How is recycling affecting interior design Essay

How is recycling affecting interior design - Essay Example inputs (lowering the consumption of raw materials and energy) and outputs (waste that goes to landfills) of a production system (Letsrecycle.Com 2006). A study by the Technical University of Demark studied 55 products in household rubbish, comparing the effects of burning, burying and recycling them. The results proved that recycling was the most efficient way to do with the waste more than 80% of the times, providing a worthwhile energy savings in comparison with production from raw materials: 95% economy for aluminium, 70% fro plastics and 40 % for paper (Economist 2007). Since 1970s recycling is associated with the notions of sustainable design (also green or ecological design) and sustainable community development. According to Green Supply Line (2007), â€Å"Sustainable design is a comprehensive, holistic approach to creating products and systems that are environmentally benign, socially equitable, and economically viable: environmentally, such that the design offers obvious or measurable environmental benefits; socially, so that it fills the needs of everyone involved in its production, use and disposal or reuse; and economically, so that the design is competitive in the marketplace.† Pellow, Schnaiberg and Weinberg (2000) suggest that recycling has become a model of sustainable community development while it has environmental, economic and social benefits, where economic one plays, perhaps, the crucial role (p.7-8). Today recycling is one of the major requirements of sustainable design and sustainable community development. For instance, Santa Monica Green Building Program names â€Å"recycling of demolition & construction waste in construction contracts† and specification of recycled products per EPA purchasing guidelines among its requirements to materials and envelope and space planning (Santa Monica.org). Recycling, together with efficient reduction and reuse of resources (materials and energy) is underlined as one of the major principles in most of the

Gender Issues In Education, Sports And Employment Essay Example for Free

Gender Issues In Education, Sports And Employment Essay Gender is the cultural construct attached to the fact of biological sex. The construct of gender has come to carry significant meaning with regard to the valuing of people or behaviors according to gender qualifications. There is much evidence that suggest that gendered inequality is the product of female oppression in a world dominated by global male hegemony within and across institutions including family, school, politics, and the labor market. Gender inequality is generally manifested in unequal rights for women of access to basic social services such as education; unequal rights for equal work in the employment sector, and unequal opportunities in sports. This paper is a brief discussion of the specific problems commonly identified within the issue of gender inequality in the mentioned areas, along with a number of potential solutions to ease, if not to totally eradicate the said inequities. Gender Issues in Education The literature on women’s and girls’ education frequently focuses o gendered inequalities in educational opportunities, educational attainment, and status of women in social, political and economic arenas both within and across nations. This problem may seem relatively straightforward, but gendered educational inequity is a complex phenomenon. Women’s education is strongly contextualized by the social and cultural environment of the local schools and national educational systems. Schools are the locus for much of the progress that is being made towards a culture of equality, although there is still much more to be done in order for gender equality to be a consistent characteristic of educational systems around the world (Valian, 2004). A solution seen for this is to institutionalize gender equity standards as components of school policy and structure, which will make it more likely that gendered inequalities will be both observed and identified as inequity. In this way, a heightened sense of awareness in gendered educational inequality could work on behalf of women. Gender Issues in Sports Gender differentiation has also been powerfully constructed through sports and the culture of sports. Moreover, Scraton and Flintoff (2002) asserted that organized sport has been a powerful cultural arena for reinforcing the ideology and actuality of male superiority and dominance; its traditions, symbols, and values have tended to preserve patriarchy and women’s subordinate position in society. Sport was an activity that serves two purposes for men: it meets their recreational needs, and it is a perfect antidote for their anxieties about effeminacy. Sport thus became a popular means for men to reaffirm their masculinity, and hence, a powerful tool for maintaining patriarchal gender relations. These social conditions made being both a woman and an athlete an anomaly in life. Female athletes did not suit society’s ideal of femininity, and those who persisted in sport suffers various aversive sanctions, especially derogation and public ridicule. A solution seen about this issue is for sports organizations to be prepared to analyze critically the ways they operate, the ways they make policy, and the ways in which national and international policy processes influence or are influenced by these sites of power. Gender Issues in Employment Gender inequality in employment begins with the gender labeling of workers. Gender categorization in workplace primes workers and employers alike to infuse stereotypic assumptions about gender into the institutional scripts by which a job is enacted and represented to others (Blakemore and Griggs, 2007). Employers often begin the process by implicitly or explicitly seeking workers of a particular gender on the basis of assumptions about labor costs that are themselves suffused by the effect of gender status beliefs. On the occasions that they hire a woman for a certain position, the pay is lower compared to a man employed in the exact same position. As a further result, women are inclined to be concentrated in casual occupations, where salary and work environment are poorer than in formal and public positions. The understanding of how to work towards gender equality is that people need to change inequitable social systems and institutions. Generally, institutional change is the requirement for addressing the root causes of gender inequality. It means changing organizations which, in their programs, policies, structures, and ways of working, discriminate against women. Organizations should work on legal and policy change, or change material conditions. In order to bring about gender equality in employment, change must occur at the personal level and at the social level. It must occur in formal and informal relations. References Scraton, S. Flintoff, A. (2002). Gender and Sport: A Reader. New York: Routledge. Blakemore, K. Griggs, E. (2007). Social Policy: An Introduction. New York: Open University Press. Valian, V. (2004). Beyond Gender Schemas: Improving the Advancement of Women in Academia. NWSA Journal, 16 (1): 207-220.

Journal article :: essays research papers

Journal article   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Using an academic search engine (Staffordshire university website), a link was found to www.sro.org, which contained many psychology journals on the topic of sleep and dreaming. Many journal articles were found, though the selected journal was ‘Slow wave & REM sleep mentation’ (Cicogna, Natale, Occhionero, Bosinelli 2000), previously used as assessment for the Internet journal assignment. Identifying hypothesis (10)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The title is clear and straight to the point, highlighting the essential elements of the study. As the abstract shows, the aim of the journal is to compare the characteristics of rapid eye movement (REM) and slow wave sleep (SWS). This would be to accept the hypothesis that dreaming is a continuous act, with allowing the different distributions and levels of REM and SWS to occur at different times during the sleep process. It has been acknowledged that the sleep process is divided into certain stages of REM and non rapid eye movement (NREM), being a crucial difference and the main point for NREM, i.e., SWS not being a part of the dreaming process. There has been much previous research about whether REM sleep can be connected to dreaming, outlaying different theories both for and against. An example of a study is to test participants on recall of their dreams through extreme controlled situations. It was found that 60-70% of SWS stage (3rd & 4th stage of NREM) could be recalled. Though this has not systematically been researched since 1968, it was argued how SWS could be bracketed as a continuous dreaming act when the recall results were so high, compared with the minimalist recall of REM stages. It has been suggested, therefore, that there are multiple generators dealing with these different stages, with the theory that it must be a discontinuous act, due the change of generators. However to put a different spin on the issue, most researchers believe there are some realities between REM and NREM s the term ‘dream’ or ‘dreaming’ does not have a uniform definition. The aim of the experiment is to try and find evidence to establish any connection between REM and SWS and infer a continuous dreaming process. This will be done by studying the differential elements between mental experiences collected in REM and NREM, leading to the suggestion that they are all quantitative. If this is proved then the idea of multiple generators may be eliminated, and replace by a single generator, considering dreaming continuously as fantasies & daydreams during sleep and those during wakening hours)

Freud V Erickson Essay -- Psychology Psychologists Compare Contrast

Sigmund Freud is probably the most familiar name that comes to mind when one thinks of famous psychologists. Freud was born in Freiberg, Moravia in 1856, but when he was four years old his family moved to Vienna, where Freud was to live and work until the last year of his life. The scope of Freud's interests, and of his professional training, was very broad - he always considered himself first and foremost a scientist, endeavoring to extend the compass of human knowledge, and to this end, rather than to the practice of medicine, he enrolled at the medical school at the University of Vienna in 1873. He concentrated initially on biology, doing research in physiology for six years under the great German scientist Ernst Brà ¼cke, who was director of the Physiology Laboratory at the University, thereafter specializing in neurology. Eventually, Freud set up a private practice in the treatment of psychological disorders, which gave him much of the clinical material on which he based his th eories and his pioneering techniques.(Amacher) Freud's theories of development relied heavily on the belief that infantile sexuality must be seen as an integral part of a broader developmental theory of human personality. This had its origins in, and was a generalization of, Breuer's earlier discovery that traumatic childhood events could have devastating negative effects upon the adult individual, and took the form of the general thesis that early childhood sexual experiences were the crucial factors in the determination of the adult personality.(Freud2) From his account of the instincts or drives it followed that from the moment of birth the infant is driven in his actions by the desire for bodily/sexual pleasure, where this is seen by Freud in almost mechanical terms as the desire to release mental energy. This lasts until puberty, when mature genital development begins, and the pleasure drive refocuses around the genital area.(Amacher) It was also a friend and fellow psychoanalyst of Freud’s, Erik Erickson, who created one of the major theories that open a window to the development of everything that makes us who we are on the inside. It is referred to as Erickson’s Theory of Human Development and it simplifies the complex topic of human personality.(Miller) First, let’s talk about the man himself. Erik Homberger was born in Frankfurt, Germany in 1902. The conditions ... ...believed that personality continued to develop across the lifespan and describes stages of adult development not considered by Freud. Both theorists emphasized the unconscious, but Erickson went beyond this to discuss the importance of the collective unconscious; an idea Freud particularly rejected. Both theorists had little physical evidence to support their hypothesis, however because of the early stages of development that the field of psychology was in, they were accepted based primarily on merit, and have been later evaluated by evidence, and some parts accepted and others disregarded. Bibliography Amacher, Peter. 'Freud's Neurological Education and Its Influence on Psychoanalytic Theory.'Psychological Issues IV, no. 4, monograph 16. New York: International Universities Press, 1965. Battino, R., & South, T. 1997. Ericksonian Approaches: A Comprehensive Manual. Neuyptology Press Freud, Sigmund, Brill, A. A., ed. (1938). The Basic Writings of Sigmund Freud, New York: The Modern Library Freud, Sigmund. (1935). An Autobiographical Study., London: Hogarth Press. Miller, P. (1983). Theories of Developmental Psychology. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman and Company.

Movie Review: The White Balloon Essay

Jafar Panahi’s movie entitled â€Å"The White Balloon† is a depiction of social reality in these present times within the eyes of a young girl protagonist. The conflict of the story is simple as well as the resolution and its setting. The main problem of the protagonist is her likeness to buy a fish but she does not have any amount of money in her pocket. What she did was she took her mother’s last money and went to the store but while walking to the store, the girl lose her mother’s money that brought fear and anger within her. At the end of the story, there is no concrete solution to the conflict but the protagonist made her own way of obtaining the money to buy the fish.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Like what other critics and analysts said towards this film, there is no need to impose complex conflicts to make each story a good one. As long as there are complete scenarios and interpretations of things, everything would be better than the others. This is what Panahi did in this movie. He only took the courage to discuss and illustrate the life of Iranians in a typical country of Iran. Though it is more on the simple aspects of Iranian tradition, there is a combination of twist and turns that will bring its audience to the mood of waiting for the next situation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In my own perception and point of view regarding the issues and topics that were tackled in the movie is that the director has no direct attack towards the resolution of the conflict. He is already satisfied with the illustrations and discussions of Iranian life but there is no form of resolution to the conflict. The protagonist’s problem was not a personal problem but a social problem that should not be taken for granted. It means that the director itself should not take this for granted if he wanted to analyze the situation of Iranian people especially in the cases like this where the main character is a child who always seeks for answers in every question. Reference Panahi, J. The White Balloon.

buy custom Continuum of Healthcare essay

buy custom Continuum of Healthcare essay Health care involves systems that are progressive in nature. This is especially in promotion of the well being of patients both physically and mentally. When an intervention is done early, it reduces chances of having critical service provision and hence makes their functions easy. In addition, cost to be incurred in offering these services is minimized. There are eight stages upon which Health Care Continuum goes through. These include the following: the first stage involves revisiting the overall missions and goals that have been set as well as the objectives (Deffenbaugh, 1994). It involves the use of the box that is best suited. This serves as the reality check and paves ways for the completion of the second and third step. Setting the right missions, goals and objectives helps in advancing other stages. The second stage involves the process of identifying the core programs that are vital in the health care. In every stage in provision of continuum health care, it is important to have a list of vital services as well as programs that are suitable to be applied in every other stage (Callahan, (2000). For instance, the list may include all the affairs concerning the health care. Moreover, there is possibility of occurrence of other forms of risks that are related to health care. Thus, for effective intervention of any risk, it is important to have appraisal programs. Core objectives are essential as they are responsible in spanning the continuum process. Other initiates such as self care can help in provision of information to be considered in supporting and providing any form of intervention that may be required. In addition, medical care may be provided personally and help in making critical decisions affecting oneself. For example, people suffering from chronic diseases may benefit from this course and in managing their conditions more effectively. The third stage involves the process ofidentifying the organizational as well other benefits that employees may find as vital and supporting. This includes covering the preventive health care type of initiatives such as screening. Others include process of precertification in order to review certain organizational procedures (Deffenbaugh, 1994). The organization should also be in a position to provide incentives to ensure that people are able to comply with the programs. The fourth stage, involves estimation of the costs that are involved in programming and other forms of utilities. Therefore, in this stage, the total costs that are incurred in provision of health care services determined. This also entails the cost that every employee gets. On the same, there self insurance may be important to consider. The organization is hence able to determine its total expenditures in every continuum stage that is covered (Callahan, 2000). Some of the major charges include the ambulatory visits that are medically oriented, employees who have been hospitalized, the surgery costs, costs incurred on life insurance of the employees among other medical costs. The fifth stage involves assessing the status or the condition of the organization. This involves reviewing the programs that are within the continuum type of format being used. In this stage, missions, objectives and goals are reviewed. Their strengths and weakness are hence analyzed. The possibility of integrating the programs as the organization moves across the continuum is hence reviewed. In provision of these services, there is a possibility of occurrence of a particular gap. Therefore, this stage targets to come up with a solution to meet the needs within the organization. In order to enhance the support and responsibilities, real gaps and other related functions are put into focus. In case, there are gaps in the system, they are reviewed in order to provide more improved services. The outtcomes of the programs in place and mode of services delivery is also important to consider at this stage. The sixth stage in health care continuum involves addressing the several options that are available in the program. A thorough analysis is conducted to come up with proper initiatives that service the recommended needs of the organization. For instance, there might be several gaps that present themselves within the appraisal of the health care risk; this stage will be used to find another option to be used to solve this mystery. Comparisons between several programs options is also done to determine the most appropriate. Some of the major comparisons entails participants involves, the styles being used as well as the telephone lifestyle among other programs that might be in force. The seventh stage in the provision of health care continuum involves process of justification, planning and implementation. In this case, the analyses that have been arrived at are put on scale (Callahan, 2000). This helps in planning the implementation of the programs as well as budgeting to make the expenditures more reflective. Methods to implement the approved programs are also determined. The last stage involves laying out the analysis. This helps in fine tuning of the programs within the organization. In addition, it helps in application of major forms of intervention measures. A care seeker is able to move from one stage to another more easily. This is because, continuum involves a continuous process. There are laid strategies or stages that enable a health care seeker to move continuously from one stage to the next. Often, health care continuum presents a systematic process through which a care seeker can easily move from one stage to another. Therefore, a care seeker needs to present his or her case to the management. This will enable his in the movement throughout the different stages involved. Buy custom Continuum of Healthcare essay

Book and Film - All Quiet On the Western Front essays

Book and Film - All Quiet On the Western Front essays I read "All Quiet on the Western Front" and viewed the movie. Both the film and the novel show the horror of trench warfare and the drawbacks of unquestioning patriotism. Both the film and the novel follow the same plot but emphasize different aspects. The beginning of both the movie and the novel start off saying. "This story is neither an accusation nor a confession, and least of all an adventure for death is not an adventure to those who stand face to face with it. [This story] will try simply to tell of a generation of men who, even though they may have escaped its shells were destroyed by the war. This line is a precursor of what is to come. The film version of "All Quiet on the Western Front," directed by Lewis Milestone and the novel by Erich Remarque tells what happens to a group of German teenagers during World War I. In this novel some very deep feelings come from the soldiers point of view. The story centers around Paul Baumer, the main character. Paul is the protagonist of the novel who changes from a soft young man to a hardened soldier. He and his classmates had patriotically marched off for recruitment, led on by their teacher, Kantorek. However, they soon find that war is not as glorious as everyone thinks it is. The soldiers soon endure a life in the rat-infested trenches with very few food rations. Throughout the novel and the movie Paul focuses mainly on trying to stay alive and is constantly worrying whether his friends will survive. There is a strong serious tone present in the novel. The theme of how the war destroyed the generation is brought up many times. In the movie this theme is not brought up as much as in the book. There is struggle with death for the soldiers. There is a struggle to survive, and also to deal with the death of their comrades and those around them. A great deal of the setting of the novel and the movie takes place on the battlefield or in the trenches. Paul and his fellow soldiers live ...

Models help or hinder the search for knowledge Essay Example

Models help or hinder the search for knowledge Essay Example Models help or hinder the search for knowledge Essay Models help or hinder the search for knowledge Essay A model is a representation of a complex structure or concept that is used to explain it and represent it in a more simplistic manner with the aim of facilitating the understanding of it. Models are used in a variety of subjects such as natural sciences, government structures, history and many more. Although they are simplified simulations, they provide a representation of reality that help our learning and understanding of the phenomena that occur. However, models have the possibility of leading us into an error or incorrect information and thus present limitations that have the potential of hindering the knowledge. Models can be broken down into four main categories. Experimental models which can be constructed and put to use in a laboratory. A ‘scale models would fit under this category, representing spatial relationships, and ‘working models’ representing temporal sequences. At the other end of the spectrum are logical models. These start from the axioms and theorems of a formal deductive system, they are used to illustrate abstract systems and provide a possible interpretation of it. Lastly, there are theoretical models. These are imaginative mental constructions made to conceptualize observed phenomena. They are usually imagined mechanisms that are described with analogies to familiar processes. For instance, in physics, the â€Å"billiard-ball model† of gas is a perfect example of a theoretical model. Although it is intended to represent an underlying structure of a physical system, it is merely a symbolic representation that is developed into a theory that explains the phenomena as a model. A relevant knowledge issue concerning theoretical models would: to what extend can models give a realistic and accurate representation of reality? Consider a container full of a gas such as air and imagine that it is composed of minuscule elastic spheres bouncing around. It can be assumed that the mechanical behavior of the spheres is similar to the behavior of colliding billiard balls. From this assumption, a theory can be put forward, the one of Kinetic Theory of Gases that involves equations interrelating the velocity (p), mass (m), momentum and energy of the hypothetical spheres. None of these theoretical properties can be physically observed. On the other hand, some theoretical terms could be related to observable properties of the gas, for instance, a change in the momentum of the collision amongst particle with the containing wall may be identified as the pressure of the gas. These assumptions lead to Boyle’s Law stating that if the volume of a gas is reduced by 50% then the pressure of the gas will double. (e.g. compressing air during a bicycle jump). Hypothetical minuscule elastic spheres were assumed to have mass and velocity similarly to billiard balls do although no color. The analogies are not simply formal like they are in mathematics, they may be physical, elasticity and mass. In the creation of a theory, scientist may suggest a model incorporating analogies drawn from a variety of familiar situations combined with radically new assumptions. In the diagram below, all the lines going into the model are represented as dotted due to their origins lying in an act of creative imagination instead of making a purely logic based inference. Generally speaking, dotted arrows should be added coming in from other familiar situations, on the left. When imagining a model, there are explicit or implicit references to what is similar and previously intelligible, furthermore there is freedom allowing to interpret a phenomena in the desired model. It can be assigned to any property that are thought of as fruitful contributors to the theory. This depends on the perception of the scientist of the phenomena in question. Therefore, since theoretical models are based on a scientists interpretation of what they perceive and the analogy that is made to an already known model, models do not provide a fully reliable and accurate representation of reality. Theoretical models can further be perceived as subjective and self determined, thus the numerous debates and disagreements amongst scientists concerning more complex models. Theoretical models convey associations and implications that aren’t specifically determined and that may be transferred if a shit in paradigm occurs due to the application of a different analogy to the phenomena. Additional developments and modifications may be proposed.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"A metaphor proposes analogies between the familiar context of a word and a new context into which it is introduced †. Models can be compared to metaphors due their similar property of open-endedness. Max Black said that ‘It may help us to notice what would otherwise be overlooked and to shift the relative emphasis attached to details in short, to see new connections.† A model suggests new ways of perceiving a situation that presents problems by transferring some of the features of another given situation that is fully understood. The implications implied by the use of a metaphor to refer to a model is not merely subjective as it is employed by the majority of a community using a language. For instance, the use of an analogy that might not have been essential to the formulation of the model could potentially influence the development of the paradigm. Science, most often doesn’t recognize the line separating theoretical language from observational language; the distinction is relative to the situation and depends on the context. A close parallel between the interaction of metaphorical language and literal language can be made, there is a lack of division line between the two. ‘Billiard-ball model’ incites one to think about the whole kinetic gas model as a pool table and the movement of billiard balls. The term was initially introduced as an analogy to visualize a non ‘touchable’ matter. The metaphor has now become a standard reference and is often used to teach with in education. Metaphors, like models, have the potential to extend language and influence the literal recordings of facts and therefore create new meanings. Since the new meanings are based on analogies from the start, they could have distorted the reality of the model to a great extent, providing a less accurate representation. A metaphor evokes emotional responses whereas a scientific model was designed to be systematically developed, specifying the positive and negative analogy although the neutral analogy is open ended and leaves spaced for further interpretation. Furthermore, a scientific model leads to a testable theory. Nevertheless, the similarities between metaphors and models are significant enough to illustrate the importance of imagining analogies. Metaphors aren’t literally true, although, according to Wheelwright, they do â€Å"say something, however tentatively and obliquely, about the nature of what is†. Metaphors help illustrate a model by drawing a direct comparison between the phenomena that is desired to be represented with an analogy that is already existent in our world, defined, explained and understood. The ‘double-helix’ model of the DNA molecules in biology is also considered as a theoretical model, but that one specifically is closer to observational evidence that can be collected in a lab and can therefore be literally taken. Nevertheless, even in this theoretical model, only a defined number of aspects that compose world are brought into prominence, while a few more are neglected. For instance, the model exhibits the spatial relationships between the DNA components but doesn’t take account of the character of the existing bonds between them. In conclusion, models are used in various manner in science. They serve different functions among which you may find practical and theoretical. Theoretical models are innovative mental constructions based on imagination, perception and the ability to relate to already existing models. They end up in a combination of analogies that are usually open-ended and leave space for further development and possibility for shifts in interpretation. Models are usually taken very seriously but not literarily as they are only simplistic representations of complex phenomena. They can’t be defined as pictures of reality nor useful fictions, rather as inadequate and partial manners of imagining and creating what is not observable – in theoretical models.

Did the Framers of the constitution intend that a corporation be Research Paper

Did the Framers of the constitution intend that a corporation be classified as a person for the purpose of being sued and suing - Research Paper Example 208). Persons, according to Roman law, do not have any kind of existence outside that of the legal sphere, and the law recognizes entities, regardless of whether or not they have a biological status. This view is called the â€Å"fiction theory† – this means that the personality of a corporation is a fiction, and that the corporation owes its very existence to the state (French, 1979, p. 208). Rivaling this theory in American jurisprudence is that of the â€Å"Legal Aggregate Theory of the Corporation† – this means that the corporate body is a shield or an umbrella for the individual persons that make up that corporation. In this theory, biological status is what matters, and has legal priority. In this theory, the corporation is synonymous with the board of directors and other leaders of the companies, while employees are generally ignored (French, 1979, p. 209). Another competing theory is that of the Germans, who regard corporations as having a de jarte personality, â€Å"which the law only declares to be a judicial fact† (French, 1979, p. 209). ... What is needed is a Reality Theory that identifies a de facto metaphysical person not just a sociological entity† (French, 1979, p. 210) While these are the popular theories about corporate personhood, the focus of this paper is whether or not the Framers meant for a corporation to be considered a person for the purposes of suing and being sued is a question that has a confused answer. The answer is confused because Supreme Court decisions have contradictory analysis on whether or not a corporation is considered to be a person under the Constitution as written. One case indicated that a corporation can sue in its own name, but that the corporation itself is not a citizen, but, rather, is composed of individual citizens, and that these individual citizens are what a court must look to when deciding if a court has jurisdiction over corporation lawsuits. Another case says, no, a corporation is an entity of its own, and the individual members of the corporation are not what matters – what matters is the corporation itself. The differences between these two cases is that the former was a case involving corporate lawsuits and the latter involved a corporation’s ability to make contracts. Then along came a case whose dicta established that a corporation is a person, but did not give any kind of reasoning behind why it believes this to be so. Nevertheless, this is considered to be a landmark case in that the case affirmatively established that a corporation is indeed a person. But, since the reasoning behind this is unclear, it is likewise unclear as to whether this court decided that the Framers intended this to be so. In other words, the Supreme Court cases that have dealt with the issue of corporate personhood,

Team building and small business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Team building and small business - Essay Example The present study would focus on the concept of team building. Team building and self directed workers within the business industry have penetrated over the years. Many businesses around the world are incorporating the issue of team building their business development. The philosophy behind team work suggests that business managers mash workers into groups that work cohesively in order to achieve business objectives. If team members are not to be cohesive they will fail to work and lessen business activities, and a non productive team fails to bring benefits to the organization and can easily lead to the collapse of business. It is for that reason; that managers are accountable for all factors that ensure that the teams are well managed for effective business production. Successful business managers know that building a team spirit is the core for small business development. Team building is based on the daily routines that occur within the small business. Good business team just doe s not occur on their own they are built by business managers. The notion of building and growing a well structured team is critical to the ongoing survival of a small business. This means that the process of coming up with a strong team that can work positively towards achieving the business objectives, leads to development of small business. For the business managers, to develop a good team they have to consider performance of each individual as they work to achieve business objectives.... Secondly balancing short term results against long term capabilities, and growth opportunities, third balance performance expectations, and lastly balancing the motives of human behavior. Small business Sustaining business development means adopting business strategies and activities than the need to meet the attainments of the business, and all its stake holders which lead to sustaining and enhancing the resources that will be needed in the future. Research studies show that successful business managers do share certain character traits (Stokes, 2006). These character traits do help them take control of their small business, and to ensure that these businesses flourish with a lot of success. These small business managers apply different marketing strategies to ensure that they get the target market for their goods. For them to achieve a better marketing strategy they need to plan and set target goals after which they implement the planned strategy (Fuller, 2006). For these to take p lace successfully the small business thus requires a well built growing team that is critical to the ongoing process of the small business, therefore, this paper evaluates the statements that building and growing a well structured team is critical to the ongoing survival of a small business Small business face numerous challenges due to in effective management making the business not to fit in the difficult challenging markets and cope with the growth patterns in the market. These challenges are normally influenced by the following challenges (Wickhalm 2006). Inadequate accounting systems Poor location Lack of marketing skills Lack of a capital budget Inadequate provision for contingencies Lack of management skills Excessive inventory Incompetence

The Human Nature Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Human Nature - Coursework Example It is a happiness of following own nature and fulfilling own higher idea and purpose. The feature, commonly shared by all the people, according to Aristotle, is the reason. Ability to reasoning lies at the core of human beings. Rational capacities impose person’s capability to explore the world and support and focus own decisions and acts. Thomas Aquinas supposed that moral law is a part of the universal divine plan. There are innate tendencies of human nature that have to be enhanced and thus promote the greater good. He stressed the importance of liberty of knowledge and freedom of choice. There are some conflicting points regarding the moral law. For example, according to Darwin’s theory, poor and weak deserve their suffering as the natural law in evolution theory states that the strongest survive. Health care seems to be contradicting. All the people have both people and animal natures. This means all the people contain some degree of aggression for survival. Thus, there are joint collective values for common good and survival, while other aspects may involve competitiveness, destructive features, etc. All the living creatures and systems are aimed to develop. It is seen through all the species. Systems and creatures evolve and become more complex. Eudaimonia means revealing and fulfilling own concept. Finding own role, in which a person may both achieve own happiness and promote the greater good for the maximum quantity of people is probably a natural law, which is imprinted into the human nature.

Statistics Project Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 9

Statistics Project Example In this case, a description of the length of labor could have been initiated whereby the length of labor of one works would be considered as a random variable. A probability distribution that provides a description to such a random variable would them be initiated. 4. The distributions of scores for the experimental and control groups were not similar for the length of labor because the two means were different. The mean of the experimental group was 14.63 while that of the control group was 12.79, portraying a mean difference of 1.84 (Troy & Dalgas-Pelish, 2003). 5. The experimental and control groups were slightly in their type of feeding since in all types of feeding such as bottle feeding, breast feeding, as well as the combination of the two modes of feeding depicted a difference in their mode, as a measure of central tendency (Mann, 1995). Breast-feeding was found to have a mode of 40.6% for the experiment group against 41.7% for the control group, while bottle-feeding had a mode of 53.1% against 50.0% for the experimental group and control group respectively. On the other hand, the combination of both the breast and bottle-feeding showed a mode of 6.3 and 5.6 for the experimental group and the control group respectively (Troy & Dalgas-Pelish, 2003). 6. The marital status mode for the subjects in the experimental and control groups included 78.1% for the married subject in the experimental group, against 86.1% for the control group. The mode also included 3.1% for the separated/divorced subjects in the experimental group against 2.1% in the control group, and 18.8% for the single subjects in the experimental group, against 8.3 in the control group (Troy & Dalgas-Pelish, 2003). The frequencies for these three subject categories for the experimental groups against the control groups were 0.781 vs. 0.861, 0.031 vs. 0.021, and 0.188 vs. 0.083 for the married, separated/divorced, and single subjects respectively. 7. The median for the education data cannot be

Financial Management Principles And Applications Essay

Financial Management Principles And Applications - Essay Example Long-term liability requires the payment of interest in pre-agreed periods which requires Beta to have enough liquidity to cover immediate payment of interest when it becomes due. Capital from shareholders can also be considered. This is advantageous since Beta will not be required to pay any dividends. However, issuing new shares require the company to undergo certain processes which can delay acquisition. After analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of utilizing different financing schemes, it is recommended that Beta raises fund through long-term debt. This is in consideration of the above discussion in addition to the fact that it already has a quite high level of funds from shareholders. b. An organization's trading profit and loss account showing the revenues or funds generated the entity compared to the costs and expenses incurred in its operation. In most companies, it starts with the revenue generated where the expenses are subtracted. The last line shows its net profit for the fiscal period or for listed ones, the return to its stockholders. This financial statement is often the most popular one as it is used by creditors, stockholders, and even ordinary consumers. Entities considering to provide financing for the company also often gauged profitability and ability to pay based on profit and loss account. The balance sheet shows an entity's resources and how they are financed. The organization's assets and liabilities are often listed based on their liquidity, that is, on their capacity to be converted to cash easily. Balance sheets are often scrutinized by creditors and stockholders, the major sources of financing for the company. Balance sheets provide information about the company's level of leverage which informs stockholders and creditors about their share in the company's resources and the riskiness of investing in the company.

Statistics Project Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 9

Statistics Project Example In this case, a description of the length of labor could have been initiated whereby the length of labor of one works would be considered as a random variable. A probability distribution that provides a description to such a random variable would them be initiated. 4. The distributions of scores for the experimental and control groups were not similar for the length of labor because the two means were different. The mean of the experimental group was 14.63 while that of the control group was 12.79, portraying a mean difference of 1.84 (Troy & Dalgas-Pelish, 2003). 5. The experimental and control groups were slightly in their type of feeding since in all types of feeding such as bottle feeding, breast feeding, as well as the combination of the two modes of feeding depicted a difference in their mode, as a measure of central tendency (Mann, 1995). Breast-feeding was found to have a mode of 40.6% for the experiment group against 41.7% for the control group, while bottle-feeding had a mode of 53.1% against 50.0% for the experimental group and control group respectively. On the other hand, the combination of both the breast and bottle-feeding showed a mode of 6.3 and 5.6 for the experimental group and the control group respectively (Troy & Dalgas-Pelish, 2003). 6. The marital status mode for the subjects in the experimental and control groups included 78.1% for the married subject in the experimental group, against 86.1% for the control group. The mode also included 3.1% for the separated/divorced subjects in the experimental group against 2.1% in the control group, and 18.8% for the single subjects in the experimental group, against 8.3 in the control group (Troy & Dalgas-Pelish, 2003). The frequencies for these three subject categories for the experimental groups against the control groups were 0.781 vs. 0.861, 0.031 vs. 0.021, and 0.188 vs. 0.083 for the married, separated/divorced, and single subjects respectively. 7. The median for the education data cannot be

Process Costing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Process Costing - Essay Example Companies need to know the amount of money spent on their products before they can set appropriate selling prices. Firms that fail to accurately determine process costs can find themselves setting too low prices that lead to losses or too high prices that scare away customers. Accurate process costing helps to set right prices or adjust the process if costs cannot allow reasonable pricing. Importance of the Study Although many researchers have contributed to this topic, little can be seen in terms of standardization of the approaches of determining process costs. This paper is a literature review aimed at determining major points of divergence that have prevented standardization of process costing methods. Four scholarly articles are analysed to determine gaps, discrepancies and common grounds in relation to process costing. The paper will make suggestions on the best way forward as well as lay ground for future research. Literature Review One of the articles reviewed is a research s tudy done by Cooper and Slagmulder aimed at determining process costing methods used by different Japanese firms (2002). ... use failure to give all firms equal chances of being included in the sample introduced some biasness in the study (Dillman, Eltinge, Groves & Little, 2002). The interviewers made notes while taping interviewees’ responses. The findings indicated that most Japanese firms preferred target costing as opposed to process costing. In this regard, target costing is a projection of costs of future products with the aim of determining whether the assigned expenses can allow reasonable pricing to generate profits or not. The difference between process costing and target costing is that the latter is applied on future products while the former on complete or semi-complete products (Cooper & Slagmulder, 2002). All interviewed firms indicated that they relied on target costing and only applied process costing when they find discrepancies at the end of the production process. In another study, Everaert, Germain and Werner sought to investigate process costing methods used by different compa nies in Belgium (2002). The researchers based their study on four companies that were selected randomly (2002). After getting approval, they issued questionnaires to process costing officers in the selected firms and collected them after two weeks (Everaert, Germain and Werner, 2002). The results indicated that three out of the four sampled companies used weighted average method of process analysis. The remaining firms used the first-in first-out (FIFO) method. The FIFO method treats costs from different periods separately and has four steps comprising of analysis of physical flow of units, calculation of equivalent units, computation of unit costs and analysis of total costs (Everaert, Germain and Werner, 2002). The company that used FIFO said the method is reliable because separate calculation

Understanding omega-3’s Essay Example for Free

Understanding omega-3’s Essay To-date, many studies have been conducted to validate and understand the effect of omega-3’s in primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular diseases. Omega-3’s have attracted attention as potential triglyceride lowering and cardioprotective agents. They are a special group of polyunsaturated fatty acids found abundantly in marine sources (fatty fish) as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docohexaenoic acid (DHA), and in nuts, seeds and vegetable oils as ÃŽ ±-linolenic acid (ALA). The delta-6-desaturase enzyme in vivo converts ÃŽ ±-linolenic acid into EPA and subsequently to DHA. Further metabolism of these products yields eicosanoids, the subject of interest. Eicosanoids (thromboxane, leukotrienes, prostaglandins) derived from omega-3’s have an anti-inflammatory and anti-aggretory effect. These properties account for the cardioprotective effects of omega-3’s since inflammation is one of the basic factors behind atheroma formation and plaque rupture. Studies have confirmed the dietary intake of omega-3’s to be inversely proportional to the inflammatory markers C-reactive protein, IL-6, E-selectin, soluble intercellular adhesion molecule 1, and soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule 1. Another study revealed an inverse relationship between EPA+DHA intake and soluble tumor necrosis factors. Omega-3 consumption has been shown to be inversely proportional to CVD, especially sudden cardiac death. The reduction of sudden cardiac death in people who consumed fish once a week was more (52%) than those who ate fish less than once a month. However, no relationship between omega-3 consumption and non-sudden death, myocardial infarction, or CVD mortality has yet been established. Although studies have been focused on the effects of EPA+DHA, the 4 prospective randomized trials discussed in the article suggest that the effect of ALA is not much different. However, further studies need to be conducted to verify the details in metabolism of ALA to eicosanoids. This knowledge may be important in knowing the extent and limitations of the process, and the limiting factors if any. Use of omega-3 has not been reported to cause any life-threatening illnesses or deaths. However, some gastrointestinal problems have been reported in a minute fraction of subjects. Presence of traces of mercury or methyl mercury in fish poses risk of mercury poisoning. However, while the FDA recommends pregnant women, nursing mothers and young children to avoid eating fish with high mercury content, it allows adults one serving (7 oz. ) per week consumption of fish containing 1ppm mercury. Some studies suggest role of ALA in prostrate cancer. Although such a link has not fully been established, it is safer to chose fish oil when implementing omega-3 supplementation in men. The American Heart Association recommends that the patients without known CVD should maintain a diet rich in ALA and eat a variety of fish twice a week. Patients with known CVD should consume at least 1 g/d EPA+DHA (3 g/d of fish oil) (Table III). The graph in Figure 3 shows a marked decrease in the percentage of energy the industrial society is getting from omega-3’s since the past century. The sudden surge in the use of harmful trans fats and the omega-6’s can be seen as the reason to the increase in heart diseases and sudden cardiac deaths during this period. This study has established the importance of omega-3’s from fish and vegetable oils in diet for everyone who wishes to live a normal, healthy life. Further studies need to be conducted to account for the effects of long term use and minimum threshold doses of EPA+DHA and the extent of metabolism of ALA and its role in prostrate cancer. However, knowledge from this article has made me stauncher in the use of fish at least once a week, since I have a family history of CVD.

Outsourced Delivery Services Of Ikea

Outsourced Delivery Services Of Ikea The purpose of our thesis is to find out the factors that affecting the customers satisfaction on outsourcing. The importance of Supply Chain Management (SCM) is being a vital part of a company; however, a well SCM is not as mature as some old function like Human Relation Management, Accounting, etc. Thus, companies may outsource SCM or particular function among SCM to the 3rd party services provider. Meanwhile, the quality and effect on outsourcing would be a concern to companies. Customers make the sales, profit of a company. If the part which being outsourced may contact customers directly, is there any precaution and measurement to ensure the services provide will not be affecting during outsourcing, or how to minimize the influence to companies. Todays Supply Chain Management Many companies today are strengthening their connections with partners all along the supply chain. They no longer just treat suppliers as vendors and distributors as customers. They treat both as partners in delivering customers value. Most business nowadays are customer-oriented, e.g., Sales, CS Business, Insurance, Banking/Finance, Beauty Care/Health, etc. Background of Outsourcing In a global marketplace an increasingly huge competition forces companies striving to find strategies that give them competitive advantage over the competitors (Christopher, M., 1998). Outsourcing has been treated as one of the most important business and economic concepts for achieving competitive advantages. Outsourcing can be defined as the transfer of the production of goods or services that had been performed internally to an external party (Van Weele, A., 2005). Company can focus on their core business if the companies transfer its operations to another company to produce goods or services some 3rd party services provider. The basic reason for outsourcing is the increased trend of globalization (Enarsson, L., 2008, p.33). The reasons behind outsourcing may lower the cost on delivery, utilize local firms resources thus avoid capital investment on fixed asset for developing non core products, and to gain access technology, performance through effective partnership. Problems discussion Outsourcing, regardless a powerful economic and business strategy, does not always ensure success to the outsourcesr involved in the entire process. There are many drawbacks in outsourcing operations. It might help a company on cost saving, focus on core business; enhance capacity for innovation, wider experience and knowledge, etc. However, there are some arguments on guaranteeing quality of service, qualifications of outsourcee, standpoint of labor. Once a company determined which projects will be outsourced, they have to know why outsource and when to be carry out, how to prevent from mistakes while outsourcing. CONCEPTUAL STUDIES In this part we will explain the concept of supply chain management and outsourcing as well as their relationship from the point of view of different available and established theories and literatures. In this section our goal is to elaborate more about outsourcing in a theoretical frame. Supply Chain Management (SCM) A customer focused definition is given by Hines Supply chain strategies require a total systems view of the linkages in the chain that work together efficiently to create customer satisfaction at the end point of delivery to the consumer. As a consequence costs must be lowered throughout the chain by driving out unnecessary costs and focusing attention on adding value. Throughput efficiency must be increased, bottlenecks removed and performance measurement must focus on total systems efficiency and equitable reward distribution to those in the supply chain adding value. The supply chain system must be responsive to customer requirements. SCM describles a longer channel, stretching from raw materials to components to final products to final buyers. To implement an efficiency and effective supply chain systems take lots of time to design and manage, and so many companies nowadays decided to outsource parts of logistic function to a 3rd party services provider. Then they can allocate more resource and pay more effort on their core business. The Trend of Outsourcing There are no constrains to any functions which can be outsourced or not to be outsourced. To enhance the levels of competition, many organizations have started to consider in developing and maintaining the range of expertise and skills needed to compete effectively. This need has led many companies to engage with various kinds of sourcing; like outsourcing (Oshri, I., Kotlarsky, J., Willcocks, L.P., 2009) Definition of Outsourcing Different authors have defined the outsourcing that covers a wide scope of the concept of outsourcing. The word of outsourcing can be split as out and source which means sourcing externally. Some simple definitions of outsourcing are given as follows contracting with a third service provider for the management and completion of a certain amount of work, for a specified length of time, cost, and level of service (Oshri, I., Kotlarsky, J., Willcocks, L.P., 2009, p 4) A contract is the means by which the planning, responsibility, knowledge, and administration of processes is transferred to an external party (McCarthy Anagnostou, 2004, Blumberg, 1998) According to Franceschini, F. et al., 2003, Outsourcing is a managerial approach usually taken for delegating the responsibility to an external source for carrying out the operation of production process or services of an enterprise. In these contexts, it can be summarized that, outsourcing is an agreement between buyer and supplier(s) to avail processes or services that the buyer is providing internally at present; with an intention to reduce cost, increase focus on core business, improve quality of products and services and to ensure more flexibility. Evaluation Process for Outsourcing An organization needs to maintain an operational cycle to conduct the outsourcing operation. There are the outsourcing life cycle brought up by M.J., Desouza, K.C., Bonifazi, C. (Source: Power, M.J., Desouza, K.C., Bonifazi, C., 2006) Strategic assessment As the first stage of the outsourcing process, strategic assessment is the crucial activity in the whole life cycle of outsourcing. The organization should identifie a certain business case and assesses the potential benefit of adopting the outsourcing as a strategy. Needs analysis After completion of the strategic assessment, the next step for the organization is to define the needs and more specifically areas of the needs that are needed to be focused on. Vendor assessment Organization goes for soliciting, evaluating and choosing the vendor for its outsourcing needs. Contract and negotiation management To be engaged in negotiations (and renegotiations) until an agreement is reached about the details of outsourcing work. Project initiation and transition This is the most influential stages of the outsourcing relationship. The client organization slowly starts to hand over the control of the work to the outsourcee. Outsourcer should always pay attention to deal with emergent issues and smooth out any problems that occur. This stage marks the foundation of the continued relationship. Relationship management To keep up to date with the outsourcing relationship Continuance modification or exit strategy Organization must evaluate its current outsourcing contract to see if its best interest lies in continuing, modifying or exiting the relationship. Motives for Outsourcing Cost Efficiencies: Cost reduction has been the prime motive for outsourcing (Ford, D., et al., 1993). To develop a complete product is always expensive for a company as it needs huge investment to improve products and production process through continuous research and technology development. Outsourcing reduces the cost of the client company in this area as the service providers invest in this area to meet up the demand of the buyers in a large scale. In this way, a company can achieve the competitive advantages in the market reducing the cost through outsourcing process. Focus on Core Business: Every company has some activities that are not as essential as compared to its core business functions. By sourcing non-core business activities a company can focus on its core business in a better way. So, the efficiency of a company is likely to increase as more time and resources are focused only on the core business functions (Davis, J., 2002). In addition, there are some other driving factors that encourage the buyer company to adopt the outsourcing strategy. Such as operational expertise, enhance the capacity for innovation, capacity management where the risk in providing the excess capacity is borne by the supplier. EMPIRICAL STUDIES IKEA Hong Kongs Concept and History They offers a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them. This is the idea at the core of everything IKEA does, from product development and purchases to how they sell their products in retail stores. IKEA can make a good-quality product for a high price, or a poor-quality product for a low price. But to make good products at low prices, they need to develop methods that are both cost-effective and innovative. This has been the focus of IKEA since its beginnings in Smà ¥land, Sweden. Maximizing the use of raw materials and production adaptation to meet peoples needs and preferences has meant that their costs are low. The IKEA way of doing things is to pass these cost savings on to customers. Importance of Select Reliable Outsourcee Under our investigation, IKEA Hong Kong has outsourced the home delivery and assembly services to an independent contractor. Basically, with return or exchange, home delivery and assembly services would be the final stage for company to provide services to customers. From ordering to delivery, IKEA takes at least three workings, even the staff give excellent customer services at retails store, the experience in store almost fade out after placing order. As the period from waiting order delivery to complete can replace the experience in store, services provide during these period of time is essential to decide will this customer return or not. No customers, no business, no sales. Those satisfied ones turns to be a loyal customers, otherwise, unsatisfied customers will bad month our company. Word of mouth is a reference to the passing of information from person to person. The influence of word of mouth is not measurable and difficult to rebuild company image. The dimensions of reliability; responsiveness; assurance; empathy; tangibility and cost in the service quality approach can be used in identifying critical factors that may suggest some ideas on selection of logistic services provider (LSP) (Kong Mayo, 1993; Bienstock, et al., 1997). Reliability Responsiveness Assurance Transit time Service Consistency Document Accuracy Responsiveness Variety of Services Express Delivery Global coverage Updated rates Track and Trace Containerization Consolidation Reputation No Goods Damages Empathy Tangibility Cost CRM Employee Courtesy Location Modern Equipments Own CFS E-services EDI Price Discount Credit term Case Study I: Apple Computer and TNT Express (See Appendix I) Apple Computer has been outsourced its delivery services to TNT Express. There would be a list of complaint about the services of TNT Express. The complaints are regarding to package missing, long delivery time, with recomfirm to package receiver. FINDINGS Apple Computer outsourcing its delivery services to TNT, every one who place the order from Apple store knew this. Once the order is placed, there are an implication of customers are agreed to let TNT Express to take over the duty of product delivery. Unlike IKEA Hong Kong, the delivery materials of contractors like trucks, boxes are printed in IKEA logo. It is difficult for customer to identify they are not the staff of IKEA. In order to protect the image or reputation, IKEA should ensure the contractor can perform like an IKEA staff, i.e., the delivery worker should have basic product knowledge, especially for solving the enquiries during the process of services delivery. That is unreasonable to say we are contractor rather than direct staff of IKEA. Customer service is any contact between a customer and a company, which can cause a negative or positive perception by a customer during services delivery. As an outsourcer, they may state clear of relationship between outsourcer and outsourcee may reduce complaints caused by misunderstanding. The case of Apple, sometimes online checking system of TNT Express does not show the actual product delivery status. Those complainers about product delivery did focus on the services provider TNT Express instead of complaining the Apples decision making on contractor selection. Case Study II: Survey on Outsourcing of Government Activities on 2002 and 2004 (See Appendix II) The Efficiency Unit of HKSAR has been conducted a survey about outsourcing of governemt activities as at 2002 and 2004 since 2000. In this two reports, it showed, over 80% of bureaux and departments have beed outsourced at least one function to an indepentend contractor. FINDINGS According to the report on 2004, those functions which occupied the most expenditure were capital works constraction, building property management and environmental hygiene are the top three outsourced functions. By analyzing the pattern of annual expenditure, the fluctuation of transport services is the most serious among the listed functions. The ratio of reducing expenditure is the most significant as well. In 2000, the expenditure was around $1 billion and then it dropped to $0.1 billion in 2002. Unlike other services categories, transport services were doubling up the expenditure on 2004. The focus of outsourced function of IKEA Hong Kong is the delivery services, it may categorize as transport services among the government functions. Reference to the expenditure on different services categories, transport services it is did not donminated the propular function of being outsourced. Reference to the page 6 of survey on 2004, there are current satisfaction of outsourcees performance. Around half of the outsourcee full met the requirement of outsourcer. Yet there is also another half that only partially fulfill. CONCLUSION IKEA is now the worlds largest furniture retailer; they have a fixed group of partners on manufacturing, purchasing and supply functions, design and development of products in the IKEA range. For distribution they have their own logistics center Europe is located in Dortmund, Germany and Asian logistic center is located in Singapore along with its IT base. To retaining customers, they have the customer relation system of IKEA Family. IKEA perform well in Europe no matter for SCM, marketing and customer retention. In Hong Kong region, they also have a good SCM, even they outsourced parts of service to an independent services provide. Yet the seldom to hear so negative comment to those outsourced services. Furthermore, under our investigation, we found that only one contractor took over the job of delivery, assembly services. The part that would appreciate is even the delivery services are being outsourced, IKEA Hong Kong still having a backup delivery term in-house. Once there are any conflicts or under peak seasons of ordering, IKEA can take over part of the order themselves. However, it is difficult to understand why they have not launch the loyalty card in Hong Kong. To strength the loyalty of customer, which is important to understand the purchase pattern of customers, in order to give related promotion and information to encourage them repeating purchase. There are no absolute anwser for good to be outsoure or not to be.Companies should adopt a planned approach towards outsourcing taking into account the interests of employees and customers alike and come up with a balanced advance. The cycle of evaluation process for outsourcing is a good model for a company which would interest in outsourcing a/some particular function to a 3rd party services provider. For those companies which have been outsourced, a regular evaluation on before and after outsourcing is important. In todays dynamic marketplace, there are no rules can last till the end. The one who wants to be dominant of the market, they should keep track on of market trend, find out the competitive advantage and having a periodical review companys performance from time to time. APPENDICE http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2537721start=0tstart=0 APPENDICE http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/tnt-shipping-c41785.html APPENDICE Some links of complaint about TNT Express when taking over the order from Apple Computer. http://www.uwants.com/archiver/?tid-10549683.html (a brief survey hold by some forum members) http://www1.17t17p.com/viewthread.php?tid=452427 http://boardreader.com/thread/Apple_HK_TNT_FRUSTRATION_9udfX1jc6j.html http://discussions.info.apple.com/click.jspa?searchID=-1messageID=12054701

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Veterans Essay -- Post-traumatic st

Military service members who are and have been deployed to the middle east show high levels of emotional distress and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Both active duty and reserve component soldiers who have experienced combat have been exposed to high levels of traumatic stress. As a consequence, many have gone on to develop a wide range of mental health problems such as PTSD. â€Å"According to researchers, PTSD is a long-term reaction to war-zone exposure that can last up to a few minutes, hours, several weeks, and for some a lifetime.† Common symptoms include: emotional numbing, anxiety, feelings of guilt, and depression. If the disorder turns chronic veterans may experience functional impairment (Friedman, M. J. et al., 1994, p. 265).† PTSD is on of the most prevalent mental health disorders from veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. In general, the younger veterans are the more likely they are to develop PTSD when deployed. Deployment related issues f rom veterans may have a devastating impact on their relationships back home. â€Å"Numerous research studies have linked PTSD to family relationship problems (Goff, Crow, Reisberg, & Hamilton, 2006).† PTSD is likely to be â€Å"the† contributor to relationship problems that are not related to deployments. Spouses or partners of veterans who are diagnosed with PTSD are at greater risk of hostility and aggression in their relationship than spouses whose veterans are not diagnosed. To combat this direction and effective coping skills have been shown to improve adjustment, stress management, and problem solving within a relationship. Family focused approaches bring down the psychological risk of developing PTSD and exploit constructive outcomes. Fundamental education is a method that... ... of the military have been related to stress. â€Å"[Both veterans and their spouses,] on average, valued Army service in general more than they valued the current mission in Iraq and Afghanistan (Allen, E. S. et al., 2011, p. 244).† Those that feel less enthusiastic about the military’s mission are more likely to experience greater stress. Male can be decreased if they obtain more rank, are financially stable, and are able to balance work and home related issued more efficiently. By comparison, spouses stress can be predicted by negative communication outcomes with their love one. In closing, I suggest psychologist researchers to review sampling methods being conducted on veterans because, in my opinion, there are a significant amount soldiers with PTSD are not known. I Also suggest that research not be limited to Caucasians but other groups to include minorities.

Team Decision Making Essay -- Organizational Development, Teams

The given case asks for one team decision-making structure that is most effective for the following creative project: Eight administrators are given one afternoon to generate as many creative ideas as possible and to decide which one of these is the best. To solve this question we first need to determine which kind of team is involved. McShane and Von Glinow state that â€Å"Teams are groups of two or more people who interact and influence each other, are mutually accountable for achieving common goals associated with organizational objectives, and perceive themselves as a social entity within the organization† (234). Furthermore we can say that this group can be called a â€Å"Task force (project) team† because these eight administrators are a temporary team â€Å"whose assignment is to realize an opportunity† (McShane and Von Glinow 235). Now, that we know these people can be called a team, the next step is to look at the constraints on team decision-makin g because this will enable us to choose the most suitable decision-making structure. Therefore, I will first give a brief overview of the existing structures and then decide for one method which I will explain in depth. Finally I will provide a brief conclusion and recommendation. Constraints on Team Decision Making There are plenty problems within team decision-making. According to McShane and Von Glinow the four most common problems in team decision-making are: time constraints, evaluation apprehension, pressure to conform, and groupthink (256). Time Constraints refers to the fact that a team requires more time to come to a conclusion than an individual. That is because team members have to communicate with each other about their ideas, and also have to debate about these i... ... (Time Constraints). Second, NGT reduces conflicts in the team. The case already predicted that some administrators in the group often disagree with each other and might criticize each other's ideas. Because NGT does not allow debating and criticism, conflicts won’t be a problem. Third, NGT includes silent and independent development of the individual ideas which minimizes the other decision making constraints like evaluation apprehension, pressure to conform, and groupthink. My statement is also supported by Mitchell and Danielson who carried out a study that also indicates that the Nominal Group Technique is most effective for creative projects (19). Therefore, I recommend choosing the Nominal Group Technique for the eight administrators to identify new revenue-generating uses of classrooms and related facilities between teaching semesters in one afternoon.

Internet Marketing Essay

Topshop is clothing store selling clothes, shoes and jewellery; they have stores in nearly all towns across the UK. Topshop also has an online store that you can buy they’re products from and they deliver to your home for a small price. You can order your chosen products wherever you are in the world, as they deliver worldwide. Also on the Topshop website you can choose the language preferred to shop online making it easier for people to use. If you change the language to shop on the Topshop website the currency automatically changes. This allows the business to sell globally, which will make them a lot more profit. Topshop also use social networking sites and mobile apps to support their communication, as they have a Facebook and Twitter page to promote their products and answer any questions from customers. Also Topshop have a mobile app so you can save, send and share all your favourite looks, and shop the pieces you’re after from their website. This is a great way of promotion as everyone today uses social networking websites, so it’s a way for them to be seen and keep up to date with what people are wearing and what people want. Topshop can also promote their last minute promotions such as sales through their website and mobile app. There are plenty of advantages for this, as not only is it money efficient it’s quick and Easy and can be seen by a lot of people. Using their website to promote sale is money efficient as they already have the website and the staff working it, if they printed out flyers or advertised in magazines etc. it would cost a lot more and it would probably be seen by less people. Topshop also sells ranges from different designers other than themselves; I think they do this to attract customers who buy from them specific designers to buy from them. Also this gives them a lot more variety and they will make a profit from it. ASDA also have an online store, which they sell everything from food to car insurance. ASDA tries to engage customers on their website by the use of videos, slide shows, animated backgrounds and their own radio station you can listen to online. They do this so people will want to look further into the website and hopefully buy the advertised products. Also the slideshows appears on the home page of the website, so people can see everything they provide on the first page. ASDA have a lot of competitors such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s etc. so they are constantly updated and new things to their website to beat the competitors. ASDA have identified new market development opportunities such having an in store opticians and pharmacy, doing this not only helps them make a profit but it keeps them ahead of their competition. River Island communicates with their customers through their website very well as they give customers a choice to make an online account; this is so the customers can keep record of their orders, order faster and efficiently. This helps them understand their customers as they know what their customers want and it benefits them as they know what sells the most and is popular with their target audience. River Island’s website provides the opportunity for the customers to use their online size guide for both men and woman, so their customers buy the correct sizes that customers will feel comfortable in. I think this is really effective for both the business and the customer, as the business will have fewer complaints and returned from the wrong sizes. For the customer this is good because you know that you will defiantly buy the size that fits and you don’t need to worry about sending them back or not having an outfit on time.

Focus of the Marketing Plan Essay

†¢Construct an overview of internal and external contingencies, describing at least two internal and three external contingencies and how they impact the sports marketing plan. †¢Justify market selection decisions including the psychological and sociological factors as influences. Include targeting and positioning of the product(s). †¢Generate a Sports Marketing Mix for your organization to address the promotion mix of advertising, public relations, sales promotion, and pricing. †¢Create a plan for the marketing process. Within that plan include a control phase and an implementation strategy. Any unique issues should also be addressed in this section, including the impact on facilities and any specific departments or segments of the organization impacted by the plan. Writing the Marketing Plan The Marketing Plan: †¢Must be eight to ten double-spaced pages in length and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the approved APA style guide. †¢Must include a cover page that includes: – Student’s name – Course name and number – Title of paper – Instructor’s name – Date submitted †¢Must include an introductory paragraph with a succinct thesis statement. †¢Must address the topic of the paper with critical thought. †¢Must conclude with a restatement of the thesis and a conclusion paragraph. †¢Must use APA style as outlined in the approved APA style guide to document all sources. †¢Must include, on the final page, a Reference Page that is completed according to APA style as outlined in the approved APA style guide.

Risk Management and Investment Coursework Portfolio Lab Report

Risk Management and Investment Coursework Portfolio - Lab Report Example I also limited the number of shares because of the fee charges that runs the portfolio. When the portfolio balance grew from the investment returns, I increase the number of shares and changed the investment of the contributions. After passing the initial phase, I planned to tweak the investment so that they spread across the portfolio’s stock. I also gave a concern on the number of shares that strikes a perfect balance between ease management and diversification (Fabozzi 1989). I settled on 10 portfolios because it was easy to manage. The allocation I employed is 20% for each stock. Going through the fund’s list, I avoided investing on unpredictable outcomes like future inflation. Although the fund’s performance looks good, there still yet there exist many risks in this portfolio that needed to be cared. In this section, the fund’s risk analysis will described and discussed in the order as follows. Standard deviation is an indicator to measure the price’s fluctuation or the return’s volatility. A larger standard deviation means a larger volatility, which contains the bigger risk. As is shown in the overview of the investment fund, the largest standard deviation of price is 252.60 while the smallest is 2.77. Thus DGE is more risky than the others and the bond brings few risks to the portfolio. Moreover, the standard deviation of return ranges from 0.00213 to 0.0198. That demonstrates that PRU has the largest risks and the bond do few contributions to the risk of the fund. In sum, the assets with large standard deviation may prevent the fund’s aims to be achieved. If the confidence level is 95%, then the maximum and minimum VaR of the assets are 415.49 and 4.5593, which means there is 5% chance in a day that DGE and GILT face a loss of over 415.49 and 4.5593. Meanwhile, the portfolio’s VaR is 74189974.39, which means there is 95% possibility that the fund will not suffer a loss more than 74189974.39 in a day.

Research dissertation proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Research dissertation proposal - Essay Example The modern day society in multi-racial countries is of people from different backgrounds. Some races are considered inferior in some countries. This notion extends into the workplace whereby managers are prone to make impaired judgments on their employees based on their race. Some countries in the world consider members of the female gender inferior and incapable of serving some functions. On accessions, women in these countries are discriminated from performing some duties strictly set apart for men. The primary aim of the research entails shedding light on cases of workplace discrimination and helps create information that will improve how employment law prevents the effects of job discrimination (Hagelskamp, and Hughes, 2014). This dissertation will be based on information derived from a literature review. Information compilation will be through examination of selected literature material. A consideration of the previous literature from human resource departments across the public and private sector will be carried out. Trade union reports will be examined for the public sector. Human resource department reports from selected organizations will be considered for the private sector. Hagelskamp, C., and Hughes, D. L. (2014). Workplace discrimination predicting racial/ethnic socialization across African American, Latino, and Chinese families.  Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology,  20(4),

Business Research Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business Research Report - Essay Example Introduction to sector There is high specialization in services delivered in air travel, a feature that distinct the industry from other forms of service delivery. The achievement of sustainable economic advantage by a firm in the industry defines the ‘for profit’ strategic management. It involves proper evaluation and planning of a firm’s context of industry (the environment) as well as the creation of a viable sustainable competitive differentiation for the survival and profitability of the business. Qantas Company has enjoyed dominance due to the strategic niche it occupies having already well established itself in the aviation industry over years (Morton, 22). The Qantas operates within the transport service industry with her main areas of operations being in offering freights services both locally within Australia and internationally. Qantas company survival and dominance within the air transport industry lean on the strategic factors acting as barriers to en try, which restricts other firms from entering in the industry. These include the high capital base requirement in order to venture into the industry, relatively low fares which do not warrant survival for a new entrant to the industry and the overall effect of her operation as a dominant player in this industry. Research question The management of the firm must have and apply the most appropriate business strategies that would help the business in the competitive industry. In this study therefore, the management requires an appropriate mechanism, through which the strategy of customer loyalty and CSR can be applied within the industry for the purpose of effectiveness and efficiency in performance. Therefore, this research study intends to answer the following question: what favorable CSR and loyalty strategy should the organization in aviation industry (Qantas) employ for profitability and improved performance? Evaluation Current Organizational Performance In this analysis, we anal yze Qantas, which is an Australian air travel company, which specializes not only on local flights but also in international carriage (Anon para 1-3). In her own vision, Qantas intends to become the Australia’s best business in the future and compete favorably in the international scene. Political influences in the operations of the company in the industry oversaw her privatization since 1995, and ever since have seen the company run profitably until the recent challenge posed at the international environment, which saw a decline in her profitability. The international scene has seen the emergence of new cheaper airlines within the Asian region, which poses a great threat to the company. Moreover, the fall of profitability in international operations of the company has been another cause of alarm to the macro-economic environment of the Qantas airline. The global economic crisis of the period around 2008 oversaw the shaking of the Qantas profitability through the inflation of the Australian currency, which affected the tourism and the business travel within the country. Qantas VRIO model analysis: The VRIO model as a tool of business analysis is adopted to show what firm resources, and capabilities drive sustainable competitive advantage of the particular firm in the context of competition with the rival groups (â€Å"

The expansion and settlement of the U.S Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

The expansion and settlement of the U.S - Essay Example itiated the greatest sustenance mainly from Democrats especially northern states, through which the Democratic newspaper addressed an ultimate dream of widening philosophies of the U.S through no forceful and no brutal ways (Huntington). Congress and the slavery act was another reason that the US expanded. When the congress failed to pass a bill against slavery people fled in search for new territories. People fled to Kansas-Nebraska to make the positions pro or anti-slavery. Gold is a rich resource for a long time maintained the precious state. The discovery of gold in California and Klondike became a reason for people to settle in those areas in search for jobs and better lives. In addition, the completion of transcontinental Railroad 1869 as decreed by the government was another facilitator of expansion (Huntington). The ability to transport goods and people for a longer distance convinced citizens to settle wherever they wanted. People’s perception and how they have portrayed the US, has shaped the nation’s development in terms of population. Many songwriters, book authors, artists, influential leaders have painted America to be a nation flowing with milk and honey. A painting entitled American Progress has for a long time been an inspiration to most Americans and revealed the real picture of American development and expansion (Huntington). Most immigrants to the US have that thought in mind as they move to settle in the US. Among other reasons, American-Mexican war, acquisition of Hawaii and Alaska mid-19th century, French war and the Oregon Trail Dispute among many other

Business Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Business Ethics - Essay Example This means that, they should not base on the individual’s clinical decisions on matters concerning the care and prevention of each patient, policy decisions and management of the systems. In addition to that, personal decisions should not be allowed when organizing, managing and paying for a care. As a matter of fact, it is ideal for individuals involved in healthcare system to understand that getting the right clinical decisions needs a wider application of the â€Å"principles of evidence-based medicine.† The systematic utilization of evidence based management helps in improving the significant decisions affecting care in the health plan, hospital, community or nursing home and physician practice. In that case, for evidence -based medicine to be implemented successfully, it needs the evidence-based management support (Fraser, 2007). Evidence-based management widespread application might not be easy or rapid. This is because, its history is torturous and long and achie ving it is becoming extremely harder. Perhaps, most of the managers may conceive the clinical interventions conceptual foundation of evaluation irrelevant. Biology as it is does not possess local variation unlike the way health plan or hospital administrations and physician practices do. ... tioner literature and academic literature on the management of human resource is a perfect cause and indicator of the existing separation between practice and research in management of human resource (Boudreau, 2007). Whatever is passed as† best Practice† in human resource management in most cases is not. In some instances, there exists no evidence validating what are conceived to be practices that are perfect. On the other hand, there are some circumstances there are evidences available to suggest whatever practices are thought to be best are indeed inferior. In summary, human resource management that is evidence-based is not practiced in most of the organizations. As a result, there is underperformance in the organization with respect to principal stakeholders including investors, employees and the community (Lawler, 2007). Situation There exist a conflict between the Chief Executive Officer Mr Mark Willey and the Medical officer Miss Sally Randolph. Both of them work i n American Medical Centre (AMC). Mark Willey has emailed Sally Randolph a message that has completely blurred her vision. She claims that the email that had been sent to her was labelled urgent with an exclamation in red whose subject line was† Evidence-based- Management seminar has been cancelled.† This is because the focus of Mark the CEO had shifted from taking care of patients to profits. The message not only disturbed sally but also other employees such as Richard who had been among the thirty six participants in the evidence-based management workshop that had been performed by sally. His remarks were as follows† I just read the e-mail from Mark and I am really frustrated. Making us middle managers on these task forces won’t change how anyone works.† According to Richard, the medical

Use of financial ratios in evaluating companies Essay Example for Free

Use of financial ratios in evaluating companies Essay Use of financial ratios in evaluating companies Introduction                   Financial ratios are the indicators used by financial analyst to determine the general position of a certain organization. They are also known as economic ratios, are obtained in financial statements, and are relative to figures of two distinct periods. These ratios compare the direction organizations are taking within a specified period. They will therefore show the strengths and weaknesses in the firms in relation to others or a comparison between two timelines. These ratios are important to the shareholders as they are able to know the direction a company is going by the shift in its share. In addition, the managers depend on them to know where they are leading the organizations. Some of the main financial statements where these ratios are gotten fro include the balance sheet and the statement of cash flows. Easy Jet Company is one of the companies that maintains its financial ratios and has benefited a lot. Although these ratios have many useful benefits in evaluating the performance and management of companies, they also have many limitations.                   Aspects of financial ratios that can be used include the liquidity ratio, which is the ability of an organization to pay the expenditures that are for a short period. Profitability ratios show the amount of dollars earned per sale of one item. Others include activity ratio, which indicates whether the company is capable of managing its total assets. The financial leverage ratio on the other hand shows the ability of the company meeting long term goals while shareholder ratio relates to amount of shares as per the stock. Finally, the return on investment ratio relates the amount of profit as per the assets used. Easy Jet Company uses these ratios and has benefits and limitations as discussed below.                   Financial ratios have an advantage in comparing different companies in the market. They enable the companies to be kept together not keeping into consideration such factors as capital amount, amount of sales and the market control. This is because the ratios do not depend much on the amount of starting but the rate of change of that amount in relation to other companies or time (Troy, 2008). They will tell the ability of a certain business to be able to pay its expenditure and probability of making a profit. Companies may, for example, boast of a high level of capital compared with other small ones, but when analysis is done from a perspective of rate of stock turnover. This may prove the smaller company is efficiently run. They therefore help in the comparison and the managers will be able to collect any problem that may be there and compete favorably.                   They also help in analyzing a certain line of industries and upcoming young companies to gauge the industries they want to venture in. The ratios will help also to show fast growing industries and advise young entrepreneurs accordingly. Small companies will also be able to gauge themselves on their relevance in the market due to their contribution compared to the big ones. According to Weygandt (1996), financial ratios also enable the shareholders and analysts to analyze stock valuation. Investors in this area will be able to gauge on the company worth investing in and those to avoid completely. This knowledge helps investors in investing their money where there is a likelihood of making a profit. The ratios will help the companies in performance and planning. To attract lenders and investors, companies may prepare a detailed report and convince them with the capability of the company. Managers are also motivated to work hard since the ratios will be see n by many and would expose their weaknesses.                   On the other hand, the ratios have limitations. Many companies deal with different products in the market and comparing them directly may not be an effective way of showing the success or failure of a business. Some companies enjoy low number of days at the rate of stock turnover due to a certain season. Comparing its ratios with off-season will definitely show a negative trend, which should not show someone being responsible for it. Comparing it with others during the high season will convince shareholders that the company is making progress only to realize it was due to seasonal product. Using financial ratios to compare companies leads to misleading information to the managers and the investors. Due to the use of different environmental, cultural and structure of the market, financial ratios are not a good measure of success or failure of a company.                   The ratios are affected by the level of inflation. Comparing a company’s financial ratio of a year without inflation with another year with high levels of inflation will not give a good result. The sales will be high, but the level of profit decreases, showing a negative trend which otherwise is not the case. This may cause loss of jobs and investors. The company may at last collapse not because of poor management but the financial ratios. There may also be a situation where the ratios used are a mixture of bad and good ones making it difficult to know the position of the company. Some companies operate departments in different industries. It therefore becomes difficult to come up with average ratios to measure the performance of the company. If these ratios are used well the results are insightful, but dangerous where when used mechanically.                   According to Ablin, et al (2013), Easy Jets payments to the employees increased from 476 £m in 2012 to 517 £m in the year 2013. This indicates an increase of 8% an indication that the company’s return on investment ratio has improved. This is marked by an increase from 317 £m to 478 £m a 51% increase in the total profit before tax which indicates appropriate strategies have been used. This includes the increase in the rate of income per seat, offset by the use of forward bookings and the purchase of additional A320 aircraft. Earnings per share increased 2013 as compared to 2012 with earnings per share increasing from 62.5 to 101.3 for basic and 61.7 to 100.0 for diluted increasing the shareholder ratio. The executive directors are employed and paid directly by the Easy jet airline company’s revenue.                   Return on capital increased with the onset of 2013 from 2012. The rate changed from 11.3% to 17.4% indicating growth in the company. This is attributed to increase in the number of leased aircrafts from 26% in 2012 to 33% in 2013 (Easy Jet, 2013). On May 2013, Easy jet entered into an agreement with Flybe for the exchange of some flying right in the airport of Gatwick. The shareholders approved the deal and on August the same year, $7 million was paid. This made the operations of the company effective, resulting in the increase in the return on capital. This is further explained by the shareholders decision to enter into a contract with Airbus in July 2013. In Easy Jet Switzerland S.A, the company has 49% shares and plans to own the remaining 51% by 2022.                   Upgrading by the company’s management from a 156 seater A319 aircraft to A320 results to a saving in the cost of a seat by between 8% and 7%. There is also another cause of increased savings in the development and movement from 180 seat A320 to 180 new generation neo aircraft. This cause further 4% to 5% savings per seat. This has made the company to continue offering services to the ever-increasing number of customers as the company. There has also been the development where the company has changed in reducing its cash on deposit. This has increased the amount of cash that the company holds in liquid following the release of the  £130 million previously held. Conclusion                   Financial ratios play an important role in determining the direction a company is taking. Like a driver who drives a vehicle, managers depend mostly on these ratios to determine the direction as drivers are heading the company. The companies are able to compare their performance in the market with others courtesy of these ratios. The ratios also have a role in enabling the investors and shareholders determine on which company is fit for them to invest. Similarly, they have drawbacks in that they do not reflect the true picture of a company’s position when there is inflation in the country in addition to company that deals with many departments within different lines of production. Easy Jet Company has successfully used these ratios effectively and has developed to be an excellent company competing effectively with others. It is therefore a successful company. Reference Ablin et al (2013). Easy jet plc (1st ed.). Switzerland: Park Communications. Troy, L. (2008). Almanac of business and industrial financial ratios.Chicago, IL: CCH. Weygandt, J. J., Kieso, D. E., Kell, W. G. (1996). Accounting Principles (4th ed.). New York Easy Jet. (2013). easyJet plc Annual report and accounts. Easy Jet plc Source document