Saturday, August 31, 2019

After the Ratification of the Declaration of Independence Essay

After the ratification of the Declaration of Independence, establishing the â€Å"united colonies† as Free and Independent States, the Continental Congress set to work on the task of drawing up a document that would provide a legal framework for that Union, and which would be enforceable as the law of the new land. The Articles were written during the early part of the American Revolution by a committee of the Second Continental Congress of the now independent thirteen sovereign states. The head of the committee, John Dickinson, who had refused to sign he Declaration of Independence, nevertheless adhering to the will of the majority of the members of the Continental Congress, presented a report on the proposed articles to the Congress on July 12, 1776, eight days after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Dickinson initially proposed a strong central government, with control over the western lands, equal representation for the states, and the power to levy taxes. Because of their experience with Great Britain, the 13 states feared a powerful central government. Consequently, they changed Dickinson’s proposed articles rastically before they sent them to all the states for ratification in November 1777. The Continental Congress had been careful to give the states as much independence as possible. The Articles deliberately established a confederation of sovereign states, carefully specifying the limited functions of the federal government. Despite these precautions, several years passed before all the states ratified the articles. The delay resulted from preoccupation with the revolution and from disagreements among the states. These disagreements included quarrels over boundary lines, conflicting ecisions by state courts, differing tariff laws, and trade restrictions between states. The small states wanted equal representation with the large states in Congress, and the large states were afraid they would have to pay an excessive amount of money to support the federal government. In addition, the states disagreed over control of the western territories. The states with no frontier borders wanted the government to control the sale of these territories so that all the states profited. On the other hand, the states bordering the frontier wanted to control as much land as they could. Eventually the states agreed to give control of all western lands to the federal government, paving the way for final ratification of the articles on March 1, 1781, Just seven and a half months before the surrender of Lord Cornwallis and his British Army at Yorktown, October 19, 1781, the victory ended fighting in the War of Independence and virtually assured success to the American cause. Almost the entire war for five long years had been prosecuted by the members of the Second Continental Congress as representatives of a loose federation of states with no resources and reputations. Under the Articles, on paper, the Congress had power to regulate foreign affairs, war, and the postal service and to appoint military officers, control Indian affairs, borrow money, determine the value of coin, and issue bills of credit. In reality, however, the Articles gave the Congress no power to enforce its requests to the states for money or troops, and by the end of 1786 governmental effectiveness had broken down. Nevertheless, some solid accomplishments had been achieved: certain state claims to western lands were settled, and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 established the undamental pattern of evolving government in the territories north of the Ohio River. Equally important, the Confederation provided the new nation with instructive experience in self-government under a written document. In revealing their own weaknesses, the Articles paved the way for the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and the present form of U. S. government. The Articles were in force from March 1, 1781, to March 4, 1789, when the present Constitution of the United States went into effect. During those years the 13 states were struggling to achieve their independent status, and the Articles of Confederation stood them in good stead in the process and exercise of learning self- government. The articles created a loose confederation of independent states that gave limited powers to a central government. The national government would consist of a single house of Congress, where each state would have one vote. Congress had the power to set up a postal department, to estimate the costs of the government and request donations from the states, to raise armed forces, and to control the development of the western territories. With the consent of nine of the thirteen states, Congress ould also coin, borrow, or appropriate money as well as declare war and enter into treaties and alliances with foreign nations. There was no independent executive and no veto of legislation. Judicial proceedings in each state were to be honored by all other states. The federal government had no judicial branch, and the only Judicial authority Congress had was the power to arbitrate disputes between states. Congress was denied the power to levy taxes; the new federal government was financed by donations from the states based on the value of each state’s lands. Any amendment to the articles required the unanimous approval of all 13 states. In attempting to limit the power of the central government, the Second Continental Congress created one without sufficient power to govern effectively, which led to serious national and international problems. The greatest weakness of the federal government under the Articles of Confederation was its inability to regulate trade and levy taxes. Sometimes the states refused to give the government the money it interstate commerce. The government could not pay off the debts it had incurred uring the revolution, including paying soldiers who had fought in the war and citizens who had provided supplies to the cause. Congress could not pass needed measures because they lacked the nine-state majority required to become laws. The states largely ignored Congress, which was powerless to enforce cooperation, and it was therefore unable to carry out its duties. After the Colonial victory in the Revolutionary War, it became obvious to the Founding Fathers that the original attempt would not be equal to the task of providing the equitable law which they sought. Congress could not force the states to adhere to the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1783 ending the American Revolution, which was humiliating to the new government, especially when some states started their own negotiations with foreign countries. In addition, the new nation was unable to defend its borders from British and Spanish encroachment because it could not pay for an army when the states would not contribute the necessary funds. Leaders like Alexander Hamilton of New York and James Madison of Virginia criticized the limits placed on the central government, and General George Washington is said o have complained that the federation was â€Å"little more than a shadow without substance. On February 21, 1787, Congress called for a Constitutional Convention to be held in May to revise the articles. Between May and September, the convention wrote the present Constitution for the United States, which retained some of the features of the Articles of Confederation but gave considerably more power to the federal government. The new Constitution provided for executive and Judicial branches of government, lacking in the Articles, and allowed the government to tax its citizens.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Should Black Men Around the World Be Placed

We have conceptualized the multiplex railway telegraph, which allowed messages to be sent from moving trains to railway stations. We have assisted in leading Thomas A. Edition's research team in the development of the electric light bulb. We constructed a device that allowed machines to be lubricated while they are in operations. We have been some of the most noble kings and queens in history (Michael, PI). We have survived slavery, mass genocides, civil wars, theorized and actual government plots.From slave cuffs to presidential cuffs, the strength and abilities presented by black individuals around he world is astounding. Despite all odd, statistics and stereo types here in the United States and around the globe African Americans continue to prove as a people, no matter the circumstance they have the ability to overcome any issue. Its Just a theory but, in order to protect the male African American populations should black men around the world be placed on the endangered species li st? Although it is clear that African Americans have great success, as with any culture there are great failures.In the United States African American Males make up 13. 5 cities in 2007 where African Americans. Within the subset of African American violence 93. 1 percent of document deaths were males. Between the age ranges of 15 to 24, African American Men have been victims of violent crimes that include, robbery, self destructive acts, simple to aggravated assault, gang violence, and police brutality (AP, POP). Could these issues be connected to the root cause of the extinction of black men around the world? Some believe that African American men are on a self destructive path.While others think we are being killed in this notorious ricer of retrogression into slaver. What is an endangered species? A species population of organisms with the risk of becoming extinct of falling birth rates and growing death rates, or being threatened by the changing environmental or predation parame ters. Only few Although at this time currently The International Union of Conservation of Nature (ICON) does not have any human subsets listed on the endangered species list, the concept of the JINN is to protect species from potentially becoming extinct without gaining public notice.Many factors are reviewed when accessing the conservation tutus of the list, Just because the numbers of remaining are high isn't Just a key indicator. The overall increase and decreases in population overtime, known threats and so forth. Internationally, over one hundred countries have agreed to create biodiversity action plans to protect threatened and endangered species (David, Pl 5). The endangered species list however does include a policy on species maintaining and captive breeding programs.This area of the program would need to be modified, captive breeding program does not apply to humans as they have free will. Arguments have been made that self destructive acts are the primary reason for the d own fall of the African American community. At Finger High School located in Chicago, student Daring Albert a 16 year old black honor student was knocked to the grown by a blow to the head with a railroad tie. He was kicked, punched and stomped. His cries went unanswered, and by the time someone was able to help Daring it was to late, he died lying in the middle of the street.The background on Daring's story isn't very uncommon for this area of Chicago (Morocco, Pl). Daring alkyd into the middle of two rival black gains, in his attempt to help one of the victims he was mistaken to be part of the rival gang. According to Derby Morocco who is also an African American, this is another tragedy where African American civil rights leaders remained silent. Mr.. Morocco believes that if this story would have been a white gang attacking a black gang every self-appointed African American leader would be in front of some form of media preaching about some form of social injustice.Mr.. Morocco references the President Beam's statement about the police arresting Proof. Henry Louis Gates, Jar. In contacts to the President comments and setting up meetings between the professor and the arresting police office, no media coverage was giving to the malicious homicide in the brutal killing of this honor student (Morocco, PI). Mr.. Morocco is not saying that the president is reasonable for Daring's death, he states the fact the he is disappointed young man's killer. According to New York Times There are more black men in prison than college.Only 5% of black men are in college. 70 percent of black men have experienced long- term unemployment (AP, POP) The African-American males comprise over fifty-five percent of the nation's prison population, one out of every fourteen black men is incarcerated for an crime. Between the ages of 20 to 29, one out of every 4 black males is in prison, on parole, or on probation for an alcohol or drug-related crime (AP, POP). Over the last decade ther e were more than 1. 4 million sentenced inmates at the end of 2003, an estimated 403,165 were Black men between ages 20 and 39.Compared with 12. 3 percent of young Latino men and 6. 7 percent of young white men, 76 percent of young black men are behind bars (AP, POP). . When compared to other races. What is the real issue of what's going on when it comes to black men in America? Is this a from of self-destruction? Although it is clear that black on black crimes exist, in the United States we have a long history of white on black crimes. November 25, 2006, Sean Bell was hot and killed on the morning after his bachelor party, and two of his friends where severely wounded.Mr.. Bell was holding his bachelor party at Club Koala in Jamaica section of Queens, New York. This night club was under investigated by seven undercover police detectives, as a result of accusations that the owners of the club had been steering prostitution (Baker, POP).. According to Report Karen Zaire of the New Yo rk Times, Gunman had an argument inside the club with a woman and threatened to get a gun. One of Bell's friends was though to have said â€Å"you, get my gun† as they left the scene.Fearing that a shooting might occur, one of the plain-clothed African American officer Scared Sonora followed the men to their vehicle while alerting his backup team, prompting the team to confront Bell and his companions before they could leave the scene. Sonora held out his badge, and identified himself as a police officer, and told the car to stop. However, Bell accelerated the vehicle and hit Sonora, then striking the unmarked police minivan. Scared Sonora believed he saw Gunman reaching for a gun while in the car, yelled â€Å"gun† to other police at the scene, and opened fire on the car.All officers and detectives at that point Joined him in shooting at the car, firing 50 bullets in a few seconds (Zaire, POP). On March 16, 2007, three of the five police officers involved in the shoot ing were grand Jury indictment. Officer Michael Oliver, who fired thirty one of the fifty shots ND Officer Scared Sonora, who fired the first shot, faced charges of manslaughter, reckless endangerment and assault, while Detective Marc Cooper faced charge of two counts of reckless endangerment. The three detectives pleaded not guilty at the arraignment hearing on March 19, 2007.Detectives Sonora and Oliver were released on bail and Detective Cooper on his own recognize. On April 25, 2008, all three of the police officers indicted were acquitted on all counts (Baker, Pl 7). On June 7, 1998, James Byrd Jar, accepted a ride from Shawn Allen Berry, Lawrence sat ride of his live. Instead of taking James home, the three men took James behind a convenience store, beating him unconscious, stripped him naked, chained him by the ankles to their pickup truck, and dragged him for three miles.Forensic evidence suggests that James attempted to keep his head up while being dragged behind the truck, an autopsy suggested James was alive during much of the dragging, and he only died after his right arm and head were severed after his body hit a culvert, although the men claimed that Bard's throat had been slashed before he was ragged (National News Briefs, 23). Finally the arguably the most infamous biomedical research study the United States.The Tuskegee syphilis experiment was the clinical trial study conducted between 1932 and 1972 in Tuskegee, Alabama, by the United States Public Health Service. Investigators recruited 399 impoverished African-American men with syphilis for research related to the natural progression of the untreated disease. This experiment can be compared to mass genocides (Prater, 2007). On May 16, 1997, President Bill Clinton formally apologized and held a ceremony for the Tuskegee duty participants. In his speech, President Clinton Stated â€Å"What was done cannot be undone.But we can end the silence. We can stop turning our heads away. We can look at you in the eye and finally say on behalf of the American people, what the United States government did was shameful, and I am sorry'( Washington Post News Feed. PI) . As a people, African American are often the underdogs. Brought here by slave ships, then sold and beaten. Although there is the need for the United States to progress, we should not have to pass affirmative actions laws Just to be able to moment. Some might say we are living in the past, that this is self-distraction.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Career Plan building Activity

My work culture results showed that I am well resourced, high powered, and teamwork centered. I noticed that these results were parallel with my interest profiler and competencies results. I was shocked by being considered as high powered. I have never really been a person who wants a lot of responsibility. I have been a lead person on a past Job experience. I had the opportunity to be the supervisor but I didn't apply for it due to fear of failure.I do on the other hand agree with the fact of high salaries, career advancement, and career development. It was revealed to me that some of my better strengths are adhering to values and coping with pressure. It was not hard for me to believe the part about adhering to my values. That is something I do believe in along with ethics. But I didn't think that coping with pressure would come out as a strength. I guess coping with pressure became a strength for me because I try my hardest to let something's go and not let people now that it may have bothered me.Within the teamwork centered portion of the work culture results, It showed that I work in a close knit team, have lots of Interdependence, and that I am friendly and supportive of colleagues. I agree with this whole heartedly. I try to be an overall helpful person. Anyone who knows me knows that I am all for the team, if there Is positivist involved. Within the well-resourced section it stated that I like safe places to work, well-designed and comfortable places to work.As for the career plan I was able to see different positions that may suite me according to the results. Some of the careers I never would imagine doing then on the other hand there are some that I would do. These things include being a lawyer, Judge, librarian, curator, archivists, material recording, and scheduling, dispatching and distributing workers. Now some of these careers I did all In one Job title when I was a Lead Phlebotomy's at a hospital I once worked at.

Operation management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Operation management - Essay Example A trend is observed in the x bar chart for size of the dolls making it a focus area for the company. There have been a lot of customer returns due to inconsistencies in the colour and the size of the dolls manufactured in the plant. In order to analyze the situation, the company recorded 2 sets of data. The first set contains the number of colouring defects over a period of 30 days. The second set contains the sizes of 3 dolls selected at random daily over a period of 30 days. The company needs to find out whether its processes are in control or not. C-chart is the most appropriate control chart for the number of defects found if the sample size remains the same throughout. For the first data set the sample size for testing in each of the 30 subgroups is 200. Thus, using c-chart makes absolute sense. The 3 sigma control limits for a c-chart are calculated as: In the R-chart and x bar chart for height of the dolls, many observations lie outside both the control limits. This shows that the process is out of control. R-chart is shown in Figure 3.2 and x bar chart is shown in Figure 3.3. The manufacturing process of the toy plant is out of control for both the number of defectives in colour and the heights of the dolls. Since, only 1 observation is out of limits for colour defects, it may be considered as a one-off deviation and can be neglected. However, the company must still aim to decrease the mean number of defects. This could be done by replacement of the machine which would require a capital expenditure. The ultimate aim of the company must be to go for zero defects as proposed by quality experts. This is also a key philosophy of Lean Management and Six Sigma. From the point of view of heights of dolls, the process is completely out of control. Sharp trends are visible in the R chart and x bar chart. This implies a problem with the production process. This variation is a controlled variation and rectifying the production process will

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Amakusa Shiro and Japanese Christianity Research Paper

Amakusa Shiro and Japanese Christianity - Research Paper Example The poor peasants of Japan’s rural areas as well as the samurai feudal lords who wanted to have guns and profits from the traders, got attracted to Christianity that spread its wing slowly under the leadership of Jesuit missionaries. It was after Xavier spent two and half years spreading his message, and in 1580, the port of Nagasaki was gifted to the Jesuits that the ruler of Japan, Toyotomi Hideyoshi condemned Christianity through an eleven point edict and banned conversions made under compulsion. But this decree was not strictly enforced. But the Jesuits priests and missionaries were ordered to leave the country. This was a stage when Christianity in Japan went into hiding as cruel persecution of Christians became a routine. Many Christians had fled to the Japanese island of Amakusa but they were burdened with heavy taxes and often burned individually and in groups at stake by the rulers. It was at this juncture that a 16 year old youth, who was a Christian and a samurai, was chosen by a group of rebellious Christians to lead them in a revolt against the persecutors of Christian faith. Amakusa Shiro was to be called as the Japanese Messiah, later. He was a youth of great courage as is known from whatever historical facts that have been available about him. It was at the age of eight that Amakusa started learning Japanese martial arts and warfare. It is reported that he used to teach religion to children in his leisure time. It was violating the laws that had banned Christianity that he preached his faith. The mythological accounts about his childhood say that he used to do magical tricks to lure the crowds to his preaching. (CathInfo). It might have been his success in attracting people to the faith and his ability as a swordsmanship that prompted the rebel leaders to make him his leader. And his leadership might have imparted a new vigor to the poor peasants who thought of him as a deliverer from God (Keith, 2006, 29). Around forty thousand Christians, all poor peasants, rallied behind Amakusa in the uprising (Millard, 2001, 8). Though Amakusa Shiro was the leader of the rebellion, it is observed that the real leaders of the war were a group of about six warriors who led it and planned the strategies (Pettitt, n.d., 53). But Amakusa w as the symbol of the struggle. And his boyishness, his charm and his brevity might have made him dear to his followers. The violent uprising started in 1637, went on for three years, and ended with the capture of Hara castle from the rebels by the Japanese army and the beheading of the rebels including Amakusa Shiro (Pettitt, n.d., 52-53). His head was displayed in Nagasaki along with the heads of many other rebels (Keith, 2006, 53). After the rebellion was suppressed, Christianity in Japan became a banned faith (Pettitt, n.d., 53). Many a legends have emerged in Japanese popular culture picturizing Amakusa Shiro as a failed hero (Keith, 2006, 31). Amakusa had led the rebellion by claiming that he was Christ himself reincarnated (Keith, 2006, 49). Thus he had become a spiritual head of the rebels (Keith, 2006, 49). The father of Amakusa Shiro was Masuda Jinbei, was also a follower of Christianity and a samurai (Pettitt,n.d., 51-55). After capturing the Hara castle, Shiro had raised a Christian flag over it thereby imparting a political nature to the rebellion and of course greatly boosting the morale of the rebels (Keith, 2006, 50). The Japanese rulers had sent the mother and sister of Amakusa Shiro

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Management concepts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Management concepts - Essay Example Traditionally organisations were designed keeping bureaucratic structure in mind. Bureaucratic structure can be defined as a kind of organisation structure which is based on judgment, order and reasonable use of proper authority. This type of organisational structure is destined to be organised, reasonable and highly efficient. The bureaucratic structure consists of clear allotment of job, ‘strict hierarchy of authority’, strict rules and actions and capability based promotions (Cliffnotes, n.d.). Bureaucratic organisational structure is based on official structure of authority which is formed cautiously and followed strictly. The features of bureaucratic organisation structure are: Clear job specialisation Departmentalisation by job Formal model of allocation High extent of centralisation ‘Narrow span of management’ Clearly described line and staff manager position Strict relationship between manager and subordinates Source: (Pride & Et. Al., 2009) Bureaucr atic Structure In Contrast To Matrix Organizational Structure In contrast to bureaucratic structure, matrix structure is based on vertical and horizontal form of authority. The delegation of authority in this type of organisation can flow in both ways down and across, however in bureaucratic structure the authority flows only from upward to downward. In each department there are cross functional groups. The groups consist of individual employees with varying specialty, proficiency and capability which are brought together to accomplish a mutual objective. For example, in the Matrix Structure, the less recognizable team is known as Project A, B, C team. The managers of these teams are known as project managers. The projects might be temporary; when the project is completed the teams will be separated. These teams have the authority to make major decisions. Any individual employee who is performing in the team can directly communicate with project manager as well as individual superio r manager (Fontaine, 2007). Contrary to matrix organizational structure, the bureaucratic organisational structure has strict control over their employees. The organisation is tall in nature. Max Weber, a German sociologist had introduced the bureaucratic theory. He had highlighted the requirement for hierarchical structure in organisations. The theory acknowledged the significance of allotment of labour and specialisation. A formal set of regulation is bound into the structure which ensures managerial constancy and regularity. Unlike matrix structure, the information in this organisation must pass through each layer of the structures which result in deliberate decision making. There is no authority of team with respect to decision making in this type of structure (Advameg, 2011) & (Walonick, 1993). Fig 1: Contrast of Bureaucratic and Matrix Organisational Structure Bureaucratic Organisational Structure Matrix Organisational Structure High Degree of standardisation Regular working m ethod are pursued in bureaucratic structure Low level of discrimination The organisation structure is mainly tall in

Monday, August 26, 2019

Quality Management and Continuous Improvement DB Week One Essay

Quality Management and Continuous Improvement DB Week One - Essay Example agement in assessing and investigating performance in order to ensure their services are valuable and adhere to established standards (Warren et.al, 2011). For example, cost of auditing workers, software, customer satisfaction and speed of executing services. Prevention costs are the expenses incurred in an effort to minimize appraisal and failure cost (Warren et.al, 2011). For example, the cost of inspecting check-in and check-out processes, evaluating the employee’s performance, inspecting cleanness of the rooms and the process of changing over the rooms at the client’s request. Internal costs are the expenses the hotel will incur in establishing poor services or products such before they are actually offered to the clients (Warren et.al, 2011). For example, inappropriate rooms, delays in check-in, check-out and cost of rearranging the room, repair of the rooms, unoccupied capacity, cost of motivating workers, cost of redirecting clients to other hotels. External failure costs are the cost related to defect in products or services after it has been offered to the clients (Warren et.al, 2011). For example, the customer dissatisfaction with the quality of rooms may cause them fail to continue visiting the hotel in the future. Cost of appraisal and external cost are very essential because they assist the management to evaluate how customers view the services and suggest what the management may do in order to increase customer

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Management - Entrepreneurial Managers Term Paper

Management - Entrepreneurial Managers - Term Paper Example In such an environment, the competitive advantage of a business or manager may be insufficient. This indicates that mangers need to have an extra skill or advantage. Entrepreneurial skill is an essential skill that managers need to have. This essay will seek to establish why managers in modern organizations need to become entrepreneurs. An organization cannot dispense its duties without a manager. This proves that mangers are critical for the existence of an organization. However, critical role of mangers might be organization requires managers who have relevant entrepreneurial skills. Management revolves around management ideas and theories. An effective manager is therefore, expected to have sufficient of such knowledge. In addition to the knowledge, a manager is expected to bring innovations into the business. Their role therefore, involves discovering new ideas that are based on proved management knowledge. Ideas and innovations are critical to organizations. However, they are in sufficient to sustain an organization in the modern, competitive business environment (Bade, Michael, 2001). By becoming entrepreneurs, mangers will be able to apply their knowledge and innovations to produce useful products and services. Application of established knowledge and innovations creates competitive advantage of a business. ... The future of a business is therefore, essential for its existence. Managers are trained to produce working solution to immediate business problems. This implies that manager operate to attain short-term goals and objectives in an organization. Although short-term goals and focus is essential in an organization, long-term planning is of equal importance. Unlike managers, entrepreneurs focus on long-term objectives of a business organization and their implications to the business. Entrepreneurs therefore, conduct a business with long-term objectives and plans. An entrepreneur will focus on how a new product will create a breakthrough in the market while a manager will be concerned with the improvement of existing products. The two roles are important to a business however, the role played by entrepreneurs is of greater importance since it includes the other role. Acquiring entrepreneurship skills will enable managers to balance the two roles within an organization. Becoming an entrepr eneur will also enable managers to have long-term objective for the business. The main duty of an entrepreneur is to organize other factors of production and such roles involve taking of risks (Hirshleifer & Hirshleifer, 2005). Entrepreneurs therefore, expect a reward for the risks they assume. On the other hand, managers have the responsibility of ensuring that things in an organization are running according to the plan. Managers therefore, work according to a preset strategy or plan. Unlike managers, entrepreneurs are capable of varying their working strategy to cope with their expectations. Entrepreneurs are flexible in their duties and operations. Flexibility is an indispensable quality in modern business environment due to the unpredictability. Becoming entrepreneurs will

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Human Resource Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 2

Human Resource Management - Essay Example Logitech Solutions has its Headquarters in London. It has over 20 branches spread all over the country with 200 staff working for them. They offer hourly technical assistance to fix minor problems in organizations, work on retainer contract basis when a business requires certain regular services like system maintenance and network administration and takes up individual projects and consulting advices too like website design and preparing estimates for major hardware purchases. Logitech Solutions has a CEO, a general manager and seven line managers who work under them. Logitech's HR department has 11 members who handle, hiring, administrating and the payroll of all its workers. Logitech solutions aim in expanding through improving. The company has over 150 clients and it is in constant lookout of fresh talent. They open a new branch every year, making their manhunt process a never ending loop. Logitech Solutions has well defined Human Resource Management policies according to which th e HR department hires the best talent in the market, provide them with enough training and extract the best from them in their designation. It ensures every employee working for them grow along with the company both monetarily and intellectually. They achieve this by providing them regular assessment of their work, extra training when required, promotions and increments on a fixed interval. Task 1 a) Explain the difference between personnel and human resource management and discuss the HRM function in terms of its contribution to organisational purpose Modern day business environment gives ample importance to human resource management as people are considered as the greatest asset of any company. Personnel management and HRM both are connected with managing people. Personnel management deals with administrative tasks like payroll and dealing with contractual obligations. Personnel managers often act as mediators between the employees and the management and help in solving the employ ee grievances. HRM gained importance with the growth of modern organizations which view people as a resource. It aims in fulfilling the company’s objectives by taking of all the employees needs and motivating them to give their best. HRM manager’s duty includes increasing the return on investment or ROI by taking extra strategy oriented steps to get the best from the employees or rather select the best employees. Their work is strategy cantered rather than administration cantered (Pravin, 2010). (Sreenath, 2009) HRM is actually considered as a main organizational function which will continue to expand constantly and evolve into a main value adding area for any company. HRM education should be made widespread for this change to occur. HRM has space of extensive research. Personnel management on the other hand is considered as concept which has already started to disappear as HRM dominates many organizations. HRM can be considered as the next improved level of personnel management. b) Assess the role and responsibilities of line manager in your chosen organisation Line managers or front-line managers constitute the lower layer in the management hierarchy. Teams comprising of employees who do not have any managerial or supervising responsibilities report to the line managers. These front-line managers report to higher management, through their higher authorities or supervisors. For example, people taking direct calls from customers in

Friday, August 23, 2019

Homework wk 4 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Homework wk 4 - Assignment Example A short-term loan is a loan given for at most a three-year period. An overdraft is where the bank allows a customer to overdraw money from the bank, which happens within the banks limits. A variable rate of interest is charged on the amount the corporation is overdrawn on daily basis. Short-term borrowing has a self-liquidating nature, where the company gets short-term loans, uses it get more inventory that in turn promote production of more final product to meet demand. Receivables as a result of the sales thereafter, become cash which is used to pay for the seasonal short-term loan and cover related long-term financing costs. These sources of liquidity involve an agreement between a credit offering facility and the company. Therefore, a variable or fixed rate interest is always charged according to the policies and terms and conditions of the lender. With the annual average purchases and the average accounts payable it is possible to get accounts payable turnover ratio which is the number of times the accounts payable are turned over or purchases paid for in a

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Survey Says More Filipinos at Risk of Lifestyle Related Diseases Essay Example for Free

Survey Says More Filipinos at Risk of Lifestyle Related Diseases Essay Recent results of the National Nutrition and Health Survey (NNHeS II) by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (FNRI-DOST) showed that more Filipinos have hypertension, high fasting blood sugar and high cholesterol and triglyceride levels, which are risk factors to cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and other lifestyle-related diseases. The NNHeS II showed that one in every four Filipino adults (25.3 percent) has hypertension or a blood pressure (BP) reading equal to or higher than 140/90 millimeter mercury (mmHg). The prevalence of hypertension significantly increased from 22.5 percent in 2003 to 25.3 percent in 2008 based on single BP determination. The survey further showed that 11 in every 100 (10.8 percent) have pre-hypertension or a BP reading at the range of 130-139/85-89 mmHg. High BP increases with age starting from age 40-49 years. The prevalence of high fasting blood sugar (FBS), an indicator of diabetes mellitus, is 5 in every 100 Filipino, based on the NNHeS II. The prevalence increased, though not significant, from 2003 with 3.4 percent to 4.8 percent in 2008. The prevalence of high FBS or hyperglycemia peaks at age 50-59 years. Moreover, the survey showed that 3 in every 100 Filipinos have impaired fasting glucose (IFG). IFG may progress to diabetes mellitus in a few years if not prevented. Hyperglycemia is an FBS level greater than 125 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL), while IFG is an FBS level in the range of 110-125 mg/dL. Dyslipidemia or abnormal lipid levels significantly increased from 2003 to 2008. The NNHeS II showed that one in every ten (10.2 percent) Filipino adults has high total cholesterol level, while 21 in every 100 (21.2 percent) are borderline high. Furthermore, 15 in every 100 (14.6 percent) have high triglyceride level, while 16 in every 100 (15.5 percent) are borderline high. The prevalence of low high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-c) level increased from 54.2 percent in 2003 to 64.1 percent in 2008. In contrast, the prevalence of high low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-c) level did not change much, from 11.7 percent in 2003 to 11.8 percent in 2008. A person is considered to have a low HDL-c level if the fasting blood measurement is less than 40 mg/dl while a high LDL-c level of the fasting blood measurement is greater than or equal to 160 mg/dl. Hypertension, high FBS and dyslipidemia are major risk factors to lifestyle-related diseases, particularly cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus and cancer. These lifestyle-related diseases are among the diseases that currently dominate the list of leading causes of death in the country. These are also leading causes of morbidity, particularly diseases of the heart and the vascular system which are the two main leading causes. The government is intensively campaigning for healthy lifestyle to prevent these risk factors and diseases. The healthy lifestyle campaign promotes transformation of various settings into healthy settings, such as healthy workplace, healthy-eating place, healthy communities and healthy schools, among others. Message 10 of the Nutritional Guidelines for Filipinos (NGF) developed by the Technical Working Group led by the FNRI-DOST recommends that for a healthy lifestyle and good nutrition, exercise regularly, do not smoke and avoid drinking alcoholic beverages. The NGF also suggests eating a variety of foods everyday, consuming more fruits, vegetables, rootcrops and legumes, as these are rich sources of fiber that help lower cholesterol level and prolong the response time of our body to blood glucose levels, and limiting the intake of salty foods to help prevent hypertension.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

A Motivating Influence Essay Example for Free

A Motivating Influence Essay Life is a cycle of learning in which we learn every day by experiences, anecdotes or by someone else. Now, it is hard to find a person who really cares about us or at least someone who wants to help us to succeed in the future. However, we found that there are some special teachers that are a great example of learning how to succeed in life. In the two stories of â€Å"my favorite teacher† by Thomas L. Friedman, and â€Å"Unforgettable Miss Bessie† by Carl T. Rowan, we find two incomparable persons who made a change in their students’ life. They both were a motivating influence for their students. Carl Rowan’s teacher Miss Bessie and Thomas Friedman’s teacher Hattie Steinberg are different in background, but similar in their wisdom, enthusiasm, love and care for their students. First, we find that both teachers, Miss Bessie and Miss Hattie had wisdom. They both introduced their students to knowledge that they otherwise might not been exposed to. In Thomas Friedman’s teacher, Hattie taught Friedman a lesson that lasted throughout his life. Hattie was a journalism teacher who tries to teach her students about the ethical rules for being a journalist. She had high standards of teaching, and it leads a mark in her students. Friedman’s writes: â€Å"Hattie was a woman who believed that the secret of success in life was getting the fundamentals right† (403). This basic lesson about excellence in journalism was important to Friedman’s career, because he becomes a journalist, and he remembered decades after his High School days with Hattie. This shows that Hattie was a wise teacher because it influences Friedman’s life forever. On the other hand, Miss Bessie’s wisdom was impacting for Rowan. She was a writing teacher who loves to read and write. However, even when in those days the racism took place in the country between white and black people, and she was a black teacher, she had the pasion to impact her students’ life. Rowan writes one of Miss Bessie’s lessons: â€Å"If you do not read you cannot write, and if you cannot write, you might as well stop dreaming† (166). This showed Rowan how important her students’ future was for Miss Bessie. She tried to make the reading and writing a commandment for her students. Her wisdom and influence left a mark in her students’ heart that it will be not only for them but for their generations. Second, both teachers, Miss Bessie and Miss Hattie were similar in their enthusiasm at the moment of giving advice to their students. Rowan describes Miss Bessie as tough, no-nonsense woman who could convince her students to do anything. In one occasion Rowan and Miss Bessie were talking about Rowan’s interest on sports and how hard it was for him to read a book. But he wanted to be with his friends and continue to be respect by them. So he writes: â€Å"Boy, she responded, you will play football because you have guts† (164). This impacted Rowan’s life forever. He learned to have the courage to fight for what he wanted in his life, and never give up, even when it seems difficult to reach. Similarly, Friedman’s teacher, Hattie Steinberg pushed her students to achieve high standards and to be responsible in their work, and to be well educated. Friedman writes: â€Å"and, boy, she pounded the fundamentals of journalism into her students –not simply how to write a lead or accurately transcribe a quote, but more important, how to comport yourself in a professional way and to always do quality work† (403). The purpose of Steinberg was to make her students work as if they were already working in a journalism company. She wanted her students to be ethical and professional in whatever they do. She knew it was going to be a great lecture for them. It would make them successful persons in their work and their lives. Third, Rowan and Friedman’s teachers were from different backgrounds. Rowan’s teacher, Miss Bessie, she was from black race, lower class family and she could not afford her education as a teacher. Rowan did not know about her background until she talked about it before she died. He writes: â€Å"What you put in your head, boy, she once said, can never be pulled out by the Ku Klux Klan, the Congress, or anybody† (165). This shows that even though Miss Bessie was from a lower class, she would never like her students to suffer the same problems she faced before. After long time, Rowan admired her because of her courage to succeed in life, and her courage to be someone else with a better quality of life. In contrast, Miss Hattie was from a better economic class, she was white, and her education standards where a big help in her career. Friedman writes: â€Å"I grew up in a small suburb of Minneapolis, and Hattie was the legendary journalism teacher at St. Louis park High School, Room 313† (403). We can say that Hattie took advantages of the opportunity she had to learn, and become one of the best teachers of journalism in the city even though we do not have evidence in the story if she was from a middle class economically. Hattie was admired for her high standards of teaching and it was the most important characteristics Friedman saw on her, that serve him as an example to become an ethical person in the journalism field. In conclusion, these two extraordinary teachers make a difference on their students’ lives with their wisdom, enthusiasm, love, and care. And, as a result of their effort for making professional and ethical persons of their students, both Rowan and Friedman become great professionals with more than an ethical personality, but both being conscientious to recognize that their successful lives are thanks to those teachers who gave them advices during the process of formation as adults in the school. However, this is the time for us as students to think about someone, not necessarily a teacher, but someone who impact our lives during our formation as adults. Even when many people think that they have an unsuccessful life, there is still time to make a change in their lives. Instead of thinking what you have made wrong in life, think of the opportunities you have to repair your mistakes and move forward to become a successful person.

Priorities Within Scottish Education

Priorities Within Scottish Education Education Scotland makes certain inclusion is a key priority within Scottish education. The purpose of the writing is to discuss in detail why inclusion takes precedence and what the significant change in meaning proposes for schools and teachers today. In order to do this effectively, the writing will demonstrate an understanding of the concept of an inclusive school and what exactly it entails. Particular aspects of an inclusive school will be considered, such as, the curriculum, disability, behaviour management and lifestyle of gypsy and travelling families. These aspects will be examined thoroughly to suggest implications for me as an individual teacher. It is necessary to analyse the professional impact of inclusion policies and draw on placement experience, offering exemplification of how inclusion was reflected. Throughout, findings from literature and other sources will be referred to in order to justify the piece of writing, informing discussion and argument. In previous years there has been a growing debate regarding the meaning of inclusion. The original meaning was solely based on children who a disability or learning need. The term special educational needs (SEN) was established by the 1978 Warnock Report (Department for Education and Science (DES), 1978) and was seen as a more acceptable way of viewing children, than the earlier definition of handicaps which derived from the Education (Mentally Handicapped Children) (Scotland) Act 1974. The expressions integration or mainstreaming were used to direct the attention to children with SEN who were placed in mainstream schools. Thus, came the idea from Warnock (DES, 1978) who believed there were three key types of integration. These were, locational, social and functional (DES, 1978). Locational was when children with SEN were placed in a unit/base within a mainstream school, however were distanced from the mainstream children. Social was seen to be when children with SEN were integrated with mainstream children for social events, but were separated for the rest of the time. Lastly, functional was where children, regardless of disability, were located in their local mainstream school and placed in the same classroom as their mainstream peers. Shortly afterwards, advances meant that the term integration was used more widely to describe provision rather than the three key types defined in the Warnock Report (DES, 1978). This stemmed further controversy concerning the exact meaning of integration. The term was criticised and was later claimed that integration was not anxious with the worth of childrens experiences in mainstream schools but much rather the inclusive pedagogy (Farrell and Ainscow 2002). While children were included in the school environment, the principles of an inclusive school were not meeting their purpose. Allan (2008), as cited by Bryce and Humes (2008) argued that even children in mainstream schools could be segregated (feel isolated) within a classroom, which posed the question, how were teachers to know if childrens needs were met adequately? For several reasons, the term SEN was emphasised which lead to a more common way in describing the degree to which a child who had SEN, was truly integrated within mainstream schools (Farrell and Ainscow, 2002). In this sense, the term signified the degree to which a school was welcoming and valued individual contributions. Inclusion, therefore, had to more effective in allowing all children to be included and participate fully in the learning environment in order for individual learning needs to be met. Within my placement school there were three supported classes where all experiences were catered for individual childrens needs. Staff worked effectively to ensure all children from the supported classes attended appropriate mainstream classes. For example, one boy in the supported class 7/6/5 attended Primary 4 on a Wednesday morning for Maths. Unfortunately, several schools have not yet moved with the times and still believe children with a disability or who have severe learning di fficulties must be segregated from their mainstream peers (Ekens and Grimes, 2009). I will ensure my positive attitude to this shines through and everything possible is done to include and meet childrens needs. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) was established in 1989 and was the first legislative document to deal with the rights of the child globally. The agreement has 54 articles which highlight the importance of human rights. Many of the rights are centred on inclusion, particular within education. Two articles that emphasise this are article 28 and 29 which give children the entitlement to an education and affirm that education ought to increase childrens talents in enabling them to reach their full potential. It is evident from placement experience how difficult it is for teachers to progress all children to allow them to reach their full potential. This is due to the wide range of abilities there is within any one classroom. Although this is the aim for all teachers, it is a compound matter that requires great skill in achieving (Loreman, Deppeler and Harvey, 2009). Coinciding with the UNCRC (1989), the Standards in Scotlands Schools Etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 made clear all children go to mainstream schools unless factors, such as unsuitability, harmfulness to other children or cost prohibited children in doing so. The Act had many similarities with the UNCRC (1989); however the main change was that it passed on the right to children to have a say in their education rather than it solely being down to their parents/carers having the decision. Unlike the Warnock Report (DES, 1978) these two pieces of legislation moved away from integration and concentrated more on inclusion. It was clear from this that forthcoming legislation was considering the concept of inclusion much wider than just disability. Count Us In: Achieving Inclusion in Scottish Schools (Her Majestys Inspectorate of Education (HMIE), 2003) was one of the forthcoming documents to have a different perspective. The report stressed the prominence of inclusion being a key priority within Scottish education. Throughout the report, suggestions are given to teachers on how to approach inclusion and features of what makes an inclusive school are stated. One feature focuses on providing an inclusive curriculum for all children using the support from services and outer agencies to help enhance learning. Both Cline and Frederickson (2009) also believe this is a significant factor in developing an inclusive school. The Scottish curriculum, Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) (Scottish Government, 2007) caters for children aged from three to eighteen and provides a smooth and seamless transition from sector to sector. Every sector use the same curriculum which not only is inclusive for children but also for staff as this is maintai ned right through to secondary school. Those who are involved in childrens learning collaborate effectively ensuring previous learning is built upon, making transition and learning as inclusive as possible (Scottish Government, 2007). This links with the principle coherence of CfE (Scottish Government, 2007) which stresses the importance of learning being clearly connected and developed from previous experiences. Reeves and Fox (2008) however, disagree with the curriculum being inclusive in this sense as they say that it is school practices that influence teachers attitudes. If schools disregard collaborative approaches as an effective step to successful transition then they will take no pride in doing so, which results in the curriculum being far from inclusive. Having awareness of the benefits, I will endeavour to cooperate with other professionals to make childrens transitions as efficient as possible.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Character Study in Manual Puigs Kiss of the Spider Woman Essay

Character Study in Manual Puig's Kiss of the Spider Woman On the surface, Manual Puig's Kiss of the Spider Woman is about politics and oppression. Caged literally and figuratively in an existential cell, both Molina and Valentin are wards of a police state and are therefore powerless to change their circumstances. But the novel is really about how spiritual freedom is cultivated and made manifest by Molina's retelling of his favorite movies. Because the substance of the films is first filtered through Molina's perspective, his perversion of the characters and plots reflect his own progression from an oppressed prisoner to a heroine who freely chooses the path to her own death. That Molina identifies himself with the heroines in the films is unmistakable by the end of the novel. In the first movie he tells to Valentin, a woman who involuntarily changes into a panther whenever she kisses a man is parallel to Molina's life as a homosexual man in a society that condemns him. The panther woman's love is dangerous, and so is Molina's. His fatalistic view of his place ...

Monday, August 19, 2019

Love Between a Parent and Child in After Making Love We Hear Footsteps

Love Between a Parent and Child in After Making Love We Hear Footsteps There are several different definitions for the word love. Love is a simple four-letter word, with a multitude of caring and feeling behind it. There is a difference between loving somebody and being in love with somebody. The love between two best friends or between a husband and wife are the types of love that people want to last forever. However, there are no guarantees that it will last forever. Furthermore, the love between family members and the love between a parent and child is the kind of love that will last a life time. In Galway Kinnell’s poem â€Å"After Making Love We Hear Footsteps† Kinnell writes about the love between a parent and child. Galway Kinnell describes the familiar middle of the night act of a child climbing into bed with the parents. The poem begins with the father describing that no matter how much noise is being made, the child is able to sleep through anything. For example, Galway Kinnell states: or play loud music or sit up talking with any reasonably sober Irishman and Fergus will only sink deeper into his dreamless sleep, which goes by all in one flash, However, let there be a slight sound from the parents when they want to be alone and the child wakes up instantly. For example, Galway Kinnell writes in his poem: but let there be that heavy breathing or a stifled come-cry anywhere in the house and he will wrench himself awake Being a parent has many responsibilities. Parents have to give up a lot of their own privacy and time when it comes to their children. For example, starting on line sixteen, Galway Kinnell writes: after making love, quiet, touching along the length of our bod... ...will never die. There may be some times in the child’s life when they think that their parents do not love them. Some families end up not speaking to each other for a long period of time. It could last a couple of days, a couple of weeks, or even a couple of years. No matter how long it takes, the child will always know that they can count on their mother and father loving them forever. The parents will always be there for their children. The children can always rely on the parents for support and complete understanding through the good times and the bad times. Unlike other love relationships, the love relationship between a parent and child will never fade away. There are no guarantees with normal relationships lasting forever. However, the relationship between a parent and child is guaranteed to last forever. They will love each until the day they die.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Mutilation Of Women :: essays research papers

The number of mutilated woman and girls in Africa and the Middle East is increasing due to population growth, according to Win News. But internationally financed population, health and safe motherhood programs ignore Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and have failed to implement effective preventive education. Education should be provided to the woman and men in the participating countries so the risks of this mutilation can be understood fully. FGM is painful, dangerous, and disrespectful to the woman/child and her body and I belive evry woman has the right to education to help make this critical decision. The mutilation most often performed is Clitoridectomy or Excision- cutting off without anesthetic, the clitoris and most of the external genitalia. This is practiced in a broad area from the Red Sea to the Atlantic Coast. The most dangerous operation, Infibulation is customary in Sudan, Somalia, N.Kenya,, W. Africa and all along the Red Sea coast. After the clitoris is excised and all external genitalia are carved away, the bleeding raw edges of the libia majora are held together by thorns or other fasting devices, until a scar forms to close the entrance to the vagina. The legs of the little girl are tied together for several weeks until the wound heals; a tiny opening is created by inserting a splinter of wood to allow urination. Thus virginity, which is considered especially important by Moslem men, can be proven. These dangerous operations result in permanent damage: hemorrhage and shock, which may be fatal; many infections including tetanus, scaring which obstructs normal childbirth and may result in the death of both mother and child; infertility due to infection. And that's not all, FGM causes urinary and menstrual problems, frigidity, painful intercourse, and many, many needless deaths. The highest childbirth mortality is recorded in areas where FGM is practiced. Some may argue that this is their culture, we cannot judge, or interfere, and I agree. I do not feel that these are bad people, and I do not think we should outlaw this practice.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

The Application of Consumer’s Knowledge

| CONSUMER BEHAVIOR PAPER| The Application of Consumer’s Knowledge and Involvement Concept in â€Å"Adu Segar Larutan Penyegar† Case Study from Brand Cap Kaki Tiga Perspective | September 2012| MMBM Batch 25 Team #2 Dickson Mulia 0152121007 Genoveva Iswati0152121016 Arfianti Puspitarini0152121035 Maulana 01521210xx EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Larutan Penyegar Cap Kaki Tiga, currently being manufactured by PT Kinocare, is facing a fierce competition against Larutan Penyegar Cap Badak since Wen Ken Drugs decision in February 2011 to withdraw the license from PT Sinde Budi Sentosa and granted it to PT Kinocare.In the market, the new Larutan Penyegar Cap Kaki Tiga is perceived as a replica product of its predecessor and they are struggling to gain consumer brand awareness and eventually become consumer’s choice. In this case study, we recommend Larutan Penyegar Cap Kaki Tiga to get out of the tight corner by implementing a breakthrough innovation in order to gain consumer inte rest and remove consumer’s visual imagery of Badak logo that has been anchored in consumer’s memory since 1937 I. BACKGROUND 1937 – The Product EraAbout 75 years ago, in 1937 four Singaporean Chinese families decided to go into business together to market a secret traditional medical recipe which becomes known as Three Legs Cooling Water. In Hokkien, ‘3 legs' (pronounced as Sa Ka) is a popular proverb meaning to flatter someone. But in the world of traditional medicine in Singapore and Malaysia, the ‘3 legs' means a simple effective way to prevent or heal fever and headache caused by ‘healthiness' in the body The logo features two legs on solid ground and one additional leg to provide additional support and expedite the healing process.The symmetrical legs represent equality for all and humbleness on others' views and suggestions. And finally, the circle marks the cohesiveness of the staff and customers centered on the triple legs 1978 – Introduction into Indonesia Market About 30 years ago, in 1978 Wen Ken Drug Co. Ltd Singapore granted the license of Three Legs (known locally as ‘Cap Kaki Tiga’) to PT Sinde Budi Sentosa as licensed manufacturer with headquarter located in Jakarta. 2011 – Transfer of License Wen Ken Drug Co. Ltd Singapore withdrew the license of Cap Kaki Tiga from PT Sinde Budi Sentosa and transfered it to Kino Group.February 2012 – The Competition Kino Group was prohibited from using Cap Kaki Tiga brand together with Cap Badak painting on the product. PT Sinde Budi Sentosa has won their claim over the usage of Cap Badak painting on their products and Kino Group may use Cap Kaki Tiga brand. This is the beginning of the competition on cooling water between Cap Kaki Tiga and Cap Badak. Following is the comparison of the product : Larutan Penyegar Cap Badak (Sinde) and Larutan Penyegar Cap Kaki Tiga (Kino). About Kino Group Kino Corporation started as a small distribution c ompany named Duta Lestari Sentratama back in 1991.Another big step was taken in 1999, Kinocare Era Kosmetindo,  manufacturer of a wide range of personal care products for all genders and ages was established. 2003 saw Kinocare Era Kosmentindo enlarged its businesses further into homecare division by providing a wide range of homecare products under the brand Sleek. Expanding  into Asian region, in 2002 Kino opened its branch office in Malaysia; Kino Care (M) Sdn. Bhd. , and in 2003 in the Philippine; Kino Consumer Philippines Inc. and also established distributorships with some other big distributor companies in Singapore, Brunei, Vietnam and Myanmar. Kino Group consists of the following: . PT KinoCare Era Kosmetindo : Personal care and Home care products (Kino Sweat, Ovale, Eskulin, B;B Kids Shampoo, Ellips, Sleek, Cap Kaki Tiga) 2. PT KinoSentra Industrindo: confectionary products such as candies, snacks and chocolates (Kino Candy) 3. PT KinoAid Indonesia : Pharmacy and Bevera ges (Resik V, Absolute, Panthers) 4. PT Duta Lestari Sentratama : Distribution After almost two decades, Kino Corporation Group   products are now available in big distributors, hypermarkets, supermarkets, mini-markets, thousands of cosmetic stores as well as   million of small traditional outlets throughout   the Indonesian archipelago.Kino’s product quality has met international standard qualification, proved by the increasing demands from the markets all over the world. II. BASIC CONCEPT AND THEORY The scope of analysis of â€Å"Adu Segar Larutan Penyegar Cap Badak vs. Kaki Tiga† case is focused on Consumer’s Product Knowledge and Involvement concept. Consumers have different levels of product knowledge, which they can use to interpret new information and make purchase choices. Levels of knowledge are formed when people acquire separate meaning concepts (accretion process) and combine them into larger, more abstract categories of knowledge (tuning).The levels of product knowledge are classified based on below spectrum: More Abstract| | | Less Abstract| Product Class| Product Form| Brand| Model/Features| â€Å"Larutan Penyegar†| Ready-To- Drink| Cap Kaki Tiga| Original(Bottled , 200ml ; 500ml)Fruity taste(Canned, 330ml, available in 7 variants)| Because consumers are likely to make separate purchase decisions at each level of knowledge, marketers need to understand how consumers organize their product knowledge in terms of these different levels.Thus, based on this concept, the basic questions that might arise are â€Å"What are the levels of product knowledge for â€Å"Larutan Penyegar†? and â€Å"Which are the dominant factors that influencing consumer’s purchase decision? † The knowledge of consumers is organized into means-end chain concept. In this concept, consumers can have three types of product knowledge: * knowledge about the attributes or characteristics of products, * the positive consequenc es or benefits of using products, * the values the product helps consumers satisfy or achieve Products as Bundles of AttributesThe simplest line to describe â€Å"Products as Bundles of Attributes† is that it is the physical characteristic of the product itself. From a cognitive processing perspective, we might wonder if consumers really have knowledge in memory about all of these attributes and whether consumers actually activate and use this knowledge when deciding which products and brands to buy. To evaluate whether consumer awareness of product attributes of â€Å"Larutan Penyegar† , we might get the figure by asking â€Å"Do you know the basic ingredients being used in this product? or â€Å"Would you compare the ingredients of each brand? † Products as Bundles of Benefits Marketers also recognize that consumers often think about products and brands in terms of their consequences rather than their attributes. Consumers can have knowledge about two types o f product consequences: functional and psychosocial. Functional consequences are tangible outcomes of using a product that consumers experience rather directly while psychological consequences of product use are internal, personal outcomes, such as how the product makes you feel. Products as Value SatisfiersConsumers also have knowledge about the personal, symbolic values that products and brands help them satisfy or achieve. Values often involve the emotional affect associated with such goals and needs (the strong feelings and emotions that accompany success). In contrast means–end chain links consumers’ knowledge about product attributes with their knowledge about consequences and values. In other words, consumers see most product attributes as a means to some end. The end could be a consequence (a benefit or a risk) or a more abstract value. A common representation of a means—end chain has four levels:Brand| Attributes| Functional Consequences| Psychosocial C onsequences| Value| Larutan Penyegar Cap Kaki Tiga| Mixture of medicinal ingredients | Help relieve sore throat | I feel better / healthy| -| Based on above figure, the means – end chain of Larutan Penyegar Cap Kaki Tiga ends at the level of psychosocial consequences. III. CONSUMER ANALYSIS Having all the questions behind the basic concept, we must get the answer in order to understand the levels of consumer product knowledge, the means-end chain of â€Å"Larutan Penyegar Cap Kaki Tiga† and whether consumers aware of the competition of â€Å"Cap Badak† vs. Cap Kaki Tiga† and if the subjected case influences the purchasing behavior. Therefore, a small research was conducted with the following design: Methods: Quantitative, Face to Face interview Geographic location : Jakarta, Bogor Sample criteria : Consumer of â€Å"Larutan Penyegar† with the following constraints: * 18+ years old * Purchase decision maker for Larutan Penyegar RTD * Purchase Larutan Penyegar RTD in last 6 months Sample size : 21 samples Research findings: 1. Cap Kaki Tiga name dominates the Top of Mind awareness by 90%, left Cap Badak with only 10% TOM. | Cap Kaki Tiga| Cap Badak|Top of Mind Awareness| 90%| 10%| Q: Thinking about â€Å"Larutan Penyegar† brands, what brand name do you think first of all? 2. 90% of respondents recall their last purchase of Larutan Penyegar brand is Cap Kaki Tiga   | Cap Kaki Tiga| Cap Badak| Last Purchase| 90%| 10%| Q: What was the brand(s) have you bought in past 6 months? 3. Interestingly, from 90% respondent who mentioned that their last purchase was Cap Kaki Tiga, only 19% who can distinguish the new packaging of Larutan Penyegar Cap Kaki Tiga and chose it, while 62% of the respondent most likely recall visual imagery of Badak and chose Cap Badak brand.The rest 19% didn’t remember which bottle that they bought. | Cap Kaki Tiga| Cap Badak| Don't Remember| Visual Imagery| 19%| 62%| 19%| Q: Now I would like to k now how familiar you are with the †Larutan Penyegar† product. 1 set bottles of Larutan Penyegar Cap Kaki Tiga vs. Cap Badak, and point which bottle they bought the last time 4. 90% of the respondent does not aware about the competition about the product   | Not Aware| Aware| Awareness about the case| 90%| 10%| Q: Do you know that currently there are two different products? 5.After the respondents are told about the brief description whether the â€Å"old† Cap Kaki Tiga is currently produced by different manufacturer (PT Kinocare), and the manufacturer of â€Å"old† Cap Kaki Tiga is now producing Cap Badak, only 10% of respondent who prefer Cap Kaki Tiga, 52% prefer Cap Badak and 38% would choose any products that is available in the store. | Cap Kaki Tiga| Cap Badak| Anything| Brand Preference| 10%| 52%| 38%| Q : After you have the knowledge that currently there are 2 brands, which product(s) that you would choose?To summarize, based on the research above , the insights are: 1. Most of the respondents (90%) do not aware about the competition of Larutan Penyegar products from the two brands (â€Å"Cap Badak† vs. â€Å"Cap Kaki Tiga†). 2. Inconsistency happened on brand name and product recollection. The high respondent mind share on â€Å"Cap Kaki Tiga† name (90%) is not translated into product election (19%) due to people historical memory about the product is anchored in the strong visual image of the â€Å"Badak† packaging. 3.An interesting fact appears when respondents are told about the difference of the brands, ironically most of them (52% vs 10%) prefer to choose â€Å"Cap Badak† instead of â€Å"Cap Kaki Tiga†. However, there is still an opportunity for â€Å"Cap Kaki Tiga† to win the 38% respondent who would choose any brands. Then, based on insights above, we can identify few problems of Cap Kaki Tiga current products, which are: 1. â€Å"Badak† logo imagery is very str ong in consumer’s mind. To win over â€Å"Badak† image is quite impossible eventhough consumers have strong awareness on â€Å"Cap Kaki Tiga† name.If both products have to be in head-to head competition, such in display, most likely consumers will always choose â€Å"Cap Badak†. 2. From interviews, we got few comments about â€Å"Cap Kaki Tiga† logo which is not quite familiar and don’t look interesting at all. Some of them think that logo of â€Å"Cap Kaki Tiga† makes the product looks like a fake. Some even thought the logo looks associated with poisonous mosquito-killer insecticide product logo. IV. RECOMMENDATION â€Å"RECOVERY/SOLVING† AND KEY LEARNINGOur group proposes several recommendations for â€Å"Cap Kaki Tiga† brand to be considered: 1. Launch new format of â€Å"Cap Kaki Tiga† with totally fresh new whole concepts (packaging design, formats and marketing communications). a. Changes of packaging desig n should emphasize on the â€Å"Cap Kaki Tiga† name, as its strong point, and minimize the proportion of â€Å"Cap Kaki Tiga† logo, as its weakness point. b. Changes of bottle format with new shapes. We analyzed that with same bottle format as â€Å"Cap Badak†, it won’t be beneficial for â€Å"Cap Kaki Tiga†.The reason for that is the consumer will always associate the bottle format with â€Å"Badak† painting in it and they would most likely prefer it and assume the â€Å"Cap Kaki Tiga† current same format as a fake. c. To support the changes in design and bottle format, we have to give strong marketing communications emphasizing on historical â€Å"journey† of original â€Å"Cap Kaki Tiga† brand product. This approach has the ultimate goal to underline the originality of the brand with â€Å"Cap Kaki Tiga† as the holder of official license from Wen Ken Drugs since the very beginning and create consumer confidence that the product is not a fake. . In order to increase consumer involvement, we recommend Cap Kaki Tiga to tap into younger segment through its flavored variant product line by communicating â€Å"Larutan penyegar† as daily beverage. Through this strategy, it is expected to create a new image and perception that a consumer does not have to wait until he feels sore throat to consume â€Å"Larutan Penyegar†. To support this strategy, Cap Kaki Tiga might conduct a marketing event that promote consumer’s involvement in the usage of the product, for example : conducting 10K Running Competition for charity, sponsorship in sports competition (e. IBL) as the official beverage, sponsorship in school annual music festival, and so on. 3. Strengthen distribution channel is also key strategy â€Å"Cap Kaki Tiga† have to explore to win the competition. To target indifferent consumers, availability of the product is a must. Kino should have expertise on this area, sinc e other Kino’s products are already strong in distributions. 4. Have further research (ZMET Study) in order to get further insights on: d. The brand and logo association, how â€Å"Cap Kaki Tiga† brand and logo can affect the consumer purchase decision. e.To understand the key reason for purchase and also the influential touch point so we are able to develop effective marketing campaign on the new concept launch Key learnings from our study on â€Å"Cap Kaki Tiga† brand, stated as following: 1. Top of mind awareness of brand is not necessarily translated into consumer’s decision to purchase (share of market) for the case of â€Å"Larutan Penyegar† competition. Therefore, an effective marketing strategy is needed to drive consumer purchase furthermore. 2. High brands awareness means nothing if the consumers don’t aware about the product itself.A product must have a uniqueness to be able to distinguish itself from the crowd and chosen by the c onsumers. 3. â€Å"Cap Kaki Tiga† has to try to go out from ‘Red Ocean’ competition with â€Å"Cap Badak†. The more they are trying to compete head-to head with similar concept as â€Å"Cap Badak†, the less opportunity for Cap Kaki Tiga to win â€Å"Larutan Penyegar† competition. 4. It worth to have a shot on going to the market with fresh new whole concepts, because â€Å"Cap Kaki Tiga† has opportunity to be the ‘offense’ side, rather than â€Å"Cap Badak† as defense’ side. Offense as to grab the indifferent market as mentioned before on the short-term basis, and to grab the current market share from â€Å"Cap Badak† on longer term period. V. REFERENCE 1. Peter, J. Paul & Jerry C. Olson, â€Å"Consumer Behavior and Marketing Strategy†, 9th edition, McGraw-Hill International Edition, 2010. 2. http://www. wenken. com 3. http://harrysanusi. blogspot. com/ 4. capkakitiga. com 5. Suryadi, Dede, â₠¬Å"Adu Segar Larutan Penyegar†, SWA Magazine Edition 22, October 2011.

Friday, August 16, 2019

The Hunters: Phantom Chapter 23

The next morning, Elena felt light and joyful, as if she was hugging an enormous, wonderful secret to herself. Damon was stil alive. He had been in her room last night. Right? She'd been through so much, she could hardly trust it. She climbed out of bed, noting that the clouds outside were stil pink and gold from the sunrise, so it must be very early. She careful y moved toward the window. She wasn't sure what she was looking for, but she went down on her hands and knees and scanned the floor careful y. There. A tiny piece of dirt on the squeaky board, fal en from someone's shoe. And there, on the windowsil , the long scratches of a bird's claws. That was proof enough for Elena. She stood up and gave a funny little hop of joy, clapping her hands together sharply once, an unstoppable grin spreading across her face. Damon was alive! Then she took a deep breath and stood stil , wil ing her face into blankness. If she was real y going to keep this secret – and she supposed she would have to; she'd promised, after al – she was going to have to act like nothing had changed. And real y, things were pretty bad stil , she told herself. If she thought about the facts, she shouldn't be celebrating just yet. Damon's return hadn't altered the fact that something dark was after Elena and her friends, or that Stefan was acting irrational y and violently. Her heart sank a little as she thought of Stefan, but stil a bubble of happiness went through her. Damon was alive! And, what was more, he had an idea of what might be going on. It was exactly like Damon at his most infuriating to play this idea close to his chest and not let her know what he was thinking, but stil , his glimmer was more hope than anyone else had been able to offer yet. Perhaps there was light at the end of the tunnel after al . A pebble pinged against Elena's window. When she looked out, she saw Stefan, shoulders hunched, hands in his pockets, watching her from the lawn. Elena waved to him to stay where he was, threw on jeans, a lacy white tank top, and shoes, and went downstairs to meet him. There was dew on the grass, and Elena's steps left footprints. The cool of dawn was already being replaced by dazzling hot sunshine: It was going to be another sticky Virginia summer day. As she approached Stefan, Elena slowed down. She didn't quite know what to say to him. Since last night, every time she had thought of Stefan, she had involuntarily pictured Caleb's body flying through the air, the sickening crunch as he hit the marble monument. And she couldn't stop seeing Stefan's savage anger as he had attacked him, although Damon had been sure there must have been a reason. Damon. How would she ever keep Stefan from guessing the truth about his brother? From the pained look on Stefan's face, it was clear he sensed her apprehension. He held out his hand. â€Å"I know you don't understand why I did what I did yesterday,† he said, â€Å"but there's something you have to see.† Elena stopped, but she didn't take his outstretched hand. His face fel a little further. â€Å"Tel me where we're going,† she said. â€Å"I need to show you something that I found,† Stefan said patiently. â€Å"You'l understand when we get there. Please, Elena. I would never hurt you.† Elena stared at him. She knew without a doubt that it was true that Stefan would never hurt her. â€Å"Okay,† she said, making up her mind. â€Å"Wait here for a minute. I'l be right back.† She left Stefan on the lawn in the early morning sunshine as she retreated into the quiet dimness of the house. Everyone else was stil asleep: A quick glance at the clock in the kitchen told her it was barely six o'clock. She scribbled a note to Aunt Judith, saying she was going to grab breakfast with Stefan and would be back later. Reaching for her purse, she paused and made sure that a dried sprig of vervain was stil tucked inside it. Not that she thought Stefan would ever do anything to her†¦ but it never hurt to be prepared. When she came out of the house, Stefan ushered her into his car parked at the curb, opening the passenger-side door for her and hovering over her as she fastened her seat belt. â€Å"How far away is it?† Elena asked. â€Å"Not far,† Stefan said simply. Watching him drive, Elena noticed the worry lines at the corners of his eyes, the unhappy droop of his mouth, the tension in his shoulders, and wished she could put her arms around him and comfort him, raise her hand and wipe those lines by his eyes away. But her memories of the rage on his face the day before held her back. She just couldn't make herself reach out to him. They hadn't driven for long when Stefan turned onto a culde-sac of expensive houses. Elena leaned forward. They were pul ing up to a large white house fronted by a spacious pil ared porch. She knew that porch. After junior prom, she and Matt had sat on its steps and watched the sun rise, stil wearing their clothes from the dance. She had kicked off her satin sandals and laid her head against Matt's tuxedoed shoulder, listening dreamily to the music and voices coming from the afterprom party in the house behind them. It had been a good night from a different lifetime. She stared at Stefan accusingly. â€Å"This was Tyler Smal wood's house, Stefan. I don't know what you're planning, but Caleb's not here. He's in the hospital.† Stefan sighed. â€Å"I know he's not here, Elena. His aunt and uncle haven't been here either, not for several days, at least.† â€Å"They're out of town,† Elena said automatical y. â€Å"Aunt Judith talked to them yesterday.† â€Å"That's good,† Stefan said grimly. â€Å"Then they're safe.† He cast a worried glance up and down the street. â€Å"You're sure Caleb won't be out of the hospital today?† â€Å"Yes,† said Elena acidly. â€Å"He was too injured. They're keeping him for observation.† Elena got out of the car, slammed the door, and marched toward the Smal woods' house, not looking back to see whether Stefan was fol owing. He caught up to her instantly. She cursed his vampiric speed in her head and walked faster. â€Å"Elena,† he said, circling in front of her and forcing her to a stop. â€Å"Are you angry that I want to keep you safe?† â€Å"No,† she said scathingly. â€Å"I'm angry that you almost kil ed Caleb Smal wood.† Stefan's face sagged with exhaustion and sorrow, and Elena instantly felt guilty. Whatever was going on with Stefan, he stil needed her. But she didn't know how to deal with his violence. She'd fal en in love with Stefan for his poetic soul, for his gentleness. Damon was the dangerous one. Dangerous looks much better on Damon than it does on Stefan, a dry observing voice at the back of her mind said, and Elena couldn't deny the truth of it. â€Å"Just show me what you wanted me to see,† she final y said. Stefan sighed, then turned and led her up the drive of the Smal woods' house. She had expected him to go to the Smal woods' front door, but he cut around the side of the house and toward a smal shed in the backyard. â€Å"The toolshed?† asked Elena quizzical y. â€Å"Do we have a lawn mowing emergency we need to address before breakfast?† Stefan ignored her joke and went to the shed door. Elena noticed that a padlock that had held the double door shut had been wrenched apart, pul ed to pieces. A half loop of metal hung uselessly from the shackle. Stefan had clearly broken in earlier. Elena fol owed him in. At first, after the dew-bright morning outside, she couldn't see anything in the dimness of the shed. Gradual y, she realized that the wal s of the shed were lined with loose papers. Stefan reached out and shoved the doors wider, letting the sunshine stream into the space. Elena peered at the papers on the wal s and then stepped back with a sharp gasp: The first thing she had been able to make out was a picture of her own face. She yanked the paper off the wal and looked at it more closely. It was a clipping from the local paper, showing her dressed in a silver gown, dancing in Stefan's arms. The caption under the picture read: â€Å"Robert E. Lee High School prom queen Elena Gilbert and prom king Stefan Salvatore.† Prom queen? Despite the seriousness of the situation, her lips curled up in a smile. She real y had finished high school in a blaze of glory, hadn't she? She pul ed another clipping from the wal and her face fel . This one showed a coffin carried through the rain by pal bearers, grim-faced mourners standing by. In the crowd, Elena recognized Aunt Judith, Robert, Margaret, Meredith, and Bonnie, lips set, cheeks streaked with tears. The caption here read: â€Å"Town mourns local high school student Elena Gilbert.† Elena's fingers tightened unconsciously, crumpling the clipping. She turned to look at Stefan. â€Å"This shouldn't be here,† she said, a note of hysteria creeping into her voice. â€Å"The Guardians changed the past. There shouldn't be any newspaper articles or anything left.† Stefan stared back at her. â€Å"I know,† he said. â€Å"I've been thinking, and the best guess I can make is that maybe the Guardians just changed people's minds. They wouldn't see any evidence of what we asked the Guardians to erase. They'd just see what supported their new memories, the memories of a normal smal town and of a bunch of ordinary teenagers. Just another school year.† Elena brandished the paper. â€Å"But then why is this here?† Stefan dropped his voice. â€Å"Maybe it doesn't work on everybody. Caleb's got some notes scribbled in a notebook I found, and it seems from them as though he's remembering two different sets of events. Listen to this.† Stefan scrabbled through the papers littering the floor and pul ed out a notebook. â€Å"He writes: ‘There are girls in town now that I know were dead. There were monsters here. The town was destroyed, and we left before they could get us too. But now I'm back and we never left, even though no one but me remembers. Everything's normal: no monsters, no death.'† â€Å"Hmm.† Elena took the notebook from him and scanned through the pages. Caleb had lists there. Vickie Bennett, Caroline, her. Al of them. Everyone who was different in this world than in the other one. There were notes about how he remembered them – how he thought Elena was dead and what was going on now. She turned a few pages, and her eyes widened. â€Å"Stefan, listen. Tyler told him about us: ‘Tyler was afraid of Stefan Salvatore. He thought he kil ed Mr. Tanner and that there was something else strange about him, something unnatural. And he thought Elena Gilbert and her friends were tangled up in whatever was going on.' And there's an asterisk referring back to Mr. Tanner being dead in one set of memories and alive in the other.† Elena quickly scanned a few pages. â€Å"It looks like he focused in on us as the cause of the changes. He figured out we were at the center of everything. Because we're the people the most changed – other than the vampire and kitsune victims – and because he knew Tyler was suspicious of us, he's blaming us for Tyler's disappearance.† â€Å"Two sets of memories,† Stefan repeated, frowning. â€Å"What if Caleb's not the only one remembering both realities? What if supernatural beings, or people aware of the supernatural, weren't affected by the spel ?† Elena froze. â€Å"Margaret – I wondered if she remembered something. She seemed so upset when she first saw me. Remember how she was afraid I was going to go away again? Do you think she's remembering me dying along with the memories the Guardians gave her?† Stefan shook his head. â€Å"I don't know, Elena. Do you have any reason to think Margaret is anything other than a perfectly normal little girl? Little kids can be very dramatic without needing a reason. Margaret's got a lot of imagination.† â€Å"I don't know,† Elena said in frustration. â€Å"But if the Guardians just covered over the old memories with new ones, that would explain why my old journal was stil hidden in my bedroom just where I left it, and everything that had happened up until I left home written in it. So you think that Caleb suspects something is going on because he is a werewolf after al ?† â€Å"Look,† Stefan said, gesturing around the shed. For the first time, Elena took in the whole scene and its implications. Pictures of her. Pictures of Bonnie and Meredith. Even pictures of poor Caroline, ranging from the haughty green-eyed debutante to a feral half monster, heavily pregnant with Tyler's†¦ baby? Pup? Elena realized with a shock that she hadn't thought of Caroline in days. Was Caroline stil pregnant? Was she stil transforming into a werewolf because she was carrying Tyler's baby? There were, Elena remembered, an awful lot of werewolves in Fel ‘s Church. Powerful, important werewolves, and if that hadn't changed, and if the pack remembered everything, or enough of everything, then they were probably just biding their time. There were not only clippings but original photographs around the room. She saw a picture taken through the boardinghouse window of herself leaning forward excitedly to talk to Meredith, who was caressing her deadly hunting stave. Based on her outfit, it had been taken right after they picked up Alaric and Celia. Caleb had been not only researching the two sets of memories over the last few months but also spying on Elena and her friends. Then she noticed something else. In the far corner on the floor was a huge bunch of roses. â€Å"What†¦ ?† Elena said, reaching for them. And then she saw. A pentagram was drawn around the roses. And encircling the pentagram was a bunch of photographs: herself, Bonnie, Meredith, Matt, Stefan, Damon. â€Å"Those are the same kinds of roses as the one Caleb gave you, aren't they?† Stefan asked softly. Elena nodded. They were perfect, delicate blooms in a dark luscious red that made her want to touch them. â€Å"The rose that started it al ,† she whispered. â€Å"It pricked Bonnie's finger, and her blood spel ed Celia's name. It must have come from here.† â€Å"Caleb isn't just a werewolf,† Stefan said. â€Å"I don't know exactly what he did here, but it looks like pretty dark magic to me.† He looked at her pleadingly. â€Å"I discovered it al yesterday,† he continued. â€Å"I had to fight him, Elena. I know I scared you, but I had to protect you – and everyone else – from him.† Elena nodded, too stunned to speak. Now she understood why Stefan had acted the way he had. He thought she was in danger. But stil†¦ she couldn't help feeling sick when she remembered the arc of Caleb's body as he was thrown. Caleb might have attacked them with dangerous magic, but his notes sounded confused and frightened. Elena and her friends had changed his world, and now he couldn't tel what was reality. â€Å"We'd better pack up al of this and bring it back to the boardinghouse,† she said briskly. â€Å"Are there more notebooks?† Stefan nodded. â€Å"Then we'd better look through them careful y. If he cast a spel on us – some kind of curse – it could stil be active, even though he's confined to the hospital for now. The spel he used might be in one of the notebooks, or at least we might find some kind of clue as to what it is and exactly what it's doing. And, hopeful y, how to reverse it.† Stefan was looking a little lost, his green eyes questioning. His arms were held out very slightly, as if he had been expecting her to embrace him and hadn't remembered to put them down when she hadn't. But for some reason she couldn't quite put her finger on, Elena couldn't bring herself to hug him. Instead, she looked away and said, â€Å"Do you have any plastic bags or anything in the car we can use to move it al ?†

Of Mice And Men Report

Although Lennie from â€Å"of mice and Men† and Mrs. Jones from â€Å"Thank You Ma’am†are similar in a way the authors portray them as caring, there are diffrences in theses characters that help readers understand important themes in the two stories. Lennie and Mrs. Jones have little similarties, But yet have many diffrences There are some similarties between Mrs. Jones The main characters in the twon storys. Both characters are sympathetic towards others. Lennie from â€Å"of Mice and Men† showed many sympathetic action towards other charcters and animals. (pg. 58)An rabbits, lennie said eargily; and id take care of them tell how id do that George† this showed that lennie cared for rabbits. Mrs. Jones is Also very sympathetic for another. She show sympathy by helping out a young boy who was in need of food and money. Mrs. Jones bring a boy into her home and fixes him up a hot plate of food. The boy had once had tried stealing from her, so she sees if she can trust the boy by turning her back towards he purse while she was cooking, to see if the boy would runaway with her purse. â€Å"(Pg. 9) Theres nobody home at my house,† said the boy. â€Å"Then we’ll eat said the woman. † â€Å" I believe your hungry- or been hungry-to try to snatch my pocket book. † Mrs. Jones notices that the boy most likely had no one around to buy food or buy him clothes so she shows sympenthy by helping him out. Later on we find out that the boy was stealing to buy some knew blue suaed shoes. Mrs. Jones gives hime ten dallors,and trreaches him a very important life lesson. She shows him that you don’t need to steal to get what you want you ask or either work to get what you want in life. Despite Lennie and Mrs. Jones similarties they have very important diffrences. â€Å"Pg. 90) the woman did watch her purse to see if the boy would runaway, nor did she watch her purse when she left it behind her bed. † This action shows that Mrs. Jones is intellegant Because she left one of her great valuables behind her to test the boy if he would runoff with her purse. In contrast, lennie also had diffrences from Mrs. Jones. A matter of fact Lennie would have some else speak for him for he was mentaly slow. He was of say the wron thing and getting him self into trouble. â€Å"(Pg. 62)What the hell you laughing at? Curly † â€Å"Lennie looked blankly at him, ‘huh? ’† Lennie got him self into trouble and curly began to swing on Lennie and lennie cried for George/ George yelled for lennie to fight back to protect himself and lennie did. This action showed that Lennie wasn’t very intellegant to keep his mouth shut and be quite to himself. Also it shows how slow he is by having Gorege telling him What to do.

Thursday, August 15, 2019

Costco Value Chain Analysis Essay

Introduction The aim of the SSP is to identify a firm in a competitive industry, and propose solutions to the problems it faces.   The paper covers corporate strategic thinking, complexity analysis, systems thinking, and sustainability analysis. The major problem addressed in the paper is Costco’s ability to develop a suitable value chain, which can increases profitability and maximize shareholder’s value.   Costco is one of the leading global retailers, specialized in selling a wide range of merchandise, ranging from local to international brands. The tools presented in this paper provides Costco with an opportunity for transforming its business activities relative to the industry rivals, with the aim of creating profits and raising the company’s value. Executive Summary The paper has two major parts. The first part applies traditional strategic thinking, which includes applying the complexity analysis of key issues affecting Costco and a sustainability analysis. These tools address the challenges surrounding Costco’s business operations and profitability.   The first part includes stakeholder identification and value analysis, general forces analysis, value chain analysis, SWOT analysis, key factors to success analysis and Porter’s five forces analysis. The second part is a complexity analysis of Costco, which includes industry evolution modeling, action plan analysis, Boid analysis, Life Cycle Assessment and Sustainable Framework Analysis. Analyzing the Company Strategy Type Action Plan Analysis Costco’s current strategy originates from its mission and vision. The company pursues three of the four generic strategies, which are low cost leadership, customer relationship and differentiation. These three exposes the company’s strategic intent thinking to achieve global leadership.   A keen Alignment and Goals analysis shows that employees at Costco support the company’s strategy. However, the employees have the required skills to make the strategy work, and on top of this, they are well paid and motivated. Costco’s action plan analysis can increase profit margin to 18 percent and operating profit margin to 10 percent by 2017 (Farfan, 2010). Boid Analysis Industry Evolution Modeling The Boid analysis reveals three major rules governing the retail industry, which Costco values. The first one is to have a customer driven focus through adding value to the product mix. The second one is to maintain a flexible pricing strategy, and offering promotion services to customers. The third one is to adopt global cultural changes through adapting to clients preferences changes. This means delivering specific services and products to a particular culture or country. The Industry Evolution Modeling analysis reveals Costco’s determination to advance and match with the new ways of doing business. The company can improve its industrial positioning by coming up with premier membership requirement. It is clear that Costco forgo short-term profits for long-term stability and viability and increasing shareholders’ wealth.   In addition to this, Costco slowly adopts new technology that draws customer attention and can expand development initiatives and research (Bloomberg, 2011). Life Cycle Assessment Sustainable Value Framework Analysis The Life Cycle Assessment for Costco shows that Costco understands the environmental risks which originate from warehouse operations.   Costco tries to mitigate the risks associated with the environment such as loss of reputation caused by not obeying environmental rules. Costco monitors the reports on four major greenhouse gases which are carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, hydro fluorocarbons and methane. The Sustainable Value Framework provides an internal and external focus for what is happening today and what might happen tomorrow. This roadmaps a given strategy and drives success and is associated with a given payoff. Costco’s internal sustainability for today is to prevent pollution, minimize material consumption, and reduce waste. The payoff is reducing business costs and risks. For tomorrow, Costco’s internal strategy must reduce carbon footprint, create a cleaner technology, and avoid environmental disruption. The payoffs for this are competitive repositioning and further innovation (McKinsey, 2012). The external sustainable for today focuses on transparency, connectivity and drawing attention of the civil society. The pay offs are social legitimacy and increased brand reputation. For tomorrow, the external strategy ought to address depletion of resources, poverty and climate change, and the payoffs would be trajectory for permanent growth. Detailed Analysis of All Quadrants The information presented above reveals that Costco can improve its profitability by focusing on the four quadrants. To achieve permanent growth, the company must participate in campaigns that are aimed at preventing resource depletion and climate change. This way, Costco’s brand image will become popular among the members of the public, which can increase its customer base and hence profitability. Table 2: Sustainable Value Framework    Today Future External Strategy: Sustainability Vision- Costco’s code of Ethics, Community relations, Greenhouse Gas Elimination Programmes. Payoff: Sustainability in long-term growth. Strategy: Product Stewardship- Costco’s sustainable Packaging and Reducing materials Payoff: Increased reputation, and Brand Legitimacy. Internal Strategy: Clean Technology- building Construction mission, and Silver LEED Certification Payoff: Strengthening positioning and innovative buildings for future viability. Strategy: Preventing Pollution- Costco Energy programme. Payoff: Low costs associated with warehouse facilities.    Conclusions Costco tries to operate in accordance with its mission and vision in order to meet performance goals. The company strives for sustainable future. It does this by coming up with programs that can cut costs and reduce pollution. Costco’s expansion to global markets seems limited. In addition the company has a strict Code of ethics when establishing partnerships. Costco continuously offer discount services to its buyers. From the above analysis, it is clear that Costco aims at long-term growth other than short-term profitability. This explains why it short-term profits margins are smaller compared to that of its competitors, Wal-Mart and Target Corporation. References Bloomberg Business Daily (2011, November 24).  Costco Wholesale Corp.  Retrieved from http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/financials/ratios.asp?ticker=COST Farfan, B. (2010, September 10). 2012 Retail Store Closings Roundup: U.S. Retailers Closing or Liquidating Stores: Complete list of U.S. Retail Chains Downsizing or Going out of Business in 2012.  About.com. Retrieved from http://retailindustry.about.com/od/storeclosingsandopenings/a/2012-Store-Closings-US-Retail-Industry-Liquidations-Roundup-Chains-Going-Out-Business.htm McKinsey & Company. (2012). The value proposition in multichannel retailing. Retrieved from https://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/The_value_proposition_in_multichannel_retailing_2800    Â