Globalization and the new world food crisis Essay

Since the dawn of civilization, man has always ventured and made developments for his betterment. Man’s basic need like any other animal on the planet has been his food. Initially man devised new hunting skills and innovate new weapons to hunt and feed. As time passed by he understood the basics of agriculture and ended his nomadic life. This was a turning point in mankind and the need for growing food to survive was well understood. With the passing of more time, agricultural science was used to enhance agricultural outputs with most of the countries at least going through one form of agricultural revolution. The need for food is still an essential need in this world full of technology and finances. Globalization brought the world closer and resources of one country started being used for resources or capital from other country. The concept of open trade became evitable and food was traded in plenty. It didn’t matter, where one was and could buy vegetables and fruits from other countries. Staying in the United States of America once could have Chinese mandarins. This was the extent in which globalization had upsurge trade amongst countries. Today the scenario has changed drastically, even though there is trade available, there is a major scarcity of food available in the world to be traded. The surplus quota of food which always used to be exported by countries is now being used for keeping out in reserves and in storage. Today the prices of exports have reached as high as 80% of the original cost as the other countries have started banning exports. Food today has become more expensive and scarcer than oil and other extinguishing resources. Today the world has entered into a new world ‘food crises’. Prices of bread in grocery store have changed and risen more in a week that it has over the years. It is a very grave situation and the world is in serious mess for it. Food prices have really soared up making it very difficult for buyers in terms of finances, but they still have to buy it as it is food and one cannot live without food. It has been estimated that wheat prices are up by 120%, rice prices are up by 75% and it has been efficiently calculated by experts that on an average a poor family today is spending 80% of its income on food. Food which is a basic necessity for a man to survive is a matter for daily struggle for about billion people. Because of this callous increase in food pricing, there has been huge increasing in malnutrition and it has been estimated that more than 3. 5 million children are dying per year because of food shortage. Further more the food crisis, which had been lingering around for some time, but somehow world leaders failed to acknowledge it and due to which about 100 million people have crossed below the poverty line in the last 2 years. The situation is considered to be very grave as this problem is here to stay at least till 2015. This problem is there for in the future as situations have been created where food will become more expensive than gold. The situation has now been officially declared out of hand situation and rapid measures are expected to control the situation at least for the near future. Globalization has been of the main issues that has caused this food crisis in the world. Everything being connected if has its advantages then it also has a lot of disadvantages. Today because of globalization and international trade every country is dependent on some country for its commodities and export. One thing that was clear in the world was not everything could be made in one country, so it has to be bought from another country. Today if natural disaster strikes at one country and if that country is one of the biggest exporters of a particular food item, then it is seen that prices of that food item goes up in the international market. Today the sorrow of one country is proportional to international markets. For instance an example of how globalization affects the food crisis is seen below: ‘The price of maize has never been higher, and the future has seldom seemed rosier. Carleton is booming, with $200-million put up for a new bio fuel factory and, after years in the doldrums, there is full-time, well-paid work for 50 people. The same fields that surround houses may be bringing new money to rural America, but they are also helping to push up the price of bread in Manchester, tortillas in Mexico City and beer in Madrid as Challenged by President George Bush to produce 133-billion liters of non-fossil transport fuels by 2017 to reduce United States dependency on imported oil, thousands are patriotically turning the US corn belt from the bread basket of the world into an enormous fuel tank. Only a year ago, their maize mostly went to cattle feed or was exported as food aid. Come harvest time, almost all will end up at the new plant at Carleton, where it will be fermented to make ethanol’ (Yale Global). Globalization has taken its toll on fossil fuels. Today it’s known that fossil fuels will extinguish in the coming years and the world might come to a halt. For this scientist devised ways of making bio fuels with the help of corn and maize. As the current United States of America’s president George Bush has vowed to stop imports of oil and fossil fuel from other nations by 2017, he has started a massive operation for making the country self sufficient on bio fuel. This has made the farmers giving away corn and wheat for the production of the fuel. The United States of America had made special subsidy for the American farmers to compete with globalize rates and due to which actual wheat producing nations like Mexico had to lose out on its farming out wheat and corn as because of the amount of international trade norms imposed due to United States of America. Because of that farmers in Latin America had major crisis for their wheat and became dependent of the American policy. Today when America is giving away its corn and wheat production for making away bio fuel, bread has become a major issue for the world and the following will explain problems created by it for poor countries: ‘Ever since the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund broke down trade barriers in the global south-thus opening the gates for the dumping of subsidized grain from the U. S. and Europe-farmers in poor countries have steadily been driven out of business. Under the banner of â€Å"comparative advantage,† many poor countries that had previously been self sufficient in food were turned as a conscious matter of US foreign policy into food importing countries. But with the U. S. hoarding its corn and selling the rest of its food dear, these nations are left holding the poor end of an expensive stick’ (Eric Holt-Gimenez). After America, Australia is one biggest wheat production nation on the world and is also a large responsibility for the world’s food production. Globalization has taken its toll on the environment. Today industries and technology have shifted to a new level often overlooking environmental issues. This high amount of globalization has accelerated the phenomenon of global warming which itself is responsible for many issues. Because of global warming, there suns rays are directly affecting the planet through the depleting ozone. This rise in temperature brings in lots of disasters on its way, like meting of polar caps, abrupt changes of climate and worst of all no rain but more heat. Because of the globalization Australia has been suffering more lately and it is having multiple year droughts. These droughts caused by global warming are taking its toll on the wheat productions making the wheat and corn an expensive item for the world. The following will explain the condition of Australia’s wheat woes. ‘After America, Australia is normally the second largest exporter of grain, and in a good year it would hope to harvest about 25 million tones. But the country remains in the grip of the worst drought in a century, which is why the 2006 crop yielded only 9. 8m tones. Last year saw one of the best starts to a growing season for years, but dry weather in recent weeks has forced the Australian government to slash its crop forecasts by 30%’ (BBC). Globalization has taken its toll on two massive exporters of wheat and since these two countries are affected it becomes very hard for the world as the remaining wheat that is available becomes very expensive making it impossible for poor people to think of having bread. Hard as it may seem to believe but it is quiet true now that globalization has been the food stealer of the world. Today many people are being pushed below poverty lines as they cannot afford to buy food and the deaths related with starvation or malnutrition has increased to new heights. Everything is proportional to every activity in the world and since the prices of wheat have soared up, people are getting poorer and the buying capacity of people is getting directly affected because of it. The following piece will shed light on the relationship of poverty and globalization: ‘The relationship between globalization and poverty is complex, Harrison acknowledges, yet she says that a number of persuasive conclusions may be drawn from the studies in Globalization and Poverty. One conclusion is that the relationship depends not just on trade or financial globalization but on the interaction of globalization with the rest of the economic environment: investments in human capital and infrastructure, promotion of credit and technical assistance to farmers, worthy institutions and governance, and macroeconomic stability, including flexible exchange rates and Globalization and Poverty yields several implications. First, impediments to exports from developing countries worsen poverty in those countries. Second, careful targeting is necessary to address the poor in different countries who are likely to be hurt by globalization’ (Matt Nesvisky)

Paradise Lost Critical Analasis

Paradise Lost Critical Analysis â€Å"Should God create another Eve, and I Another rib afford, yet loss of thee Would never from my heart; no no, I feel The Link of Nature draw me: Flesh of Flesh, Bone of my Bone thou art, and from thy State Mine never shall be parted, bliss or woe. † (9. 911) John Milton believes it is his responsibility to enlighten the world that predestination and free will can exist simultaneously. He uses the very well-known story of Adam and Eve, and elaborates the details to establish the theme of an epic. Adam is caught in a horrible situation between Eve and God.He has been told to not partake of the fruit of the tree of knowledge, but his wife Eve has disobeyed and eaten some of the fruit. Adam’s first thoughts aren’t even to deny the fruit and let Eve fall alone. The thought he goes to is of â€Å"God creating another Eve† (9. 911) and him being depressed with this new woman. She would be a replacement, but the true Eve â€Å" would never from his heart† (9. 913). Adam and Eve’s fall is the center of Milton’s whole argument about predestination and free will. Both people are given a chance to choose what path they will take, and both fall.Adam doesn’t just take the apple and eat because it was placed in front of him; there was a thought process going through his head leading up to his choice of eating the fruit. Eve, â€Å"flesh of flesh, bone of [his] bone† (9. 914) has convinced him to follow to the side of death. There wasn’t even a massive argument between the two: Adam took it on himself and his own thoughts to take the fruit. There is proof in Adam’s knowledge of the different options he has when he states that God can â€Å"create another Eve, and I another rib afford† (9. 911).If free will did not exist there would be only one option Adam could take, but this situation proves that God can know what is going to happen with the tree and Man, but still give him the option to do what he wants, either eating the fruit or avoiding it and following him. When deciding how he will handle this situation lay before him, Adam says explains why Eve is so much more than just his love. She is â€Å"flesh of flesh, Bone of my bone† (9. 913), which causes him to have more of an attachment to her than any modern man can have to another being.This is more than a wife could ever match, and more than any family member could reach. Adam chooses to take part in this sin even though he knows it will cause him to fall from God, because he has been tempted by Eve, the direct embodiment of himself. Up until this point in their relationship, Adam and Eve have been in paradise. This is the first conflict they have reached, and Adam chooses to follow this woman to any extent, through any situation, â€Å"mine never shall be parted, bliss or woe† (9. 916). This decision is made in completely consciousness, without any outside forces acti ng on him.

Strategic Management in Non Profit Making Organization

Introduction Strategic Management is the process by which managers make the choice of a set of strategies that will enable it to achieve better performance. The context of strategic management can be defined as the societal role of the organization, environmental, technological and human resource factors. With changes in a context, a unique set of managerial constraints arise (Stevens & McGowan, 1983). Context influences the nature of managerial behavior: the actions of a manager in arriving at a decision regarding how to deal with a given context.The way that a strategic plan is developed depends on the nature of the organization's leadership, culture of the organization, complexity of the organization's environment, size of the organization and expertise of planners. The not-for-profit sector is extremely diverse in terms of the organizations it encompasses and the work it undertakes. In recent years, there has been a substantial increase in the creation and consolidation of non-pr ofit organizations of various sizes, with diverse objectives and different scopes of action.More often than not, these organizations are managed by individuals who are dedicated or committed to the company's goals but have not had the opportunity to undergo specific training for this purpose. There are diverse types of non-profit organizations globally e. g. hospitals, social, cultural and political organizations. Most of the NGOs startups will usually come up with a strategy formulation paper which will consist of the vision, goals and objectives, implementation strategies and the budgets. This is because most of them are funded through grants and donations which will normally require a well done funds mobilization proposal. Related essay: â€Å"Support Positive Risk Taking For Individuals†However, most of them are less likely to engage in procedural strategic management implementation as a formal exercise. Also, these organizations are less likely to exhibit the features of a sound strategic plan as follows: †¢ Whereas one of the features of strategic planning is the long term nature of these plans, most of the non-profit organizations tend to be managed more on a short-term operational basis rather than in a strategic sense. †¢ Secondly strategy formulation takes into account the customers and competitor behavior.For nonprofit organizations, the influence of their clients or customers is often limited. These organizations will normally decide what is best for their clientele/customers and implement. †¢ Whereas strategic management is dynamic and continuous, most NPO aren’t very receptive to changes. They are comfortable in their current positions and transformation is quite an uphill task for them. Most of them thrive on tradeoffs between efficiency/productivity vis a vis processes. They are mostly driven by their social and community focus and appeal more to the conscience. This in turn stifles innovation and productivity and may hamper the decision making process. However, this will also be determined by the leadership style of the leader. . Requirements for strategic planning in non-profit corporate strategies Non profit organizations, just as for business organizations, can and should be designed to bring success and avoid failure. This can be done by capitalizing on the strongest capabilities of the non-profit organization in question, and exploiting the greatest opportunities, while reducing risk associated with organizational weaknesses, and environmental threats.This shared understanding of the overall strategic situation of the organization gives a sound basis for strategic decision making. The primary requirement for an overall non-profit or ganization set of strategies is that they should be developed to cover two main dimensions, bringing success and avoiding failure when things go wrong. †¢ Non-profit strategies must give the organization a very good chance of hitting the target for satisfactory performance and even exceeding it. †¢ At the same time, strategic planning nonprofit style must not expose the particular rganization to such risks that its performance might fall below to that considered to be failure. Additionally strategic planning in non profit must have a set of strategies that meet these requirements- †¢ Make full use of all the organization's most impressive strengths. †¢ Correct or neutralize all major weaknesses. It must not be based on these weaknesses. †¢ Either eliminate or reduce the impact of all the major threats. †¢ Exploit any highly rated opportunity for enhancing non-profit performance. Be strictly practical and relevant to the precise strategic situation of th e particular non-profit organization, and hopefully be †¢ Imaginative in the sense of being able to engage staff in implementation, and stand out among similar non-profit organizations in some way, and not be a pale imitation of what everyone else is doing, so as to strengthen the community standing of the organization and its non-profit mission. The following are some of the strategic contexts for non-profit organizations. (i) Governorship The not-for-profit organizations are not governed by organic law (constitutions).Top management teams are empowered by the corporate charter to engage in strategy implementation. A direct link between strategy formulation and implementation and the active involvement of all relevant parties throughout the process is deemed to be essential to effective private sector policy making. (ii) Openness to External Environment Not-for-profit organizations even though open to the external environment, the chief executives or board directors may ignore contributions into policy formulation and implementation processes from the various stakeholders.Failure to consider such contributions does not necessarily put their careers into risk, neither the legitimacy nor the credibility of the organization. (iii)Clearly defined goals Not-for-profit organizations generally operate within the framework of a limited number of relatively stable goals such as growth, profitability or market share. As (Peters & Waterman, 1982) noted, the top managements of more effective organizations appear to focus their attention on a limited set of clearly defined objectives. (iv) Cultural orientation Strategy formulation is largely affected by culture in non-profit organizations.Informal processes are used; for example an outstanding performer awarded a bonus in a not-for-profit organization is received well and does not attract bickering from other staff. (v) Human Resource Strategies In non-profit organizations, the personnel system is not based on merit. Employment, reward and advancement are done haphazardly thus creating a dependency relationship between the junior and senior staff. (vi) Separation of functional authority Not-for-profit organizations do not have a separation of functional authority like in the public sector.The organizations may be run by the directors who have founded them. The directors make day to day decisions and could even head departments in the organization. (vii) Marketing Strategies for non profit organization †¢ Website platform. †¢ Social media †¢ Brand enthusiasm †¢ Newsletters †¢ Creative Viral Programs †¢ Monitring. REFERENCES Peters, T. J. , & Waterman, R. H. (1982). In Search of Excellence. New York: Harper & Row. Stevens, J. M. , & McGowan, J. R. (1983). Managerial Strategies in Municipal government Organizations. Academy of Management Journal.

Should governments be allowed to use cameras to give tickets to those Research Paper

Should governments be allowed to use cameras to give tickets to those who run red lights - Research Paper Example It is one good way to avoid controversy and disputes, especially with fines becoming quite hefty. People who live in civilized society need to comply with its laws. By agreeing to do so, it is incumbent upon citizens to obey traffic laws because this is all part of the social contract. Its aim is to impose order; otherwise, societies can become chaotic when laws are disregarded. This social contract implies the surrender of certain freedoms in order to be governed. The ability to strictly enforce the laws, such as those on taxation, is an example of the social contract features (Krugman 1) for society to function in a decent manner. This means all people should comply to all laws and nobody is exempted from compliance. The key players are those local governments and its citizens, with the issue being compliance with the social contract. The expectations are a good citizen will avoid violating traffic laws and the government hopes to raise some revenues. When drivers are aware that cameras are installed at intersections, they are more likely to drive a bit carefully and less pron e to beat a red light (Schlundt, Warren & Miller 77); it is a good way to reduce unintentional injuries, similar to wearing helmets or putting on seat belts for safety. Krugman, Paul. "The Social Contract." The New York Times, p. A35. 22 Sept. 2011. Web. 27 Sept. 2011. Schlundt, David G., Warren, Rueben C. And Stephania Miller. "Reducing Unintentional Injuries on the Nations Highways: a Literature Review." Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved 15.1 (February 2004): 76-98.

Development attraction & retainment of employees Essay

Development attraction & retainment of employees - Essay Example There are situations where employees discuss their working conditions in the social media, and in such a situation the fall is usually on the employee who can not do anything to the employee (Jackson 2011). Many organizations find it a challenge developing a strategy that supports effectual talent acquisition; and this is overlooked mostly because most of the resources that are to be used for this are put into other things that are said to be ‘more important’. However, human resource planning is fundamental to the proficient management and prolonged success of a business, organization or even starting up companies. Often, many organizational administrators, due to circumstances overlook how resources are managed which leads to mismanaged top rank departments. Poor human resource management has both immediate and long term consequences on how the organization functions, policies of employee recruitment and management, and most importantly organizations profitability. More over, the one that has the greatest impact on an organization is employee development, attraction and retaining them; the heart of any organization are the employees and they also determine how successful it will be. When employees are denied some or all the required resources it creates poor working conditions not to mention the environment; moreover, an ineffectual and inadequately functioning department reflects the general condition of dealings in that particular organization and that it is not in any good condition to compete in the market. It also shows that; there isn’t any coordination or communication, poor decision making and grave blunders between the departments and the managerial sector (Dutta 2013). Significantly, in such a situation employee training and development strategies are improperly budgeted for and chances for recruiting or even attracting new employees are eliminated; additionally, the general goals and objectives of the organization are not met. The similar attitude of the high management and the human resources department quickly spreads across all the other departments and employee pecking orders; it affects the work ethics, causes personality conflicts and systematically eliminates team work (Sylvia 2013). Employees lack motivation and they do not put much of their skills and capabilities in the organization. Some employees are at their worst in negative working environments; and in cases where they are not motivated, lack of inducement and acknowledgment they automatically end up performing poorly and work output is of low quality. Employee recruitment and selection is an incessant sequence; and this mostly influenced by organization’s need for business growth, expansion strategies and requirements to complete or start off certain projects or assignments. In an organization that is mismanaged, human resources personnel with an apathetic outlook on things, poor or lack of communication with the administrators are not in any situation to address their requirements in the aspect of labor force (Jackson 2009). As a result, open vacancies and employment postings remain vacant; and in cases whe

Services Marketing - Bachelor of Business Essay

Services Marketing - Bachelor of Business - Essay Example Consequently, a problem of identification, classification, and evaluation of service and goods components of a product with further individualized development of a marketing campaign emerges. A number of studies have been conducted in this area of marketing; however, the field is still relatively new and is more relevant, considering the global market tendency, then ever (Lovelock, C., & Wirtz, J. 2004). In order to develop marketing strategies and promotion with planning in particular, the product must be categorized in the first place. Product can be defined as anything offered in a market that might satisfy a want or a need and is further subdivided into two categories: services and goods. The major difference between the two is tangibility: while a good is a material product one can tough and feel, service is intangible and is usually consumed during the production process. As previously stated in the introduction, a global market shift to complete service solutions results in emergence of mixed products, that have characteristics of both goods and services. ... orization can be brought down to the issue of whether a product has more good or service features and thus can be placed on a continuum of good or service dominant products (Lovelock, C., Patterson, P.G., & Walker, R.H. 2001). To illustrate, consider the two service industries: nursing and auto repair industry. While nursing has dominating service elements and can be regarded as a highly service dominant product, auto repair industry has dominant good characteristics as the issue of tangibility rises and thus is considered to be a good dominant product. Consequently, a marketing strategy that distinguishes between elements of goods and services in a product sees a product from a customer's point of view and backwards: seeks a product that would satisfy complete customer needs. Service Dominant and Good Dominant Products: Management Implications Product classification into good and service dominant products has similar implications for both management and marketing. The categorization in a need to imply a separate set of plans to good and service elements of a single product. Consequently, marketing and management approaches differ not only between two, three, or more products, but also between the aspects within a single product. Thus, the approaches are individualized, become more specific fore each product and more complex if to consider an organization as a whole (McColl-Kennedy, J.R. 2003). On the other side of the fence, such categorization offers new opportunities for management of service and good dominated products. Doris Van Doren, Jane Durney, and Colleen Darby when considering the issue of service line management as a strategic tool for generic services, discuss managerial approaches used in health care institutions (1993). While the majority of

Explain how migration experiences shape gender relations among Essay

Explain how migration experiences shape gender relations among migrants - Essay Example In the context of social relations, gender is not a replacement of the term sex but rather a collective description of sexual differences that do not concern biological determinism (Wright, 2011). Gender relations are the rules of interaction and participation in society of men and women that have been generally accepted as appropriate within society and social roles as well as the division of labour (Chant, 2007). These rules differ in nature and extent depending on the culture of the persons concerned. Gender is therefore in this context perceived as an organising principle due to the socio-cultural attachment that the society accredits the participants of the particular gender. Argument The main bodies of literature on the subject of migration have a common trend that is geared toward the feminization of migration motivated by concepts such as single female breadwinners, single female breadwinners as well as low skilled women from urban backgrounds (Momsen, 2010). The issue of gen der violence motivated migration has seen women flee to areas of friendlier societal values and attributes. Migration serves to pollute in various ways the properly constructed social relations by introducing different roles motivated by the different cultures and social origins. It also causes an imbalance in the composition of society reducing the number of individuals available to perform a particular allocated social role (Momsen, 2010). Most of the migrants result to moving in response to socio-economic and political pressures and incentives. These pressures and incentives are motivated by inequalities in the countries concerned that create a need for or a promise of money or a better life. As such migration is mostly voluntary and in other cases involuntary if the migration is as a result of trafficking and response to political instability, natural disaster or armed conflict. It is still not clear as to who on behalf of the family makes the decision to migrate to different co untries. The interaction between the family hierarchies and the decision to migrate is a highly interactive relationship that determines where the family migrates to and for how long (Bouta, Frerks & Bannon, 2004). In other cases forced migration has nothing to do with the family relations. An English boy who flees his home to avoid harassment and sexual abuse or a Somali girl who crosses the border at night due to the hostility in their country do not have the time to consider the strictures of family attachments and relations. In cases of political and social hostilities such as the case of the Somali migrants the women suffer immensely through the migration journey from the harsh conditions of little food and water and extreme temperatures(Bouta, Frerks, & Bannon, 2004). The interaction with the potentially dangerous and harmful conditions as well as the use of false identification documents leads to imprisonment of the women and children or restriction to refugee camps that have extremely poor social arrangements. Further the proportion of women and children who are not recruited and used as soldiers are left to endure multiple rapes and associated injuries and infections incurred during war (Afshar & Eade, 2005). Gender relations are built on the foundation of proper social

Innovation and change - open innovation and strategy Essay - 4

Innovation and change - open innovation and strategy - Essay Example More importantly, it is realized that innovation is normally a very expensive process for most organizations hence it really requires that its success be effectively determined in order to justify the financial allocation on the process. Most importantly, the present business environment mostly relies on innovation as the engine through which success and positive change can be realized in the organization. Any innovation process in the organization is normally intended to achieve the basic goals of the organization which include revenue growth, customer satisfaction and profit maximization. These fundamental metrics are therefore the core factors that any model for the measurement of innovation performance should focus upon. However, it must be realized that these success metrics can normally be influenced by other factors other than innovation. In this regard, it is much important to draw the line between the successes realized as a result of innovation from other influencing factors. Like in the overall business growth, measuring innovation performance is never limited to the tangible goals realized in the organization. Quite a number of intangible factors normally indicate the success or failure of a given innovation process in the organization. In measuring the performance or success of innovation in the organization, the success metrics are weighed against the inputs towards the innovation process. Inputs in this regard are normally both tangible and intangible. Tangible inputs include the financial resources needed in the process and the quantifiable adjustments done in the organization as a result of the innovation process. On the other hand, intangible inputs include staff-behavior adjustments and increased attention in the organization in order to successfully enhance the innovation process (Shehabuddeen, 2007). The simplest generic model in the measurement of innovation can focus on the opportunity costs of the innovation process. In this process,

Organisational Design and Technology Case Study

Organisational Design and Technology - Case Study Example Then the current issues faced by the organization will follow with an internal as well as an external perspective. The research is based on primary as well as secondary data. But the process began with exploratory research to define the problem, descriptive research to better describe the aspects for further explanations, implementing the findings and then analyzing plus reporting the research findings. This research method was a survey of the organization. The major advantage is its flexibility. But it has limitations such as source reliability can be a problem since it is not necessary that the information obtained is correct and at times there is no way to check its reliability. British Petroleum or most commonly known to be as BP is one of the largest energy companies. They provide their customers with fuel for transportation, energy for heat and light, retail services and petrochemical products. This company produces an Annual report at the end of every year. It is a huge organization and has a formal structure. They are a public ltd company with their shares floated on the stock exchange. The company boasts of more than 97000 workers who have managed to produce a turnover of $266 billion in the yr 2006. They have 18 refineries and active exploration in 26 countries. The company has 6 core brands namely: Castrol, BP, ARCO, ARAL, am/pm, and Wild Bean Caf. About BP BP has transformed from a local oil company into a global organization working in 100 countries across six continents. The expedition to look for oil began in 1901 and the company was founded by Mr. William D'Arcy in 1908. The company boasts of a remarkable 103 year journey. Purpose: The purpose of the business is to find, produce and market energy resources that satisfy the basic needs of people around the world. They also aim for fuel progress that will lead to economic growth and to invest in a sustainable environment. Organizational Structure: The structure of BP is divided into 3 segments or departments to enable effective management and success of the organization. 1. Exploration and Production: This covers the oil and natural gas exploration. The management of crude oil and natural gas pipelines plus the processing and exportation in included. The company is currently exploring in 25 countries. 2. Refining and Marketing: This segment is responsible for the supply, refining, trading, marketing and transportation of crude oil and petroleum products to wholesalers and retailers. They market their products in more than 100 countries. The company owns 18 refineries out of which five are in USA, seven in Europe and the rest are situated in different countries around the globe. Marketing focuses on three business areas; retail, lubricants and business to business marketing and they market a range of refined oil around the world. 3. Gas, power and renewables: The gas and power business was introduced in 1999 and renewables were added in 2002. This segment has three key aims to follow: to increase the value of their natural gas products, to increase the value of their natural gas liquids (ethane, propane, butane and pentane) and to build a profitable business of renewables. They market the

Framing Decisions Essay Example for Free

Framing Decisions Essay Millhouse on his situation came up with his conclusion upon relying on the structure contained by how the selling was presented to him. No matter how, it is possible that Millhouse had been into a great deal of confusion when he was deciding. It was present in his mind that the company is in need of that supplementary part and is in search of materials that are of good quality. And that this seller has been instinctively conscious of the probable framing Millhouse could have in mind. At the same time, this seller has this skill to do sales talk and persuading a customer was indeed an easy thing on his part. He was capable to handle the situation. A good offer from the salesman was initiated and the selling price was specified: less than 40 cents a day just like the price of a soda. It was presented positively that at the end, the company would be satisfied by a high service utility by just spending likely of only a soda a day. The soda became the entity of assessment and it helped Millhouse comprehend the gains more gamely than the losses. He was also glad that he was not alone to see the benefits of purchasing these goods. He ended up deciding with this framework to buy them because he was swept away by the promises of the benefits presented by the salesman. In looking on the alternative sense, what if Millhouse thought of looking out for better material possible? What if he conducted first price comparison of same material? What if he made calculations in the aggregate expenditure upon purchasing them and rather compares it with the benefits it can give and or with some? The alternative frame could have come up with other results depending on how an individual reacts on a certain presentation of a problem. Factors affecting the alternative framework greatly molds our way of decision making. Also, group decisions may be at variance thoroughly from a one person decision in provisions of endings and/or procedures. So, it states clearly that one can strongly influence the other and by that, moral considerations are being deserted for one’s own good. References Framing. February 05, 2008 retrieved from http://framing. behaviouralfinance. net/

The Work Life Management Social Work Essay

The Work Life Management Social Work Essay In today fast-paced society, finding a perfect balance between work and daily living is a very challenging task that every worker must face. Particularly, it is most affected to families lives, as some couples may prefer having more children, yet cannot see how they would afford to working lesser or stop working in order to look after their kids; while some other families satisfy with the number of kids they have, but still prefer working more to support their life styles. This typical problem somehow raises difficulty to the government in a sense that if parents could not achieve their desired work-life balance, it could affect their welfare and so directly impacts on the development of the country as a whole. As a matter of fact, it is said there is no such thing called perfectionism in this world. Even so, Work life balance is still very important for the healthiness of everyone employees and employers, so as for the good sake of the organization; presently it has also received attention from researchers, governments, management teams and employee representatives (Pocock, Van Wanrooy, Strazzari Bridge, 2001; Russel Bowman, 2000). In fact, most of us have all heard the term and simply complain that we do not have enough of it in our lives; so what is work-life balance, exactly? According to Kathleen Gerson, Sociologist, young people are searching for new ways to define Work-life balance that do not force them to choose between spending time with their children and earning an income. Yet, it is generally believed that parents should make more time to support their kids both economically and emotionally, as well as sharing labor equally, at the same time. Indeed, Work-life balance is not simply about working less or starting a family; it is also about learning how to truly liv e and enjoy our lives. In this paper, I would like to address the importance of work-life balance in the workplace; also, the challenges and solutions upon work-life balance. II. Body 2. a. Benefits Work-life balance describes an individuals work and personal life. It tries to prioritize between work (career and ambition) and life styles (health, pleasure, leisure, family and spiritual meditation), so that people can maintain their leisure times with families and friends, and at the same time improving their potential performance at work. On that account, three main benefits are given to both employers and employees when organizations agree to adopt Work-life balance; firstly, embracing Work-Life balance helps attracting and retaining top talent staffs. Otherwise, negatively changing work environment like increasing working hours or lack of support and guidance from new employers are likely to force them to leave the place. Due to the fact that Work-life balance is compulsory toward the growth of company, The Yamaha Group, for example, is known to actively cooperate with labor for many years in its efforts to promote Work-life balance shortening total work hours and providing s upport for both work and family. The company then started introducing employee benefit programs and systems ahead of statutory requirements. Besides, The Yamaha also introduced childcare leave followed by a system of nursing care leave, hopefully eliminating the negative outside forces of their staffs while working for the company ( Initiatives for a Better Work-Life Balance , 2011). Secondly, work-life initiatives helps employees to reducing absenteeism, health costs, and stress even though they may have some distractions by family issues at work; it is known that people who are free of worry about what is going on at home can be more productive at work. According to the Australian data from the 2010 National Work/Life Benchmarking Study (Barbara Holmes, Work/life Balance International) found that thirty-seven percent (37%) stated that their work-life balancing strategy contributed to a reduction in absenteeism, while seventy-nine percent (79%) reported a positive impact on work productivity. Thirdly, work-life balance also allows changes in working flexibility. New research from Families and Work Institute (FWI) has found out that employers and employees benefit, when both partner in finding flexible ways to work. Working flexibly means due to shortages of talent and skills, many knowledge workers have the bargaining power to negotiate their working conditions, including working hours preferences and space available, as long as they can ensure the job will be done. That is to say, working flexibly can not only help employees to manage their work and personal responsibilities, but it can also enhance an employees effectiveness on the job, and thus benefiting employers as much as employees themselves. b. Challenges We live in stressful times, and each of us has to deal with stress everyday. In a society that filled with conflicting commitments and responsibilities, work-life balance is known to be a predominant issue in the workplace; thus, having better understanding the interface between work and family relation, it directly and indirectly affects the daily living and performance in the workplace. Regardless of above benefits, three major challenges of work-life balance are described here. Firstly, global competition describes the outside forces that bring about the work-life balance tensions. These days, due to the various demand of the national and international workplaces, employment experience is changing to get the jobs within todays business environment, workers need to obtain higher skills to compete with overseas workers, it is somewhat weaken the relationship between work and family life. Also, in this new global trend, in order to decrease the companys cost, most employers are sear ching for lower costs workers, resulting in pushing the wages lower and income insecurity higher for the individual workers. According to A Work-Life balance survey in 2009, it was stated that seventy percent (70%) of more than one thousand and five hundred (1500) respondents said they do not have a healthy work-life balance. Ageing population, secondly, impacts the staffs benefits directly. According to Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Older workers are those men and women who continue their employment after reaching age 50, or who during their fifties or sixties are seeking to re-enter the labor market. Therefore, to stabilize their job in old age, an individual has to work longer hours, thus forgoing personal leisure time as well as neglecting their health, to meet the excessive demands of work and life. In the United States, for example, healthcare does not provide to all citizens. Statistically, Berg disclosed that 15.7 percent out of a population of 46 million is said to have no access to healthcare, because it is mainly covered by their employers and for the expenditures on this healthcare have just rose by 40 percent. Likewise, since their society takes it as a private matter, there is no federal assistance for this child rearing and sickness, causing it to be very expensive for most workers to afford. Additionally, Berg also added that starting from 1997 until today, dual-earner couples has been increasing in US causing them to work by 10 hours per week and thus personal time has been dramatically reduced to an hour or less for men and women respectively. Thirdly, technology is said to have facilitated employees from pressuring and keeping themselves at work more than home; however, the increased technology allows individuals to work anywhere and at anytime. Berg again raises that men nowadays have less time off but working more, which pushing them to face higher levels of intensity at workplace. An increasing in ill health, both mental and physical, and stress then have become troublesome problem in the modern workplace as much for office staff, managers, and even shop floor workers, due to over-work. c. Solutions Since work life balance is rising to the top of many employers and employees consciousness, in today high-tech society, human resource personnel seek alternatives to positively impact the bottom line of their companies improve employee morale, retain employees with valuable company knowledge, and at the same time to keep pace with workplace trends. Â  There is no particular strategy of one size fits all; yet three possible solutions are given to deal with above challenges. To begin with, On-the-Job Training should be provided. Being able to take part in lots of seminars and training might allow employees to challenge themselves in a global market. Besides, it is also enabling them to learn how to better manage their workloads, eliminate unproductive work habits, get enough exercise and bargain for more flexible work conditions, which meet their needs. On top of that, it is important for line manager to be aware of overwork, because only managers are able to manage the error rates, absenteeism and stress-related burnout of their employees, by simply offering employee-assistance programs. Moreover, a manager should also guide them on how to prioritize their works in case lower level workers do not have related-knowledge; otherwise workload and stress are likely to exist amongst them. Next, both men and women in ageing society mainly like in US, are found to be very crucial for the development of organization in terms of the knowledge they have, the role they can play in mentoring or coaching younger colleagues, and for the experiences they offer; so organization should consider creating strains on retirement pension budgets and education on retirement healthcare, prompting governments to encourage older employees to remain in the workplace with flexible time contracts. Otherwise, those young talented staffs will urge to retire more and enjoy early retirement stage, while other older and experiential senior workers insisting on retirement due to the need of spending more time with family and friends. Plus, government also plays important role in eliminating age discrimination in the workplace either upon promotion or recruitment. According to Margaret Collins from Bloomberg.com/news, once they lost their jobs, older workers in the age of 55 years old tend to stay out of work longer about 41 weeks on average in 2010, compared to 35 weeks of those age 25 54 years old. Last but not least, with unlimited access to information and technological advances, it seems to serve both of our personal and business matter at the same time, faster than expected. However, when technology could be accessed everywhere people seem to be busier than they used to; it is suggested that if one is really addicted to web surfing, so to better balance this typical work-life, an individual should limit their working time (checking email, and work on it) and start focusing on family life, while getting some other times for leisure, as well. Besides, it is suggested that all workaholic should adopt the single idea of work will never be finished . It is true that there are some certain people, who try to please everyone (boss, customers, family) by holding multi-tasking at the same time, but they may forget that it could make them less productive and inefficient if they still continue with their workloads. People are not computer, there are times to be productive and times t o be not, so entertainment is a must in this sense, to help them relax or re-focus on their job after a short while. III. Conclusion To sum up, in todays sophisticated life, although money is not everything, people have to work harder to support their infinite demands. Meanwhile, they have to distinguish between working and family time while earning money. So it is the responsibility of all the managerial levels of organizations to ensure that they provide positive working environment for their employees by taking Work-Life Balance into consideration. Employees tend to feel more motivated when they feel appreciated and respected, thus boosting up their morale and productivity levels. In my opinion, efforts should be made to balance personal life and professional life, for the reason that if employees tend to pay more attention on personal life, then professional life will be more disturbed which resulting in losing the job and income. Nonetheless, if employees would give more importance to professional life, it is more likely to affect their nerve causing higher stress levels and thus negatively affecting their wo rk performance.

Challenges Facing The Internationalization Of Chevron Management Essay

Challenges Facing The Internationalization Of Chevron Management Essay Chevron falls among the worlds top leading energy companies. Its headquarters are in San Ramon, California, and it boasts of numerous branches and divisions in many countries worldwide. Its core business is oil and gas, and the drilling and harvesting of the same from oil reservoirs all over the world. Chevron can trace its origins back to 1879, when oil was discovered at Pico Canyon, California. Because of that discovery, the Pacific Coast Oil Company was formed, and it later became Standard Oil Company of California. With the 1984 merged with Gulf Oil Corporation, Standard Oil Company then became Chevron, as it is known today. The merger with Gulf Oil corp. almost doubled Chevrons reserves of oil and gas, and went a long way in the making Chevron the energy giant it is today (Biographiq Business Profile 2008, p.4). However, Chevron was not done yet, and continued to expand its territory through further mergers. In 2001, Chevron merged with The Texas Fuel Company, which was also known as Texaco, of Beaumont, Texas. In 2005, it also acquired the Unocal Corporation, and affirmed its position as a leader in the energy industry. Their natural gas and crude oil reserves had greatly increased all over the world through these acquisitions (Qontro 2008, p.12). In the light of such success in the oil industry, Chevron expanded its influence into other industries like coal, petrochemicals, technology, and power generation. Chevron Mining Inc., a subsidiary company of Chevron, operates three coalmines in Berry, Alabama, McKinley, New Mexico and Wyoming and a mineral mine in Questa, New Mexico in the United States. Chevron Mining Inc. is headquartered in Englewood, Colorado and supplies molybdenum and coal to customers all over the world. In the industry of petrochemicals, Chevron combined with Phillips Petroleum Company, now ConocoPhillips, to form Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC (CPChem, p. 2). CPChem is a leading producer of products like Olefins and Polyolefins, Aromatics, Alpha olefins, and Styrenics. CPChem has 35 manufacturing plants in the United States, Colombia, Brazil, China, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, South Korea, and Belgium and employs over 4500 employees. In the power generation industry, Chevron currently has 13 power-generation facilities in the United States and in Asia that make the use of geothermal, wing and natural gas to produce electricity. The wind-powered facility is only one, and it is located in Casper, Wyoming. It began operations in 2009. In Asia, Chevron facilities are mainly geothermal; two of these are in Indonesia, at the Darajat and Salak fields in West Java. It also has facilities in the Philippines, where it manages steam fields that supply geothermal energy to the Mak-Ban and Tiwi power facilities. Chevron, in light of the evolving global energy industry, also invested in research and technology. It was seeking cleaner solutions, and more affordable and more reliable energy than the solutions the energy industry had to offer. In seeking these solutions, Chevron specialized in bio-fuels and emerging energy applications, and formed the Energy Technology Company, Information Technology Company, and Chevron Technology Ventures to assist it to accomplish its goals. Presently, overall, Chevrons network stretches over 28 countries in six continents in the world. These nations are Angola, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chad, China, Colombia, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Kuwait, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Philippines, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Thailand, Cambodia, Trinidad Tobago, United Kingdom, United States, and Venezuela. Internationalization Strategies Chevron has had to use various strategies to enter into international markets that it has considered lucrative. In some nations, it has used the principle of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to gain favor with prospective nations whose markets it has wanted to explore, or whose resources it has desired to harvest. Angola is one example of a nation in which Chevron penetrated and established roots. Presently, Chevron stands as one of the largest producers of oil in Angola. Chevron discovered considerable reserves of oil and natural gas, thus, in order to be accepted by the Angolans, it committed itself to working closely with the local communities to empower and equip the people with skills and knowledge that they could use to create lasting social development and economic growth. This was shown in the introduction of the Angola Partnership Initiative, which was initiated in 2002. The goal and purpose of this initiative was to help build capacity of government development agencies and nongovernmental organizations, and to assist in alleviate poverty through the development of small and medium sized enterprises. Chevron invested an initial amount of $25 million in this project, and multilateral and national development programs later matched that by $31 million. In healthcare, Chevron committed funds towards the reduction of mortality, especially in women and children. In 2009, combined with several partners, it gave to the Cabinda Tuberculosis Program drugs worth $185,000 as well as consumables and x-ray equipment. According to statistics, the program treated 110 patients, and 73 of these were cured. Between 2008 and 2011, Chevron also boosted the governments efforts in combating malaria by giving $5 million, towards this purpose, to the Global Fund. As at 2009, more than two million individuals and over 70 institutions had benefitted from programs funded by Chevron. These institutions included schools and hospitals. This kind of community development was done not just in Angola, but also in other countries into which Chevrons invested, and it has created good name for Chevron. Unfortunately, other countries were also exploited by Chevron, so that good name did not stick. Joint Ventures Chevron has made several joint ventures with several companies both locally and worldwide that have enabled it to tap into markets that it would not have been able to tap into alone. It involves the joining of assets between two or more companies for a specific goal or task (Vonortas, 1997). The joint ventures that Chevron got into came with several advantages, namely: 1) They enabled it to expand its market coverage. For example, when Chevron merged with Phillips Chemical Company LLC to form CPChem, it gained access to the international market stretch of Phillips Chemical Company. The Phillips Company had establishments and investments in nine countries worldwide. Chevron products were now sold alongside the products of Phillips Chemical Company in those countries. 2) Access to new technologies: In the joint ventures, Chevron and the companies involved came together and combined their technological knowhow and research to come up with a superior product. Both Chevron and the other company owned this product. The objective of this was to make products that were more appealing to customers, as opposed to their own individual products. In the end, both companies got a product that was better received by the public, thus, it increased profits. Chevron and the companies also all benefitted from learning new technology from each other that they did not have before. 3) Reduced costs of production: in the joint ventures, the companies shared the cost of manufacturing, distribution, transport, technology and all other required production components, which ended up being of great benefit to the companies. 4) Spread of risk: the risk of the failure of the project was shared equally by all the companies in the merger. 5) Increased quality of product: the products that came because of the joint ventures were of greater quality. The shared cost of production allowed the companies to spend more on perfecting the products, thus, the quality of the joint venture product was superior. An example of a joint venture that Chevron undertook was the joint venture company called Catchlight Energy LLC- formed by Chevron and Weyerhaeuser Company in 2008; it also formed joint ventures with Star Petroleum Refining Company of Thailand, Petrobas and Venezuelas PDVSA Company, TPAO for Black sea exploration, and many more (Vonortas, 1997). Franchising This is mode of internationalization has been most used by Chevron and all other oil producing and supplying companies. According to Franchisehelp Inc. (1998, p.11), petrol stations have been set up under Chevrons name in uncountable countries all over the world. Having a globally recognized and respected name, chevron franchises have been greatly sort after. This number of franchises has continued to grow steadily, and will continue to grow, as Chevron continues to conquer new global territories. Challenges facing the internationalization of Chevron Chevron, as well as many other oil producers, has had challenges in the area of acquisition of rights to drill for oil in international countries. There are several areas around the world where oil has been discovered, and Chevron has tried to come in and seal the deal for these reservoirs, but has not managed to do so. This is because the host countries have not been willing to give up their oil, even though have not been in a position to harvest it. It has not been easy for countries to give up their oil, which has been considered a national treasure. Chevron has had to give extremely generous compensation packages for the opportunity to drill in these countries. Again, in the countries that Chevron has been given the go ahead to harvest oil, great tension has remained over agreements, mainly due to the large amounts of money that have been involved in getting the rights to drills. Environmental challenges Another challenge that has hindered Chevrons progress in internationalization is the way their operations have affected the environment. A specific case of this was in Ecuador, in the Northern Amazon. In 1964, Texaco, which is currently under Chevron, came to the area and began prospecting for oil. It was the first company to come to the area and discover large quantities of oil that could be harvested commercially. Texaco, working in a joint venture with Petroecuador, commenced operations in the area. According to a 1993 report called Crudo Amazà ³nico, by an environmental lawyer by the name of Judith Kimerling (1993, p.90), Texaco had dumped more than 19 billion gallons of toxic waste in the area between 1972 and 1992. It was also responsible for the spilling of a further 16.8 million gallons of crude oil into the forest from the main pipe. This dumping and spilling of oil was said to have contaminated the soil and seeped into the ground water reservoirs, and subsequently, it affe cted the health of the people of that region greatly. Statistics shown that cancer rates went up. Another study by the International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health attributed a high abortion rate in the people living in near the contaminated streams to the spillage. This has served to discourage many countries from allowing Chevron to operate in them (Rubovits 1991, p.30). In Chevrons operations in Nigeria, Prince Gabriel B. Atsepoyi laments at the way the Nigerians expected so much from Chevron in terms of electricity, schools, and clean water, which was its duty (Atsepoyi Sep 2010, p.9). Instead, since 1963, Chevron came and exploited the resources of crude oil, and caused daily spills and widespread pollution from waste. In all of this, the people did not receive any benefits. Atsepoyi also stated in his book Chevron and Ethics (Atsepoyi 2010, p.41), how Chevron never used to pay the Nigerian workers. Another challenge that Chevron has come across is the issue of government regulations. Governments of some countries, having set stringent conditions concerning air pollution, demanded a superior grade or quality of the gasoline produced. Gasoline that was more refined meant higher production costs for Chevron in that country. Another thing that the government controlled and still controls is the pricing of the gasoline or petroleum products. It would normally control this through taxes. When taxes were high, it meant that Chevron would not make as much sales as it would have wanted. One additional challenge was issues with workers. In the countries that Chevron penetrated, it would set up large facilities that required a lot of labor. The governments of these nations required of Chevron that majority of its employees are of the indigenous ethnicity of the country in question. Chevron would have to educate them and train them sufficiently so that they could work in the facilities. It proved to be quite a challenge to work with these people if the country in question did not previously speak English. Conclusion There were also always those nations whose people considered the giving of drilling rights to foreigners as wrong. In these countries, they felt that the wealth of the country should remain in the hands of the ethnic people of that country. Normally these countries had been colonized. Because of the exploitation and torture that they had experienced during that time, they formed a dislike and even hate for westerners. Thus, they were not willing to allow them to manage their resources. Having foreigners come to take over their resources, especially those similar to their colonizers, also worried them of being taken advantage of again. In considering all things ethically, Chevron did well in several countries like Angola, investing heavily in the wellbeing of the men, women, and children of that country, in all areas. One could argue that Chevron did this kind of community investment only in the countries where it had the largest financial interests. This argument seemed to be justified because the contrast between the countries that it supported financially and others that it abandoned like Ecuador. It left the Ecuadorian people suffering serious medical complications because of the spills and the toxic waste they dumped.

Dracula as the Persecuted Outsider in Bram Stokers Dracula Essay

Dracula as the Persecuted Outsider in Bram Stoker's Dracula Bram Stoker's Dracula is highly acclaimed and has received many different interpretations which deal with complex symbolisms and metaphors. These interpretations often require a great deal of knowledge in psychology, political science, anthropology, and other non-literary disciplines. These interpretations may be valid, as they are related to the disciplines on which their arguments are based, but the true power of the novel is due to a very simple theme that lies beneath the other, more convoluted interpretations. This theme is the universal concept of identity: us versus them. This criticism sets aside outside disciplines and focuses on the literary motif of identity. John Allen Stevenson gives an in-depth criticism of this work based mostly on anthropological ideas, but he states that Dracula is a representation of "fears that are more universal than a specific focus on the Victorian background would allow" (141). He brings up the concept of "universal" ideas but fails to pursue t hem on a universal scale. The truly universal theme involves the perception that Dracula is a monster. But Dracula is not a monster - he is simply a persecuted outsider. In this interpretation, it is important to seperate the actions of the characters from what those actions represent in relation to the theme of identity. Count Dracula is shown to be a vampire - a monster who engages in horrific, violent acts, but these acts of violence are merely Stoker's vehicle for presenting the difference between the Count and the other characters. His vampirish actions are not to be taken literally. "Dracula" is not a work of fantasy - it is primarily a realistic novel with one fantastic charact... ...safe once Dracula left, but the pursuit and slaying of him represents society's wish to remove him entirely from their minds. The killing of Dracula is not literal--he is only dead to society because they refuse to acknowledge his right to be different. Thus, Dracula is the victim of this story, not the ones society felt he victimized. Works Cited Arata, Stephen D. "The Occidental Tourist: Dracula and the Anxiety of Reverse Colonization." Victorian Studies 33.4 (Sum. 1990) : 621-45. Stevenson, John Allen. "A Vampire in the Mirror: The Sexuality of Dracula." PMLA 103 (1988) : 139-49. Stoker, Bram. Dracula. 1897. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1992. Wasson, Richard. "The Politics of Dracula." English Literature in Transition 9 (1966) : 24-27. Zanger, Jules. "A Sympathetic Vibration: Dracula and the Jews." English Literature in Transition 34 (1991) : 33-44.

Georg Cantor :: essays research papers

Georg Cantor I. Georg Cantor Georg Cantor founded set theory and introduced the concept of infinite numbers with his discovery of cardinal numbers. He also advanced the study of trigonometric series and was the first to prove the nondenumerability of the real numbers. Georg Ferdinand Ludwig Philipp Cantor was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, on March 3, 1845. His family stayed in Russia for eleven years until the father's sickly health forced them to move to the more acceptable environment of Frankfurt, Germany, the place where Georg would spend the rest of his life. Georg excelled in mathematics. His father saw this gift and tried to push his son into the more profitable but less challenging field of engineering. Georg was not at all happy about this idea but he lacked the courage to stand up to his father and relented. However, after several years of training, he became so fed up with the idea that he mustered up the courage to beg his father to become a mathematician. Finally, just before entering college, his father let Georg study mathematics. In 1862, Georg Cantor entered the University of Zurich only to transfer the next year to the University of Berlin after his father's death. At Berlin he studied mathematics, philosophy and physics. There he studied under some of the greatest mathematicians of the day including Kronecker and Weierstrass. After receiving his doctorate in 1867 from Berlin, he was unable to find good employment and was forced to accept a position as an unpaid lecturer and later as an assistant professor at the University of Halle in1869. In 1874, he married and had six children. It was in that same year of 1874 that Cantor published his first paper on the theory of sets. While studying a problem in analysis, he had dug deeply into its foundations, especially sets and infinite sets. What he found baffled him. In a series of papers from 1874 to 1897, he was able to prove that the set of integers had an equal number of members as the set of even numbers, squares, cubes, and roots to equations; that the number of points in a line segment is equal to the number of points in an infinite line, a plane and all mathematical space; and that the number of transcendental numbers, values such as pi(3.14159) and e(2.71828) that can never be the solution to any algebraic equation, were much larger than the number of integers. Before in mathematics, infinity had been a sacred subject. Previously, Gauss had stated that infinity should only be used as a way of speaking and not as a mathematical

Computer software Essay

What were some of the problems with DST Systems’ old software development environment? Some of the problems with the DST Systems’ old software development environment were:  often manual and time-consuming  (AS used a mixture of tools, processes, and source code control system without any repository for code or a standardized developer tool set; different groups within the org. used very different tools for soft ware development)  hard to locate where resources were allocated  the DST struggled to update its most important product, AWD B. How did Scrum development help solve some of those problems? Scrum development helped solve some of these problems by accelerating its software development cycle from 24 months to 6 months and developer productivity increased 20%. What the scrum development pretty much acted like was the coach for the team. This is how the scrum development helped solve some of these problems. Information: Agile development approaches like Scrum is designed to reveal problems, not solve them. The solutions are situational — they take different forms depending on the organizational context. Let’s say we have a software development team that is often late in delivering the final product. They’ve been together for a while and delivered multiple releases but they are almost always late. Management and the team decide to try Scrum hoping that a fresh approach will enable the team to deliver on time. The team dives in defining stories, planning sprints and delivering working software iteratively. Will they deliver the final build on time? If the late deliveries stem from poorly defined business requirements and  lack of business participation, Scrum will not solve the problem. What Scrum will do is highlight the lack of business involvement earlier in the project thus providing an opportunity to fix the problem. If the late deliveries result from optimistic work estimates by the development team, Scrum will not solve that problem either. Sprints will deliver less than planned and alert the team that they need to adjust their estimates for future sprints. They may still deliver the final build later than expected but at least the problem will be well publicized in advance. If the late deliveries are caused by lack of teamwork and in-fighting amongst the team members, those behaviours will likely continue. The frequent deliveries mandated by Scrum may draw attention to these issues but won’t solve them. The critical concept behind Scrum, the agile development approaches is continuous improvement — identifying problems and solving them — continuously. The effort will never be perfect — technology changes too fast for that — but the team will continuously adjust and improve. C. What other adjustments did DST make to be able to use Scrum more effectively in its software projects? What management, organization, and technology issues had to be addressed? The other adjustments DST was able to make to use Scrum more effectively in its software projects were by setting up a project evaluation team to identify the right development environment. Another key adjustment was DST’s adoption of CollabNet’s products. This adjustment allowed DST to complete all of their work within the ALM platform. The management issue being addressed was production being slowed down. The organization issue was the lack of organization so processes were breaking down. Finally, the technology issue being addressed was the problem occurring with the software so production was taking a major hit.

Flag of the United States and U.s. Car Maker Essay

1. In your opinion, what were the most important design considerations for BMW when redesigning the Mini for the U.S. car market? As for U.S. car maker, the first place that they should redesign the image and the style of the BMW. As to suit the market, BMW should make the car a little larger; add some modern bits inside of the car. As I know, they highlighted the British theme by adding extras like the flag on the roof, therefore, as for the U.S. car maker, they also can add the extras like American flag on the roof, and even they can design the car cover of the American flag. 2. What would be the most important benefits to design into this car for the targeted market segment(s)? The targeted market segments for Mini are people who are 24-32, young white-collar, urban professionals who owned their â€Å"first car†, which is adventurous, extraverted and car for personal users. As we know the Mini’s target market are people who are 24-32 years old, who just graduate from university or have their first job. Therefore, the social media is very important to them. Company can insert the social app like Twitter and Facebook to and Web Radio to the car, which you can receive the status updates and tune into online radio stations via iphone and to listen to them in Mini. Create a Mini website which let car owner customize their own outfits of the car. 3. What would be the key points of discussion between design and other functional areas within BMW in order to deliver a car with the desired benefits? As my point of view, between design and functional areas, the key points of discussion are cost, environmental problems and ethical issues. In order to deliver a car with the desired benefits, company should consider about the cost of product. Even though the design may increase the sales, but reasonable cost will determined by the management of company. In addition, increasingly people pay attention to the environmental problem, except build a designable car with other functions, company also should take care of the environment, such as the emission issue. As for ethical issue, when find out the small pitfall of a BMW, company should recall it immediately, cannot do like Ford Company’s Pinto case, should assume the responsibility. 4. More broadly, when a car such as the Beetle or Thunderbird is redesigned or given a facelift for the modern car buyer, what are the design pitfalls and concerns, and specifically, what kind of market research should be conducted to ensure that the pitfalls are avoided? When a car such as the Beetle or Thunderbird is redesigned for the modern car buyers, the most concerned issue is safety. Some of the redesigns want to satisfy the demands of consumers, however ignore the safety issues. In my opinion, the Primary research is research that design and conduct by ourselves. Several tools are available to the market researcher—e.g., mail questionnaires, phone surveys, observation, and focus groups. Research will often help us reduce risks associated with a new product, but it cannot take the risk away entirely. It is also important to ascertain whether the research has been complete.

As people grow older, they need to renegotiate their sense of identity and belonging Essay

Everyone has struggled with their identity and belonging during a chapter of their life. There comes a time when our opinions and beliefs begin to differentiate from those around us. During this time, some people may discover where they belong, whereas many others do not. It is not solely one stage of our lives when we are confronted with an identity crisis, but a continuous challenge throughout our lives as we encounter new experiences that will alter our thoughts, emotions and perspective on ourselves. Most of us are following the â€Å"norms†, society expectations but deep down inside, we desire for freedom. Society only gives us a narrow time, a â€Å"window†, between school and marriage to be whomever we want without the judgement of society. This window is the only time that we can have a †good time† like getting drunk, travel, stay out late, do silly things yet nobody would criticise. However, since the window is pretty narrow, many people tends to stretch it so they can fully enjoy themselves. For school-leavers like us, we would like to taste that sense of freedom as soon as possible and as long as possible. Not many of us would actually thinking about settling down at this moment since we are young. Out there in the world, many interesting new things are inviting us to try and take on the challenges. We are like Bubba, young and energetic, new to the world and society doesn’t expect much of us yet. However, human beings are not eternally immutable, we change ourselves, our identity and sense of belonging gradually. There’s certainly a time when we feel so lonely, distanced and disconnected even though there’s a crowd of people around, people that we know. That’s when we should think to ourselves, who am I really and where do I belong? After enjoying freedom for so long, we could be bored and lost because we are living without a purpose, a plan for the future. We would begin to yearn for a lifelong companionship, fulltime commitment from someone, we can’t stand being alone for the rest of our lives in some vague, unstable relationships that can break at any moment. We need something new and more exciting than what we already experienced. A solitary is an unfulfilling life to us, we want love, affections and devotion so that our lives can be fulfilled. As we grow older, we would stop being immature, selfish and solo as part of our â€Å"growing up†. Though we would like to stretch our â€Å"window†, society does expect us to grow after certain age. We are expected to reproduce ourselves by having a family, taking up the responsibilities, pass on our beliefs to the younger generation. Reproduction is that we can start all over again, that’s why life is a cycle, repetitively, and many would follow. In each and every one of us, the biological urge or clock would start to alarm as we grow older. Desire for a family with children would naturally come for most people, then they would seek to settle down. Nancy had enough of the lay-off, after sixteen years without any assurance, she had renegotiated with herself to discontinue. She wanted to have a family, a stable relationship, since Barney couldn’t give her that, she left and married to start a family life. She was not young any more but it was not too late, at least she realised that the lay-off wasn’t working for her and she found a solution that she was comfortable with. However, there’re a few people who think differently. They are afraid of losing their freedom as they are lost in their own fantasy that they are young and free forever. Marriage certainly limits one’s freedom that to some people, it’s a chain, an imprisonment for life that they don’t ever want to be bind in. They love their liberty even though they are aging, they don’t have a slight idea of changing their lifestyle. They don’t want to grow up even if they are growing old. In society’s eye, they are the odd ones, the ones that defy the â€Å"norms†, the bad omens. Olive is the representative of these people, she detest matrimony and any permanent attachment. However, she ignored reality of her aging and the repetitive of the lay-off was wearing everybody out. The freshness, excitements and funs were gone long ago but she turned a blind eye to it, believing it would last forever. Only if she renegotiate with herself earlier, reality wouldn’t struck her as hard and she would understand why Roo proposed to her. At some point in life, we must reconsider of our sense of identity and belonging so that its suit our situations. We are not ever-changing but we can’t be the same forever, we need to change gradually to adapt to the changing world just like how the Earth revolves around the sun. It spins but we don’t feel it. People change overtime but we don’t really see unless it’s a dramatic change. As we grow older, we encounter more crises which influence our sense of identity and belonging. We would be wiser than before as we learn from our mistakes.

Business Aims and Objectives Essay

Knowing that you are taking a qualification at Bloomsbury Regional Technical College, you have been approached by several friends who would like you to help with the setting up of their businesses. You enjoy business because the subject constantly changes and you can see the relevance of all that you are learning. You can also apply what you are learning to different situations. a. Alice is thinking of setting up a small restaurant in a village two miles from the town centre. The setting is attractive. Her restaurant will only cater for a maximum of 36 customers, for whom she wants to serve gourmet food. b. Perminder wants to create a small charity that locally supports children with cerebral palsy. She represents a network of 30 parents who experience the illness and she wants to make sure that the charity can provide them with many of the resources and experiences they require in order to make their lives more comfortable. 1. You meet both Alice and Perminder for a cup of tea. Explain why organisations need aims and objectives. (P1) Every organisation needs to set aims and objectives to be able to run the business more easily and effectively. Objectives are more like goals, it’s more realistic than aims. Objectives are far more sensible and achievable. Aims are what an organisation wants to achieve. These are long-term plans, probably over next 3 to 5 years. This allows the business to move forward. Objectives set out how the organisation will meet their aims. 2. Describe to Alice and Perminder how they could use their aims and objectives. As you do so, explain the purpose of setting SMART objectives. (P2) An obvious objective for Alice and Perminder is to achieve goals. Precise, measurable targets will help you do this. You will have to concentrate on doing your best as you achieve one goal at a time. You should set these goals using SMART objectives. * Specific- You needs a clear  statement about what will do. Usually, it is quantified, which means it has a number in it. * Measurable – achievement can be checked. Recording your progress and keeping a record of your completed assessments will enable you to measure your achievements * Achievable – you can attain your target if you work hard. You can do really well if you stretch yourself * Realistic- your target should be sensible so that you stand a chance of achieving it. * Time-constrained – every objective should include a date for achievement or review/ these acts as a warning, as well as a spur if you are falling behind. You either achieve a SMART objective or need a good reason for not doing so. These types of objective are important for managers and employees in a business to measure success in achieving business aims. 3. Produce a mission statement for Alice for her business as well as for Perminder’s charity, alongside a series of objectives. Many large organisations have a mission statement that briefly identifies the main purpose of the business and how it sees itself. Alice: Alice wants to open a small restaurant in a village two miles from the town centre. The setting is attractive. Her restaurant will only cater for a maximum of 36 customers, for whom she wants to serve gourmet food. This is known as a privately owned business and will focus on customers, employees. The cost of their products or how they give values for money. Sainsbury’s mission statement is: â€Å"Our mission is to be the consumer’s first choice for food, delivering products of outstanding quality and great service at a competitive cost through working ‘faster, simpler and together.† Alice’s Mission Statement: ‘We take pride in working together to providing the best quality food for our customers of outstanding value to delight our customers’. Objectives for Alice: To provide good services and must make a profit to survive, to make sure that you only break even or make a loss for a very short time or the business can fail. Perminder: Perminder wants to create a small charity that locally supports children with cerebral palsy. She represents a network of 30 parents who experience the illness and she wants to make sure that the charity can provide them with many of the resources and experiences they require in order to make their lives more comfortable. This is known as Not- For-Profit and voluntary organisations and focus on the services they provide, the causes they support their aims in helping those in need. For example the mission of the Oxfam International is an ‘international group of independent non-governmental organizations dedicated to fighting poverty and related injustice around the world’. ‘ Perminder’s Mission Statement: ‘Our mission is to support children with cerebral palsy. So that is no longer causing a disability and premature death to children. Objectives for Perminder: To raise money that is used to support children. To aim to make surplus, after the cost of the business have been deducted, and reinvest this into the business and the services it offers.

Defines Atom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Defines Atom - Essay Example Even the books read by students are comprised of atoms. If everything in the world could be divided into the smallest piece possible, it would all look like an atom. It would be very difficult to place atoms in one category of life as they are everywhere and a part of everything around us. The knowledge of atoms has been used in both good and bad things in life. For example, some scientists have used this knowledge to create dangerous weapons such as the atomic bomb. However, the world has tried to reduce the dangers of such weapons by maintaining peace and certain programs that involve countries destroying their nuclear weapons. As mentioned above, several things around us can be broken down to atoms and they are many benefits associated with the knowledge of atoms. In fact, we cannot do anything that does not involve us interacting with elements that contain atoms. Like different elements around us, human bodies have their own equivalent to an atom. Humans are made up of organ syst ems such as the system that allows us to breathe, the system that allows blood to move all over our bodies and the system that allows us to think and respond to things around us. ... However, another interesting factor is that cells themselves are also similar to elements in the sense that they can be divided into macromolecules, which can be divided into molecules. And guess what†¦ these molecules can also be divided into atoms. This has been described by scientists as the organization of life. In more precise terms, a cell can be defined as the basic functional, biological and structural unit of organisms that are classified as living. A cell is often defined as the building block to every living organism. Biologically, the cells have been defined by a scientific theory known as the cell theory. This approach illustrates the properties and structural components of a cell. There are three main components in the cell theory and these include: living organisms of comprise of 1 or more cells; fell on derived from living pre-existing cell and the cell is the most basic functional, organizational and structural unit of all oral living organisms. In addition, cel ls can also be divided according to the living organism into eukaryotes or prokaryotes. These each have different morphological features including the intracellular components. The atoms in elements can be differentiated by their different nuclear and electronic properties which influence the reactions and characteristics of each element. Human cells on the other hand, are different morphologically in order to suite their particular purposes. Examples of cells include cardio myocytes, neurons, hepatocytes and pneumocytes which all have specific functions in different organs. As mentioned above, different cells can be different in their intracellular

International Law Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

International Law - Coursework Example They allege that George W. Bush committed war crimes in October 2008 through the act of authorizing attacks by U.S. military units from Iraq into Syria. The arrest warrant charges George W. Bush with responsibility for the attacks that allegedly resulted in the deaths of eight villagers, four of them children of the refugee parents Mr. and Mrs. Yehia Dajani. This document is an indictment for the arrest of the former President of the United States George W. Bush upon the grounds of war crimes and the gross violation of human rights. The former President is legally liable for these crimes and should, therefore, face trial. Former American President Bush is hereby deemed to be morally as well as legally responsible for the deaths of innocent men, women, and children, in a country that was not officially at war with the United States at the time of these deaths, namely Syria. These attacks resulted in the deaths of eight innocent people and drove their families towards becoming homeless refugees. Four children died in these attacks and justice should be served for the sake of their parents, Mr. and Mrs. Yehia Dajani. It is alleged here that the death of innocent people in Syria was directly caused by the orders of the former President George W. Bush to American armed forces whilst he held that position in 2008. President Bush ordered missile strikes against alleged terrorist targets in Syria without any regard for the possibility of killing innocent men, women, and children when a state of war did not exist between his country and Syria. Due to his express orders, Mr. and Mrs. Yehia Dajani witnessed the deaths of their four children. Former President Bush destroyed their family and took away their future. The American missile attacks resulted in the cold-blooded murder of Syrian children, and were unjustified as well as being unnecessary deaths.  

Controversial Artwork Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Controversial Artwork - Essay Example Chris Ofili’s Holy Virgin Mary caught national attention in 1999 when it was exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum of Art because it portrayed a queer image of a woman incorporating sexually explicit cutouts covered with elephant dung (http://www.your3dsource.com). The title and the artwork itself, enraged the roman Catholic church and political figures who have high regard of the virgin Mary so that the exhibit was put to a halt and petitions were made between the officials and museum, with the latter winning its rights for its opening as well as its funding. With the images included in the picture of a woman who cannot be acceptable as the Virgin Mary, it is considered defamation in the eyes of the religious people. The word ‘holy’ refers to one who is pure and clean, yet the painting mockingly portrayed its subject who was claimed as holy in its title, by surrounding it with things that symbolized filth like the elephant dung and images of buttocks. Art is indeed an expression of one’s self and expressing one’s self is a right to respect however, those who claim this right should also consider the rights of those whom they hurt because of their

INFORMATION RETRIEVAL THROUGH MULTI AGENT SYSTEM WITH DATA MINING Research Paper

INFORMATION RETRIEVAL THROUGH MULTI AGENT SYSTEM WITH DATA MINING - Research Paper Example a practically implemented research model for the information retrieval using Multi-Agent System with Data Mining technique in a Cloud Computing environment. The paper will undertake a review of the existing literature available on this arena and develop an empirical model showing real time data flow through MAS with data mining after retrieval of meaningful information from data warehouse present in a cloud computing environment. In the end, paper will provide recommendations for the organizations for effective implementation and use. Cloud Computing is a general term that refers to anything that â€Å"involves delivering hosted services over the Internet. Broadly it is characterized into three categories, namely: Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS)† (‘CloudComputing’, 2007). In the present age and knowledge economy, discovering new knowledge and retrieving information from a data center from a cloud environment is a difficult aspect. The concept of cloud computing does not provide facilities for the knowledge discovery and information retrieval. Furthermore, it is required that the so-called knowledge discovery should be in harmony with the structure, schema and architecture of that knowledge. The emerging knowledge cloud is considered insufficient to retrieve information effectively and thus, Chang, Yang and Luo (2011) undertook a study to propose "an ontology-based agent generation framework for information retrieval in a flexible, transparent and easy way on cloud environment† (p.1135). They proposed a framework for information retrieval in which the user will submit "a flat-test based† request to retrieve â€Å"information on a cloud environment†, the request will be â€Å"deduced by a Reasoning Agent automatically that is accord ing to a predefined ontology and a reasoning rule and then translated to a Mobile Information Retrieving Agent Description File (MIRADF) that is formed in a proposed

Oil and gas correlation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Oil and gas correlation - Essay Example However, the US domestic production of gas had just picked up and was at the boom phase rendering gas prices low. This means that the global prices of gas were significantly affected downwards as the oil demand plummeted hence the increased price disparity between the two commodities. It is also evident that from 1991, the import of oil by US had reduced but this still represented approximately 40% of the consumption by US against a paltry 5% of gas consumption by the US (YeÃŒ pez-Garcia, Rigoberto , and Julie 86). This is an evident case to support the observed negative correlation. It is also worth to note that the global oil prices are volatile in regard to world market trends, Middle East socio-economic issues and OPEC whims. The increasing technological advancement and campaign for more efficient machines is slowly increasing the use of gas. This means that gas fuel consumption trend will begin to gain influence in the value of dollar hence closing the demand gap it has with the oil. It is also possible that increased exhaustion of gas wells by the US will significantly push the gas prices up as there will be a plan to import more and reserve the domestic stock. YeÃŒ pez-Garcia, Rigoberto A, and Julie Dana. Mitigating Vulnerability to High and Volatile Oil Prices: Power Sector Experience in Latin America and the Caribbean. Washington, D.C: World Bank, 2012.

Human Resources Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Human Resources Development - Essay Example ny other LSBM or appointed staff member I shall be bound by the decision of that lecturer and/or staff member as well as the terms of the Dishonesty and Plagiarism Policy. Human resources development (HRD) can be considered as one of the essential part of any organisation’s growth. HRD can be described as a framework that assists the workforce of any organisation to develop their personal as well as organisational skills, abilities and knowledge. This procedure provides various opportunities to the workforce of any organisation such as employee training, learning assistance, performance development and management, mentoring and coaching. The HRD procedure assists organisations to develop a superior workforce by providing proper learning opportunities through various training and development plans. This framework also ensures the proper evaluation of the training outcomes to assess the impact of training on the employees (Armstrong and Taylor 2014). Further discussion in the study will evaluate various theoretical aspects and organisational applications of the different approaches of human resources development such as learning, training and eva luation of training procedure. The report will also illustrate the importance of different approaches of human resources development program in the growth and success of any organisation. This study will also explain the role of government in the training and development procedure of any organisation. Finally, it will evaluate the contemporary training programmes designed by the UK government and its efficacy within the organisation. Learning process in any organisation defines the act of gaining new knowledge, skills, behaviour or values through different experiences. Learning also emphasises on reinforcing and modifying the acquired knowledge that enforces changes within the behaviour of the workforces. Learning style depicts the preferred method of an individual in terms of gaining knowledge and approaching learning