COLOURIMETRY PARACETAMOL Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

COLOURIMETRY PARACETAMOL - Essay Example Colourimetry is an extremely useful technique in establishing the concentration of substances. This is achieved by preparing a known concentration series of about 4 solutions, after which their absorbance is determined after the addition of colour by a reagent. The absorbance values give a calibration curve from which the concentration of an unknown substance is established. This technique is useful in the determination of metal ions alloys and biological fluids. Numerous industrial and clinical experiments report the successful usage of colorimetric procedures in the establishment of the concentrations of chemical substances. For example, the determination of vitamin E in food, trace amounts of platinum in glass, flavonoids in food, and detection of alpha fetoproteins among many other uses. Paracetamol (4-acetamedophenol) is a commonly used painkiller that lessens the temperature of fever patients. Its pain reducing effects are known as analgesic effects whereas its fever reduction action is called the antipyretic effect. Numerous over the counter medications contain paracetamol especially those meant for the relief of colds and flu. The most common form is the 500 mg tablet though other formulations such as suspensions and suppositories also exist. Paracetamol is quickly taken in from the gastrointestinal tract and attains peak plasma concentrations in about an hour. The cytochrome P450 system metabolises it into N-acetyl-p-benzoquinamine (NAPQI), a toxin that is entirely detoxified through conjugation with glutathione and excreted. Paracetamol is a fairly safe drug. However, doses greater than 10 grams have been reported to cause toxicity (Bose et al. 2005). This experiment aimed at using colourimetry as a chemical technique to make a calibration curve of absorbance a gainst concentration for known paracetamol concentrations and using it to obtain the concentration of paracetamol in the sample with the unknown concentration. Materials and Method 100 ml of 0.002M paracetamol solution was prepared by dissolving the right quantity of the drug in 10 ml of sodium chloride solution and topping up to 100 ml. This was the stock solution for the experiment. 1.0 ml of 6M HCl and 2 ml of 10% sodium nitrite were added to each of the seven labelled test tubes. Paracetamol and water were then added to the tubes in predetermined quantities after which the tubes were methodically mixed and allowed to rest for about 2 minutes. 2 ml of 15% sodium sulphamate were carefully added to the test tubes followed by 2.5 ml of 25% sodium hydroxide. The tubes were shaken for 15 seconds and allowed to stand for 2 minutes. This allowed all the bubbles to disperse. The absorbance of the contents of tubes 2 to 7 was then read at a wavelength of 430 nanometers using tube 1 as the blank. The values of absorbance were recorded for each concentration of paracetamol. A calibration graph of absorbance against concentration (mol/L) was then plotted and used to approximate the concentration

The Most Damnable Invention Essay Example for Free

The Most Damnable Invention Essay Dynamite is a high explosive that derives its power from a chemical called nitroglycerin and which used diatomaceous earth as its absorbent. Dynamite was invented by Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in 1866 and was then patented in 1867. Dynamite has a wide range of uses; from building demolitions to warfare and death. It was that last characteristic of dynamite that worried Nobel the most. Initially, Nobel thought that the invention of dynamite would end the possibility of future wars and possible foes would see the destructive force of dynamite and it would serve as enough of a deterrent to the point that wars would be outlawed in favor of common sense. This would not be the reality of the invention as warring countries sought new and more effective ways in which to vanquish their enemies to such a degree that the destructive forces of dynamite would be forever linked to Alfred Nobel. Nobel sought to change his epitaph from the minister of death as one French newspaper put it when confusing the death of his brother with his own. Nobel formed the Nobel Peace Prize in order to encourage peaceful and useful contributions to the human race in a personal attempt to be able to say that he too, was a force for good, despite the misuse by society, of his invention. But to say that the invention and use of dynamite has affected history, there is no doubt. In contemporary society however dynamite is used in a much more productive and peaceful way. The inventor of dynamite, Alfred Nobel, was born on October 21, 1833 in Stockholm Sweden. Nobel gained his fortune, not only in the invention of dynamite but also through his income as a chemist, engineer as well as the owner of a major manufacturing plant. Nobel, devoted himself to the study of explosives and especially the sale and manufacturing of nitroglycerine which had incidentally, only been discovered a few years earlier in 1847 by Asanio Sobrero, a fellow attending student at the University of Torino. Nobel would continue to be fascinated by explosions and continued to learn everything that he could about the science that surrounded it. In 1865, Nobel built the Alfred Nobel Co. Factory near Hamburg, Germany. However, it was in this factory where dynamite claimed its first casualty. This fascination would lead to an explosion that would kill Nobel’s own brother Emil in 1864. But only two short years later, Nobel was credited with the invention of dynamite and was given a patent for it in 1867. Nobel would establish factories in the United States, France and Germany as well as continue to spread his influence into his home country of Sweden. But it would be his invention of dynamite that he would be remembered for, at least while he was alive, as a force of death and destruction, an impediment to a peaceful world. And it was an association that he did not find entirely flattering. But for the time being, Nobel and the rest of the world, was forced to confront the new and threatening power of destruction that dynamite had while in the possession of the wrong people. Nobel said of his invention: â€Å"My factories may make an end to war sooner than you congresses. The day when two armies corps can annihilate each other in one second, all civilized nations, it is to be hoped, will recoil from war and discharge their troops. † If only that prediction came to fruition, there would have been a lot less victims of man’s hate and desire for destruction which, for a time, was the primary use of dynamite. The use of dynamite, upon its inception, had a wide variety of uses as more and more people looked for ways in which it could benefit themselves. After the invention of dynamite in 1867, dynamite, or as it was originally marketed as : Nobel’s Blasting Powder, rapidly gained popularity. It was marketed as a safe alternative to the explosiveness of gun powder while still being just as lethal if not more. Very quickly, Nobel could see the destructive force of his invention and kept a tight lid on his invention. However, United States business men, who were able to alter the chemical formula just enough so that they could get around the restrictions that Nobel’s patent once provided. In America, the use of dynamite would be used in order top promote sinister motives that left the entire country suspicious of the invention and which helped to increase the backlash of public opinion towards Alfred Nobel. Dynamite consists of 75% nitroglycerin, 24% diatomaceous earth and a small mixture of sodium carbonate. These mixtures are formed into sticks and wrapped into paper. The fact that dynamite is by itself a very explosive substance as well as the fact that its chemical make up can be broken down very easily over time which compromises the stability of its form. Over time, the dynamite will back into nitroglycerine which will then pool at the bottom of a storage area, thus creating a potentially damaging situation. The transportation of dynamite is very dangerous and can cause intentional or unintentional harm to a large number of victims in a wide area of space surrounding the explosion of the dynamite. In American History, there are two famous events where the use of dynamite made it possible for anarchists to promote their twisted ideology. The first was the 1888 Haymarket Square in Chicago Illinois. During the 1870’s and 1880’s. Chicago was a leading center for union activism as workers tried to organize and pool their collected influence. In 1886, labor unions were calling for a one day strike and a demonstration in Chicago. Their demands were for better working conditions and an eight hour work day. On May 1st, at the McCormick Center, two shootings and one death occurred during a riot. Three days later, a mass demonstration was organized on Haymarket Square. The mayor of Chicago sent an extra number of police which used excessive force and another riot broke out. As a result, an explosion, packed with dynamite was thrown from somewhere in the crowd. The name of the offender was not known. What was known was the fact that seven police officers died and four offenders, self proclaimed anarchists, were tried and two were hung. The bigger picture that the use of dynamite produced a wider influence than first thought. The use of dynamite helped to bring the entire establishment against the ideas of the Progressives with regard to their desire to improve their working conditions. Deep rooted fears that the country had regarding sinister elements were now proved to be correct in the minds of many Americans. However, the Haymarket Square Riot did help to organize the call among labor leaders to continue to fight the employers. Even though many of the Progressive leaders did not condone the use of violence, and even though it was not known for sure who was responsible for the throwing of the dynamite bomb, it was assumed that it was almost certainly, a member of the pro labor union forces. â€Å"However, what was seen as excessive force by the police, seemed to almost condone the actions in the minds of the most radical labor leaders. † As a result, the labor movement in Chicago and in New York specifically, gained momentum and within the next few decades, the Progressive Movement would see a surge in their influence, not only on the streets and in the factories, but also in Congress as well. This was not entirely a result of the Haymarket Square but in Chicago, in 1894, the second largest labor strike occurred in the 19th century at the Pullman Car Company on the south side of Chicago. No dynamite was used in this demonstration but many of the workers used for their motivation, the events at Haymarket Square. The second is the 1920 bombing of the Wall Street Building in downtown Manhattan. There was a feeling of suspicion among the country at that time that was prompted by a unmistakable xenophobia. Socialists groups had gained in converts and influence yet there has been no show of force until one day, in a New York City Post office, sixteen packages, addressed to prominent Senators and Congressmen and which contained: â€Å" enough dynamite to blow a man’s head off† were discovered and which confirmed deeply suspicions feelings about the anarchists within the city and their desire for revolution, the same that had occurred in Russia only three years earlier. Neither events had the desired result of anarchy that the perpetrators had hoped for. Nevertheless, it would not be long until another attempt was made to create panic to the financial and districts of America On a warm May late morning in 1920, a horse drawn wagon pulled up to the corner of Wall Street. It was a few minutes before lunch and people were getting ready to head out onto the May afternoon to eat their lunch. A large explosion occurred and the wagon was full of dynamite as well as thousands of sash weights that dug into the stone of the Wall Street buildings; the financial capital of the country. Forty people were killed and the horse had become completely disintegrated. The stock market did not close that day however and the Dow continued to rise as one of the most exciting decades the stock market had ever seen to date was officially under way. But the destructive potential of dynamite has not been restricted only to the United States and only in the distant past. In Ireland, with bombings occurring almost weekly in the 1970’s and 1980’s the deathly potential of dynamite came to the front door of the United Kingdom. There has been civil unrest in Ireland for hundreds of years as Ireland fought to gain their independence from England. When Ireland gained her independence in 1921, twenty six out of a total of thirty two counties were made their own country, independent from England. The Protestant minority, which had centralized herself in the six most Northern counties of Ireland and not wanting to lose the little influence that they had by being outnumbered and overpowered by the Catholic majority, voted to keep their allegiance to England. And a Northern Ireland, with their own currency and independent from the lower twenty six counties, remained separate. This has been fought over since 1921 but came to a head in the 1970’s and 1980’s as increased pressure to unite Ireland was coming from the political wing of Ireland Sinn Fein and their leader Gerry Adams and Martin McGinness. In the same way that Middle Eastern terrorists use violent means in order to further their cause, Sinn Fein did the same as well. It is estimated that since the Bloody Sunday Massacre on January 30, 1972 until present day, more than three thousand people, with the vast majority being innocent civilians, have been killed through bombings by the IRA and Sinn Fein and in response by the Ulster Unionists who are associated to Northern Ireland and the continuation of a separate Ireland. These terrorists would use as their weapon of choice for these bombings, dynamite. With much of it being illegally shipped by Omar Kadafe, who was sympathetic about Ireland’s plight of uniting their country and approved of its measures to achieve its goal, sent thousands of pounds of nitroglycerine as well as other materials that are used to make dynamite. Hundreds of sticks of dynamite along with a large arsenal of guns and other forms of weaponry accompanied each shipment. The targets for these bombings would usually be social settings: restaurants and pubs where it was assured that dozens of unsuspecting patrons would meet their deaths. However, the result of hundreds of these bombings throughout Ireland has actually resulted in the opposite desired effect. The IRA and Sinn Fein are considered to be on the fringe of society and the rightness of their cause, as seen through the hunger strike of Bobby Sands, an MP, has been lost. And even though Britain’s influence within Northern Ireland has decreased in the past years and peace agreement after peace agreement has been ignored by both sides, it becomes increasingly unlikely that there will ever be a united Ireland in the immediate or distant future. This is because it is now seen that recons illation by either side will, in effect, make the deaths of the thousands of victims on both sides, now be considered null and void. In this effect, the use of dynamite greatly decreased the likelihood that a true and lasting peace would ever come to Ireland. If dynamite has never been invented, there still would have been troubles in Ireland among the Catholics and Protestants and between Unionists and the IRA but the number of deaths, and therefore, the number of hurdles that would need to be overcome in order to obtain a lasting peace, would have been a mere shadow of the reality that is now facing Ireland’s peace process today. In this respect, every lover of peace and brotherhood, not only in Ireland but throughout the world, has come to regret the day that dynamite had been invented. It served as an unmistakable impediment for that portion of the world. However, there have been found some positive uses of dynamite. In the United States today, the uses of dynamite are as such: â€Å"Coal mining 67%, non metal mining 14% metal mining, 10% construction 7% and miscellaneous 3%. † At the end of the 19th century and into the 20th, coal was the country’s primary source for fuel. In order to get the coal out of the earth, dynamite blasting was required. As a result, more dynamite meant easier travel by way of ship and train which used as their chief form of fuel: coal. The shipping industry as well as the railroad which served as the number one form of cross country transportation and was second in use only to the mass transit system of the major cities, used coal as their use of fuel. Without dynamite, coal still could and was retrieved from the ground but at a snail’s pace compared to the rate that it extracted from the earth today. This has wide ranging implications and is one use of dynamite which was to the benefit of the masses. In this way, the correct and responsible use of dynamite was used to better the lives of millions of people over the decades. The importance of dynamite on the world stage has diminished from its zenith in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Dynamite has now been replaced by safer alternatives but is still used in coal mining. And with America’s push away from Middle eastern independence through their oil supply, many people are pointing to the abundance of American coal. In that respect, the importance of dynamite on the world stage might return. For the most part, contemporary societies have come to share the vision that Alfred Nobel had for his invention. However, as long as people seek to further their ideas in violent measures, dynamite still serves an attractive tool in that motive. Nuclear Weapons, bigger guns and other forms of chemical warfare have replaced the use dynamite in war. Nobel was too unrealistic about the depravity of man to think that dynamite’s destructive potential would be abandoned in favor of more peaceful measures. But with every invention that increases an army’s ability to kill, it is said that this will now outlaw war. But that has yet to happen. However, since dynamite is no longer seen as the most effective tool in warfare, its uses can now be concentrated more on its useful abilities and continue to aid in the welfare of man; Nobel’s original intent. WORKS CITED Birney, E. The Effectiveness of Dynamite. www. nchi. mlm. nih. gov. Sanger Centre Cambridge February 21, 2006 Burns, Ric The History of New York. New York: PBS Video. 1999 Bown, Stephen, The Most Damnable Invention. New York: St. Martin’s Press. 2005 Commanger, Henry Steele. Documents of American History. New York: Century Publishers. 1947 Perry, John. Endgame in Ireland. New York: PBS Video. 2001 Elistone, Mary. The Haymarket Square Riot. Chicago: University of Chicago Law Review. 1993 Marcazee, Joseph. The Use of Dynamite in History. New York: The American Journal of American History. 1999. nobelprize. org/Alfred_nobel

lighthod Voyage into the Darkness in Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness :: Heart Darkness essays

Voyage into the Heart of Darkness The voyage into the "Heart of Darkness" is told to us through the eyes of Charlie Marlow. As Marlow is aboard the "Nellie" he tells his story of expedition and growth. The men on the boat sit still yet bored. Marlow is like an old man sharing a story of his childhood, that for himself may be of great significance, and lead to a lesson, but the children yearn to hear a story of magic, castles and sword fights. Joseph Conrad uses Marlow's character to get across and express his own opinion. The story Marlow shares with the other men, is a story of reflection. It is a mirror, like most experiences are. Experiences in our lives that teach us and reveal something in our lives that had to be fixed. In this case Marlow (or Conrad) uses Africa as the mirror into the hearts of early Europeans that wished to colonize and only help profit the "less unfortunate". What was it exactly that this unchartered land had in store for Marlow? As Marlow tells his story we see and understand the situations Marlow faced. In his first encounter with the tribes men, Marlow steps into a "gloomy circle of some inferno", where dark figures surrounded him. He compares this incident with that of a massacre, the starving and wasting bodies lying in "confusion". Marlow then encounters a young black boy with a piece of white cotton string tied around his neck. This simple piece of string symbolizes the young boy's innocence. Shortly after Marlow offers the boy a biscuit, another one of the shapes approaches the river , crawling, and drinks of the water. Marlow could not stand the sight of the suffering any longer. It was as though he felt what they were feeling and just when he was willing to help, he stands up and walks away. The path where Marlow meets those that had traveled to an unknown land, and walked uncertain of where they where but sure of what they wanted, started here. The patchwork young man ,( the Russian) is the only one in the jungle without an interest in gaining something out of the jungle, except for his own "breathing space". His devotion for Kurtz is an admiration out of ignorance and perhaps even innocence. Through the Russian Marlow learns a great deal about who Kurtz really is.

How Much Homework to Give Kids? Essay -- Education Educating School Le

How Much Homework to Give Kids? To many kids in elementary schools, homework is a menace. It takes away quality time from a student’s daily life and activities. In Romesh Ratnesar’s article â€Å"The Homework Ate my Family†, Ratnesar mentions about a student named Molly and her daily routine. Her daily routine consists of â€Å"spending two hours doing homework, practicing the piano, doing more than 100 math problems, labeling the countries and bodies of water and reviewing a semester’s worth of science† (Ratnesar). Molly barely has time for dinner. Ratnesar also mentions about a girl named Christina who â€Å"does not want to go to middle school, high school or college because of homework† (Ratnesar). Jonathan Keys, a parent of two boys in Orange County, says that his â€Å"boys aren’t doing things normal boys are doing.† As a result, parents like Jonathan Keys complain that elementary schools are assigning too much homework to kids. They believe that the amount of homework should be greatly reduced in order to make way for quality family time and friends. Boys should go out and do things normal boys do, and girls should go out and do things normal girls do. As Jonathan Keys puts it, â€Å"Kids should go out, play, and have fun†. However, these parents are missing a major point: the real world does not work this way. Our homes and neighborhoods are surrounded by corporate buildings and government facilities. The employees of these corporate buildings and government facilities are not playing or having fun. They are busy trying to use their education to make a decent living. So the question is: how much homework should children in elementary schools get? I agree that some teachers give to students too much junk homework and not enough clas... ...s. I strongly feel that elementary school children need to do at least 15 minutes of homework a night but keep a social balance as well. However, parents need to do their part in putting major emphasis on the importance of homework. If every parent this duty, our nation would probably rank number one in the world. Works Cited Allen, Carol. â€Å"Re: Child Life. This is Tu Do!!!!!† E-mail to Tu Hoang Do. 11 March 2004. Keys, Jonathan. Telephone interview. 15 March 2004. Mauldin, Deena. Lecture. University of California, Riverside. Riverside. 3 March 2004. Van Linge, Mona. â€Å"Re: Child Life. This is Tu Do!!!!!.† E-mail to Tu Hoang Do. 12 March 2004. Ratnesar, Romesh. â€Å"The Homework Ate My Family†. 25 January 1999: 312-319. Article. Perspectives on Contemporary Issues – Readings Across the Disciplines – Third Edition. Ed. Katherine Anne ckley. MA: Boston, 2003.

Pros and Cons of Outsourcing

Pros and Cons of Outsourcing ShaQuanvia Jones Potomac College Pros and Cons of Outsourcing What do you do when you need a job done that someone else specializes in? Well, of course you would hire that person to do the job. For instance, when you have a company, there are many parts to the company and each part has a different specialization. So they hire people that can do that job. It is the same way with larger companies. They hire manufacturers and smaller companies that specialize in a certain job to do it for them. This is all called outsourcing. Even though it sounds like myriads of advantages, it also has some disadvantages also.What is outsourcing? Outsourcing is obtaining goods and services from an outside supplier. It is like a contract with someone or a company to do a particular job that they specialize in. A car factory would hire companies that make the different parts of the car. Since the company already has the supplies and machinery for the parts it would be cheaper . In this case, the company that is helping the car factory would be called a service provider. It is providing a service that it specializes in to a larger company. These service providers are also called third-party providers.This name is given because it is the provider behind the main provider. Outsourcing is done in many companies like insurance companies, grocery stores, and many of the big businesses. Pros of Outsourcing With outsourcing comes many pros, or advantages. Outsourcing is very popular in our country and internationally. It helps businesses focus on their priorities or their main functions instead of secondary tasks. For example, if a company was good in handling finances, it would be hired to handle only the finances. Outsourcing also reduces expenses by finding certain industries purposes in areas where important costs are cheaper.If you noticed, many of our clothes or shoes are made in China. This is an example of outsourcing but it is a certain type called offs horing. Offshoring is when companies are outsourcing to foreign countries. America does offshoring because it is cheaper to get goods from China. If outsourcing was not a dependent, a company would not have to worry about trying to communicate with another to get goods and services. By not doing outsourcing, a company will also know what is going on with its product and be aware of any incidents. Cons of Outsourcing Although there are many advantages to outsourcing, there are some disadvantages, or cons.Many of the disadvantages would come from communication. When a company is receiving or purchasing goods from another country, they have to have a way to understand their language. With the diverse languages, it would be very hard; therefore offshoring can cause language barrier concerns. Another issue with offshoring would be the different time zones. The products would have to be ordered at the right time because getting products internationally are hard to do. The products have to be in before a certain time. Although outsourcing makes it cheaper for goods, this may also cause many Americans to lose jobs.If outsourcing was not depended on, a company would have to do all the work by their self which would cost more and take longer. As you can see, outsourcing is a very important and useful thing when it comes to goods and services. It has some downfalls, but staying focused and planning ahead of time would be a very effective plan when hiring specialists or handling business overseas. Outsourcing only helps specialize in certain functions so that companies will not have to come out of pocket for extra expenses. Labor is also cheaper when it comes to outsourcing.

Corporate Social Responsibility And Corporate Governance Management Essay Essays

Corporate Social Responsibility And Corporate Governance Management Essay Essays Corporate Social Responsibility And Corporate Governance Management Essay Essay Corporate Social Responsibility And Corporate Governance Management Essay Essay Labor development is the work gained from any individual through threatening and non voluntarily avidity of such individual. In the epoch of capitalist economy, the workers were treated merely like trade goods that used to bring forth things. In such capitalistic environment, the labours were exploited at work by non paying them the worth they are working and heightening their ain net income. But after the coming of globalisation, labours are now treated as the resources for the company who are the most outstanding plus for the organisation. But still the labour faces development is the signifier of less paid, labour trafficking, workplace development, domination, kid labour, menaces, physical injury, limitation, debt bondage etc ( Fact sheet: Labour development, 2009 ) . Company Background ( Wal-Mart ) : History: Wal-Mart was founded by Sam Walton in 1962 with the gap of its first shop at Rogers, Arkansas as retail shop for all the consumer goods so as to do the consumer goods at individual shop ( Heritage ) . With the airy leading of Sam Walton, it got incorporated in 1969 and was able to merchandise in New York Stock Exchange by 1972. Through the attempts of invention and leading, Wal-Mart has grown as the universe s largest Discount Department shops and named as the World s Largest Public Corporation by Revenue by the 2010 Forbes Global 2000. With the enlargement and strategic confederation scheme of the company, Wal-Mart successfully installed its China imported merchandises to all over the universe with highly successful in UK and South America though unsuccessful in South Korea and Germany. It is researching its image of the taking transnational company in the whole universe through its enlargement scheme to take the competitory advantage of the planetary market. In the procedure of suc h enlargement, company is be aftering to supply its merchandises and services to the consumers of Middle East specifically in UAE as it is considered as the best hub for trade all the universe ( Our Narrative ) . Location A ; Number of Employees: Wal-Mart serves more than 200 million times client daily as per the demand of the client whether it is retail mercantile establishment or online or through nomadic and other pass oning devices. It operates its operation in 27 states under more than 69 streamers to supply its services to the planetary clients. The gross revenues for the financial twelvemonth of 2012 histories for $ 444 billion while it employs 2.2 million employees world-wide and now it is be aftering to beef up both the place of the company as a taking Multinational company and the Economic development of UAE ( Our Narrative ) . Undertaking Aims: Our undertaking aims at researching the construct of Exploitation of Workers with particular mention to the Wal-Mart Company. The Exploitation of the Workers has been explored by concentrating on the Business Perspective, Government Perspective and the Social Perspective associated with the construct. Furthermore the undertaking aims at acknowledging and researching the importance of Good Corporate Administration to the concern organisations like Wal-Mart in this concern sphere. Undertaking besides includes the account of put to deathing the corporate societal duties by the companies and the fiscal benefits gained by them due to the same. The function played by Government and Society which motivates the company to execute its corporate societal duty. At last the undertaking suggested the rules of Good Corporate Governance. Part I Business Position: Point of View of Wal-Mart about Exploitation of Workers: Wal-Mart is one of the most awful users of workers in world. Wal-Mart has extended its impact to parts of the development scenario where workers are in copiousness and constricts the life out of its human resource for the net income maximization. Wal-Mart has faced about 5000 civil suits yearly for the misdemeanor of human rights and workers development. Wal-Mart considers its workers as the factor of production and simply trade good which is responsible to heighten the organisational production and productiveness. The development of workers in the Wal-Mart can easy be seen systematically through following points: Inadequate sum of rewards, wages and other human resource benefits to employees. Overtime services from the workers without their willingness and off-the-clock labour. Activities against the trade brotherhood. Gender biasness at the workplace particularly against the adult females. Using illegal human resource by the manner of third-party contractors ( Lane, 2010 ) . Attitude of Wal-Mart towards Social Duty: The Wal-Mart CSR scheme aims to salvage money and live better for the clients. In relation to CSR Wal-Mart follows every twenty-four hours low costing scheme so as to assist the clients save their money, stretching their payroll checks and supply the better living criterion for the households. The work of the organisation is non merely limited to the clients but it extends the benefits for the whole community around the universe. The organisation perceives itself as the responsible and the timeserving to convey out the differences that matter a batch for the social sustainable development. Issues such as environment saving, hunger battle, poorness, and Women authorization, healthy and low-cost nutrient are perceived as the duty by Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart follows its CSR by committed towards the undermentioned attempts: Environmental Sustainability. Hunger and Nutrition. Women Economic Empowerment. Diversity and Inclusion. Ethical Sourcing. Veterans and Military Families ( Global Responsibility ) . Fiscal Benefits of a Corporate Social Responsibility for Wal-Mart: The fiscal benefits of put to deathing the corporate societal duty to Wal-Mart include assorted benefits including the good corporate and market image and enhanced workers trueness. The fiscal benefits are as follows: Effective executing of Corporate Social Responsibility helps in increasing the production and productiveness of the Wal-Mart which finally leads to increase in gross revenues and net income of the company. Corporate Social Responsibility public presentation helps Wal-Mart in heightening its retail merchandise and services distinction which can carry through the demands of clients with augmented quality and full value for illustration: trade carnival, macrobiotic goods etc. By executing its corporate societal duty, Wal-Mart can diminish its cost of runing the concern operations. For illustration: Wal-Mart can acquire the goods and services from the providers at lowest cost as most possible extent, and through enhanced employees trueness it has to incur low cost in the procedure of enlisting and keeping of employees and decreased the cost of employee turnover. Corporate Social Responsibility will be helpful in the successful execution of the concern undertakings and the enlargement of concern units at maximal locations, globally. For Example: The instance of Wal-Mart vs. Target in which Wal-Mart often faces difficult legal challenges when seeking to turn up new retail shops and has been incapable to come in some market finishs, despite expensive and comprehensive legal struggle, where Target has achieved entry, like Manhattan, New York. Corporate societal Responsibility will enable Wal-Mart to hold enhanced entree to the good-humored relationships with all the stakeholders including spouses, clients, providers, and sellers, employees which finally helps in diminishing the hazard associated with legal and regulative mulcts. The benefits of put to deathing Corporate Social Responsibility includes good market and trade name image and healthy dealingss with the stakeholders which finally helps in carry throughing the organisational aims of net income and wealth maximization, along with assorted ends, mission and vision achievement ( concern instance for corporate societal duty ) . Pressure on the Business Organization ( Wal-Mart ) from Society and Government: Wal-Mart and other companies of US are being enforced to follow the CSR by the authorities and society within the organisation so as to hold sustainable development in environment and the economic system. US authorities has adopted CSR under US Corporate Dialogue in 1984. In 2006, the expressed political determination was taken by committee to forbear the binding statute law on CSR rules. Assorted multi stakeholders forum and social association enforced the organisations to follow CSR for the sustainable development of the state. But still the CSR ever remains as the voluntary scheme of the company. The US authorities and society ever tries to adhere the company with the CSR ordinances so that the misleading of the clients and other stakeholders can be avoided. Rigorous ordinances have been passed by the statute law for maintain the CSR specifically related to societal jurisprudence, labour jurisprudence and the environmental jurisprudence ( Mickels, 2009 ) . Government Perspective: Point of View of Government sing Exploitation of Workers: Exploitation of workers was being practiced by the communistic types of authorities but under the democratic authorities, Exploitation of workers is against the labour Torahs and the human rights as per US authorities norms. The workers should be treated as the worlds and non the trade goods. Government has obligated assorted rigorous legal duty and even punishments for such illegal and social abusing patterns ( Mickels, 2009 ) . How it regulates Business and Society to see Social Duty: The US authorities has enforced CSR norms within the companies through US Dialogue Code 1984 and amendment in the rules in 2006 through which it makes the organisation accountable to describe the human rights and environmental maltreatments within the company and guaranting to describe every bit minimal as they can do. The companies are bounded to follow the rigorous human rights and environmental norms and failure to such norms leads to punishments for such companies ( Mickels, 2009 ) . Influence on Governments from the Business Organization and Society: However the authorities constabularies have bounded the US companies to purely follow the CSR and the human rights against the development of labour but still following CSR is yet kept as the voluntary action in the custodies of the companies and hence most of the companies avoid to follow such duty towards environment. However Wal-Mart and other planetary MNC s follow the CSR on the precedence footing to guarantee the sustainable development of the environment and the state ( Mickels, 2009 ) . Society Perspective: Point of View of Society about the Exploitation of Workers: Society believe that the development of workers as the communistic activity which is used to rule the labour against their human rights. They are threatened to make the work without effectual wages, torment at the workplace and fondness which is wholly non accepted by the society. Through such evil patterns, hapless become poorer and rich become richer which brought down the instability in the society and the economic system. Child labour, sexual torment, human trafficking are the parts of development of labour which are considered as the expletive on the society ( Mickels, 2009 ) . Criticism of Society towards the Business Organization ( Wal-Mart ) and the Exploitation of Workers in general: The social norms purely consider the development as the strong discourtesy against the human rights and the social norms. Assorted Social signifiers and associations have adopted sustainable corporate constabularies though a theoretical account in 1994 known as the three P s theoretical account stands for Peoples ( Human Rights ) , Profit ( Efficiency ) , Planet ( Environment ) . This ternary bottom line concern theoretical account helps to keep the transparent and just concern patterns within the society ( Mickels, 2009 ) . The Influence of the Business Organization ( Wal-Mart ) and Government to the Attitude of Society: Under the influence of the social norms and the governmental duties, the Wal-Mart is following the CSR efficaciously sing the CSR as its ain planetary duty. The attempts of Wal-Mart for CSR comprises of following subparts: Environmental Sustainability. Hunger and Nutrition. Women Economic Empowerment. Diversity and Inclusion. Ethical Sourcing. Veterans and Military Families ( Global Responsibility ) Part II The Impact of external forces on the organisation ( Wal-Mart ) : Technology: Technology plays a really outstanding function in the successful executing of concern operations of the Wal-Mart ; the recognition of success of Wal-Mart is decidedly goes to the proper use of engineering. Technology is an of import external factor which poses both positive and riotous impact on the employee s behaviour and organisational development. Technology systematically helps in streamlining the concern procedures and makes the work easier and comfy, qualitative for employees but the procedure of larning refering to the use of new and latest engineering while keeping the productiveness may be hard and nerve-racking for Wal-Mart. Technology helps the Wal-Mart in beef uping its retail concatenation and holding competitory advantage over others. The elements in the rapid debut of new engineerings leads to make assorted jobs to the Wal-Mart viz. changeless demand for new preparation and development plans, betterment in the concern operational procedure and records care. Technologi es like unfastened sourcing, nanotechnology, and collaborative computer science have a important influence on the concern operations of Wal-Mart, New Technologies have unpredicted effects for the society when they are utilised into extended usage for commercial net income, Wal-Mart should carefully and efficaciously analyze merely the impact of engineerings on its theoretical account of concern strategically, along with the jeopardies imposed by engineering on people including all the stakeholders ( Basker, April 2007 ) . Competition: Wal-Mart faces tough competition with all the parallel retail trade names non merely in the UAE but besides globally. It faces competition in footings of merchandise and services distinction, market cleavage, market placement, aiming the clients, pricing schemes, promotional schemes like price reduction, free offers and strategies, advertisement, gross revenues publicity, famous person indorsement in the publicity of the merchandise and services etc. But the toughest signifier of all the competition is the pricing competition, Wal-Mart is one of the most prima retail trade names globally and it charges really high cost for the merchandises and services and therefore faces competition with the lower cost trade names ( Donald, 2009 ) The Organization ( Wal-Mart s ) Management: Retrenchment: The twelvemonth 2006 noticed the most of import retrenchment for the Wal-Mart since it carried out its planetary enlargement in the early 1990s, in an effort to resuscitate the growing of gross revenues and net income. Wal-Mart, the planetary largest retail merchant, acknowledges licking in its long term venerable operations to perforate efficaciously the retail market of Germany. On July 30, 2006, the Wal-Mart declared that it was manus over its operations in Germany to the Metro AG, a German retail merchant trade name. Wal-Mart had been trying to make its German shops more good commercially for eight old ages. Wal-Mart provinces a pretax loss pertaining to the gross revenues amounting $ 1 billion. Wal-Mart had ab initio declared in May 2006 that it would sell its 16 retail shops in the South Korea ( Donald, 2009 ) . As a portion of its retrenchment scheme ; Wal-Mart besides applied the cost film editing and salvaging policies to the human resource of the organisation. In a amalgama tion with Massmart, one of the taking retail trade name concatenation, Wal-Mart retrenched 503 employees in the twelvemonth 2010 ( June 2010 ) . Employment Discrimination: Equally per as the values and beliefs of Wal-Mart are concern, they are govern by the positions of Sam Walton on which the foundation of the company is based i.e. the regard for every person . It aims at put to deathing concern operations with non favoritism in the procedure of employment. Wal-Mart purposes at making a corporate civilization of common trust and respects which encourage an optimistic work environment. It means that it aims at handling all the stakeholders with the courtesy and equity in all the concern minutess and communicating. Wal-Mart is committed at prolonging a diverse work force and comprehensive work environment. Harmonizing to the values of the company, Wal-Mart will non bear any favoritism associated with the employment and determinations of employment or in the concern minutess on the footing of age, gender, colour, race, caste, credo, faith, lineage, disablement, nationality, relationship position, ethnicity or any other lawfully secured position. It doe s non know apart with its associates, human resource, clients, providers and other stakeholders. But on the contrary there are assorted facts and figure which revels the information sing the favoritism in the employment conditions by Wal-Mart. The first and first issue associated with the employment favoritism is the gender biasness. Almost 2,000 adult females in 48 provinces files civil suits against Wal-Mart, kicking about the employment favoritism associated with the wage and publicities in comparing to male employees ( Non-Discrimination ) . The Principles of Corporate Administration: The importance of Good Corporate Administration in the success of the organisation can barely be overemphasized. It plays a really important function in keeping reciprocally affable dealingss between f the direction and all the stakeholders. The Principles of Corporate Governance are as follows: Principle 1: Fit house foundations for Management and Supervision: In order to hold a Good Corporate Governance, concern organisations should explicate and pass on the accompaniment functions and duties of board of managers and direction. Principle 2: Form the board in order to added value: Organizations should set up a board with effectual size, composing, and trueness to efficaciously dispatch its responsibilities, functions and duties. Principle 3: Endorse Ethical and Accountable procedure of Decision Making: Ethical and accountable determination doing leads to smooth operation of concern operations and guarantee Good Corporate Governance. Principle 4: Maintain Reliability in Financial Reporting of the Company: Honesty in presenting true fiscal facts and figures helps in constructing common trust with all the stakeholders which is a gateway to Good Corporate Governance. Principle 5: Communicating all the needed Information Timely and Impartially: Companies must concentrate on unwraping all the information concern with its operations to all the stakeholders. Principle 6: Value the Shareholders Rights: Companies must value and esteem the stockholder s rights and ease them by supplying entree to the rights. Principle 7: Effective Identification and Management of Risk associated with the Business: Companies must make a sound hazard direction system of hazard in order to hold effectual supervising and pull offing internal control. Principle 8: Compensate reasonably and faithfully: Business Organizations should determine that the degree and foundation of wage is equal and rational and that its association with public presentation is clear and effectual. Principle 9: Promote the Human Resource s enhanced Performance: Companies should place, promote and acknowledge the outstanding and expected public presentation of the employees, board of managers and direction in the organisation. Principle 10: Identify and acknowledge the legal benefits of Stakeholders: Business organisations should acknowledge all the legal duties of all the valid stakeholders and put to death them consequently ( Principles of Good Corporate Governance and Best Practice Recommendations, March 2003 ) . Decision: The Exploitation of workers in the concern organisations is the most rising issue of the today s cut pharynx competition, in order to last and accomplish the net income maximization aim in this tough competition companies exploits their work force blindly. Exploitation of Workers leads to interrupt the common trust and trueness between human resource and the organisation which finally affects the production, productiveness, profitableness and long term growing and sustainability of the concern. If the concern organisation s production gets affected it will finally impact the market and clients and society s demand for merchandises and services. If the society is non satisfied with the trade and commercialism activities so it will finally impact the stableness of authorities and the economic development of the state. So in order to forestall the aforesaid issues and ensures the sustainable development concern organisations should implements the rules of Good Corporate Governance and e xecutes their Corporate Social Responsibilities.

Retirement Issues Essays

Retirement Issues Essays Retirement Issues Essay Retirement Issues Essay One year ago, the U. S. had the 10th best retirement-income system in the world. One year later, that hasnt changed, according to the third annual study of the pension systems of 16 countries by Mercer and the Australian Centre for Financial Studies. In its study, Mercer and ACFS measured the overall pension benefits that are being provided to the citizens of 16 countries, the likelihood that those systems will be able to provide benefits in the future, and the integrity of private retirement plans. Same as last year, the U. S. didnt get such high marks. In fact, the U. S. earned a C grade for its pension-plan system according to the 2011 Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index, the same grade awarded to Poland and Brazil. Read the Global Pension report here. The Netherlands and Australia earned the highest grades, a B+, for their respective retirement-income systems. Read my column from last year on the Melbourne Mercer index. By its own admission, Mercer and ACFS said comparing diverse retirement-income systems around the world is not easy. Retirement-income systems are diverse and often a number of different programs, according to a report published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in March 2011. Classifying pension systems and different retirement-income schemes is consequentially difficult. At the moment, no country has a gold-standard pension system according to the Melbourne Mercer index. To receive a best-in-class grade, the researchers said a system would have to provide adequate retirement benefits, be sustainable over the longer term and be trusted due to its strong and robust governing structures. For his part, Nevin Adams, the director of education and external relations at the Employee Benefit Research Institute and the co-director of EBRIs Center for Research on Retirement Income, suggested that Americans should view the rankings with a large grain of salt.

Describing Angela Carter Essays

Describing Angela Carter Essays Describing Angela Carter Essay Describing Angela Carter Essay Essay Topic: Beauty and the Beast and Other Tales Delicious, eccentric, opulent, cruel corrupt: all of these adjectives appear in the story The Bloody Chamber, which do you find helpful in describing Angela Carters style?  In the order of the above title the words valorously mean; appealing to the senses. Deviating from convention in bizarre manner, abundant and plentiful, causing pain without pity, morally deprived and lacking integrity. It would be fair to say that all the above words are helpful in describing Angela Carters style but in varying degrees. The very nature of the stories themselves are cruel ass indeed they were in their original form so it is not totally accurate to say this is her own style exactly. However, there are flashes of pure cruelty, non-essential to the plot. For instance in The Bloody Chamber the count bans his new wife from entering his den but adds cruelly There I can go you understand, to savour the rare pleasure of imagining myself wife less. It is cruel to say this to a new wife and subtly cruel also as we learn the secret of the chamber. In the same story we hear of the Marquis who used to hunt young girls to kill them who boasts of his conquest to the blacksmith, pulling out of a bag a head to show off A find specimen of the genus brunette, eh, Guillaume? It was the head of the blacksmiths wife. Both incidents are little titbits of pure cruelty. Opulent is probably not an adjective you would expect of these quite violent tales, but the sense of opulence is seems to add to the pathos of the stories. In The Bloody Chamber we are shown the Counts wealth I drew my furs about me broad stripes errene and sable. It illustrates that wealth is no protector from death and the dead animals around her neck although opulent could be seen to symbolise her own death. He also tells of his great portrait collection of Gangues, Poussins, Fragonares etc (all of victims incidentally) and he tells of his Kings of Sevres and queens ransom of himoques. The description of his wealth is most detailed and certainly opulent. Carter also uses opulence in a non-materialistic sense. In The Lady of the House of Love She uses opulence of nature. Too many roses, too many roses bloomed on enormous thickets and the flowers themselves were almost too luxuriant. Delicious ties in quite well with opulent as something enjoyable and appealing to the senses and as such features a lot in the story, The Bloody Chamber. Funeral lilies whose white sheaths are curled out of a flesh as thick yielding to the touch as vellum. It is a deliciously sensual description using the senses of touch. Later in the same story she appeals to the sense of taste giving a vivid description of a meal. An aromatic soup a cold bird, a cold souffl, cheese all temptingly delicious sounding. She continues to tempt the senses with a visual feast of the Russia they knew Black earth, blue forest white nights of cool summer, the fireworks of the northern lights. She brings smell into the range also, The thick, rich wild scent hangs all about us.. This leaves us with eccentric and corrupt. Throughout the whole book, there are flashes of eccentric behaviour. In the first story, the heroines mother, having previously despatched a man-eating tiger kills her daughters husband. In Mr Lyon we are treated to a King Charles spaniel taking the part of a manservant. Continuing into the Tigers Bride the maid is automation. In The werewolf a small child maims the wolf and calmly cleans her knife and walks on. This brings is finally to corrupt which in my opinion is the most appropriate of all the adjectives and the most widely used in the book. Not only does Angela Carter use corrupt passages, each and every tale is corrupt in some way of form. They are all stories based round moral depravity and lacking in integrity. The lady of the house of love embodies corruption. The them of the tale of a vampire killing for blood is a corruption of life itself and the story is full of further images. She is too beautiful she is unnatural her beauty is a symptom of her disorder, her soulessness she rises when the sun sets. Shortly after this she uses the word herself a blast of rich, faintly corrupt sweetness strong enough almost to fell him plush petals somehow obscene in their excess tightly budded cores outrageous in implications with this paragraph. Carter demonstrates that it is not only humanity that can be corrupt? She emphasises this with one feeding off the other. Tomorrow, her keeper will buy his bones under her roses. The food her roses feed on gives them their rich colour, their smoothing colour, that breathes lasciviously of forbidden pleasures. Man and nature corrupting each other. The story of The Bloody Chamber shows corruption at its best, indeed the count himself is a descendent of Catherine de Medici one of historys most corrupt, amoral characters. The twist to corruption in this tales is that the heroin as we perceive her to be is fallible enough to sense it in herself. I sensed in myself a potentially for corruption that took my breath away. The count catches his young innocent wife reading through his erotic books and taunts her with the words My little nun has found the prayer books has she?. He alludes to what must be the ultimate corruption that of a bride of Christ. He tells his bride that he has bought her with Coloured stones and the pelts of dead beasts. Who is the most corrupt? The giver or the taker? The final depravity he wishes to inflict upon her is baldly stating to her the form of her impending death decapitation he wants her to bathe and dress and be jewel herself for her execution, the behaviour of a totally corrupt individual.  Angela Carter sees the world as a corrupt place peopled by corrupters with nature lending more that a helping hand. The line that sums this up perfectly comes from the Company of Wolves She knew the worst wolves are hairy on the inside.

An account of the revolution followed by the coup in egypt with Assignment

An account of the revolution followed by the coup in egypt with elements of the corruption involved in government activities and how they have effected tourism - Assignment Example China experienced widespread student protests in Beijing on June 4 1989, because of the unrest, the population of tourists in hotels was low and travel to Beijing was highly restricted. A double military coup occurred in Fiji in 1987, other countries responded by issuing travel advisories to their citizens. Israel has for a long time been involved in military warfare making it inhospitable for tourists. Therefore, the case in Egypt is not different, the revolution, the coup and prevalent corruption have had diverse effects in the country. The revolution occurred in 2011, followed by the coup two years later in 2013. The Egyptian revolution was marked by mass protests on the streets. Clashes turned bloody resulting in the death of at least 300 people23. Egyptian nationals were pushing for the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak. Grievances included political issues; economic strains, unemployment, inflation and injustice. The demands were finally met on February, 11th 2011 when President Mubarak put an end to his thirty year old regime by stepping down11. The July 2013 coup came immediately after widespread protests by Egyptian citizens against President Mohamed Morsi. People demanded that Morsi be removed from power, his term in office had lacked success. Coups have never been peaceful. As a result, forceful intergovernmental transition would bring all economic activity to a standstill26. Contrary to the expectations of many Egyptians, the coup led to more problems. From the time of Morsi’s overthrow from power, Egyptians were left fighting for the formation of a legitimate government that would replace military rule. Public servants have been involved in constant revolts over the fact that the government has failed to fulfill its minimum wage promises1. These facts caused negative effects on the country’s revenue-generating sectors, a major constituent being the tourism industry. Inflation became a major economic problem and the rate of unemployment

Apple's International Strategies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Apple's International Strategies - Essay Example The business sells in Europe, South America, North America, Asia and Australia. Apple has considerable brand loyalty established in China, The United Kingdom, and Australia. This loyalty occurs as part of a broad international marketing communications strategy that includes social media, press releases, transparent market research targeting consumers (i.e., attitude surveys), and the strong emphasis on customer relationship management. In all international locations, the majority of target customers that maintain strong loyalty are professional businesspersons, those in arts and entertainment, and are generally between the ages of 18 and 34 (Rubicon Consulting, 2008). Apple conducts considerable volumes of marketing research to determine attitudes, preferences, and lifestyles of consumers to ensure it is producing relevant products internationally and creating effective advertising that meets with these lifestyles and demands. In China, Apple entered this market with a licensing stra tegy, due to the high volume of technology competition with pre-established brands (Ramadugu & Samad, 2009). Apple desired to link its brand name with China Unicom, one of the largest telecommunications companies that had considerable growth in consumer satisfaction in China. This licensing agreement was also the chosen strategy for entering this market as there is an unpredictable distribution of mobile technology in China and by having China Unicom control distribution, it would improve the costs associated with setting up an Apple-specific distribution system in this new market. In Nigeria, as another example, Apple chose a turnkey market strategy, which is when technical processes and technology is exported to the market. Once a turnkey contractor is identified, the contractor establishes the operational model, construction, and implementation of Apple production and sales strategies in the new market (Evans, 2005). This is a country with limited competition and where the costs of new market entry are high to competitors. By establishing an operational foothold in Nigeria, this would potentially open new opportunities for local distribution from the newly constructed manufacturing facility. Apple maintains a different market entry strategy based on consumer characteristics, the level of competition in these markets, and identified brand recognition and loyalty for Apple premium products. In the UK, the target market consists of 18-34-year-olds in which branding occurs related to their lifestyle and the linkage between their perceptions of Apple products. Robinson (2010, p. 2) identifies that gaining market attention in the UK includes focusing on emotions, hopes, aspirations and lifestyle passions in a market saturated with competition and where there are high brand recognition and preference. Market entry in this country included licensing agreements and exporting since there was already a well-developed mobile and consumer technology distribution system established in this country. The level of price sensitivity in customers, the distribution networks available in the country, the level of competition, and the ability to provide relevant promotion to meet consumer lifestyles determine the market entry strategies selected by Apple.

Revised proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Revised proposal - Essay Example Environmental conservationists, however, argue that the coastline is heavily populated and, therefore, any oil or gas spill would cause immense destruction to the environment and would negatively affect the individuals residing on the shores of the state. Sustaining the governments move for exploration, the US secretary of the interior supported the governments efforts, claiming that the expansion plan took into account a balanced perspective towards gas and oil exploration and development. He lamented that the governments approach would protect areas that were too delicate to explore. In the recent past, the US government has come under immense pressure to stabilize the ever growing demand of oil and stabilizing oil prices and at the same time balancing the governments aspiration to fight climatic changes and protect the environment against pollution. Environmental analysts feel that more exploration in Georgia and other areas will open up the region to unhealthy and dirty fuels. They feel that these explorations will expose American coastlines to dirty fuel development practices, and such practices will pollute the coastlines and negatively affect American civilians. Stressing the governments intention to further increase oil and gas supply, the White House lamented that it would preserve more land, approximately 10 million acres of land for additional oil explorations in Alaska in the near future. Arctic drilling would still carry on while also expanding additional explorations in the most resourceful Gulf of Mexico region. The oil and gas policies as proposed by the US government shows a bigger effort by the US administration to maintain the current Americas energy demand while also replicating down on legislations purposed to give protection to the environment and the unique ecosystems. Adding the gas and oil permits in the eastern side of the country, the governments proposes an enlarged lease in the densely

Work Related Values in a Non-Profit Organization Essay

Work Related Values in a Non-Profit Organization - Essay Example Hofstede has identified 4 dimensions for classifying values with national culture and has emphasized that these 4 dimensions are only a framework and there are no rules attached to these dimensions. Power distance Uncertainty Avoidance Individualism and collectivism Masculinity and Femininity According to Hofstede, any organization is made of up to 2 cultural elements- internal elements of culture that are invisible, associated to a particular organization and external values of culture which are usually the general rules, regulations, values and practices. Power distance index: How an organization handles inequalities According to Dutch Sociologist Geert Hofstede, power distance index refers to the distribution of power and money between people in an organization and this helps in understanding and analyzing the extent people in the organization submit to authority. It is usually low in organizations where people work with each other that are not in authority and high in organizatio ns where there is more of a hierarchy involved. In any nonprofit organization, the power distance index is usually very low as the main objective of a non-profit organization is to address issues and promote interests of the poor, provide community development infrastructure and provide basic social service to the people. Since the organizations are by and large nonprofit in nature, most of the people working are volunteers and there is no hierarchy followed is such organizations. The people working for the organization are treated equally despite the difference in power, status or wealth. Privileges, status symbols and power is less evident in any non-profit organization as all the people work together for a single cause. Uncertainty Avoidance: Uncertainty avoidance means the organization’s tolerance to indistinctness and vagueness. Some organizations have a very relaxed attitude towards uncertainty and it doesn’t affect them. The behavior of the people is directly re lated to the work/organization. Some organizations/people would prefer security to a job structured approach to work with written rules and regulations. Low uncertainty avoidance is usually seen in non-profit organizations as the people in this organization are used to handling unknown events and there are also no specific strict rules or regulations that need to be followed. Individualism or collectivism- Behavior towards a group This represents and defines the degree to which individuals of a particular group or organization are collective and integrated as a group. Individualism refers to organizations where individuals look after themselves whereas collectivism refers to people integrated into strong groups who would help each other attain goals... In a social organization, the members are usually very cohesive in nature they usually help each other and the society. In any other organization, employees stress for personal achievement, success and individual rights as they have t o fulfill their needs and dreams. Non-profit organizations are usually collective in nature. The aim and vision of any NGO organization is to provide assistance and support to the poor. Masculinity and Femininity According to Hofstede, masculine society refers to fewer women in hobs and there is vast value difference between men and women in the same job profile. There would be more job stress, earnings, challenges and stronger motivation factors to perform better on the job. In a feminine society, managers are relatively less interested at leadership and they usually have no job stress. In a non-profit organization, there is more of a feminine dimension as the people at work have more of a service role. There is more stress on relationships, society and social responsibility rather than earnings and recognitions by the

To-Be Process Flowchart and Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

To-Be Process Flowchart and Paper - Essay Example Mind Tools (1996-2015) talks about the effects of waste in relation to cost. From this site it is affirmed that "Waste costs you and your customer’s money", which is an implication that is nothing is done about it soon enough then the consumers might consider finding a much better place. Anything adding no value to the final product can be termed as waste. Mind Tools (1996-2015) goes ahead to list some of the most common wastes in organizations (businesses) that end up increasing the production costs for no good reason. They include; overproduction, waiting, inefficient transportation of materials, over-processing, and production mistakes/defects, and inefficient use of workers. All is these can bring about unnecessary expenses in the production process and that explains why the to-be process focuses on selling credible ideas to the Boeing Company to help it get rid of waste and minimize production costs in the long run. Let us take for instance transportation in the Boeing Company. The company has to implement the to-be process effectively in order to manage the manner in which it transports its products. This will help the company determine whether its manner of transportation is efficient or not. Inefficient transportation in this case means the company is probable transporting production materials more frequent that the materials are being used perhaps due to fear of exhaustion. This could also lead to another waste problem as damage of the materials due to lack of proper storage and in the end more will have been spent due to poor planning. Therefore, managing wastes is as good as managing costs. This can then be achieved by first identifying the waste, analyzing it to find the root cause, and then solving the root cause. This cycle goes on and it is therefore imperative to acknowledge that the to-be process for the Boeing Company is very appropriate as it contains the as-is process flowchart w hich is

Work Related Values in a Non-Profit Organization Essay

Work Related Values in a Non-Profit Organization - Essay Example Hofstede has identified 4 dimensions for classifying values with national culture and has emphasized that these 4 dimensions are only a framework and there are no rules attached to these dimensions. Power distance Uncertainty Avoidance Individualism and collectivism Masculinity and Femininity According to Hofstede, any organization is made of up to 2 cultural elements- internal elements of culture that are invisible, associated to a particular organization and external values of culture which are usually the general rules, regulations, values and practices. Power distance index: How an organization handles inequalities According to Dutch Sociologist Geert Hofstede, power distance index refers to the distribution of power and money between people in an organization and this helps in understanding and analyzing the extent people in the organization submit to authority. It is usually low in organizations where people work with each other that are not in authority and high in organizatio ns where there is more of a hierarchy involved. In any nonprofit organization, the power distance index is usually very low as the main objective of a non-profit organization is to address issues and promote interests of the poor, provide community development infrastructure and provide basic social service to the people. Since the organizations are by and large nonprofit in nature, most of the people working are volunteers and there is no hierarchy followed is such organizations. The people working for the organization are treated equally despite the difference in power, status or wealth. Privileges, status symbols and power is less evident in any non-profit organization as all the people work together for a single cause. Uncertainty Avoidance: Uncertainty avoidance means the organization’s tolerance to indistinctness and vagueness. Some organizations have a very relaxed attitude towards uncertainty and it doesn’t affect them. The behavior of the people is directly re lated to the work/organization. Some organizations/people would prefer security to a job structured approach to work with written rules and regulations. Low uncertainty avoidance is usually seen in non-profit organizations as the people in this organization are used to handling unknown events and there are also no specific strict rules or regulations that need to be followed. Individualism or collectivism- Behavior towards a group This represents and defines the degree to which individuals of a particular group or organization are collective and integrated as a group. Individualism refers to organizations where individuals look after themselves whereas collectivism refers to people integrated into strong groups who would help each other attain goals... In a social organization, the members are usually very cohesive in nature they usually help each other and the society. In any other organization, employees stress for personal achievement, success and individual rights as they have t o fulfill their needs and dreams. Non-profit organizations are usually collective in nature. The aim and vision of any NGO organization is to provide assistance and support to the poor. Masculinity and Femininity According to Hofstede, masculine society refers to fewer women in hobs and there is vast value difference between men and women in the same job profile. There would be more job stress, earnings, challenges and stronger motivation factors to perform better on the job. In a feminine society, managers are relatively less interested at leadership and they usually have no job stress. In a non-profit organization, there is more of a feminine dimension as the people at work have more of a service role. There is more stress on relationships, society and social responsibility rather than earnings and recognitions by the

Strategy Formulation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Strategy Formulation - Essay Example Expansion into foreign markets proved successful for Altria and they added more countries to the list to distribute their products to. Some critics cite the reason for foreign expansion as to sell their controversial products where policies are not as strict as in the US. After the Master Settlement Agreement which imposed some marketing and selling sanctions on Altria’s products, Altria had to reinvent their strategy and aim to expand worldwide where such restrictions weren’t applicable. Although Altria has been successful in worldwide operations, their controversial tactics, health hazards of their products, increasing litigations and the availability of cheaper counterfeit products pose serious challenges to them to operate globally. Maybe to counter these threats, Altria has announced that it would split up the International division of Philip Morris in 2008 after the meeting on January 30, 2008 subject to favorable tax ruling. (Ambregni, 2008) Question 2: SWOT Analysis Altria's basic revenue comes from its cigarette brands of Philip Morris. Therefore any factors that affect Philip Morris brands, affects Altria to a large extent. Therefore the analysis done below is strongly related to the cigarettes brands of Altria Strengths Global Operations - Altria operates globally in more than 150 countries with over 25 Philip Morris brands (MapofWorld, 2005). Although their competition is strong, brands such as Marlboro being the most popular cigarettes in the world. Having different laws and opportunities to exploit certain rulings that are not applicable in US, Altria has penetrated the international market. Philips Morris international, once spun off, is expected to get 48 billion dollars of annual revenue. This would also free the international division to focus on external soils without any restrictions that the company still faces because of US policies. (Ambregni, 2008) Strong Brand Names - Altria is the parent company of basically cigarette manufacturing companies. Over the years Altria's company, Philip Morris have built strong brands such as Marlboro, Benson and Hedges, Philip Morris, Parliament, Virginia Slims etc. the popularity and awareness of these brand linking to Altria has created benefits for the company in terms of profitability, sales, product diversification and customer loyalty. Addictive Capability of their Products - Altria's companies all have a similarity in one aspect of the products made. They all have addictive tinges. Almost all Philip Morris cigarette brands, John Middleton's Cigars and SAB Millers brews contain the characteristics of leaving a person want more of it. Since customers want to keep having these products, Altria has ensured that its customers remain loyal and get 100% customer retention. Supports FDA Regulation - "Philip Morris USA is the only U.S. tobacco company that supports meaningful and effective regulation of tobacco products by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)." This creates a competitive advantage for Altria in the US to have the support of FDA which the consumers follow very strictly. (Altria, 2005) Focus in One Area - In 2007, Altria spun off its food subsidiary Kraft Foods so that Altria could focus on tobacco side. By focusing on one area, the management and strategies can be all aligned to meet the corporation's objectives easily and more efficiently. (Ambregni, 2008) Opportunities Production in Foreign Markets - banking on the success in US, Altria can expand its operations further by increasing production in foreign markets. Some countries that have to import Altria products, have to pay high prices. By adding those countries to

Developing Managers in Business Essay Example for Free

Developing Managers in Business Essay Success in the knowledge economy comes to those who know themselves, their strengths, their values, and how they best perform (Peter Drucker) The main aim of this report is to focus on a particular management development programme and by identifying how it works to determine whether it has been effective in developing the manager for its business. The report looks at how certain management development programmes have been used to become shift/duty manager for a particular organisation. It identifies a range of formal and informal approaches that have been used to ensure effective outcomes. It also includes examining the main external and internal factors that have influenced management development. Furthermore the report identifies any shortcomings and changes that are required to improve the process of developmental management. The main method used to conduct this report was obtaining first hand information from a shift/duty manager at a local food industry; however, relevant literature resources have also been used to support views, evaluations and recommendations made. Rosemary Stewart who has been noted for studies of organisations and managers in action. Based on: Managers and their Jobs, (1967/1987) identified four approaches to defining the term management. Theses are as follows: 1. Theoretical approach: this is based on the development of theories of management, using approaches focused on political, economical, sociological, psychological or anthropological theory and philosophy. 2. Descriptive approach: has been given a very simple definition, the job that managers and supervisors do. 3. Comparative approach: based on the hierarchical organisation and structure within an organisation, also focused on comparison and evaluation methods: 4. Action-based approach: this focuses more on the way that those defined as managers spend their time: management as the activities carried out by managers What is management development? According to Lessem, R (1990) developmental management is humanistic in essence in other words the developmental manager values the whole team and values them for their inter-dependence. In order to fully understand the concept of management development it is essential to know of its historical roots. In the workplace individuals and managers unaware of certain behaviour patterns will unintentionally damage their personal effectiveness. When a manager understands the unique differences between individuals then they are in a more powerful position. They are better able to manage, understand, and lead people towards higher level of productivity, lower frustration, higher morale, and better retention rates. The type of management development programme focused on in this report is basic management training from shift/duty managers. The course itself was split into residential and in-store training with a mentor. The total residential training lasted for eight days at a national training centre and head office. The time limit given to complete the modules specified for this particular programme was twelve weeks, in-store with a mentor. However, twelve weeks being a rough guide as some required more time and candidates regularly completed the modules outside this limit. The course was tailored not only for people with experience but also for example graduates who would have had little or no experience in managing a shift. However, as this particular programme was centred towards the duty manager level its main focus was around people management, whereby it would deal with; staff motivation levels, training, receiving and giving feed back, appraisals etc, rather than actual business management i.e. managing a profit and loss account. There were seventeen modules that needed to be completed, below is a table explaining briefly what these modules were: Modules: Programme: 1-3 Orientation and Getting Started. (was completed during residential) 4-5 Cleanliness, Sanitation and Food Safety. Begins by basic training as would be for all members of staff within the organisation, then becomes more involved in how to effectively manage a team to ensure food safety and cleanliness standards are high as they are constantly observed and monitored. 6-7 Safety, Security and Crisis Management. How to ensure the safety of staff and customers on shift, including health and safety. Basically teaches the manager how to deal with anything from a power cut to an armed robbery. 8-9 Product Excellence. Begins quite basic as to how to identify an out of date product, then becomes more in depth regarding basic stock control, ordering procedures etc. 10-12 Basic Human Resource and Labour Management. Dealt with how to effectively manage a team, including exercises on legal responsibilities of a manager with regards to discrimination, grievance procedures and disciplinary action as well as staff training issues, coaching, how to motivate a team and managing cost of labour on a shift-to-shift basis. 13 Service Recovery. How to prevent, anticipate and deal with customer complaints and how to effectively observe and analyse team member performance to reduce the risk of a complaint. 14 Opening the Restaurant. 15 Shift Change. 16 Closing the Restaurant. The above three points (14-16) are self explanatory. Trainee managers were expected to work through these whilst observing the mentor complete the tasks in order to see how the aspect of previous modules were put into practice for example; stock control, security, cost of labour etc. 17 Floor Management. Dealing with problems prior to them becoming formal complaints or even accidents. This included the figure of eight walk, prioritising new unexpected tasks and team member recognition. The modules were very general, however, before putting theory into practice observation played a vital role, whereby trainees were to observe their mentors completing certain tasks in order to learn how to tailor tasks to suit the environment. Upon completing the training there was a test followed by an interview with the Area Manager in which the test results were discussed and the standards of completed modules were assessed. The informal approaches used whilst completing the management development programme was the mentor advising best practices for within the restaurant. The formal approaches used were the completion of modules and work books as well as observations where both candidates were observing the mentor and the mentor observing the candidate. The programme in itself prepared the trainees for a position as duty manager. The programme was learner centred and in some cases lack of motivation or resources meant that it lasted longer than the original given deadline of twelve weeks. There were both external and internal factors that influenced the development of duty/shift managers working. The main external factors were that being a food preparation industry, there were many laws and government regulations pertaining to food, safety and obviously regulations for health and safety and employment laws that needed to be learned and put into practice. The main internal factors that influenced management development were the standards set by the company which every manager and team member were expected to have extensive knowledge of. This covered every aspect of the business from the way tables were set to uniform standards to dealing with complaints in a professional manner, which involved more in depth training for management trainees. Although the training provided to trainee managers was quite extensive, practical experience gained via mentors seemed more knowledgeable, as stated quite clearly in the quote below from a previous trainee manager: I feel that I learned a lot from the course, the modules and the work books as it introduced me to a lot of legal aspects of the food industry which I would not have learned otherwise, but I found that I learned more from the time spent with my mentor about how to be a manager that team members respected. As recognised by A.Mumford (1993) there are five stages in the evolution of thought about what managers do; these are [1] The generalisation stage [2] The scientific stage [3] The management by objective stage [4] The contingency/ realistic stage [5] The competency stage .. Many organizations are turning to behaviour assessments and personality trait testing for both hourly workers and managers. Back in the late 90s, only 5 percent of 500 companies used some type of assessment. Today, that figure is climbing to 65 percent. A year 2000 study by American Management Association showed nearly half of 1,085 employers polled use at least one assessment in their interviewing process. Assessments can help: * Individuals identify their strengths, know which jobs they are best suited for, and design a development plan to overcome shortcomings. * HR managers predict a job applicants success before they are hired. * Business owners understand the temperament and work style of individual employees and managers. * Supervisors can give performance feedback to people in a style they understand and accept for improving performance and accelerating professional development. * People enhance communication, understanding, and improve personal relationships. * Sales managers select, hire, develop, and motivate super sales people. For example a company would use the assessment process to improving their hiring and recruitment process. If for instance, previously they made decisions based on the candidates resume and then hired the person based on their gut reaction. Once hired, many of these new people created friction, had bad work ethics, and their attitudes had a negative impact on their co-workers. Conclusion: Developing people is less expensive than firing them. By understanding behaviour differences an organization can align an employees motivations with the companys mission. Assessments also help individuals reduce conflict and get along better. Furthermore, co-workers appreciate each persons unique strengths and abilities. With this knowledge organizations and managers can maximize the abilities of their workforce in ways to help make all employees star performers. References: Lessem, R. (1990) Developmental Management: principles of holistic business Oxford, Basil Blackwell Managers and their Jobs (Penguin, 1977, new edition 1988); The Reality of Organisation (Penguin, 1972, new edition 1986); The Diversity of Management 1994.

Analysis Of Three Poems English Literature Essay

Analysis Of Three Poems English Literature Essay The history of English poetry stretches from the middle of the 7th century to the present day. Poets from different countries created numerous outstanding works. Here are three poems Ive read which are of great reputation. They are My Mistress Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun, The Red Wheelbarrow and How Do I Love Thee. The first poem was written by William Shakespeare who is a world famous writer. He is well-known not only for his plays especially tragedies, but also for his 154 sonnets. Not like most sonnet, just as you can find in the title, it depicted a different lady who is not so beautiful. This poem is number 130 out of the 154 sonnets, so we can call it Sonnet 130. It is William Carlos Williams who wrote the second poem. What interesting is his primary occupation was as a family doctor and writing poems was his off-hour hobby, but I believe he is much more succeeded in poetry than as a doctor. The Red Wheelbarrow is a traditional American poetry which is so much different from a sonnet. It is often considered as the masterwork of American 20th-century, although it is the shortest poem I have ever known. The third poet is Elizabeth Barrett Browning, who was one of the most prominent poets of the Victorian era. This is Sonnet XLIII in Sonnets from the Portuguese. Its also a sonnet, but it is in the model of Italy which is popularized by Petrarch. This means the third poem and the first one have great differences. Because of these widely different poems, the world of poetry can be so splendid and vibrant. And I am now going to analyze these three different poems in the aspects of satire, image and theme. When reference satire, we cannot ignore the Shakespeares sonnet number 130, which is a successful poem that effectively use satire to convey a sincere theme while maintaining sonnet structure, and using literary devices as a source of irony. Let me expound it from the beginning. The first quatrain illustrates the appearance of his lover. Her eyes are not beautiful, her lips are not so red, her breast are dun and her hair is bad. No one will think her beautiful, so do I. People who study sonnets are used to praises of beauty and extraordinary spirit yet, instead of introducing a surreal love interest Shakespeare begins his sonnet in such an unconventional method of satire. This ironic method completely overturns the traditional idea of sonnet and successfully hooks the reader. The next two quatrains continue describe how his lover is just a common woman. There is no flushed cheeks and no fragrance breath. Her voice is not like music and when she walks, treads on the ground. We all kno w the fact that conventionally metaphors and similes are used in love poems as a tool to express praise. But in this case, the speaker in sonnet 130 proves his love by depicting his lover that none of these metaphors or similes apply to her since they are exaggerations. In this way, the sonnet 130 enhances its theme by satire. Things change in last two sentences: And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare; As any she belied with false compare. By abandoning literary devices for sincerity, Shakespeare concluded his poem. It makes me believe that sincerity and realism is worth more than false comparisons. And when the theme of the sonnet is concluded with sincere language like this, the readers, including me, then understands Shakespeares use of satire. To conclude, this poem satirizes the over-the-top descriptions that poets had traditionally used to praise womens beauty. Regarding to images in poem, no one can deny the fact The Red Wheelbarrow is one good example. In this poem, three images form a beautiful picture which is unforgettable and meaningful. The poem is so begins: So much depends/ upon/ a red wheel/ barrow. The first two lines look like a child discovered a miracle, and what followed on is the wheelbarrow, the first image. But the picture is so vague now. Then, it goes glazed  with  rain/ water. The second image here is water or rain and it shows that this scene is just after a rain. The last sentence beside  the  white/ chickens reveal the last image, the chickens. Just from the images, we found the poem begins from the abstract things (so much) to stationary object (wheelbarrow), then goes to moving object (rain), and ends with living animals (chickens). These images can simply sum up into from silence to vitality, which is a healthy and progressive development. Furthermore, we can draw a more specific picture if we notice the a djectives. The wheelbarrow is vividly because there is a word red to modify it. We can find the atmosphere so relaxed because the wheelbarrow is glazed with rain other than became dirty. It is said the chicken is white, which is opposite to the wheelbarrows red. In a sense, the imagery in the Williams poetry just like a colorful painting shows the picture of our daily life: an agrarian scene, most likely the yard of a farmhouse, where a wet red wheelbarrow stands among some white chickens. With a strong visual stimulation and the contrast of dynamic and static, this is no longer a simple poem that has only 4 clauses but an ingenious work which has brilliant images.

America Needs More Gun Control Laws Essays -- Argumentative Essays, Pe

According to James Madison in his Federalist Papers, â€Å"Americans have the right and advantage of being armed – unlike the citizens of other countries whose governments are afraid to trust the people with arms,† (Raymond). Madison may be correct about Americans having more rights than many other countries, but sometimes the government has too much trust in the American people. Taking away all privately owned guns is not the answer, because doing so would consequentially create a communist state. Instead, the best solution is to control who buys guns and for what purpose. There are over 283 million licensed guns in the U.S. (Herbert p1), which does not include the unregistered and illegal guns people own, buy, and sell from the underground economy and other sources. The Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution provides the rights to bear arms, but when people are killing innocent people, should all Americans have that right? More than 50% of U.S. homes own one or mor e guns (White p1). It is completely unnecessary for so many men and women to own firearms and have concealed weapons to have ready for â€Å"whenever they feel necessary†. A major problem that the government also has is the horrible regulation system on checking up on gun shops and the N.R.A. Gun shops are supposed to check every person who wants to buy a gun to make sure they do not have any bad history or mental disabilities. Some stores, unfortunately, choose not to do so. The N.R.A. sometimes sells guns to â€Å"bad people† who should not be qualified to possess such a powerful weapon. Privately owned firearms should not be legal because less restrictive laws lead to illegal sale, homicides, and accidental deaths that could all be prevented. Since the Mayflower landed on P... ...k] 24 Apr. 2009, A19 sec. A Culture Soaked in Blood. New York Times. Web. 19 Jan. 2015. . New York Times [New York] 8 Apr. 2009, A26 sec. Columbine Plus 10. New York Times. Web. 19 Jan. 2015. . Spitzer, Robert J. The Politics of Gun Control. Chatham: Chatham House, 1995. Print. Waggoner, Dr. Should Federal Gun Control Laws in America Be Tightened? Fall 2007. Web. 19 Jan. 2015. White, Deborah. Pros & Cons of Gun Ownership & Use Laws for Individuals. About.com. Web. 19 Jan. 2015. .

Free College Admissions Essays: Art is My Life :: College Admissions Essays

Art is My Life From an early age I have always had a strong interest in art, and have been involved with it in some form all through my life. In year nine I realized that it was something that I might like to pursue as a career, I started taking it more seriously. The Chase's art department encouraged me very well and helped me develop my art skills. I am currently studying Art at A-level and have had my work exhibited in a gallery and in local industry buildings as part of the 'Art in the Workplace' scheme which is organized by my college. The piece of my artwork which was displayed, and used in a business's workplace was a painting inspired by an Art Department trip to Italy. In my spare time, I enjoy running my own comedy website with my friends, which has enabled me to learn good organizational skills. Aside from art, I enjoy playing basketball with other students from my college every Wednesday afternoon. I have found this to be a welcome break from normal study, allowing me to exercise at the same time as relieving stress. My present interest in art is more graphic/typography based, although I do enjoy all areas of art. I have been designing graphics on my computers from a young age and have work published in national magazines. Not all the graphical work I do is computer based, I enjoy using traditional mediums in a clean graphical way, as I find it more satisfying working on a larger scale and producing something more "real". My current course has helped me "branch out" more; I have experimented in many disciplines successfully producing paintings, pastels and drawings, which I had never really developed fully before. I have had two part-time jobs involving computer related work, in which I have been able to bring art influences into. When working for Retail Futures, an e-commerce company based in Malvern, I designed their corporate image, and websites for clients such as Coalport and Parcel Force. More recently I have taken another job with a more technical slant, for another e-commerce firm, eplexus. I still do design work, in which I have designed websites and images for "Highwaycode.com", and Anglo Digital a successful venture capitalist firm. Alongside my practical experience, I am also studying Computing at my current college, which aids me to learn the fundamentals of computer usage and programming, an area that I am interested in.

Henkel: building a winning culture Essay

Introduction: CEO in 2008: Kasper Rorsted, Studied Economics and has experience in technological companies. Management style was based on face-to-face conversations and pushing for more efficiency. Henkel until 2008 Founded in 1876 as a producer of detergent, by 1920 it was a leading German detergent en glue producer. After WWII: company restarted as a producer of detergent, glues and personal care products. In 2008: 14 billion euros sales over 125 countries: EMEA: 64% North America: 19% Asia-Pacific: 11% Latin America: 6% Executive team mainly Germans and members of the Henkel Family 3 major business units: Adhesive Technologies (48%) Laundry and Home care (30%) Cosmetics/Toiletries (22%) Competition: P&G, Unilever and L’Oreal (See exhibit 1,2,3) 2012 Goals; 14% EBIT Margin 2008: 14 billion in sales (+8%) EBIT-margin (10,3%) => no competitive spirit?! (â€Å"The happy underperformer†) 2nd part of 2008: Financial crisis: Price increase by Henkel => growth in all the business units fell. Reaction of Rorsted (CEO): transform the company into a leaner and more performance driven company by setting 4-year financial goals (2012) for Sales growth (3-5%) EBIT-margin (14%) EPS (Earnings per Share) (above 10%) Reaction of the market: they will not make it. Building a winning culture Rorsted knew that the targets were high, but he wanted to get there by installing â€Å"a winning culture† within the company. 3 main strategic priorities: Achieve the full business potential Focus more on the customers Strengthen the global team 2008-2009: investments in top-performing brands and high potential markets: e.g. – Biggest acquisition ever of 3,7 billion euros for the adhesives and electronic material businesses of the National Starch and Chemical Company. – Dial brand: high investments in North-America => top brand in body wash markets. Selling underperforming brands. Searching for cost-efficiencies. 2009-2012: from promise to reality Rorsted: first do the hard things (close plants, lay off people) then the softer things. For the â€Å"softer things† everybody in the company needed to be on board = emotional buy-in. redefining Henkel’s vision and values  implementing a new performance management system Vision and Values Focus on financial goals and priorities => becoming a winning competitor 10 values (see exhibit 5): but they had little meaning inside the company BUT: the CEO Thought they had..2010: Henkel: â€Å" a global leader in brands and technologies† putting customers central value, challenge and reward people drive excellent sustainable financial performance sustainabilitybuild the future on the family foundation They organised workshops all over the company to introduce the employers to these new values. New tagline: â€Å"Excellence is our passion† in early 2011 performance management A lot of employees have careers of over 20, 30 or even 40 years within the company. 2009: new performance management system for 4 layers of management. For each employee there was: 1) the current rating of his  performance and 2) potential performance for the future. These were put in a grid (exhibit 7) with scores going from L (low), M (moderate) to T (Top) For potential performance numbers were used from 1 to 4 with 4 the limit of performance of someone. These rankings were set up during a Development Roundtable (DRT), a collaborative forum with a group head and his direct reports. Afterwards, the results were discussed during a one-to-one with the employee. DRT-processes were done bottom-up. Targets were set about how many employees should be fitted in a certain category. E.g; 5% had to be L => caused a new way of evaluation within the company. Bonus compensation Bonusses were linked to the overall company financial performance, team performance and individual performance. Group performance: KPI (e.g. EBIT,..): 3 per year Team performance: idem Individual performance: Performance on 2 equally weighted individual KPIs Performance from the DRT process.Each manager could get a target bonus as well. A round table discussion with Henkel Executives about the â€Å"Winning culture†.See case.