated as he attempts to deal with the situation that his brother, Daniel, has caused. The author conveys the protagonist’s thoughts, feelings, attitudes and beliefs through a variety of techniques. The audience is aware of Tom’s growing guilt through the technique of first person writing. ‘Like I said, that was a low point. ’ (p124) The convincing, idiomatic, subjective voice of the teenage narrator creates a confidential relationship with the readers, as well as keeping them engaged. It also gives us insight into Tom’s inner most thoughts. As Tom plunges into intense feelings of guilt and animosity, he becomes numb to the struggles the other members of his family are facing. One of the most effective and engaging techniques used by the author to capture the reader’s attention, is the use of flashbacks. The Story of Tom Brennan is a nonlinear narrative, and this is first evident in the prologue, which has a reflective tone, when it changes from past tense to present tense. ‘ so as not to remind them of their pain and what our family now meant to this town. My name is Tom Brennan, and this is my story. ’ However, these flashbacks finish after chapter 9, which is when Tom finally begins to accept the situation. As Tom and his family are forced to make a shameful and hasty departure from their once-loved, parochial hometown, they flee to Toms’ Gran’s house in Coghill. Tom hates living in his Gran’s house, and his subjectiveness creates a bias and negative image of her, as he promptly denigrates her efforts, particularly her ‘culinary disasters,’ claiming that her food looked like ‘a charred slab of cow’s shit. ’ He can’t understand why she copes with the situation is a stoic manner and she becomes somewhat like a ‘punching bag’ for Tom, as he releases all his anger on her. Their relationship is strained, hostile and lacks mutual tolerance and respect as he refers to her as ‘The Grandmother. ’ As Tom re-establishes a connection with ‘The Grandmother,’ he learns empathy, and this is evident in chapter 12 when Tom first realises that she cares for him more than he realises –‘Do you think I couldn’t see you fading away those first few weeks? ’ Their developing relationship is then strengthened as Tom decides to build her a chook pen. Rugby is the lynchpin that holds the novel together. Tom is placed as half-back on the St Bennies team that ‘couldn’t catch a cold. The team provides him with a solid ground to stand on and his teammates give him new relationships and ties to Coghill. Football symbolises the prestige of the ‘legend of the Brennan brothers,’ and Tom unknowingly uses football as a measure of what he had and what he’d lost, of what he can and can’t do. When Tom goes on the St. Bennies footy camp, he learns humility. After Tom speaks with his dad at camp, he realises that ‘winning had been everything at St John’s, but now I was confused, because I think Dad was trying to tell me that it wasn’t enough. ’ He then uses his skills to teach and lead St Bennies. Tom’s uncle, Brendan, has a therapeutic effect on Tom, and as he starts running with him in the mornings, he grows and matures as he tries to get fit enough to travel to Nepal, and this is evident in Brendan’s statement: ‘He was lucky to have you there, Tom. Even if he doesn’t remember it. ’ At first, Tom is hesitant to start running, ‘ contemplating whether a ‘piss off’ was in order. ’ They run up the hill near Carmel’s property, ‘The Ascent,’ which she ‘reckoned it lead all the way to heaven,’ and this becomes symbolic of Tom’s struggle and his journey. The Ascent is an obstacle Tom must face, with the help of Brendan, in order to grow and bloom as he accepts the situation. Another factor that helps Tom heal is his friendship-turned-relationship with Chrissie, who also has a therapeutic effect on him. Chrissie is Tom’s confidante –‘I started talking. That’s what she did to me’, as she acts as a panacea to his pain, which he describes as ‘feeling bad all the time. ’ The concept of individuals venturing into new experiences is also explored in my chosen text, I Was Only 19 by Redgum. I as only nineteen presents the protest against conscription during the Vietnam War. It displays all the difficult experiences of a young man as well as his perspective towards the Vietnam War and the loss of his friend due to the war. The poem portrays war as a living hell and tells the audience the unseen, brutal ways of battle. It reflects on the horror and traumatising warfare that the young men had to go through. â€Å"I was only nineteen† is repeated in a sad, dull context as the lyrics are mostly describing the downside of the whole war concept. Through the themes, use of emotive language and vivid description, this repetition can easily be identified as setting a depressing and sympathetic tone. The use of rhetorical questions place emphasis on how the poet feels this experience has effected him â€Å"And why the Channel Seven chopper chills me to my feet? And whats this rash that comes and goes, can you tell me what it means? † â€Å"And can you tell me doctor, why I still can’t get to sleep? † gives an example of repletion which has been used to emphasise the fact that the young men that have been taken to war and all the horrific experiences they’ve been through. The rhyming of the words of each line have been included to give a feel towards the song/poem and give a link towards each line and that there is a connection between the two lines – â€Å"And theres me in my slouch hat with my SLR and greens. God help me, I was only nineteen. † The use of other poetic techniques, such as metaphors, are also used to emphasise the obstacles faced by young soldiers in warfare- â€Å"Was a war within yourself/ It was a long march from cadets/ And night times just a jungle dark and a barking M16. Another metaphor evident is â€Å"But you wouldnt let your mates down til they had you dusted off. † This is used to represent the camaraderie and friendship instilled in the soldiers. In conclusion, individuals venturing into new experiences may encounter obstacles, but may also experience personal growth. In The Story of Tom Brennan, as well as I was only nineteen by Redgum, the concept of personal growth is explored. Both the soldier in I was only nineteen, as well as the Brennans, face multiple obstacles whilst telling their story.

Case Studies of Organizational Change

Case Studies of Organizational Change CASE BACKGROUND The RTAs approach was to just involve the executive level management and the consultants in the strategy making process without including the middle and lower level management. The approach of the company shows its high level confidence in its top level management and it wants none other those to get involved in the decisions which are of utmost importance to the company and all of its employees (Heathfield). There are both positive and the negative aspects of such a strategy. Taking this change management policy positively, the company wants do not want any kind of issue arising during its process of changing the organizational management to save its time, energy and the focus which is a good decision in itself but if we consider the negative side of this strategy, the company will not have that support from its lower and the middle position employees which is very essential in order to have success in achieving the targets of changing the organization and in the worse case they eve n may fail to accept it at all. ISSUES INVOLVED The concept of organizational change is a wide process aiming at achieving some overall goals and objectives rather than the smaller change. This includes the big changes like the change in mission, restructuring the operations, changes in the technologies, re-engineering, major collaborations, etc. (Basic Context for Organizational Change) Such changes may be regarded as the changes that re-orientate the whole fundamentals in which the organization operates. These changes are the ones which affects the being and the corporate lives of each and everybody in the organization. THEORETICAL UNPINNING OF THE ISSUES INVOLVED In order to achieve certain organizational and group goals, the involvement of those very elements in the organization that are very close to these setting up of goals along with those who are going to be highly affected with that is very important. It can never be expected the one hundred percent support from any employee to support the changes made in his work or way of work who was not involved in the process of decision which will have a long lasting impact on his work. For such changes to succeed the involvement of those individuals whose working is going to get highly effected is very essential. Though it is quite admissible that during the changes, especially the ones which have an effect on the whole organization, the involvement of each and every individual is not possible but it would be highly worthy to try the involvement of the individuals as much as possible from the lower as well as the middle management. ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS The changes in such a strategy is quite possible with a program that in a way involves these lower and the middle level management too, but not affecting the positive interest of the company for which it was adopted in that way. The changes can be explained as follows: If the role of the middle management as a whole cannot affect the overall decision of the change, at least the involvement of each and every employee in taking the meaningful decisions which involves their own work or the work of their respective unit or group. During the change management process, the suggestion for the changes can be taken from the middle management in the form of survey or the request for the submission of the changes to the executive management or the consultants can be taken. This would not only help the top level management in making the changes but would also involve all the employees in the organization. The suggestions which are found effective enough can be called for the discussion in the conference center and in this way the middle position managers having the considerably effective and the efficient ideas can have a chance to make a big contribution in the change management process. CONCLUSIONS With the certain involvement of the middle or the lower level management in the decisions related to the change management the immense amount of support and the confidence from the employees will be confirmed for such decisions by the executive level management and also with these suggested changes in the process of the change management, Al Ammeri can get his ideas considered and if found feasible by the consultants and the executives he can get those included. Organizational Situation 2: Why is Cultural change so hard? CASE BACKGROUND Fatima Al Hebsi is a student of a Master Degree at BHMeU and her discipline is change course management. In her first interview, she was offered the job as the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Organizational Change Consultantà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  for an old and well established electric power company. The company is expected to make major organizational changes and now it concerns Fatima how hard it would be to change the major components of the culture being followed in the company over a long period. ISSUES INVOLVED Organizational culture is the set of the guiding tools and the ideology that guides and the interpretations and the actions in any organization. It describes the various attitudes, beliefs, the way of doing the work, psychologies, experiences, etc shared commonly by all the employees in the organization. It is basically the ways and the values followed by each and everybody in the organization whether directly or indirectly related to it. The organizational culture of any organization is highly dependent upon the goals and the objectives of the it and the appropriate kinds of the standards adopted for the needs to achieve those. Actually, these are the norms which lays down the guidelines or the expectations that prescribes the kind of behavior is expected from its employees which controls the behavior of the members of the organization towards each other. THEORETICAL UNPINNINGS OF THE ISSUES INVOLVED The consensus about the concept of organizational culture is bit difficult to understand theoretically, as they are quite holistic, historical involving the various anthropological and socially constructed concepts which are also very much difficult to change. Changing the organizational culture is one of the toughest task in the organizational change as this component of the organization was developed over a long period of time by the interaction and the confidence of its participants in the organization. The current organization culture matches the comfort and the style of its employees especially its executive level managers which ultimately reflects the prevailing management style in which the employees are well settled and used to in that working environment. ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATION First of all, the need of initiating the change in the organizational culture is itself a big decision which requires some extremely reason or set of reasons. These reasons have to be of the class of significant loss of sales or customers, fear of bankruptcy, or loosing the millions of dollars in the market, etc and for that too blaming the organizational culture itself needs a harsh journey. But after recognizing the organizational culture as the reason for these troubles and there is a need to change the culture the process require a deep understanding and commitment along with certain tools and knowledge. Doing the change itself is not pretty enough and also the changes are not that easy. Before changing its culture the organization must understand its current culture and the values, the way the things are going on in the organization. Once the organization has understood its current culture, the consultant needs to understand what changes or alterations may be required to guide the organization to the success along with taking into the consideration the well being of its employees, stake holders, partners and the others. This should reflect the future mission and the vision in the future and what will be the major steps to achieve that and path to be folled. This needs high degree of the future predictions according to the current scenario. The next step which would be the toughest step is to convince its employees to change their behavior as per the requirements and the needs of the changed organizational culture. CONCLUSION The change management and especially the changes in the prevailing organizational culture may although be a tough task to be accomplished in the light of fact that these cultures have been developed over the long time and it would be difficult for each and every element of the organization to get adapted for these changes. But for a smart and efficient consultant, he/she has to understand the very roots and the soul of these cultures, to get started right from these ends to get the solutions of the issues involved. Organizational Situation Scenario:3 How do you change a complacent organization? CASE BACKGROUD Ahmed Al Shammsi is the CEO of a well established organization Trans-Tech Solutions which is the market leader in manufacturing the avionics components for the commercial airlines. Even though the organization is doing extremely well in the current situation but the CEO is foreseeing the future problems that is bound to occur in the organization for which the acute changes in the management is required in the organization. Now, CEO is finding another issue about how to convince the top managers to go for some of major changes in the organization. ISSUES INVOLVED The current era of fast industrial and business growth, more competition and the need of more innovation has become the utmost important tool for achieving the success and making stability in that success. The change has to be taken as the most important capability of any business operating in todayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s era without which the organization could not just wish to get the success and get adapted to a changing world. Without the effective and efficient changes required from time to time, the organization is bound to become obsolete some day and eventually die out. THEORITICAL UNPINNING OF THE ISSUES Every organization gets formed on the basis of some ideas and the innovations. They have a distinctive vision with some of those dedicated and devoted people with fresh mind set up to accomplish these very things. Not only the top level management but the organization as a whole have to kept together while making such decisions which as big as the changes in the way they are working, the motive for which they are operating and mission they are acting day and night for the well being of the organization. The settled and the complacent organization like the Trans-Tech Transportation must have started with a fresh idea through which they grew into a market leader and reached a certain level of excellence. But the flexibility is the thing which is required by this corporation to continue as the market leader in the future. ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS It is quite possible that the top level managers have become quite matured with enough resistance to the changes but this may become the reason due to which the company may fall on to a senility mode in which the efficiency of the company slows and may even stop causing the ultimate downfall and then die out. Keeping ourselves in the place of Ahmed Al Shamsi, the owner has to convince its managers even though they are the market leaders, they have been doing well enough in achieving its objectives and goals, there excellent performance has been based on their organizational strategies and cultures but the change is the law of nature which applies here as well. They will have to see not only the prospects coming out for the near future but also the far future which would help them to maintain its leadership as long as possible (Theories of Motivation). They will have to keep in mind that they became the leader by replacing somebody and it would not be impossible that some other innova tion may pull them next to the leader. CONCLUSION Based on the analysis of the complacent organization of Trans-Tech Corporation, the top level managers should look forward for looking for some changes based on some exciting and new idea through which the company may continue its strong and fine edge to continue as a firm with solid vision, strong vision with clear objectives for not only the well being of itself or the executive level management but the organization as a whole.

Starbucks International - Foreign Market Entry Strategy Essay -- GCSE

Starbucks International - Foreign Market Entry Strategy Starbucks International has gone beyond the normal philosophy of Starbucks, to create a re-birth of their product line in foreign countries. Typically in the United States, Starbucks owns its entire line of coffee-bar stores outright with no franchise investments or partnerships. However, their international operations are quite the opposite. Starbucks International has adopted a strategy of partnerships to create its line of international coffee-bar stores. These joint ventures create an increased ease of entry into the foreign market. Starbucks International choose to be involved with partnerships for the benefits these relationships offered over their typical wholly owned subsidiary philosophy. However, choosing the right partner, poses a potential problem for the company. Although Starbucks uses multiple lines of distribution to saturate to US coffee market, its international operations consist only of coffee-bar restaurants. Therefore, they only have one channel of distribution internationally. Through this, Starbucks had to choose a partner that would facilitate their creation and expansion of coffee bars in the international arena, specifically Asia and Japan their primary target. Starbucks developed a series of criteria to which they evaluated different potential partnerships in Japan and other foreign countries. First, they sought to implement the idea of ?partnership first, county second,? as a means of developing partnerships that focuses on the companies goals, and not the countries goals. Second Starbucks noted six additional criteria they used to narrow and conclude their partnership search. (1) They looked for companies with similar ideas a... ...common ground. With a more casual atmosphere, Starbucks offer patrons ample seating areas and dine in or carry out services. However, there was originally some worry about the profitability and future growth of the Italian-style coffees in Japan. Japanese had never been exposed to this type of coffee before, so the taste of espresso drinks was as foreign to them as the name Starbucks. However, Starbucks? managers were confident that Japan was ready to indulge in the fine taste of Italian espresso. All in all, the partnership between Sazaby and Starbucks provided a moderately high benefit for local adaptation. Starbucks plan of a partnership is the best choice for an entry strategy into the international market. Their increased insight into the market, and the other benefits provided by this relationship, will propel Starbucks International into the future.