Conflict Management Plan Essay

Competing The strength maybe that one person will see the benefits.The weakness will be that the other person in the issue will not benefit the same or at all at the other person in the situation and does not consider the other in the situations. Collaborating The strength is when both parties involved in the issue propose to solve the problem by discussing the differences rather than by accommodating, therefore they benefit from the results.The weakness maybe if both parties agree to re solve the issue but cannot discuss the differences in their issues. Avoiding The strength is when the parties try to move on from the issue and not cause a big deal over it.The weakness maybe that by dismissing the issue; it will never get resolved. Accommodating The strength is when one party involve is willing to be the bigger person and let the other party involve win the situation, in order to keep the peace.The weakness maybe that the person who is willing to let the other win the issue. They will never resolve the issue between them and it is possible that it can be brought up in another situation. Compromising The strength can be that the issue will be solved and both parties neither win nor lose.The weakness maybe that both parties have to give up something in order for the issue to be resolved. Also, both parties to the issue will have incomplete satisfaction. 2.Which of the available conflict management strategies is most appropriate for the current situation with David and James? Provide your rationale, including what factors you considered in making your selection. Your response should be at least 100 words. In James and David situation, the most appropriate conflict management strategy will be the Collaborating and Compromising strategy. According to Robbins and Judge (2011), collaborating is when both individuals involved are in the agreement to solve the conflict in order to make each individual involved happy. It is believed that David and James should talk about the issue and try get to the bottom of where the issue or conflict began. Therefore, when James and David come to an agreement to collaborate and solve the issue, both can be happy with the outcome because not one or the other made the choice alone; it was a team effort. In addition, using the compromising strategy has some similar effects to the collaborating strategy, however, in this case there is no win or lose situation. Both James and David will have to compromise in making a decision in which will not benefit them both, but it will solve the issue. 3. If the selected strategy is not successful, what is your alternate strategy? Provide your rationale for this selection. Your response should be at least 100 words. In James and David situation if the first strategies do not work, the second appropriate conflict management strategy would be to use the accommodating strategy. Robbins and Judge (2011) states that, accommodating is when individual involved in the conflict put the best interest of the other party before themselves. This strategy may be tricky because in order for this to work, David or James will have to make a choice to put the other person in front of themselves. As a result, this strategy can strengthen James and David friendship because they will see that no matter what, one of them is willing to accommodate the other in order to keep the peace. 4.What potential road blocks might be encountered in resolving the conflict? How would you address these? Your response should be at least 100 words. 5. In James and David Situation the potential road blocks that might be encountered are communication, structure and personal variable. Robbins and Judge (2011) states that, communication, structure and personal variables my not directly lead to conflict however they are necessary in order for conflict to arise. When there is not communication between to individuals problems will arise. Moreover, I would address the issue by using one of the conflict resolution strategies such as the collaborating. I would set James and David to communicate with each other and discuss the issue and try to resolve it amongst each other. Hope the outcomes between both individual is to resolve the conflict. Reference Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2011). Organizational behavior (14th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall. University of Phoenix. (2012). University of Phoenix Material: Conflict Management Plan Plan. Retrieved from University of Phoenix, MGT/311 – ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT website. University of Phoenix. (2012). Riordan Manufacturing Virtual Organization [Multimedia]. Retrieved from University of Phoenix, MGT/311 Organizational Development website.

Gladiator Powerplay Essay

Gladiator is a film about Maximus, a roman general who was to be the next emperor, succeeding Aurelius. Aurelius’ son Commodus gets angry and jealous at the fact that he was not chosen by his father to be next in line. He then proceeds to kill his father and orders Maximus to be killed. Maximus flees but finds out that his family has been murdered. He later gets enslaved and becomes a gladiator, where he trains under Proximo who also was a former gladiator. He then starts a journey to get the peoples power and to gain revenge over the person who killed his own family (Commodus). Imperial or political power play * Maximus has to gain the trust and power from the general public * Commodus is jealous that he did not get picked as the next emperor * Maximus is shown as being fearless which makes the crowd like him even more * Maximus has nothing to lose, so Commodus can’t do any more damage to his public image * Maximus was shown to be a noble and powerful Roman general Power play in relationships * Maximus and Commodus has a strong tension to show each other who has more power * Commodus and Aurelius had a bitter relationship and ended in Commodus murdering Aurelius * Maximus and Proximo where Maximus had learnt to become a fearless gladiator * Commodus’s guards and Proximo, where Proximo gets murdered * The People and Commodus

College Fly-In and Diversity Programs: A Complete List

Campus visits are a great way to learn about a college’s culture and determine whether it’s the right fit for you. Unfortunately, not every student can afford to visit every college on their list. If you’re unable to visit colleges for any reason, you should make sure to thoroughly review them online . However, for high-achieving, underrepresented students, there is an alternative. Some colleges offer fly-in or multicultural programs to high-school seniors who are low-income, first-generation, and/or students of color. Read on to learn about these programs and how to make the most of them. College fly-in programs are highly competitive college visitation programs for underrepresented students. Institutions fly students in to stay at their campuses for two or three days, allowing students who might not get a chance to visit otherwise to get a feel for the college and campus. In most cases, the college covers costs including transportation, room, and board or offer to reimburse you for some of your expenses associated with visiting their campus. Most colleges just fly in admitted students, but some offer the opportunity to prospective students. Examples include: Keep in mind that these programs are very competitive. To apply, you usually need to submit an application, essay, letter of recommendation, transcription with junior-year grades, and ACT/SAT scores. Below is a list of colleges and universities that offer some form of a fly-in program. There are several steps you should take to ensure that you’re making the most of this opportunity. It’s important to research the colleges thoroughly before attending the program. You want to make sure you’re truly interested in attending and understand what the college offers. Plus, you should figure out what activities, courses, and other aspects of the school you want to investigate further. In general, the college will cover transportation, room, and board for your stay. Most colleges are unlikely to cover your parents’ transportation and costs if they want to come with you, though there are some exceptions, such as Vanderbilt . Research which classes you want to observe and make appointments to talk to admissions counselors and financial aid officers before you leave. When you’re on campus, walk around and get a sense of the culture and atmosphere. Attend events and talk to students about their experiences. You want to get a sense of your fit with the college and make sure you can see yourself there. Fly-in programs can significantly ease the financial burden of the college process. If you qualify, make sure to take advantage of this important resource. When you sign up for our program, we carefully   pair you with the perfect admissions specialist based on your current academic and extracurricular profile and the schools in which you’re interested. Your personal application specialist will help you with branding, essays, and interviews, and provide you with support and guidance in all other aspects of the application process. How To Balance SAT Test Prep With School Schedule Balancing SAT prep with a busy school schedule, never mind extracurriculars, can be challenging. You may think that you can ease up on prep in favor of your schoolwork, but don’t fall into that trap. You need to succeed in both arenas; colleges will be consider your GPA and you test scores. Here’s your plan to help you balance test prep with your schoolwork—and excel at both. You may already have an existing action plan for high school, and test prep should be part of it. (For tips on building one, check out Your Ultimate Guide on How to   Make a High School Action Plan .) Writing down what you need to accomplish and why will help motivate you to put in the time and effort. Be specific; for instance, commit to a certain number of hours of studying for the SAT each week. You should also be specific in terms of areas you need to hone. If you’re weaker in reading comprehension, for instance, commit to a number of hours focusing on learning tricks for reading difficult passages. Once you determine your target score, you can figure out what you need to study and how much time should commit. Use your PSAT scores or a diagnostic test to help you set a realistic score goal . This can also help you identify weak areas , so you can concentrate on them the most. Remember that you need to be realistic. You will probably improve if you stick to your prep plan, but it’s unlikely that you’re going to go from a 1000 to a 1570. Instead, aim for a more reachable goal, like a 1250. Once you reach it, you can inch it up further. While your overarching plan should include specifics, the reality of your day-to-day schedule will become clearer in the moment. Invest in a planner , or use a calendar to keep track of your daily commitments. For instance, if you have a big test coming up, factor in the number of hours you need to study for it each day. Also factor in test prep. You might, for example, note when you want to take a complete practice test, or add in half an hour of practice on Khan Academy’s app . Figure out when you want to take the SAT, using this guide to help you decide. Compare it to your school commitments, seeing when you have big tests and projects due. You probably won’t have as much time to prepare for the SAT in the weeks you’re working on school assignments, so plan accordingly. Make sure you set aside time to make up for lags in preparation. You’ll be able to stick to your plan more easily if you start early . That way, you’ll have time to understand your weaknesses and develop strategies for overcoming them. You also need to make your plan realistic, just as when you’re setting your score goals. In other words, don’t plan for six hours of studying in one day when you have school; that’s just not possible. You’re more likely to stick to your plan if it’s doable. Use time management strategies to allow yourself to get everything done. If you share your plan with family and friends , someone else is holding you accountable. You might ask them to hold you accountable, but remember that the ultimate responsibility is yours. You should be holding yourself accountable, too. Set reminders on your phone, and tell yourself why this is important. You might also ask your parents to help you stay on track, without nagging, of course. Our students see an average increase of 250 points on their SAT scores. You should make an effort to follow your plan as closely as you can, but remember that it’s not set in stone. Things might happen to make you alter your plan, such as tests you don’t know about now or family circumstances, so you need to be willing to adapt. You’ll also want to reevaluate based on your comfort with your scores. For instance, you might want to retake the SAT. (Check out Should You Retake the SAT for tips on how to decide.) Read you score report, and pay attention to weaknesses. That way, you can adjust your plan accordingly and improve for next time. You may have some work over the summer, but it’s probably a lot less than you have during the school year. Take advantage of this time to work on test prep. You’ll have more free time to really familiarize yourself with the layout, hone your weak areas, and practice. Read Seven Ways to Make SAT Test Prep Your Summer Focus to learn how you can do just that. Remember to take breaks and reward yourself for your hard work. Build these rewards into your study plan. After finishing a practice test or reaching a certain point on a project, you might have a snack or watch half an hour of TV. This will incentivize you to do the hard work you need to do. Just be strict with yourself; don’t let a 20-minute social media break turn into an hour. Remember to pay attention to self care, too. Don’t neglect your health and well-being in favor of cramming or overworking yourself. Not only will your body suffer, but your mind will, too. Make sure you’re eating properly, exercising, and getting enough sleep. Take plenty of breaks—they’ll help you retain information. The challenge of staying on track with SAT prep while keeping up with your schoolwork may seem difficult, but having a plan and following through can ease the burden. Remember that the SAT is something most college-bound students take, and many have survived this obstacle. Be strict with yourself, but don’t neglect your health and sleep in favor of studying. Both are important—and both should be your priority! Looking for some more help for acing the SAT? The SAT Tutoring Program will help you achieve top scores on your test. We’ll pair you with two private tutors, one for English and writing, and one for math and science. All of our tutors have scored in the 99th percentile on the section they are teaching and are chosen based on teaching skills and ability to relate to their students.

To what extent is the US dominant in the world Essay

To what extent is the US dominant in the world - Essay Example Therefore the emergence of a global media has enhanced the chances of understanding how international politics across states has expanded and how the same has meant a much better horizon than was imagined by the people in the yesteryears. This paper discusses how the global media has turned in a new leaf within the global political spheres and what this means for the sake of the globalization drive which is rampant all over the world. It is important first and foremost to understand how the international politics are handled by the reins of the global media. There is a dire need to know that the global media comprises of all those actors and stakeholders who are present between the viewers, readers and attention grabbers, and the news-makers. This means that the global media comprises of a number of different people, not all of which represent a singular entity at the same time (Goldberg, 1997). The viewer could be the one who is involved within the dissemination of information or he could be someone who breaks the news to the people spread in different corners of the world. What remains important meanwhile is how well the people have coped up with the pressure realms that has been entrusted upon them, and how adequately appropriate their respective stances have come about within the aegis of the international politics in this day and age. The global media makes sure that the avenues of international politics are kept covered no matter how difficult it is to partake in the entire exercise. The different political events and issues are studied at length, analyzed and discussed for days at stretch. This puts the media persons under a spell because they need to be at their best and give in what is required of them in the long run scheme of things. Their jobs are well cut out because there is a lot of expectation from them, and they must deliver to move ahead in the coming times. The role of the global media is therefore to undertake efforts which shall give mileag e to international politics, its relevant actors, stakeholders, the end beneficiaries and so on. This is an interesting understanding because the global media has to be on its feet at all times and manifest its truest basis consistently. This has been proven with solid research and experience that has come to the fore regarding the global media and its linkage with the international political forces (Semati, 2004). The understanding of international politics has been there because this entity has been under discussion in nearly all spheres of life. This implicates for the excessive use of the international political manifestations within the lives of the citizens of the land, and in nearly all their undertakings – all of which are centered on the premise of bringing in sanity within the related ranks. The international political understandings have been supplemented with the ideology of the global media coming to their rescue. This has essentially meant that the political det ails regarding different parties, groups and factions has generally been made stronger with the changing times, and the emphasis of the same has rested on the shoulders of the ones who are running the global media domains. It is a fact that the political manifestations of the present times have relied staunchly on the hiring of the right people who could convey

Global Governance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Global Governance - Essay Example In concise the concept of global governance provides non-state actors space in the following ways despite the complexities of its own multi-layered and multi-site system. Beginning with the relation between international relation and global governance, international relation basically defines the politics among nation which includes their individual status, involvement and benefits as well as losses. In a nutshell, it can be derived that there is no room for non-state actors under the domain of international relation. But creating a completely different set of parameters, Global governance provides some very important positions and roles to all sorts of non-state actors namely nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), transnational corporations (TNCs), and scientists. So, we can say that Greenpeace, PETA etc. are functioning actors within the scope of global governance. There are also some other elements similar to non-state actors like civil society and business and science. And as the whole world has now become a single entity under the process of globalization, so governance and global legal order is no longer a political matter involving nations but also those who have got no country affiliation but are basically related to the world and humanity as a whole. Thus, despite being a group of nations, the European Union relied on scientific arguments while taking decisions related to restrictions on trade and commerce of genetically modified organisms. Similarly, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is in frequent interaction with experts of agriculture and food. The scientific bodies like the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have been more than instrumental in shaping the legal framework for international as well as national policies. These well described forces of the world have helped in defining better policies of the nation on various critical issues like environment, hygiene, healthcare, pollution etc. Apart from them, there are other non-state actors that forms an intangible part of global governance like the European Commission with interstate jurisdiction. The Dispute Settlement Body o f the World Trade Organization (WTO) taking up issues related to trade and commerce between the nations or groups of nations. The global governance in practical sense have been quite inclusive in accommodating non-state actor in the world politics. As, discussed above, the term international relations basically undertakes measures that enables international interaction under section at a different level to that of social interaction. Extracting similar concepts, global governance derives a multilevel system which includes interlinked structure of processes with local, national, regional, and global variants. The non-state actors are being assimilated into various layers of global governance as equivocally authorized entity which in particular are supposed to guide nations at various situations and also form the link between the layers of global governance. Transnational forums as a non-state actor are legislated into the layers while giving importance to ideas and practices as per national, regional, or local settings and thereby finding solutions to global problems without adding any negligence to local communities and their capabilities. The above mentioned

Do Aliens Exist Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Do Aliens Exist - Essay Example However these findings have yet not provided a solid proof regarding the existence of the aliens. Brockwell on this issue provides with rather interesting information regarding the existence of aliens. According to Brockwell in 1966 a space shuttle was sent to generate electricity by the earth’s magnetic field. This shuttle was launched in the orbit and the mission was known as the STS-75 Space Shuttle mission. But the experiment failed as the shuttle broke down in the orbit and electricity could not be generated. It was reported that when the shuttle broke down many unusual UFOs were sighted at the site. But this claim was brought down the officials who considered the unusual UFOs to be space debris. However an interesting claim has been made now in which a scientist examined the pictures taken from that site. The scientist using different techniques clarified the picture taken on that day and put forward the claim that the unusual UFOs were actually spacecrafts run by the al iens themselves. The pictures clearly show the electronic circuits which are a sign that it might not be debris but possibly some electronic transport which is run by aliens. Relying upon this claim by the scientist one can clearly deduce that there is some power outside this world which is living in the galaxy. The images provided by the scientists also are a sign that aliens may possibly exist but are not really showing up themselves (Brockwell 2008). The proponents of the belief that aliens exist come forward with different arguments which are related to the events that have occurred in real life. It has been found that memos of a secret agent show that an extra terrestrial space ship crashed into the US town of Roswell which was then covered up by the American government. An FBI... Many individuals come forward with the claim that there is no such thing as aliens existing in this world. According to these individuals aliens are just a perception of people and they do not exist in the galaxy. The unusual happenings in this world are just a mere coincidence and not any activity done by individuals other than the human beings. To conduct a study on the existence of aliens many studies have been conducted and one of the studies was made public. It clearly states that there is no such sign of alien existence in this world. The famous report clearly suggests that there is no such thing as alien existence in this world and all the unusual activities happening in this world are just out of mere natural forces. The report criticizes all the events reported by people who have sighted UFOs in their vicinities. The report further states using the techniques of astronomy, that all these unusual UFOs are related to the stars and meteors in the space. It puts forward the clai m that most of the happenings in the surrounding of this world which seem to be unusual are related to the electrical chemical and magnetic phenomenon occurring in the layers of the earth. Because these phenomenons are so rare in this world, they are thought to be related to forces existing outside this world.

Nokia Corporation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Nokia Corporation - Essay Example The journey of Nokia began since the year 1865 when Fredrik Idestam, a mining engineer, founded a timber pulp mill or factory in South-Western Finland. Gradually, the other mill was established in the year 1871 which inspired the name of his company to be changed as Nokia Ab. The effectual business operations of Nokia since its inception ultimately made the organisation to be a principal multinational business organisation relating with the telecommunication business sector (Nokia, 2012).Nokia became quite successful to operate its business functions influentially by employing approximately 139,000 employees throughout the world. The main products of Nokia include mobile electronic devices, mobile telephones that include smartphones with tough screens and phones with typing pads along with other communication devices. The products such as Lumia 800, E6-00 and N8-00 are few of the attractive mobile products that belong to Nokia (Nokia, 2012).The mission of Nokia is to enhance the conn ectivity amid the social framework of international regions. The chief goal of the organisation is to build superior quality of mobile products and serve its worldwide customers and to attain a significant market share. In order to achieve its expected business goals, Nokia has formed a tactical business partnership with its related industries such as Microsoft that is expected to support the organisation to attain maximum profits in the smartphone business market. In this context, the strategy of Nokia aims to leverage.... The products such as Lumia 800, E6-00 and N8-00 are few of the attractive mobile products that belong to Nokia (Nokia, 2012). The mission of Nokia is to enhance the connectivity amid the social framework of international regions. The chief goal of the organisation is to build superior quality of mobile products and serve its worldwide customers and to attain a significant market share. In order to achieve its expected business goals, Nokia has formed a tactical business partnership with its related industries such as Microsoft that is expected to support the organisation to attain maximum profits in the smartphone business market. In this context, the strategy of Nokia aims to leverage its strengths as well as innovations in developed business markets in order to connect a huge mass of people (Nokia, 2012). The organisation intends to invest heavily in its future endeavours in order to develop its different assets that include technical features, software application programs and har dware components relating with the different phones belonging to the organisation. The other important business tactic of Nokia is greatly focussing upon the aspect of new market as well as new product development strategy. The business organisation also tends to execute other noteworthy strategies with the intention of attaining its expected business objectives (Nokia, 2012). Telecommunication Industry The effective combination of several telecommunication deregulations, enhanced enlargement of various internet related applications and the attractiveness of the mobile services ultimately accelerated the pace of growth in the telecommunication industry. Due to rapid expansion as well as growth in the telecommunication

An IT security consultant Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

An IT security consultant - Essay Example This paper will explain four methodologies and how they can be used to protect an organization’s system from being vulnerable. Firewall A firewall is the first in line of a network’s defense mechanisms, which can either be a software application or hardware device. It keeps unauthorized people from accessing the organization’s network by blocking selected outbound or inbound traffic (Vacca 2009). Depending on the implemented type, the firewall allows the network administrator to determine the traffic to be let out or in of the network, and also restricted to specific domain names or IP addresses. There are four firewall mechanisms including application gateway, proxy server, circuit level gateway and packet filtering gateway. With the packet filter, traffic flow into or out of the network is intercepted and evaluated against the rules given by the administrator. Filtering is based on the criteria that the packet filter is able to access the destination and source ports, as well as their IP addresses (Christey 2007). The circuit level gateway bars all inward traffic to any other host, with the exclusion of itself. The client machines within the organization and the circuit level gateway establish connectivity via software run on the clients’ machines. ... The application gateway is a type of proxy server. After internal clients connect to it, it determines whether or not to establish the connection, then connects to the destination machine. All communications are routed from the client to the application gateway, then application gateway to destination machine. Since the gateway is the address viewed by the outside world, the internal network is kept safe. Encryption Encryption is the process of converting information in a way that cannot be understood by unauthorized people (Ardi, Byers & Shahmehri 2006). The information is converted into an unreadable form called ciphertext, and decryption is required to convert it back into its initial for by the recipient. During encryption, the information is encoded into ciphertext using encryption algorithms. An encryption key determines the way the information is encoded. Encryption schemes require algorithms for key-generation in order to produce keys randomly. By use of a decryption algorith m that needs the correct secret decryption key, the authorized party can decode the ciphertext. Key algorithms undo the encryption algorithms’ work. Encryption protects data both in transit and at rest (Zittrain 2008). Data in transit comprises that being transferred across networks like mobile phones or the internet. Data at rest includes files stored on storage devices and computers. Encryption makes it difficult to intercept data on transit, while securing that which cannot be physically kept from being accessed by unauthorized persons. In the case of data at rest, it remains safe in incidents of laptop and back up devices theft. The safest practice is to apply encryption at the time of

Research Assessment Paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Research Assessment Paper - Assignment Example   In this research paper I have to cover these questions that are; a). List the journal reference in APA style. I have used the article â€Å"internet and the social life† because I have to cover that how can students minimize hesitation and make new friends that is why I have taken this article because internet plays an important role for minimizing the distances between people and for maximizing the interpersonal relationship. The authors of social identity theory demonstrate that completely interpersonal or completely intergroup behavior is discovering in realistic social situations. Media plays an important role for enhancing interpersonal communication because through internet you can easily done conversation and make new friends on social networking sites like on face book, orkut etc. Through internet you can email, chat, this reduces the communication barrier and enhances the social relationship (Turner & Oakes, 1986). b). List the researchers’ hypothesis as ou tlined in the first section of this article. Then explain in your own words the question(s) these researchers were trying to examine. Researcher’s hypothesis of this article is that internet plays an important role for minimizing greater distances and for maximizing the distances in interpersonal relationship between people like the people which are present in front of the face. In this article researcher has examined what are the effects of internet use, how the internet helps in formation and maintenance in interpersonal relationships and what are the effects of the usage of internet on the group membership, social identity, work place and community involvement. According to researcher of the article, he states internet helps great for maintaining interpersonal relationship like you can talk freely as well as make friends easily on internet and without any hesitation as compared to face to face communication. You can easily make friends of your class mates easily on interne t from which you feel hesitation in face to face conversation. There are many positive effects of internet especially in interpersonal relationships like the parents can easily do conversation with their children who are studying in other countries and cities in a very less expense. Through internet you can easily make friends through social networking sites as well as through email, yahoo chat etc. In social networking sites you can share your favorite songs, videos which enhance the interpersonal relationships (John & Katelyn, 2004). Researcher states that there are many positive effects as I have stated above but there are also many negative effects like the weakening of family relations like children and youngsters prefer to utilize their time on internet while chatting their friends on internet, while playing games on internet instead of having conversation with their siblings and parents. Through internet people have made addicted of watch pornography. They utilize their sever al hours while watching these, instead of playing outside with their friends. Obesity has also increased because of sitting in front of the computer in several hours. The main reason of the obesity is the totally end of physical games because of intensive use of internet. The main biggest effect of the internet has happened on the

Collapse of Wilsonian World Order Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Collapse of Wilsonian World Order - Essay Example This means a way of collective means of recognizing, understanding and even addressing world problems beyond the capability of individual countries. The earliest origins of this word came from Woodrow Wilson who was the 28th president of the United States in the period after the severe damage of the World War I. Wilson believed that world democracies like the United States had the mandate of ensuring world stability. The whole idea involves promotion of peace and togetherness within the society while dealing with destructive individuals. In this respect it is important to understand the Wilson new world order, its implications and why it collapsed (Dunwalke 2007, p.3). Theory The concept of â€Å"Wilsonism† came into being during the regime of Woodrow Wilson where he wrote fourteen points about the issue. These points aimed at pushing America to join the League of Nations after the serious destruction of the World War I. Many modern commentators and politicians have used the t erm after World War II to mean a â€Å"new world order† in a bid to emphasize this policy.... The foreign policy that Wilson adopted was not only for protecting American welfare but instead his aim is to secure the interest of the entire humanity. In this ideology, it was sensible for Wilson to support the issue of free trade and international business relations to liberate the world. One of his major sayings cites that trade is â€Å"great nurse of liberal ideas† which meant that people can grow and develop with good business relationships. In addition, he stressed the need to enhance the true economy of America and then introduce it into the national sphere through world markets to make the country a democracy whose presence could be felt. It was clear that Wilson supported the power of embracing republicanism, which promotes democracy. This was clear from the National Security proposal he generate titled Engagement and Enlargement which had three major ideas that included advocating democracy globally, sustenance of a ready military group to meet the needs of the co untry, and expand America economy through the concepts of international trade (Wilson 2006, p.67). Immediately after the World War I, safeguarding democracy across the globe for Wilson meant defending the young republics within Latin America that had suffered for many years from corrupt authorities and pressures coming from the European powers. It also required protecting these republic from American dominance as it was during the presidency of Roosevelt. Wilson was keen on this foreign policy such that he spent most of his first years in power combating Latin American problems. For instance, he pushed Congress to revoke the 1912 Panama Canal Act in which most of

The Story as Told in The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn Essay Example for Free

The Story as Told in The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn Essay Mark Twains Legendary story of Huckleberry Finn is the tale of a young little-minded orphan boy named Huck, who is the narrator, and tells his story in which he is accompanied by a runaway slave named Jim who both embark on various mischievous adventures down the Mississippi River, Jim who is owned by Hucks care takers Ms. Watson and Widow Douglass is faced with the most challenges in the novel. Throughout the novel Huck Jim are faced with many obstacles on there adventures up and down the Mississippi River seeking the free state of Illinois, where Jims Plan is to gain his freedom and live his dream of reuniting with his wife and children whom were also sold into slavery. Eventhough the novel is touching and compelling in many ways over the last 120 years Twains novel has been attacked by various groups for being a racist novel, while others strongly believe that his novel is the greatest statement in American culture against racism. Twain began writing The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn currently after his first novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) which wasnt as much of a controversial novel compared to his best seller. Twain later re-wrote and re-wrote Huck Finn multiple times later finishing it in December 1883. During his writings Twain had a hard time within himself towards his novel due to his character Huck helping Jim runaway to a free state and there strong bond they both shared, which Twain knew wasnt a right thing to do during his time for the fact in the eyes of the average slave owners or racist go-getters. As years passed and many different versions of Twains writings evolved from language to language but still with-held the same context as his original writings. After Twains passing, and Huckleberry Finn having a slight shed under the limelight for some of its vulgar language, and more than many racial slurs toward Jim other characters portrayed as slaves in his novel, real criticism began. Many different types of various groups regardless whether they have there share of pros and cons, on the novel shared there own opinions regarding the use of the N word being used in the novel to be dignified as if it was Jims name. Those who do not approve of Twains writings are those who see the book as a racist novel, which when reading the novel you can see many different clusters of its racism. As you continue to read the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn you tend to notice that Huck is faced with many challenges dealing with the fact Jim is a runaway slave,and Huck is giving his share as being a accomplice in his crime, and that is where many people who see the negative side of the novel try to look passed the helpings of Huck and Jims freedom and just focus on that bubble of racial slurs and the hardships for African Americans of that time who were mistreated and who died trying to live a positive life style passed the mistreatment. Thats in all of the history itself Twain lived in the era where slaves were a household appliance or necessity and in todays days its unethical to own a slave, which many Americans today will all agree on. Many issues the groups who withheld opposition of Twains writings in our decade are trying to shed light on the fact that this novel is being taught in schools all across America, and the use of the racial slurs once again should be censored throughout the novel. Yet once you re-arrange a book to have the slightest bit of change, you create a gap or some type of a road block where you miss the true meanings Twain is trying to approach to his audience, to feel the feelings Jim and Huck felt on there voyage across the Mississippi, and thats when other groups who approve of the message Twain is trying to achieve in his purpose feel as if this is one of the novels in American History that cultivates one of the greatest statements of the true meaning on unity, faith, and the growth of a boy becoming a man all within a time where racism was a huge whirlwind of negativity. Choosing a side to say weather Twains novel is a racist book, or one of the greatest statements in American culture against racism. I would have to choose that, Twain was always giving a positive outlook when writing this story,due to many helpings between the friendship of Huck Jim. Regardless if it was Jim helping Huck or Huck Helping Jim it was an integrated friendship that would of not have been accepted in the society of the late 1800s when racism wasnt at its peak as it would be 50-80 years later in the time of the Civil Rights Movement. Some can and will always argue with the vulgarity scripted page by page in the story but that is what makes it such an interesting story, Twain wanted his reader to experience the feelings he captivated within each character and how hard it really was in his decade for two unlike pairs to help eachother gain more than moral values in life and to take chances in doing whats right than whats expected. Seeing passed the racism issues various groups attack Twains writings on, he tries to give a self point-of-view on what unity should really be like, such as Huck helping Jim be free than later throughout chapters recover Jim from a slave auction where he was forced to stay when the King and the Duke turned him in for ransom. Regardless of his skin color and the crime he committed Huck knew what was right from wrong and did the unexpected and helped out a colored man , at the time where it was not excepted to do so in that specific time frame in American History. You can say the novel shares its negatives and its positives on the opinions of racism, yet many can share there own opinions within eachother when reading the book. Mark Twain had every bit of intention to make his book have many controversies in his present and our future. People need to see the true meanings of Twains work past all of the negativity and a real autobiographical look at his point of view on racism itself, he had every reason for Huck and Jim to be best buddies in his novel because at that time he knew what was right from wrong. So people can his story is wrapped around tightly with words or racism some can say its simply work of great meanings but as I would say its a story of unity of two unlike pairs to be united as one into helping eachother find themselves and the true meaning of life, and becoming there own men, In Conclusion Mark Twains Legendary story of Huckleberry Finn the tale of the young little-minded orphan boy Huck, and a runaway slave Jim who both embarked on a mischievous adventure down the Mississippi River, and faced with many challenges seeking the free state of Illinois. Was really a tale of two unlike cultures coming together and helping one another no matter what color you are friendship is stronger than a racial barrier, eventhough the last 120 years the book has been attacked by various groups for being a racist novel, while others strongly believe that it is the greatest statement in American culture against racism. I strongly believe it is definitely the greatest statement in American culture against racism. Word Count:1266

Starbucks External Environment

Starbucks External Environment This report is prepared for Starbucks Coffee Company Starbucks by a Specialist Marketing Consultant, to analyse the strategic position for Starbucks in the Specialty Coffee Industry. It provides a summary of all the major findings and, explores various strategic options and recommendations for Starbucks in order to increase and maintain its competitive advantage within the industry. Starbucks is a global leading brand, well known for its specialty coffee. The coffee house does not only sell high-quality coffees, but also Italian style beverages, cold beverages, complimentary food items, premium teas and coffee-related accessories. It has further retained its competitive advantage by selling packaged coffees and teas, ready-to-drink beverages, ice creams and many other products in other retail stores such as supermarkets through licensing relationships. Key Findings: Starbucks is facing various issues, some of which include; Maintaining the Starbucks Experience for customers and not being seen as just a money making machine Store Expansion Competition from fast-food chains and other specialty coffee retailers Generating more demand Lowering input costs Key Recommendations: Based on the strategic findings, the report outlined several recommended strategic options, the mains ones of which are: To improve the subliminal and express aura of Starbucks by supporting more good causes and paying its proper taxes. To increase revenue at lower costs, Starbucks must try and search for more licensing relationships and expose the brand further. Existing stores could attract more customers, particularly after the morning peak times by offering non-coffee beverage options or products for specific groups such as retired people. The recommended policies will help to enhance and strengthen Starbucks market share in the specialty coffee industry. Background Information on Starbucks Coffee Company (Starbucks) Starbucks was incorporated in the year 1971 by its founding directors Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl and Gordon Bowker. The Company was set up to operate as a roaster and retailer of whole bean and ground coffee, tea and spices together with coffee making equipment in Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington (Starbucks 2013b). In the year 1987, the original owners sold the Starbucks chain to former employee Howard Schultz, who is now the current Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Starbucks. Schultz re-branded his already existin II Giornale Coffee outlets as Starbucks and quickly began to expand (Grant 2010) as he believed that: From the beginning, Starbucks set out to be a different kind of company. One that not only celebrated coffee and the rich tradition, but that also brought a feeling of connection (Starbucks 2013a). Starbucks has truly developed a unique brand experience, one which is the most respected and recognized around the world (Starbucks Annual Report 2012). Today, it is known to be one of the largest and best established American global coffeehouse chains (Grant 2010). It has grown to have over 20,800 stores in over 60 countries, with the United States having the highest number of stores, followed by Canada. The UK has approximately 806 stores. However, countries like India, the second most populous country in the world, has only circa 8 stores (Loxcel Starbucks 2013). Critical Evaluation of the Porter Five Forces Concept All organisations need to understand the dynamics of their industries and markets in order to compete effectively and intensively in the market place. An American management writer Michael Porter came up with a framework called Porters Five Forces (Porter 2008). The framework analysis the attractiveness of an organisation and or/industry structure, determines the main external competitive threats, and assesses the extent to which the five forces are relevant to the organisation and/or industry (Hollensen 2003;Purcell 2013). The five fundamental competitive forces include (1) Rivalry, (2) Buyer Power, (3) Threat of Entry, (4) Supplier Power and (5) Threat of Substitutes (Porter 2008) (Figure1 Porters Five Forces Framework). These five forces, as explained above, aid an organisation to understand two strengths; The current competitive situation and, The strength of a position it would like to move into (Purcell 2013). Michael Porter simplified the micro-economic theory into the above five major influences. Each of these influences take into account demand and supply, corresponding products as well as substitutes, the relationship between volume and production and the cost of production, and the structure of the market such as oligopoly, monopoly etc. (Grundy 2006;Porter 2008). Apart from that, the value of information abstracted from the Framework analysis, assists to fuel three aspects of corporate planning; Statistical Analysis The attractiveness and profitability of an organisation/industry can be determined by using Porters Five Force Analysis, hence supporting decision making on whether to enter/exit from an industry or market segment (Porter 2008). Furthermore, the framework considers and takes into account the impact of competitive forces on the organization (RAPIDBI 2012) itself versus impacts on its competitors (Ketels 2006). Due to the availability of different resources and levels of competences, the competitors may have different reactions when there is a change in competitive forces, hence influencing the structure of the whole industry (Grundy 2006;Ketels 2006). Dynamical Analysis   A combination of both Porters Five Force Analysis and a PEST- Analysis (Political, Economical, Social, Technological), will disclose clues on how attractive the organisation/industry will be in the future (Porter 2008). This is because a change in Political, Economical, Socio-demographical and Technological aspects of organisations/industry can be influential on the five competitive forces and, hence will impact on the industry structure (Karagiannopoulos et al. 2005). Analysis of Options Improvement of an organisations own competitive position can be influenced by having some knowledge on both the degree of intensity and power of competitive forces (Recklies 2001). A new strategic direction can be derived from this such as new positioning in the market and differentiation for competitive products (Porter 2008). Accordingly, Porters Five Force Framework allows an organization to analyse the market structure and competitive situation in a more systematic and structured way (Recklies 2001). Once all relevant forces for that particular market are identified and analyzed, managers can find options that influence these forces, subject to the organizations interest (Grundy 2006;Ketels 2006;Recklies 2001). Recent research has shown that Porters Five Force Framework has got both strengths and weaknesses when used in todays dynamic environment, the main weakness highlighted has been the historic nature of its development (Grundy 2006). Cyclical growth in the 80s showed that the global economy had been fairly stable and predictable, compared to the current economy (Grundy 2006). Several limitations to the Porters Five Force Framework have been shown as; From the economic point of view, the framework is under the assumption that the market is perfect (Rivard et al. 2006). As a result, the framework will not be able to deliver meaningful insights on highly regulated industries (Grundy 2006)) . The applicability of the framework is more towards the analysis of simple market structures, rather than those which are in a much more complex industry (Grant 2010). As a result, the framework is limited to focusing on particular segments of such industries. This imposes an increased risk in omitting important elements (Grant 2010) . The framework assumption on having moderate static market structures makes it a non suitable framework for todays dynamic markets. Business models, entry barriers and relationships may change along the supply chain within a snapshot due to technological breakthroughs and dynamic market entrants (Karagiannopoulos et al. 2005). As a result, the framework could be a preferred model to be used at a later stage for analyzing new situations; however, it is limited to and perhaps not ideal to a certain extent to provide preventative actions (Rivard et al. 2006) . Porters Framework is based around the idea of competition, hence the name competitive forces. The assumption made by the framework is that a company will try to attain competitive advantage over the various players in the markets together with suppliers or customers (Aktouf et al. 2005). As a result of this, the framework only focuses on such aspect of strategy rather than taking into consideration the availability of strategic alliances, virtual enterprise- networks or others (Aktouf et al. 2005).    Overall, Porters Five Forces Framework has limitations because it does not take into consideration new business models and the dynamics of the market place (Recklies 2001). This report will now apply the Porters Five Force Framework to Starbucks Coffee Company (Starbucks) which is a large specialty coffee shop popular in most western countries such as the United States of America, United Kingdom and many others. Critical Analysis of Starbucks External Environment Within the rapidly changing global picture, companies and consumers are increasingly affected by global forces, represented as non-controllable. These forces are external environmental influences which must be monitored and responded to, on an ongoing basis by marketers, as they will lead to new opportunities and threats (Kotler 2007). An external environmental analysis, using the macro-economic PESTLE model was carried out for Starbucks and has been attached at Appendix 2 of this report. It can be seen from the analysis at Appendix 2 that there is currently a negative imbalance in Starbucks external influence matrix. This is because whilst the sociologic factors are favourable, whilst other factors such as Political, Economic and Legal show substantial threats. However, Starbucks has got some strengths that over-come some of these non-controllable influences from the external environment. It has built in flexibility to change, for example, agreeing to pay extra corporation tax in the UK, for the next two years (BBC News Business 2013), or relating to the closure of non-profit making stores, and lastly it has developed high powered management decision making process which ensures that is quick at exploiting opportunities (Patton 2012). Critical Analysis of Starbucks Business Environment Michael Porter (1985) posits that, in an attempt to find effective sources of competitive advantage, a thorough research should be conducted on the structure of the industry. In this case, an analysis of the speciality coffee industry can help to establish the strategic position Starbucks occupies and wishes to occupy. Porters Five Forces model is a useful tool in this regard. It shows how key elements have shaped the competition in the industry (Hill and Jones 2009). Buyer power In the specialty coffee industry today, consumers have wide access to different products at different prices with better quality services (Hunt et al. 2011). This practically means that individuals have the choice to easily switch from product to product, whichever is the preferred one. This is where Starbucks has an advantage; it decides on the prices of the drinks offered to its consumers, by taking into consideration the price-elasticity which is strongly influenced by loyalty to its brand and also current prices at rival stores (Grant 2010). Since Starbucks is known to be an up-market coffee shop with high quality, based on perception and offering vertically differentiated products it is very likely for it to be able to sell its products at high prices, hence leaving no room for price-negotiation with its customers (Grant 2010). Supplier power In 2008, Starbucks purchased its input goods from suppliers at a market price which was 23 per cent lower than it is now (Corporation, 2008) It also takes advantage of its size and benefits from economies of scale, however, this does not help Starbucks to increase its number of suppliers due to the circumstances within Starbucks own marketplace (Grant 2010). Prices are usually determined based on the demand and supply ratio, hence, with an increased level of competition (Kotler 2007), substitute suppliers are always available if Starbucks wishes to purchase at a different price point. Despite all the supplier conditions, Starbucks holds a better relationship status with its suppliers than most of its competitors (Starbucks, 2013). Threat of substitutes Product-for-product analysis together with an analysis of generic substitution is an important area to consider for Starbucks, since 14% of coffee drinkers have a favourable opinion for them (Rasmussen Reports 2011). The vast variety of the availability of different beverages such as soda, energy drinks, juices or water, in comparison to coffee, must be taken into consideration by Starbucks. However, this is not of a huge concern to Starbucks since it sells a large selection of these beverages within its stores, the biggest one being tea, a direct substitute to coffee. Starbucks has taken the initiative to sell this direct substitute product under its own Tazo ® Tea brand (Starbucks 2013). There is quite a concern when the threat of customers substituting away from Starbucks and going for direct competitors such as Cafà © Nero and Costa Coffee (for example in the UK) is considered. These direct competitors are hard to differentiate because they also truly pride themselves on customer services and on the quality of their speciality drinks. Large food chain competitors such as McDonalds are usually known as having a negative undertone of being cheap, often compromising on the quality of coffee. This has no effect on Starbucks targeted customer base (Grant 2010). Threat of entry The barriers to entry in the specialty coffee market, such as the one Starbucks operates in have increased. This has reduced the potential threat of new entrants (Patton 2012). The capital requirement for small coffee shops in this industry is relatively small as the shops require a small amount of floor space and not a high amount of technology is used, which is normally the biggest start-up cost. As a result the potential for more of these small coffee shops to enter the industry is still present (Articlesbase 2011). Industry Rivalry McDonalds and other fast food chains are key competitors which are diversifying their beverage menu. The direct competitors like Costa Coffee and Cafà © Nero compete on a much more of a parallel with Starbucks compared to the fast food chains, as they attract the same consumer base and offer similar products as in the way Starbucks does. Starbucks differentiates itself from other coffeehouses as it reaps higher margins from its specialty drinks. This is because it takes advantage of economies of scale and has a different cost structure in contrast with other competitors in the market. They pay less for the products bought in bulk, such as dairy goods, syrups, paper goods etc (Starbucks 10K 2010). Strategic Recommendation Whether Starbucks coffee has the actual quality to attract customers or whether there is just a perception of it being better than that of competitors has been the subject of much discussion on public media through many recent surveys and reviews. Irrespective of that, some possible strategies to be considered by Starbucks in order to maintain its market position are as follows: Strategy to renew the Starbucks brand name. To maintain a strong brand name, Starbucks will have to assure people that their coffee is better than all other beverages, be it McDonalds coffee or Costa Coffee; by introducing a more aggressive advertising campaign in order to educate and acquaint customers about the uniqueness that Starbucks quality offers as well as by diversifying advertising channels using internet, visual media etc instead of depending on employee-customer liaison (Starbucks, 2013) Product Differentiation Product differentiation is very vital in order to develop new flavour, blends and also roast fusions (Ross Gaddis, 2013) Starbucks should continue its coffee development program efforts through extensive research. This should continue to be done by providing free samples, at first, leading to launching the new product into all stores depending on what response it gets from the samples distributed (Porter, 2008) Due to the recession, consumers try to cut their spending and are less likely to buy a cup of coffee for  £2.50, and therefore, differentiation can be a useful tool to overcome economic downturns (Moon, 2010) Starbucks can promote new cost efficient products by selling them at lower prices, hence not affecting its luxury-premium status in the market. This strategy can help Starbucks retain its customers as well as intensify their brand name. Privilege Card and Rewards Program Starbucks Card program for consumers to reload credit online has been implemented in order to not only provide customers with rewards on online registering but also benefiting them with complementary beverages after a certain number of purchases, free refills as well as free syrup options (Starbucks, 2013). However, other competitors also have similar strategies for consumers and this leads Starbucks to offer distinct rewards in order to deliver incentives for coffee consumers as compared to its rivals. For instance, Starbucks could cooperate with airline companies and various large retail businesses so as to combine their rewards program with Starbucks (Hill Jones, 2010) Focus on the coffee Starbucks should also consider cost reduction as well as potential growth strategies especially at the time of economic downturn. For example, Starbucks has begun to invest in new businesses other than coffee, such as films, music and books (Starbucks, 2013) This has led Starbucks to incurring higher costs and lower profit margins but this can be prevented by focusing on different marketing techniques to reach a wider audience. In these recessionary times, involving itself in fewer businesses can help Starbucks cut down costs and more resources can be utilised to improve their core product, which is coffee (Moon, 2010) Efficient Store Expansion Decision The launch of more stores has had to be reduced or halted completely in order for Starbucks to survive at the time recession in the United States. In the year 2007, Starbucks opened about 1700 stores; today it has around 15000 stores and still aims to build the number of stores up to 40000 in the foreseeable future (Corporation, 2008) Taking into account its overall financial performance as well as the downfall in the economy, it is best if Starbucks focuses on renewing its brand and customer base rather than opening stores at present (Omer, 2008). The Starbucks Feel People enter a Starbucks store not just for a cup of coffee but also for the relaxed environment and the opportunity to de-stress for a while. The initiative to write customers names on their cups adds to this club atmosphere. This Starbucks feel needs to be further developed and sold to the customers. SECTION 6 References Aktouf, O., Chenoufi, M., Holford, W.D. 2005. The False Expectations of Michael Porters Strategic Management Framework. Problems Perspectives in Management (4) 181 available from: http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/19299836/false-expectations-michael-porters-strategic-management-framework Articlesbase 2011. The Initial Capital Investment in Starting a Coffee Shop Business. Articlesbase available from: http://www.articlesbase.com/entrepreneurship-articles/the-initial-capital-investment-in-starting-a-coffee-shop-business-5185126.html Accessed 18 April 2013. Business, N., 2011. www.bbc.co.uk. [Online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20573208 [Accessed March 2013]. BBC News Business 2013. Starbucks rejects tax row threat after Cameron Speech. BBC News Business available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21219823 Accessed 12 April 2013. Corporation, S., 2008. www.nytimes.com. [Online] Available at: http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/starbucks_corporation/index.html [Accessed 2013]. Grant, R.M. 2010. Contemporary Strategy Analysis: Text Only John Wiley Sons. Grundy, T. 2006. Rethinking and reinventing Michael Porters five forces model. Strategic Change, 15, (5) 213-229 available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jsc.764 Hill, C. Jones, G., 2010. Strategic Management Theory. USA: South-Western Cencage Learning. Hill, C. Jones, G.R. 2009. Strategic Management: An Integrated Approach : Theory South-Western/Cengage Learning. Hollensen, S. 2003. Marketing management: a relationship approach Financial Times/Prentice Hall. Hunt, K.A., Durango, C.O., Fate, J. 2011. Cultural and Social Influences on the Perception of Beauty: A Case Analysis of the Cosmetics Industry. Journal of Business Case Karagiannopoulos, G.D., Georgopoulos, N., Nikolopoulos, K. 2005. Fathoming Porters five forces model in the internet era. info, 7, (6) 66-76 available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/14636690510628328 Ketels, C.H.M. 2006. Michael Porter Competitiveness FrameworkRecent Learnings and New Research Priorities. Journal of Industry, Competition Trade, 6, (2) 115-136 available from: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=trueAuthType=athens,cookie,ip,urldb=bthAN=22555133site=ehost-live Kotler, P. 2007. Framework For Marketing Management, 3/E Pearson Education. Moon, H.-C., 2010. Porters Generic Strategies. In: Global Business Strategy. Singapore: World Scientific Publisher Limited, pp. 10-20. Omer, 2008. Porters Generic Model. Porters Model of Generic Competetive Strategies, 43(3), pp. 55-64. Patton, L. 2012. Starbucks Falls After Cutting Forecast Below Estimate. Bloomberg Businessweek available from: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-07-26/starbucks-falls-after-cutting-fourth-quarter-profit-forec Accessed 15 April 2013. Porter, M., 2008. Competitive Strategy. 2nd ed. New York: The Free Press. Porter, M.E. 2008. THE FIVE COMPETITIVE FORCES THAT SHAPE STRATEGY. Harvard Business Review, 86, (1) 78-93 available from: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=trueAuthType=athens,cookie,ip,urldb=bthAN=28000138site=ehost-live Accessed 25 March 2013. Purcell, S. 2013. The Strategic Planning Process Part 1. Student Accountant Technical available from: http://www.accaglobal.com/en/student/qualification-resources/acca-qualification/acca-exams/p3-exams/exams-p33.html Accessed 31 March 2013. RAPIDBI 2012. Porters Five Forces for competitor anaysis and advantage. Porters Five Forces Competitor Analysis available from: http://rapidbi.com/porterfiveforces/ Accessed 24 April 2013. Rasmussen Reports 2011. Coffee Drinkers Buy Starbucks More But Like Dunkin Better. Rasmussen Reports available from: http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/lifestyle/general_lifestyle/february_2011/coffee_drinkers_buy_starbucks_more_but_like_dunkin_better Accessed 16 April 2013. Recklies, D. 2001. A Critique of the Critique of Porter. Porters Five Forces available from: http://www.themanager.org/Models/P5F_2.htm Accessed 21 April 2013. Rivard, S., Raymond, L., Verreault, D. 2006. Resource-based view and competitive strategy: an integrated model of the contribution of information technology to firm performance. The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 15, (1) 29-50 available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsis.2005.06.003 Ross, R. Gaddis, D., 2013. Product Differentiation. Strategic Management Journal , 34(5), pp. 509-532. Starbucks, 2013. www.starbucks.co.uk. [Online] Available at: http://starbucks.co.uk/ [Accessed April 2013]. Starbucks 2013. Starbucks Tea. Starbucks Corporation available from: http://www.starbucksstore.co.uk/tea/tea,en_GB,sc.html?cm_mmc=Google+UK-_-Brand-+Starbucks+Tea+(UK+Lang)+(Exact)-_-Starbucks+General-_-Starbucks+Generalgclid=CPbS6vPW17YCFXIPtAodmVgAgQ Accessed 18 April 2013. Starbucks 10K 2010. Starbucks Annual Report. Starbucks Corporation available from: http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/829224/000119312510266333/d10k.htm Accessed 19 April 2013. The Boston Globe 2008. Starbucks testing sales of 8-oz. cup of coffee for $1. The Boston Globe available from: http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2008/01/24/starbucks_testing_sales_of_8_oz_cup_of_coffee_for_1/ Accessed 18 April 2013. The New York Times 2008. Starbucks Plans Return to Its Roots. The New York Times available from: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/20/business/20sbux.html?scp=3sq=starbucksst=nyt_r=0 Accessed 19 April 2013.

Joule thief Voltage booster

Joule thief Voltage booster The Joule thief is a voltage booster which takes it energy from an almost dead battery and can produce output, while the other circuits consider the battery, to be drained. And an earth battery, as the name says, is a kind of battery which takes it energy from the soil or sea, with the help of unalike electrodes buried in them. The idea of this paper is to utilize the earth battery and run the joule thief to lighten up the lights in a walkway, which includes less effort and efficient output. Introduction and Background: The earth battery was demonstrated by Alexander Bain in 1841, when he tried to operate a clock. He buried zinc and copper plates in ground a meter apart which resulted in one voltage output and thus, operated the clock. These kinds of batteries were used for telegraphy by early researchers [source: EE]. This dirt setup is similar to Daniell-cell battery. It had two electrolytes: zinc hung freely in zinc-sulphate and copper in copper-sulphate solution. These electrodes exchange electrons between zinc and copper (which are the anode and cathode) and generate current. In the earth battery, the sulphates are replaced by dirt [source: HSW]. The Joule thief circuit was published in November 1999 issue of Everyday Practical Electronics (EPE), by Z.Kaparnik. It was an execution of transformer-feedback single-transistor inverter. A one meter copper wire is wounded around a ferrite (toroid core) to make it a transformer and the resistor limits the feedback current into the transistor and the transistor switches on and off about 50,000 times in one second making the LED to light [source: BC/Joule]. Methodology: The methodology is to use the earth battery, which produces comparatively more energy (unlike the generally used circuits) and ride a Joule thief, which usually takes energy from almost dead batteries and produces output equal as the input. So when used in this scenario, will produce voltage same as input, that is, the energy from earth battery, and can be used to lit LED lights set in a walkway. The working methodology is the electrodes in earth battery (zinc and copper), exchange ions and produce currents. This battery is connected to a joule thief. In a joule thief, the main components are ferrite (toroid core), copper wire, transistor, and resistor. The copper wire is made two folds and wounded around the core to make it a transformer. The more, the number of turns, the more input it gives. The circuit looks like shown: The resistor can be taken to be, 512ohms. The inflow and outflow of current from the transistor makes it work like a switch and it goes on and off 50,000 times a second making the LED to light. So, a series of LED lights setup in a walkway can be run using the Joule thief ridden by an earth battery. Analysis: The analysis is that, the earth battery doesnt need any circuitry, and takes its energy from the soil and it can be placed inside the soil with just two wires coming out, which are connected to the joule thief. And, as discussed, the joule thief lights up the LEDs. The LEDs can have a motion sensor attached (if necessary to save energy) and otherwise, the earth battery can be used to charge batteries or perform any other functions. And also, LEDs are better than fluoros, because, they save a lot of energy comparatively. LEDs are costly, as of now, but the overall efficiency that they work at, is more than fluoros. If the total energy consumed and the skilfulness is calculated per annum, then LEDs stand first. Conclusions: I think that this idea is practically possible. Both are efficient and energy-saving circuits. So, the walkway in the Uni or any other likewise can be lit using this circuitry idea saving more energy and lasting long than the ones now in use.

Booker T. Washington Essay -- Essays Papers

Booker T. Washington 1856-1915, Educator Booker Taliaferro Washington was the foremost black educator of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He also had a major influence on southern race relations and was the dominant figure in black public affairs from 1895 until his death in 1915. Born a slave on a small farm in the Virginia backcountry, he moved with his family after emancipation to work in the salt furnaces and coal mines of West Virginia. After a secondary education at Hampton Institute, he taught an upgraded school and experimented briefly with the study of law and the ministry, but a teaching position at Hampton decided his future career. In 1881 he founded Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute on the Hampton model in the Black Belt of Alabama. Though Washington offered little that was innovative in industrial education, which both northern philanthropic foundations and southern leaders were already promoting, he became its chief black exemplar and spokesman. In his advocacy of Tuskegee Institute and its educational method, Washington revealed the political adroitness and accommodationist philosophy that were to characterize his career in the wider arena of race leadership. He convinced southern white employers and governors that Tuskegee offered an education that would keep blacks "down on the farm" and in the trades. To prospective northern donors and particularly the new self- made millionaires such as Rockefeller and Carnegie he promised the inculca...

Bullet In Head Analysis Oral :: essays research papers

Bullet in the Head This time the bullet cold rocked ya A yellow ribbon instead of a swastika Nothin' proper about ya propaganda Fools follow rules when the set commands ya Said it was blue When ya blood was red That's how ya got a bullet blasted through ya head Blasted through ya head Blasted through ya head I give a shout out to the living dead Who stood and watched as the feds cold centralized So serene on the screen, You was mesmerized Cellular phones soundin' a death tone Corporations cold Turn ya to stone before ya realize They load the clip in omnicolour Said they pack the 9, they fire it at prime time The sleeping gas, every home was like Alcatraz And mutha fuckas lost their minds Just victims of the in-house drive-by They say jump, you say how high Yeah Just victims of the in-house drive-by They say jump, you say how high Run it! (Guitar solo) Just victims of the in-house drive-by They say jump, you say how high Just victims of the in-house drive-by They say jump, you say how high Check-a, check-a, check it out They load the clip in omnicolour Said they pack the 9, they fire it at prime time The sleeping gas, every home was like Alcatraz And mutha fuckas lost their minds No escape from the mass mind rape Play it again jack and then rewind the tape And then play it again and again and again Until ya mind is locked in Believin' all the lies that they're tellin' ya Buyin' all the products that they're sellin' ya They say jump and ya say how high Ya brain-dead Ya gotta fuckin' bullet in ya head Just victims of the in-house drive-by They say jump, you say how high Yeah Just victims of the in-house drive-by They say jump, you say how high Uggh! Yeah! Yea! Ya standin' in line Believin' the lies Ya bowin' down to the flag Ya gotta bullet in ya head (Repeat x2) A bullet in ya head (8 times, building to a shout) A bullet in ya head (7 times, shouted/screamed) Ya gotta bullet in ya fuckin' head! Yeah! Yeah! (Sustained to end of drum roll) My talk 2 the class for RATM - â€Å"Bullet in the Head† Rage against the machine are a band that are completely influenced by recent happenings and political events and they band members portray this through their music and lyrics. The song I chose to do was bullet in the head. The song was written in 1992, which was a very political era. Here is the song I will be talking to you about in which I analyzed. (Play song) As you can see Rage against the machine do a very good job of getting their message across to the fans and everyone out there.

Depression Leading to Suicide Essay -- hopelessness,

One who suffers from depression may think about and or attempt suicide because of the extreme emotional pain and hopelessness they feel. It is during this time that one believes the only relief is in by putting an end to their lives. The risk factors that are identified in the assessment by Dr. Niolon state â€Å"the first thing to remember is these three things: consult- this allows for another opinion and better care as well as to protect you and document everything you do every question you ask the client and everyone you speak too and evaluate the client’s risks† (Niolon, R. PhD., 1999). Factors that influence suicide risk are mental diagnosis, particularly depression and substance abuse, or Borderline Personality Disorder which increases risk. Age- Individuals over the age of forty-five (45) are at a higher rate. Gender (women try more frequently while men try more fatal means). Marital status (never married, divorced, newly separated are the highest rate while unm arried are lowest risk). History of suicide in their family recent job loss, Caucasians are at a higher risk than ethnic minorities. (Niolon,R. Ph.D.,1999). Depression, has occurred at some point in a great many people's lives. Depression that spiraled out of control into suicide thoughts and in some cases it may have even turned into attempts. Such thoughts and/ and or actions can be feeling more than a person can handle by themselves. There are warning signs, such as, feelings of sadness for no reason at all, loss of interest in do in things, such as participating in activities with friends or going to outside social events, it also includes not being albe to enjoy activities that once brought them happiness and pleasure. Most of society is able to disch... ...hem, but if given the right information it is possible to encourage them to go to their family and friends , and that suicide is certainly not the answer and that there is help is available. For those who are affected by others who suffer from depression and suicidal thoughts/and or attempts you need help to you may also need help from the emotional stress and worry that it has caused you, group counseling/and or therapy. Works Cited Niolon,R.,Ph.D., (1999). Resources for students and professionals. Suicide Assessment. Retrieved from http://www.psychpage.com/learning/library/counseling/suicide.html PsyWeb.Com. (2013). Depression and Mental Health Resources. Retrieved from http://www.psyweb.com/mdisord/jsp/gendepress.jsp Conwell Y, Brent D. Suicide and aging. I: patterns of psychiatric diagnosis. International Psychogeriatrics, 1995; 7(2): 149-64.

Human Nutrition in the Developing Country of Guyana

Topic:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Human Nutrition in the Developing Country of Guyana * Introduction * According to the United Nation and the International Monetary Fund, countries are categorized according to their socio-economic position with respect to their Gross Domestic Product (GDP), income per capita, life expectancy and the wellbeing of the natives. These factors are compared to all the countries all over the world. Countries with a low level of material wellbeing are considered developing or underdeveloped. According to the Human Developing Index, approximately 85. % of the world’s population lives in developing countries making this issue of Health and Nutrition in this global community a major and pressing issue. Economically, many of these countries cannot establish stable enough economies due to the history of imperialism and colonization that caused a disruption in the development of these countries. Because of the lack of funds to cultivate the raw materials, t hese countries cannot establish successful and stable systems to produce food to feed their populations or even hospitals to cure many of the diseases and disorders created as a result of malnutrition. For this study, focus will be localized to a village that is located in Guyana, South * America. This is the native country of my parents, and I was fortunate to make several visits to this location, the most recent of which was last summer, so I am familiar with the lifestyle practices of the inhabitants not only from a first hand basis, but also from the inherited practices that were passed down to my family through my parents. * Brief History of Imperialism and Development as a Developing Country Guyana is located on the northern tip of the continent of South America, and the location of this case study is also on the northern tip that referred to as the coastal plain. Guyana recieved its name from the Native Indian tribe called the Amerindians, and it means â€Å"Land of Many wat ers† because of the many rivers and streams that are found in the country. The country is also near to the equator, so it has a tropical climate for most of the year, with only tow seasons, the wet season and the dry season. The former season is usually rainy and occurs between October to May and the latter which is usually dry and hot (temperature ranging from the early 80 degrees to 100 on humid days) from June through September. * Guyana is also below sea level, and like many of the other countries in the region was subjected to colonial expansion, so it changed Imperial governments between the British, Dutch and Spanish for a brief period. The Dutch and English had longer influences, with the English finally securing dominance for the last and longest period in the history of the country. So, due to the many rivers and the fact that that the country is susceptible to flooding, when it was occupied by the Dutch large systems of sluices, dams and sea walls were constructed to prevent excessive flooding, but the rich silt deposits from the river made the coastal plain fertile for agricultural initiatives, so the main produce from Guyana have always been sugar from the cane plants and rice. * The System of Self Sufficiency in Union Village, Guyana, SA: Introduction * Since Union Village is located on the coastal plain of the Corentyne River, the land is also fertile and it is one of the many farming communities along that plain. Some of the villagers have become wealthy rice farmers as they own large plots of rice lands, but the majority of people are self sufficient by planting kitchen gardens to supplement the staple ric e diet with ground provisions, fruits and vegetables. Those villagers also rear livestock of chickens, ducks, turkeys, pigs, sheep, goats and cows. Some of the rice farmers also rear fish farms. They use the waste from the rice covering/ shell to feed the fish, and their livestock. The milk comes from the cows and goats; eggs come from the chicken and ducks and meat come from all livestock and fish. Since fish is in most abundance and is therefore the cheapest, fish is usually the protein of choice for the diet. * The System of Self Sufficiency in Union Village, Guyana, SA: Environmental Perspective * Environmentally, the living habits of these villagers generate positive carbon footprint because of their waste management and recycling habits, long before the awareness was created at the international level. They were engaged in those activities out of necessity, but it paid off very well for the community and ensured sustainability for them. By planting seasonal crops, they learned to rotate the crops they plant and maintain the fertility of the soil by natural eco-balancing. They also use even the waste produced by the cows, especially as fertilizer, so helped by the rain and sunshine, the land stays lush and green. The dogs eat leftovers from the family meals, so they do not incur additional expenditure of having to buy separate dog food and the livestock eat the waste products of the plants such as the rice and corn. Because a majority of the food in Guyana is produced locally and sold in large market places their carbon footprint is significantly lower than a majority of other countries that rely on outside imports of food. Limiting the importation of food and exportation of goods decreases carbon emissions in transportation like large jets, freight planes and other large automobile s that emit pollution in the air. However, during the 21st century Guyana has begun to follow the growing trend of increasing its involvement in the global community through the exportation of minerals like Gold and Bauxite. In addition to the few food products that Guyana is historically known for since imperialism: sugar and raw materials. * Because Guyana is increasing its involvement in the global community exports as well as few imports have increased due to sanctions from the International Monetary Fund’s involvement in the project of developing small countries like Guyana industrially and economically. As shown in the graphs below, Guyana’s carbon emissions have increased significantly since the 1950’s especially at the turn of the 21st century when the United Nations introduced their initiatives to better developing countries. * Graph 1a. (http://rainforests. mongabay. com/carbon-emissions/guyana. html) * * Graph 1b. (http://rainforests. mongabay. com/carbon-emissions/guyana. html) * * The System of Self Sufficiency in Union Village, Guyana, SA: Socio-Economic * As a result, from the socio-economic perspective, based on their life styles, the villagers eating habits may not b e sufficient enough to ensure proper nutrition because their foods are not imported they have to rely on the fickle patterns of nature in order to yield a good harvest and raise healthy livestock. Guyana’s weather correlates with their socio-economic standing and the problem of malnutrition. * With many floods, monsoon type weather and the rainforest atmosphere, villagers rely heavily on the weather that develops a particularly unbalanced eating regiment. From a social perspective, meats like chicken, cows and other animals are only cooked on special holidays and large festivals while on a regular basis, rice is the main staple for many impoverished families. From rice and pepper to shine rice (rice and butter), these dishes will not suffice nutritionally. In most cases however, village people consume a lot of fresh fruit on a daily basis from their personal yards. While these foods are healthy, fresh and organic, with no addition of chemicals, artificial fertilizers or pesticides, the foods are eaten leisurely and not measured daily to ensure a balanced and accurate amount of nutrition. With the lack of education on how to properly balance their diets with vegetables, proteins and even fruits, they eat leisurely and do not fairly balance their diets per day. While many industrialized and developed countries hold health classes that teach children from a young age to balance a fruit a day and a proper portion control. In actuality, although the foods in Guyana are fresher, the genetically altered or artificial products that are produced by developed countries guarantee a higher yield of foods to be distributed along with added vitamins and proteins that still ensure a sufficient amount of nutrition. Despite these set backs in education on diets, Guyana still produces a variety of foods that can suffice in feeding the people to ensure healthy nutrition (See Graph 3 Below). * Graph 3. (ftp://ftp. fao. org/es/esn/nutrition/ncp/guymap. pdf) * Also, owing to the location from the centralized city, they do not have quick access to quality medical facilities as the nearest medical center is approximately 25 miles from the village and the hospital is almost 40 miles away. As a result, they have non-traditional attitudes towards conventional medic al practices such as screenings, for example, which are considered as routine and expected from an international stand-point. In addition, socially, since they are semi-rural, some of them do have access to technology and amenities such as electricity, radios and even a sprinkling of television, but that is not widespread. Therefore, Internet and computer access or in many cases, even access to a telephone is not widespread. This is a blessing in disguise because economically it saves both the people and the government money and most of all saves the environment from utilization of so much electricity. Even for cooking, they use outdoor brick ovens that are fuelled by dry brushes and wood or coal collected from forest fore remnants. Resulting Issues from the Environmental and Socio-economic Factors * As aforementioned in the introduction of the topic, countries are still categorized according to their socio-economic position with respect to their Gross Domestic Product (GDP), income per capita, life expectancy and the wellbeing of the natives. These factors are compared to all the countries all over the world. The wealth of countries are categorized according to their abilities to export and their level of industrialization. * According to the Human Developing Index, approximately 85. % of the world’s population lives in developing countries making this issue of Health and Nutrition in this global community a major and pressing issue. Economically, many of these countries are not capable of establishing stable enough economies due to the history of imperialism and colonization that contributed to their dependency on foreign aid as well as their economic destabilization. Due to the absence of capital to process the raw materials such as bauxite, in the case of Guyana to produce aluminum, dependency is on ALCAN in Canada and Reynolds in the USA to purchase that raw material. The same case is with the excess rice and sugar produced, so the local economic system is incapable of sustaining quality hospitals and health care services that could address disease prevention and cure and even some kinds of malnutrition. * When examined environmentally, in an article in the Health and Wellness Magazine discussing underdeveloped countries, Dr. Majid Ezzati from Harvard School of Public Health points to the lack of clean water and sanitation as the major problem causing the malnutrition. Potable water is a problem in many of the Guyanese communities, as many people still cannot afford indoor plumbing. Furthermore in an article from the Royal Society of Medicine Press on Experimental Biology and Medicine the article deals with the problem of nutrition and infectious disease in these developing countries and the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. The institute states, â€Å"Infectious diseases are the major causes of death and morbidity in underdeveloped countries, particularly in children† which is caused by malnutrition. * One major effect of malnutrition is an increase in child mortality rate. As seen in the graph below * One Step forward in Industrialization, Two Steps back in Sustainability * Because of the new push towards development, many supermarkets and grocery stores are replacing the marketplace and the tiny food shops in Guyana. As shown in the chart below Guyana’s carbon emissions have increased significantly since the 1950’s. This increase is largely due to the development of supermarkets and the importation of processed goods from United States companies that have specific relations with the Guyanese government. In order to ensure that Guyana returns to its more sustainable systems, the country should create better programs to educate its people on eating well balanced meals to avoid malnutrition with respect to the three major forms of malnutrition in Guyana as recorded by the Food and Agriculture Organization are Protein-energy malnutrition (PEM), anemia, and overweight/obesity are the most common nutrition-related disorders. As seen in Graph 4, Guyana produces a large amount of varying foods and products that can adequately resolve its problems of malnutrition. YEAR| Carbon emissions| Per capita emissions| 1950| 71| 0. 17| 1951| 78| 0. 18| 1952| 92| 0. 21| 1953| 123| 0. 27| 1954| 129| 0. 27| 1955| 141| 0. 29| 1956| 150| 0. 3| 1957| 146| 0. 28| 1958| 125| 0. 23| 1959| 151| 0. 27| 1960| 180| 0. 32| 1961| 201| 0. 34| 1962| 185| 0. 31| 1963| 168| 0. 27| 1964| 177| 0. 28| 1965| 294| 0. 46| 1966| 322| 0. 49| 1967| 361| 0. 54| 1968| 363| 0. 53| 1969| 373| 0. 53| 1970| 431| 0. 61| 1971| 409| 0. 57| 1972| 426| 0. 59| 1973| 492| 0. 68| 1974| 424| 0. 58| 1975| 498| 0. 68| 1976| 478| 0. 65| 1977| 518| 0. 7| 978| 561| 0. 75| 1979| 415| 0. 55| 1980| 488| 0. 64| 1981| 491| 0. 65| 1982| 383| 0. 51| 1983| 340| 0. 45| 1984| 383| 0. 51| 1985| 387| 0. 51| 1986| 285| 0. 38| 1987| 357| 0. 48| 1988| 383| 0. 52| 1989| 326| 0. 44| 1990| 311| 0. 42| 1991| 306| 0. 42| 1992| 287| 0. 4| 1993| 288| 0. 39| 1994| 364| 0. 49| 1995| 404| 0. 53| 1996| 417| 0. 54| 1997| 437| 0. 56| 1998| 451| 0. 58| 1999| 450| 0. 58| 2000| 431| 0. 58| 2001| 414| 0. 56| 2002| 422| 0. 56| 2003| 409| 0. 54| 2004| 394| 0. 52| 2005| 407| 0. 54| * Table 1. (http://rainforests. mongabay. om/carbon-emissions/guyana. html) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Graph 4. (ftp://ftp. fao. org/es/esn/nutrition/ncp/guymap. pdf) * * * * * * * * * References: * Colchester. Marcus. (1997). Guyana, fragile frontier : loggers, miners and forest peoples. Kingston, [Jamaica] : Ian Randle Publishers ; New York, NY : Distribution in North America by Monthly Review Press * Currie-McGhee. (c2009). Leanne Protecting ecosystems. Ann Arbor : Cherry Lake Pub. * Grant, Nancy S. (2008) The pocket idiot's guide to your carbon footprint. New York, NY : Alpha Books. U. S. G. P. O. (1990-[2002]. Country reports on economic policy and trade practices : report submitted to the Committee on Foreign Relations, Committee on Finance of the U. S. Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Committee on Ways and Means of the U. S. House of Representatives by the Department of State in accordance with section 2202 of the Onmibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988. Washington : U. S. G. P. O. , Congressional Printing Office http://rainforests. mongabay. com/carbon-emissions/guyana. html

Rethinking Marketing Essay

Companies today have technology that enables them to interact directly with customers. Firms must make use of this technology to focus on customer needs and develop into customer-oriented companies rather than product oriented ones. In order to facilitate this change a change in the company’s strategies as well as structure becomes necessary. This change includes reinventing the organizations marketing department entirely. One such change in strategy involves customer cultivation. Companies must move from being traditional companies to customer cultivating companies. A customer cultivating company is one that focuses on individual or small groups of customers as opposed to a traditional company that focuses on the mass. Many firms today are trying to make this strategy work. For example IBM, Tesco and American express. Next we come to change in structure, which involves reorganizing the marketing department. * Firstly CMOs must be replaced by CCOs (chief customer officer). The CCO’s job is to plan and implement the firms customer relationship strategy and supervise all customer-facing functions. * Secondly under the CCO will work the customer managers who identify the customer’s needs and direct brand mangers to fulfill those needs. * Customer- facing functions: some functions such as the customer relationship management that forms a part of the IT department must be made a part of the customer department. CRM (a tool for gauging customer needs and behavior) contains the data needed to implement customer cultivation strategy and hence essentially forms a part of the customer department. * Market research: market research changes to become more customer focused as well. * Research and Development: marketing and R&D must be integrated so that the customer itself can be brought into the process of designing products. * Customer service: the customer department must handle this service to ensure both quality and building long-term relationships with customers. With change in strategy there comes a need to change the measures that gauge the effectiveness of the strategy as well. These changes in measures are as follows: * Product profitability to customer profitability * Current sales to customer lifetime value * Brand equity to customer equity * And lastly market share to customer equity share. All in all the article considers reinventing the strategies and structure of companies to make them focus on building lasting customer relations rather that building brands.

Civilian Complaint Review Board

Established in its current incarnation in 1993 under the leadership of former New York City Mayor David N. Dinkins, the Civilian Complaint Review Board asserts to be the largest civilian oversight agency of its kind within the United States, and investigates thousands of civilian complaints each year. Even though it has only existed in its current form for a little over a decade, the conception of a board delegated power to investigate complaints about potential police misconduct predates the administration of Robert Wagner, who was responsible for investing the nascent Civilian Complaint Review Board-which was then comprised solely of three deputy police commissioners-with new powers in 1955. However, it remained a province of the NYPD, with all investigations being conducted by police officers, and their findings forwarded to the deputy commissioners for recommendation. In 1965, Mayor John Lindsay would ask former federal judge Lawrence E. Walsh to conduct an investigation into the role of the review board. He would recommend that members of the general public, non-police officers, be given substantial authority in any new civilian complaint review board. Subsequently, Lindsay designed a search committee tasked with finding civilians fit to serve on this new review board, which was chaired by former Attorney General Herbert Brownell. After much debate-and opposition to the proposal from the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association-Mayor Lindsay decided to appoint four civilians to the reconstituted board. This prompted opponents of the newly redesigned board to campaign for a city ballot proposal that would have forbidden any direct civilian oversight of uniformed police officers in New York City. The measure was enacted by an overwhelming margin, and the review board once again came under the sole purview of the New York Police Department. In 1986, the New York City Council enacted a piece of legislation that called for imposing some degree of civilian oversight once again, which led to the appointment of six new members by the mayor-with the advice and consent of the City Council-and six by the police commissioner. The Civilian Complaints Investigative Bureau then began to hire civilians to investigate complaints lodged against the NYPD, but did so with the oversight of police department investigators and employees. The incident that galvanized some members of the political body politic and certain segments of the public behind the movement for an all-civilian supervisory board occurred on August 6, 1988, where individuals protesting a curfew imposed over Tompkins Square Park were forcibly removed from the premises. The Civilian Complaint Review Board commissioned an investigation into this incident, and published a report that was extremely critical of NYPD conduct during that confrontation. Critics of internal police procedures used the Tompkins Square â€Å"riots† in order to press for an all-civilian review board. In 1993 Mayor Dinkins and the New York City Council created the Civilian Complaint Review Board in its current incarnation and invested it with subpoena authority, and gave it the ability to recommend disciplinary measures in cases where police misconduct were verified and substantiated. Over the years, NYPD officers have come under public scrutiny with allegations of corruption, brutality, excessive use of force, and poor firearm discipline. [1] Individual incidents have tended to receive more publicity; a portion of which have been substantiated while others have not. The Knapp Commission in the 1970s, and the Mollen Commission in 1994 have led to reforms within the NYPD aimed to improve police accountability. However in recent years, likely due to low salaries and declining morale, many more off-duty NYPD officers are being arrested and charged in and outside the city for crimes ranging from drunk driving to homicide. [2] One of the department's most spectacular cases of corruption was that of Lt. Charles Becker, who holds the dubious distinction of being the only NYPD officer to die in the electric chair. Due to repeated public outcry over these and many other incidents, specifically, the Tompkins Square Riot of the 1988, and the Crown Heights Riot, prompted the creation of the Civilian Complaint Review Board[3] (known commonly by its acronym, the CCRB) in 1993, an independent investigative unit of entirely civilian investigators (with some being former members of the NYPD), who investigate allegations of Force, Discourtesy, Offensive Language and Abuse of Authority made by members of the public against members of the NYPD. Complaints are made directly to the CCRB, through the city's 311 information system, online at nyc. gov/ccrb, or at any Precinct within the city limits. This was the third iteration (after an attempt by Mayor Lindsay and Mayor Koch before to create â€Å"mixed† review boards), but was the first to employ an all civilian Board and investigative staff. [4] [edit] Today The CCRB exits today as a fully independent civil department, staffed with 100 investigators and about a dozen miscellaneous employees. Additionally, three officers from the NYPD's Monitoring and Analysis Section of the Department Advocate's Office work with the CCRB at their office at 40 Rector Street. Their role is to provide the Investigators with access to certain restricted NYPD documentation quickly and efficiently without having to wait the lengthy processing period document requests normally take (sometimes outlasting the course of an investigation). The agency is headed by the 13 board members, who defer day-to-day operational command to an Executive Director (currently Ms. Joan Thompson, as of September 18, 2007, formally Ms. Florence Finkle, Esq. , who is then followed by the First Deputy Executive Director, which was formerly known as the Assistant Deputy Executive Director before that position was transformed into its new form (this later position remains unfilled). The Agency then separates into several divisions, the largest being the Investigative division led by a Deputy Executive Director of Investi gations, followed by four Assistant Deputy Executive Directors of Investigations. However, due to budget cuts in 2009, the Deputy Executive Director of Investigations and three of the Assistant Deputy Executive Directors of Investigations were eliminated, leaving the Investigations division under direction of the First Deputy Executive Director and one Assistant Deputy Executive Director of Investigations. [5] The division is then broken down into 8 Investigative Teams, led by an Investigative Manager, along with a Supervising Investigator and an Assistant Supervising Investigator. Initially, there had been 7 Investigative Team Managers, with two teams sharing one manager, but in early 2010, budget cuts have forced the agency to restructure under 6 Investigative Managers. Promotions to Assistant Supervising Investigator and Supervising Investigator are not necessarily granted to Investigators based on tenure or rate or result of investigations. [5] The remaining Investigators fall into Level I and Level II, which simply denotes tenure, experience and pay grade. The agency is also broken down into an Administrative Division, which includes Human Resources, Information Management Unit and the Case Management Unit (which stores all records of past cases), amongst others, which is led by the Deputy Executive Director of Administration. 5] There are then four other directorships, the Research and Strategic Initiatives Director, Mediation Unit Director, Director of Intergovernmental and Legal Affairs, and the Press Secretary. However, 2009 budget cuts have also caused the Press Secretary and Outreach Unit to be eliminated. There is also an attorney, Mr. Grahram Daw, Esq. , who serves as the Agency's legal counsel. These units compliment and serve the Invest igations Unit, which acts as the main focal point of the Agency. [5]