Analysis Of The Poem Daystar And Enemy Of The People...

Mainstream refers to a general consensus in regards to normality. Society generally sees normal as good and abnormal as bad. Someone being called â€Å"normal† or â€Å"abnormal† establishes social prejudices such as exclusions. Daystar, Speed of Dark, Frankenstein, Enemy of the People and Proof are all literature pieces that share a common theme of the impact mainstream society has on individuals. The theme of society’s perception towards mothers, disabilities, physical appearances and mental stability is portrayed through individual characters that struggled to live in a mainstream society. Daystar by Rita Dove emphasizes gender roles and the expectations society has towards being a mother. Often believed that mothers should assume responsibility for cooking, cleaning, tending to their demanding children and husbands. The poem illustrates the challenges women endure to live up to society’s expectations to be a fit mother and wife. As seen through the main character mothers have to make sacrifices that often puts everyone else’s happiness before their own. For example, the women in the poem desired to have time to herself, but she couldn’t because of endless chores and children to care for. Not having time to herself making her feel lost and unfulfilled. The novel Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon illustrates living with a disability and overcoming society’s stereotypical views. People with disabilities are often labeled as abnormal. In the novel the main character, Lou endures theShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Poem Daystar And Enemy Of The People And Proof Are All Literature Pieces986 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"abnormal† establishes social prejudices such as exclusions. Daystar, Speed of Dark, Frankenstein, Enemy of the People and Proof are all literature pieces that share a common theme of the impact mainstream society has on individuals. The theme of society’s perception towards mothers, disabilities, physical appearances and mental stability is portrayed through individual characters that struggled to live in a mainstream society. Daystar by Rita Dove emphasizes gender roles and the expectations society Analysis Of The Poem Daystar And Enemy Of The People... Mainstream refers to a general consensus in regards to normality. Society generally sees normal as good and abnormal as bad. Someone being called â€Å"normal† or â€Å"abnormal† establishes social prejudices such as exclusions. Daystar, Speed of Dark, Frankenstein, Enemy of the People and Proof are all literature pieces that share a common theme of the impact mainstream society has on individuals. The theme of society’s perception towards mothers, disabilities, physical appearances and mental stability is portrayed through individual characters that struggled to live in a mainstream society. Daystar by Rita Dove emphasizes gender roles and the expectations society has towards being a mother. It is often believed that mothers should assume responsibility for cooking, cleaning, tending to their demanding children and husbands. The poem illustrates the challenges women endure to live up to society’s expectations to be a fit mother and wife. As seen through the main character mothers have to make sacrifices that often puts everyone else’s happiness before their own. For example, the women in the poem desired to have time to herself but she couldn’t because she had endless chores and children to care for. Not having time to herself made her feel lost and unfulfilled. The novel Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon illustrates living with a disability and overcoming society’s stereotypical views. People with disabilities are often labeled as abnormal. In the novel the main character, LouShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Poem Daystar And Enemy Of The People And Proof Are All Literature Pieces Essay987 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"abnormal† establishes social prejudices such as exclusions. Daystar, Speed of Dark, Frankenstein, Enemy of the People and Proof are all literature pieces that share a common theme of the impact mainstream society has on individuals. The theme of society’s perception towards mothers, disabilities, physical appearances and mental stability is portrayed through individual characters that struggled to live in a mainstream society. Daystar by Rita Dove emphasizes gender roles and the expectations society

The Theory Of Multiplication As Equal Groups Through A...

†¢ 1. The teacher established a mathematical goal to focus learning. In the beginning of the reading it said â€Å"Mr. Harris wanted his third-grade students to understand the structure of multiplication and decided to develop a task that would allow students to explore multiplication as equal groups through a familiar context† (Ex. Lines 4 and 5 provide evidence of established a mathematical goal to focus learning). The teacher also reminded the students of the initial goal,† ‘So, tell me about your picture. How does it show the setup 28 of the chairs for the band concert?’ (Ex. Lines 28 and 29 provide evidence of established a mathematical goal to focus learning). †¢ 2. He then implemented a task the promoted reasoning and problem solving.†¦show more content†¦Lines 63 provides evidence of posed purposeful questions). †¢ 7. Support Productive struggle in learning mathematics. The teacher did this when the students were working on their own methods of solving the problem. He allowed time for the students to draw out their representations. It never said, in the reading, how much time was given for the students to draw arrays, but based off molly’s representation she had enough time to draw 160 individual boxes. Also, in the reading the teacher goes by and sees that some students have changed their method of solving the problem (Ex. Lines 38 provides evidence of Support Productive struggle in learning mathematics). That would not have happened if there was not enough time to have a productive struggle. †¢ 8. Elicit and use evidence of student thinking. He did this throughout the whole lesson. He saw evidence of his students thinking when he asked them to draw arrays of their own representation of the problem (Ex. Lines 33 and 34 provides evidence of Elicit and use evidence of student thinking). This was also used in his lesson when he asked them to write â€Å"He knew this informal experience with the distributive property would be important in subsequent lessons and the student writing would provide him with some insight into whether his students understood that quantities could be decomposed as a strategy in solving multiplication problems.† (Ex. Lines 81-83 provides evidence of Elicit and use evidence of student thinking). 2.Show MoreRelatedLiberal Perspective of a State7979 Words   |  32 Pagesbelief in the importance of liberty and equal rights and so, the main theme of liberalism throughout the period of its development was that the purpose of state is the promotion and protection of human freedom and equality and ensuring of human happiness. Liberalism meant the removal of traditional distinctions that were imposed on people. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of the principles of liberty and equal rights, but most liberals supportRead MoreAll the Mathematics You Missed but Need to Know for Graduate School17996 Words   |  72 Pagesthe most important undergraduate topics in mathematics, emphasizing the intuitions behind the subject. The topics include linear algebra, vector calculus, differential geometry, real analysis, point-set topology, differential equations, probability theory, complex analysis, abstract algebra, and more. An annotated bibliography offers a guide to further reading and more rigorous foundations. This book will be an essential resource for advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students in mathematicsRead More Assessing Conceptual Understanding of Rational Numbers Essay6231 Words   |  25 Pagessummer to write new mathematics curricula. â€Å"These teacher teams usually have little training in the complicated process of curricular development, little or no help in coping with changing needs, and little to fall back on except existing textbooks, familiar programs, and traditions† (Everybody Counts, 1989, p. 77). Although teachers should be a part of the decision making regarding curriculum, this is nearly an impossible task with nearly an impossible time frame. Teachers can’t possible become theRead MoreFormal Curriculum Assessment Essay4683 Words   |  19 PagesTodd (1965), E.A. Curriculum Development and Instructional Planning in Nederland, Texas stated that, â€Å"a curriculum can be defined as the planned educational experiences offered by a school which can take place anywhere at any time in the multiple context of the school, e.g. public schools as caring communities.† (p. 1) This describes a certain type of curriculum that is not only in the classroom, but outside of it as well. It should involve the community and all of the functions that are includedRead MoreHuman R elation Essay9189 Words   |  37 Pages Page 43 2 Human Relations Theory and People Management The minutiae of the human soul †¦ emerged as a new domain for management Nikolas Rose Conventional textbooks often set up a simple story about organization theory which has a very appealing structure. In this story, there is a good guy and a bad guy. Who gets to play which role sometimes shifts, but most often the bad guy is the scientific management approach and the good guy is human relations theory. This is a flawed story in my viewRead MorePhysics in Daily Life13985 Words   |  56 Pagesunderstanding of facts, terminology, principles and concepts; use units correctly; demonstrate an understanding of the application of Physics in everyday life; understand that scientific concepts are developed within a contemporary and historical context; recognise the importance of the work of key scientists; understand the outcomes of the applications of science. use Physics principles and concepts to describe and explain everyday situations; interpret data presented in tables, diagrams o r graphs;Read MoreSocial Influence of Television Advertisement on Children a Case Study of Selected Primary Schools in Somolu Local Government Area9371 Words   |  38 Pagesthoughts, feelings, attitudes, or behaviors that results from interaction with another individual or a group of people†. Social influence is distinct from conformity, power, and authority. French and Raven (1959) provided an early formalization of the concept of social influence in their discussion of the bases of social power. For French and Raven, agents of change included not just individuals and groups, but also norms and roles. They viewed social influence as the outcome of the exertion of socialRead MoreNationalism and Transnationalism in the Context of the European Union28567 Words   |  115 PagesNationalism and Transnationalism In the context of the European Union (†¦) History says, ‘Don t hope On this side of the grave.’ But then, once in a lifetime The longed-for tidal wave Of justice can rise up, And hope and history rhyme. So hope for a great sea-change On the far side of revenge. Believe that a further shore Is reachable from here. Believe in miracles And cures and healingRead MoreContemporary Issues in Management Accounting211377 Words   |  846 Pagesreflect on the contributions which Michael Bromwich has made. He played an important role in the diffusion of modern practices of capital investment appraisal in the United Kingdom. He has been constantly open to the insights which advances in economic theory can provide into the accounting art, in many areas pushing at the frontiers of international knowledge in his own quiet way. In the area of costing, Michael has undoubtedly deepened our understandings of both conceptual and practical issues, in recentRead MoreCfa Study Guide15531 Words   |  63 Pagesmoney and statistics and probability theory. The time value of money concept is one of the main principles of financial valuation. The calculations based on this principle (e.g., present value, future value, and internal rate of return) are the basic tools used to support corporate finance decisions and estimat e the fair value of fixed income, equity, or any other type of security or investment. Similarly, the basic concepts of statistics and probability theory constitute the essential tools used

Internet and Teenagers Free Essays

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF E-LEARNING THROUGH INTERNET SERVICE FOR TEENAGERS Historically, the world centuries sustained a very hard time due to conservatism and backwardness of the people. No such sophisticated technology tools for assisting human’s tasks. Communication was also very hard to reach at that time due to the limitation of technological media devices. We will write a custom essay sample on Internet and Teenagers or any similar topic only for you Order Now Literally the civilization had undergone a substantial movement toward the human resource development. People began doing experiments and creating some opuses to help their job. Eventually, the world societies today have succeeded to invent a useful technology tools to represent and ease human’s activities in the 21st centuries. So does Indonesia, we finally also could achieve the benefit of its advantages and wake up from any restrictiveness. Beforehand, while Ki Hadjar Dewantara, the first minister of education in Indonesia, built education facilities for Indonesian society establishment. However, learning was not effective. Learning might just learn about history and uncertain knowledge. At that moment, the media experienced retardation, even not all. Indonesia was very slowly and vulnerably running for education quality standard because the lack of resources at almost all aspects in the country. In addition the people should move to overseas countries to seek more knowledge and experience. It was different from the presence, we can know starting education since early age to university level and the system has been upgraded and standardized. One very good and simple example of Technology developments that is Internet which in the same time it also produces a more sophisticated system for education world like we call E-learning. E-Learning is the learning process through multimedia based-class. Its process is completed with sophisticated electronic devices to support Teaching Learning Process. As the result of E-Learning and Multimedia Based-Class, we will understand more broadly about the lesson and science through supporting media. E-learning is not applied by using computer, television or LCD Projector only, further, we can also operate it by internet services to find broader and wider information online, news or science. In the system of E-Learning through Internet Services both tecaher and students will be possibly integrated one another so that Learning Process must be more effective and efficient. Beyond that, there are two benefits at least of E-learning those are: 1)It can bring benefits for students. They will be easier to find a wider knowledge through the internet services; they can also consult with teacher about lesson or homework online with Long Distance Learning (LDL) system. 2)It also brings benefit for teacher. The teachers will be easier to update and browse the new materials for teaching and get easier to find other data source by Internet Utilization. In particular, the implementation of E-Learning system can enhance and escalate gradually the school societies as consequence the school achievement might be visible and obtained. As a matter of fact that nowadays internet also has negative impact towards teenagers. Many people tend to blame the media on social morality disorder. Mostly people assume internet service can bring much harm to the youth, because in fact today many kids misuse the media for bad things such as watching blue movies, browsing porno pictures and dating-courtship. Therefore, in this case, parent’s and teachers’ role is necessary to control the Internet Use. We cannot possibly blame the media, because the media only useful objects as supporting system to accomplish people’s tasks, to help learning process and to discover new information. Eventually, hoping government may help people to support society’s education and to implement E-learning through Internet Services as Long Distance Learning System at school is one good thing to do as a resident. Education budget should be increased in order that Indonesian young generations are not away behind from developed countries human resources. In summary, E-learning is Online Long Distance Learning used to support Teaching Leaning Process at Classroom. E-learning makes teaching learning process work more effective and efficient to create a better and modern Teching Learning Design. How to cite Internet and Teenagers, Essay examples

Strategic Alignment of Business and Information Technology

Question: Describe about the Strategic Alignment of Business and Information Technology? Answer: OPECs current trend as an international oil producer cartel For each and every country in the world the most significant resource is petroleum as it is one of the rarest natural resources and it is not possible to produce raw petroleum into the factories but refineries can be done. In relation to maintaining the economic structure of the world economy, petroleum plays the most significant role. With an intension to control the world trade system in relation to petroleum, an organization has been formed by twelve nations, the name of that organization is Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, it is well known as OPEC. In relation to importation and exportation of petroleum and crude oil OPEC has a significant role to play in the world economic system. OPEC mainly concentrates upon the control over the price of crude oil in the international market. But in the international market there are some giant countries like UK, United States, Soviet Union and some others, these nations are financially and technologically very sound and holds a great position in the world economic structure. Venezuela, Kuwait, Ian, Iraq, UAE are some of the names of member countries of OPEC (Africa Oil Trade, 2010 and 2011, 2012). Within the purview of this context various aspects in relation to price fluctuation of crude oil in the international market, a comparison of trends of the conducts of OPEC in the earlier period and in present time, impact of OPEC upon the importation and exportation of crude oil and the factors relating to the recent condition of international market in relation to crude oil are going to be discussed as follows; By way nationalization of oil producing organizations and corporations impact of privatization in the market of crude oil can be diminished that will not only refer more revenue to the government sectors but also promotes a balance in the international crude oil market. This procedure must not be confused with the restrictions upon the exportation of crude oil. It has represented one of the most important turning points in relation to the development of policies relating to oil trade in the international market. Privatized business conducts are eliminated by the nationalization, as resources of oil in the oil producing nations are controlled by the private international corporations. It permits oil producing nations to obtain control over private properties, though it may violate some of the existing legal contracts. If these nations become the only proprietors of this confiscated resources by violating the law of contract, they will be in a superior position to manipulate the price of the crude oil in the international market, and they will decide the way by which the actual current value of their known stock of petroleum under the ground can be maximized. A number of major implications may be observed as the consequence of nationalization of crude oil. On the other hand, nationalized oil corporations are in some occasion torn among the expectations of the nation that they ought to carry the national flag and their personal goals in relation to success in trade, it could signify a level of emancipation relating to the confines of the national agenda (Aggarwal and Goyal, 2009). In the year 1949, Iran and Venezuela were the two initiative nations who took the initiation in the direction of establishment of OPEC, for that purpose they approached to Kuwait, Saudi Arab and Iran. They signify that they are going to swap upon the standpoint and also examine all the relevant factors for the purpose of faster communication among the petroleum producing nations. During the year 1959, the specified value for crude of Venezuela has been abridged by the IOCs (International Oil Companies) from the rate of 5 to 25 for every barrel of crude oil. For the crudes of Middle Eastern region the rate was 18/barrel (Ahmad, 2012). For the first time in Cairo, Egypt, the Arab Petroleum Congress has been accumulated. An organization namely Oil Consultation Commission has been established there by the Arab Petroleum Congress where the price modification plans of the International Oil Companies should have been present in relation to oil producing nations. In the year 1959, at the Arab Oil Congress in Cairo, Egypt, Wanda Jablonski has introduced Abdullah Tariki to Juan Pablo Perez Alfonzo. Bothe of them was wound up by the laceration in the specified price promoted by the international oil companies. As the result of this meeting the Agreement of Gentleman and Maadi Pact has been formed (Chapman and Hodges, 2011). During the year 1960, a noticeable rivalry has been accounted by Wanda Jablonski, the journalist, on the way to the West and the mounting divergence against the landlordism of malingerer in the middle portion Eastern province. In the famous book of him it is permitted THE PRIZE: THE EPIC QUEST FOR OIL, MONEY AND POWER. Within the contains of this famous book Daniel Yergin has described the process by way of which the natural oil is prohibited up to 75% of the entire oil industry of the US (Haerens, 2010). During the of 1960 from 10th to 14th September, the Baghdad conference was promulgated by the inventiveness of Juan Pablo HYPERLINK "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Pablo_P%C3%A9rez_Alfonso"PrezHYPERLINK "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Pablo_P%C3%A9rez_Alfonso" Alfonso, the Hydrocarbons minister and the Abdullah al-HYPERLINK "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_al-Tariki"Tariki Minesand the Saudi Arabian Energy and Mines ministerof Venezuela. The governing authorities of Kuwait, Venezuela, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Iraq, held a meeting inBaghdadwith an intention to communicate the traditions to intensify the cost of the undeveloped oil produced by the concerning countries and retort to self-sufficient procedures by theInternational Oil Corporations, they at that phase of moment prohibited all actions related to oil in the interior of the hosting States. Cooperatively along with the Arabic and non-Arabic producers of oil, Saudi Arabia has formed the Organization of Petroleum Ex port Countries (OPEC) for the rationale of protecting the unrivaled obtainable cost from the most imperative oil corporation. From this era member countries of OPEC constantly strived with an intention to have control over the market of international crude oil and they sought after to set up command upon the dealings of industrial nations relating to importation and exportation of crude oil (International Crude Oil and Refined Products Trade, Year 2011, 2012). As per the investigation made by the consulting firm ofPFC Energy, only 7 per cent of the predictable oil and gas coffers of the entire world are in the nations that permit free rein privatized multinational companies (Miller, 2010, International Crude Oil Trade, Year 2010, 2012). New Work Times has published that the petroleum borer strike in the US has been enlarged production of oil with 70 % more than the total production of oil during the year 2008 and has condensed the importation of petroleum from the member countries of OPEC at 55% against the United States (Non-OECD Europe Oil Trade, 2010 and 2011, 2012). After commencing the year of 2011, it has been engrossed by the United States of America regarding the promptly amplified domicile production of sweet, light, firm oil by the means of plunging similar type of or equivalent category (Veggeland, 2012). USA makes importation of rudimentary oilchiefly from the suppliers of Nigeria and few other suppliers from African provinces.From the beginning of the year of 2011 to the end of the year of 2013, half of the total importation of petroleum reduction smash light rudimentary. Near about 96 % of the one and a half million barrels each date, that is approximately 290,000m3/d of its total enlargement, appears from sweet rudimentary from hard development source. As domicile production of oil extends to intensify, the United State is in frontage of imminent confronts of mesmerizing the sweet taut oil (International Crude Oil Trade, Year 2012, 2013). Around 1.7 million barrels on each date that is approximately 270,000m3/d has been bring by the United States throughout the year of 2011 (International Crude Oil Trade, Year 2011, 2013). Importation of crude oil has been reduced during the year of 2013, from the quantity of 1.7 millions to one million barrels on each date, which is approximately160,000m3/d (Silvia and Taylor, 2013). At the beginning of the year of 2014, the average of crude oil importation of the United States was around merely .6 million barrels each day that is approximately 95,000m3/d. At the middle portion of the year 2014, the non-OPEC production of oil was visualize at 1.7 million barrels each date, which is about 270,000m3/d out of that the Canada and US producing at around 1.6 million barrels on each day that is just about 250,000m3/d. Throughout the middle part of the year 2014, prices in relation to petroleum unpredictably fall down by approximately one-third as United State, production of oil was more than earlier and the demand of crude oil in China and Europe has been abridged. Just earlier to the United States swiftly upturned out of the importation in marketplace of crude oil for that reason of flourishing countrywide production, the smear cost ofNorth Sea Brentrudimentary oil shattered as on 17th day of June in 2014 at extra than US$115 for every barrel of oil (International Crude Oil Trade, Year 2013, 2014). The largest maker ofsweet oilamong the OPEC countries is Nigeria. During the year of 2014(july), as the United States bunged to take in sweet rudimentary petroleum, extra rudimentary petroleum has turn out to be reachable to dispensation plant in South Korea, China, India and Japan. In comparison with 2013, in the year 2014 they collectively purchased at about 42 per cent additional crude oil of Nigeria. In the month of June, 2014, the national oil and gas company of Saudi Arabia namely Saudi Aramco has been emerged and this is the largest oil manufacturing corporation of the earth in relation to production. It abridged the cost of its rudimentary petroleum to processing plant within Asian continent to compete with imported oil from Africa and other suppliers from Nigeria. In declaration on the 27th day of November in 2014 at the OPEC conference held in Vienna, it was affirmed that among all of the non OPEC suppliers of oil the OECD-Americas has been considered as the most important one. In the year of 2015, it made a good enlarged contribution at around 1.4 million barrels each day that is about 220,000m3/d, with a great average of 57.3 million barrels each calendar day that is just about 9,110,000m3/d. Within the period of beginning of 2011 and the middle of 2014, US$110 was the standard price of petroleum. From the period of June, 2014, nonetheless, the rate of petroleum has been slip from US$110 to $US80. OPEC diverged that this plunge in the rate of oil was not completely "recognized by the oil marketplace fundamentals." concurrently petroleum rudiments market, "adequate supply, rational demand, a influential US dollar and suspicions relating to global fiscal expansion" contributed to the descend of cost, "uncertain faction within the international oil market hasalso been a considerable aspect." On the 27th day of November in the year 2014, Ali al-Naimi, the, Oil Minister of Saudi Arabia, sterile the submission from the shoddier members of OPEC, such as Venezuela, Algeria and Iran, for production slash. Regular crude, Brent oil inclined to US$71.25, a four time short. Al-Naimi stated that the marketplace would not be present to correct itself. "Olden policy of distrustful price." has been personalized by OPEC. In accordance with a numeral of analysts, OPEC may permit cost of Brent oil drop to US$60 to lethargic descending US shale oil production.Despite of a worried fiscal structure in correlated nations, al-Naimi has repetitive his announcement upon Saudi performance. At the ending part of the year 2014, with production of 30.56 million barrels each day that is approximately 4,859,000m3/d, OPEC went into its sixth consecutive month of on top of their combined target of oil production . On 11th day of December in 2014, the cost of OPEC orientated urns of Crudes has been went down to US$60.50and by 13th day of December, the cost of Brentoil hasfallen to US$61.85 (Zhang, Ji and Fan, 2014). The 12th day of January in 2015, cost of OPEC orientated urns of Crudes has been abridged to US$43.55. On the very next month of the same calendar year, OPEC had arrives in its ninth uninterrupted month of on top of their combined target of production (Zhang and Asche, 2015). After this discussion it can be said that though OPEC plays the most important role in the international oil market but the developed countries are enough capable to counter their claims and to manipulate the price of crude oil. References Africa Oil Trade, 2010 and 2011. (2012).World Oil Trade, 34(1), pp.167-183. Aggarwal, H. and Goyal, D. (2009). Strategic alignment of business and Information Technology in Indian Petroleum sector organisations.IJICBM, 2(2), p.144. Ahmad, M. (2012). Modelling and forecasting Oman crude oil prices using Box-Jenkins techniques.International Journal of Trade and Global Markets, 5(1), p.24. Chapman, G. and Hodges, G. (2011).Oil. Mankato, Minn.: Smart Apple Media. Haerens, M. (2010).Oil. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Greenhaven Press/Gale, Cengage Learning. International Crude Oil and Refined Products Trade, Year 2011. (2012).World Oil Trade, 34(1), pp.23-32. International Crude Oil Trade, Year 2010. (2012).World Oil Trade, 34(1), pp.33-42. International Crude Oil Trade, Year 2011. (2013).World Oil Trade, 35(1), pp.33-42. International Crude Oil Trade, Year 2012. (2013).World Oil Trade, 35(1), pp.43-52. International Crude Oil Trade, Year 2013. (2014).World Oil Trade, 36(1), pp.43-53. Miller, D. (2010).Oil. Detroit: Greenhaven Press. Non-OECD Europe Oil Trade, 2010 and 2011. (2012).World Oil Trade, 34(1), pp.93-99. Silvia, L. and Taylor, C. (2013). Petroleum Mergers and Competition in the Northeast United States.International Journal of the Economics of Business, 20(1), pp.97-124. Veggeland, N. (2012). Regulating Petroleum Industry and Revenues: What Does Norway Get Out of the Petroleum Industry?.IJBM, 7(3). Zhang, D. and Asche, F. (2014). The oil price shocks and Nordic stock markets.International Journal of Trade and Global Markets, 7(4), p.300. Zhang, H., Ji, Q. and Fan, Y. (2014). Competition, transmission and pattern evolution: A network analysis of global oil trade.Energy Policy, 73, pp.312-322.

Harding And Coolige Essays - Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge

Harding And Coolige The two former presidents Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolige were alike in some ways and different in others. President Harding was a news paper owner from Ohio. He was chosen as the Rep. candidate after serving as an Ohio senator. Calvin Coolige was the Vice-president at the time of Warren Harding's death. Coolige fished the rest of Harding's term and then was re-elected. President Coolige followed Harding's policies when finishing his term, but after re-election he began to make some of his own. Harding focused on trying to settle the nation back into peace. He tried to ensure this peace by making treaties and disarmament acts. Harding also tried to lower taxes, take care of war veterans, protect farmers, and collect wartime debts owed to the U.S.. However Harding was not prepared to face the huge problems of the presidency. He made the mistake of appointing some of his Ohio friends to high ranking positions. The men he appointed were involved in many scandals and money stealing. Calvin Coolige like Harding was an admirer of American business. They both believed that business should mainly be left alone without government interference. Coolige especially believed business would be less profitable with more regulation. He also believed, unlike Harding, that nothing could be done to help the U.S. farmers. Coolige vetoed many bills designed to help farmers, like the McNary-Haugen bill, by saying "Farmers have never made much money and I don't believe we can do much about it" . These two presidents were also very different when it came to their personalities. Harding was laid back and likable, always playing cards with his friends and smoking cigars. Coolige, on the other hand, was very quite plain and thrifty. He said very little, earning him the nickname "Silent Cal." These two presidents were more different than alike. They shared only a few views and had very different personalities.

What Everyone Should Know About World War I

What Everyone Should Know About World War I World War I was an extremely bloody war that engulfed Europe from 1914 to 1919, with huge losses of life and little ground lost or won. Fought mostly by soldiers in trenches, World War I saw an estimated 10 million military deaths and another 20 million wounded. While many hoped that World War I would be the war to end all wars, in actuality, the concluding peace treaty set the stage for World War II. Dates: 1914-1919 Also Known As: The Great War, WWI, the First World War The Start of World War I The spark that started World War I was the assassination of Austrias Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie. The assassination occurred on June 28, 1914, while Ferdinand was visiting the city of Sarajevo in the Austro-Hungarian province of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Although Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the nephew of Austrias emperor and heir-apparent to the throne, was not very well liked by most, his assassination by a Serb nationalist was viewed as a great excuse to attack Austria-Hungarys troublesome neighbor, Serbia. However, instead of reacting quickly to the incident, Austria-Hungary made sure they had the backing of Germany, with whom they had a treaty before they proceeded. This gave Serbia time to get the backing of Russia, with whom they had a treaty. The calls for back-up didnt end there. Russia also had a treaty with France and Britain. This meant that by the time Austria-Hungary officially declared war on Serbia on July 28, 1914, an entire month after the assassination, much of Europe had already become entangled in the dispute. At the start of the war, these were the major players (more countries joined the war later): Allied Forces (a.k.a. the Allies): France, the United Kingdom, RussiaCentral Powers: Germany and Austria-Hungary Schlieffen Plan vs. Plan XVII Germany didnt want to fight both Russia in the east and France to the west, so they enacted their long-standing Schlieffen Plan. The Schlieffen Plan was created by Alfred Graf von Schlieffen, who was the chief of the German general staff from 1891 to 1905. Schlieffen believed that it would take about six weeks for Russia to mobilize their troops and supplies. So, if Germany placed a nominal number of soldiers in the east, the majority of Germanys soldiers and supplies could be used for a quick attack in the west. Since Germany was facing this exact scenario of a two-front war at the beginning of World War I, Germany decided to enact the Schlieffen Plan. While Russia continued to mobilize, Germany decided to attack France by going through neutral Belgium. Since Britain had a treaty with Belgium, the attack on Belgium officially brought Britain into the war. While Germany was enacting its Schlieffen Plan, the French enacted their own prepared plan, called Plan XVII. This plan was created in 1913 and called for quick mobilization in response to a German attack through Belgium. As German troops moved south into France, French and British troops tried to stop them. At the end of the First Battle of the Marne, fought just north of Paris in September 1914, a stalemate was reached. The Germans, who had lost the battle, had made a hasty retreat and then dug in. The French, who couldnt dislodge the Germans, also dug in. Since neither side could force the other to move, each sides trenches became increasingly elaborate. For the next four years, the troops would fight from these trenches. A War of Attrition From 1914 to 1917, soldiers on each side of the line fought from their trenches. They fired artillery onto the enemys position and lobbed grenades. However, each time military leaders ordered a full-fledged attack, the soldiers were forced to leave the safety of their trenches. The only way to overtake the other sides trench was for the soldiers to cross No Mans Land, the area between the trenches, on foot. Out in the open, thousands of soldiers raced across this barren land in the hopes of reaching the other side. Often, most were hewn down by machine-gun fire and artillery before they even got close. Because of the nature of trench warfare, millions of young men were slaughtered in the battles of World War I. The war quickly became one of attrition, which meant that with so many soldiers being killed daily, eventually, the side with the most men would win the war. By 1917, the Allies were starting to run low on young men. The U.S. Enters the War and Russia Gets Out The Allies needed help and they were hoping that the United States, with its vast resources of men and materials, would join on their side. However, for years, the U.S. had clung to their idea of isolationism (staying out of other countries problems). Plus, the U.S. just didnt want to be involved in a war that seemed so far away and that didnt seem to affect them in any great way. However, there were two major events that changed American public opinion about the war. The first occurred in 1915 when a German U-boat (submarine) sunk the British ocean liner RMS Lusitania. Considered by Americans to be a neutral ship that carried mostly passengers, Americans were furious when the Germans sank it, especially since 159 of the passengers were Americans. The second was the Zimmermann Telegram. In early 1917, Germany sent Mexico a coded message promising portions of U.S. land in return for Mexico joining World War I against the United States. The message was intercepted by Britain, translated, and shown to the United States. This brought the war to U.S. soil, giving the U.S. a real reason to enter the war on the side of the Allies. On April 6, 1917, the United States officially declared war on Germany. The Russians Opt Out As the United States was entering World War I, Russia was getting ready to get out. In 1917, Russia became swept up in an internal revolution that removed the czar from power. The new communist government, wanting to focus on internal troubles, sought a way to remove Russia from World War I. Negotiating separately from the rest of the Allies, Russia signed the Brest-Litovsk peace treaty with Germany on March 3, 1918. With the war in the east ended, Germany was able to divert those troops to the west in order to face the new American soldiers. Armistice and the Versailles Treaty The fighting in the west continued for another year. Millions more soldiers died, while little land was gained. However, the freshness of the American troops made a huge difference. While the European troops were tired from years of war, the Americans remained enthusiastic. Soon the Germans were retreating and the Allies were advancing. The end of the war was near. At the end of 1918, an armistice was finally agreed upon. The fighting was to end on the 11th hour of 11th day of the 11th month (i.e. 11 am on Nov. 11, 1918). For the next several months, diplomats argued and compromised together in order to come up with the Versailles Treaty. The Versailles Treaty was the peace treaty that ended World War I; however, a number of its terms were so controversial that it also set the stage for World War II. The carnage left behind by the end of World War I was staggering. By the end of the war, an estimated 10 million soldiers were killed. That averages to about 6,500 deaths a day, every day. Plus, millions of civilians were also killed. World War I is especially remembered for its slaughter for it was one of the bloodiest wars in history.

Historical Context Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Historical Context - Essay Example Gellee’s painting titled â€Å"Large Landscape† reflects a seemingly peaceful and pastoral imagery of a landscape, in context to the progress in which his nation of France was enjoying in that historical period. Cuyp’s painting titled â€Å"Landscape near Rhenen: Cows Grazing and a Shepherd Playing the Flute† reflects a peaceful and carefree life in context with the growth and prosperity of the Dutch Republic during that historical period. The work of German painter Caspar David Friedrich titled â€Å"Seashore by Moonlight† dated 1818 is an example of Romanticist Art. Friedrich is considered one of the pre-eminent and well known painters of the Romantic Movement, or also called Romanticism. The Romantic Movement was a cultural development that swept throughout Europe during the 19th century that affected in the areas of art, philosophy, social and political aspects. Romanticism believes the power of the individual’s creativity and sense of imagination, and also the unrestrained freedom of emotional sentiments. Romanticists rose in opposition towards the scientific, systematic and highly logical classical learning of the Enlightenment Age. Underlying themes in Romantic expression would be the portrayal of nature in a mysterious, mythical spirituality or fantasy, folk nationalism and individualism. One could say that Romanticism is an act of cultural rebellion. The British painter John Constable is another artist of the Romantic period and is a contemporary of Caspar David Friedrich. Constable’s painting titled â€Å"Weymouth Bay with Approaching Storm†, has a similar style with Caspar David Friedrich’s painting â€Å"Seashore by Moonlight†. The nature style of Constable’s painting is his representation of a British landscape seeks to give this imagery the same sense of mystery as that found in Friedrich’s painting. It should also be remember that the historical setting of the time is the

Fatal Attraction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Fatal Attraction - Essay Example This movie has gained importance for the psychological disorder reflected by Glenn close, where in she forces herself to get attached to the man involved with her. The abnormal mental disorder with Glenn Close is very clear in the movie as it was a psychological illness called Border line personality disorder. In this movie, this female character depicted symptoms like, impulsiveness, extreme anger ness, suicidal tendencies, instability with interpersonal relationship and fear of rejection. Borderline personality disorder is a mental illness in which the victim shows continue disturbance of personality instability, mood swings, identity crisis and self – image issues and prolonged thinking patterns. The person can remain disassociated from people and can bring about negative impact on oneself and to others to a great extend. This can bring over a disaster effect on the patient and can even turn fatal to people around them. The patient can have a distorted self image and can have uncontrollable mood swings and impulsive attitude which their loving ones can find strange and horrifying. The most of the symptoms of this disease appear in a person during adolescence or in the late adulthood. Clinical Features Reflected by Glenn Close The first symptom shown by Glenn close is her attempt to suicide, where in she tries to slit her wrist .This is a major clinical symptom of Border line personality disorder where the patient feel dejected and abandoned and tries to accomplish their goals by putting their lives on risk. The character is showing a sign of self harming which means that she is an advanced stage of border personality disorder. She is also getting obsessed with the man she had affair with, and is trying relentlessly to stalk him and his family. She is trying to harm his family members in order to take of her jealousy on them .This is a kind of mood swing which can get extreme in patients of border personality disorder. She is following the man she got involved everywhere, and this is a case of compulsion because of extreme mood swings. Moreover Glenn Close is sending a tape with abusive words to his family as part of her mental illness. She is also showing the splitting aspect where she idealizes Michael Douglas and demonizes his family. She attempts to kill his wife and kid which is indeed an atrocious act. â€Å" The phenomenon of â€Å"splitting† signifies an inability to reconcile alternative or opposing perceptions or feelings within the self or others, which is characteristic of borderline personality†(American Psychiatric,2001,pg.47). She has also identity crisis where she thinks she is being dejected and is forcefully tries to cling on to the Michael Douglas fro love and support. The female character also has extreme mood swings wherein she abuses the man and also tries to be nice at the same time. The Character and the Personality Disorder The character in the movie Glenn Close very clearly depicted the symptoms of Border personality disorder. She is not showing a normal behavior as she threatens the man she is involved with and is intimidating him to love her. She is also performing suicidal attempts which are a chronic symptom of border personality disorder. This could be mainly due to the aloneness experienced by the character in the movie. â€Å"Aloneness is experienced as a terrifying loss of self that the patient of BPD may defend against by action or by distorting reality†(Gunderson,2008pg.11). Glenn close her is showing fear of abandonment where the victim make desperate attempts to hold on to the failed relationship. She also loses control on her feelings and become impulsive very easily and attempts on self destruction and

The Geek Crises Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Geek Crises - Essay Example The recession that has overtaken the European zone post the housing bubble burst in the US is poised to shake things up in the European region as well. The small states like Greece, Spain and Italy which hitherto have been irresponsible and caviler with their fiscal policies have been putting the overall aggregate demand within their territories under too much of a stress. The augmenting debt has not only placed the aggregate demand in these countries under too much of a stress, but has also lead to drastic changes in the wage and labor markets, which has made the aggregate supply and consequently the national outputs to shrink as well. This call for drastic austerity measures so that the free market forces could come into play and rescue the shrinking aggregate demand thereby resuscitating the aggregate supply to the full employment levels in Greece and other suffering European states. Table of Contents 1.1 Executive Summary †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 2 2.0 Introduction †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.... 4 2.1 Things to be Discussed †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 5 3.0 Discussion †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. ... the Greek situation by suggesting situation bound and conditional rescue packages tagged to tough austerity measures and an enhanced centralization of fiscal power in the European Union (Erlanger 2012). In contrast the liberal states like France intend to propose a more lax attitude towards the Greek situation and want to allow Greece a measure of fiscal and financial freedom thereby allowing the possibly new elected government in Greece a somewhat enhanced flexibility and maneuverability (Erlanger 2012). At present the possible Greek exit has emerged to be a bone of contention between the liberals and conservatives in the European Union. Not to mention that the current political situation in Greece at the time when this article was published happened to be volatile with no stable government that could accrue the people’s confidence and thereby push the proposed European backed reforms and austerity measures. The situation demands a withdrawal of the state fiscal measures from the Greek economy in a time bound and systematic manner so that the free market forces could operate and bring back the economy to a normal level (Erlanger 2012). However, no party in Greece seems to be willing to face the wrath of the masses by raising the public anger. In the mean time the capital from Greece is flowing out and the rating agencies have not only downgraded the credit worthiness of Greece as a region, but have also downgraded the credit worthiness of many salient Greek financial institutions and banks (Erlanger 2012). This has given way to a catch 22 situation in which the European Union expects Greece to act responsible and accept a conditional bailout package and opt for tough austerity measures while the people of Greece seem to be totally averse to any such compromises.

The Global Rubber Tire Industry

The Global Rubber Tire Industry Strategic Leadership is defined as the ability to shape the organisations decisions and deliver high value over time, not only personally but also by inspiring and managing others in the organisation. (Lynch, 2009). The focus of strategic leadership is sustainable competitive advantage, or the enduring success of the organization. (Hughes Beatty, 2005) Key components of Strategic Leadership: How to lead so that others will follow. How to shape culture. How to structure and influence decision making. (Lynch, 2009) In view of the above definitions and key characterisitcs, strategic leadership in the Global Rubber Tire Industry in general and Continental AG in particular is seen as the ability of a corporate leader to build long term value for the stakeholders of an organisation. In the context of Continental AG, Dr. Hubert von Grunberg displays Strategic Leadership by first acknowledging the fact that all was not well at Continental. Aginst the backdrop of rising sales, profits were falling, to the point of a loos in 1991. The drive to increase sales and maintain a position in the Global Market using aggressive pricing was detrimental to the immediate and long term well being of Continental. This was swiftly followed by a Clear 10 point recovery plan announced in December 1991, the direction was clearly set for the turn around through encouragement of Entreprenuership and strategic alliances, and a goal of ensuring profitabilty in 1992. The next step in the turn around was the identification of the individual business units and making each unit responsible for profitability. In this process, no preson or process was considered immune to review, and the subsequent restructuring of the Organisation from a Task oriented sturcture in 1991 through to a Market oriented structure in 2001 further depicts strategic leadership. Entrepreneurship is a way of thinking, reasoning and acting that focuses on the identification and exploitation of opportunities from a broad general perspective typically driven by the leadership of individuals or small groups. (Lynch, 2009) Corporate Entrepreneurship is often called Intrapreneurship and is defined as Entrepreneurs can be found starting organizations, running organizations and working in organizations as employees. In the latter case they are typically called intrapreneurs, i.e. internal entrepreneurs. (Thompson Martin, 2005) The key consideration is the identification and utilisation of opportunities for profit. Given the case study, Entrepreneurship is embedded at the core of the recovery plan of Continental AG. The case study goes on to state that the Tire as a product had largely expended innovative capacity. Inspite of this the dedicated focus on technological leadership is an important Entrepreneurial component. The first instance is the key belief of Dr. von Grunberg that Complete sytems will be the dominant supplier to the Automobile Industry in the short and medium term. The establishment of Automotive systems as division to develop these integrated sytems pre-empted the possible relegation of Continental as a secondary supplier had it remained a pure Tire manufacturer. The identification of Rubber lifting belts as an alternative product also shows high entreprenuerial capacity, as Continental was already a Global leader in the Tire industry whose primary input is Rubber. This opportunity and subsequent alliance with Otis, a global leader in the elevator industry resulted in substantila supply contracts. Given the illustrations above, it is evident that all Entrepreneurs are Strategic Leaders, but the same cannot be said for the reversal, ie. All Startegic Leaders are not necessarily Entrepreneurs. 1.2 Critical evaluation of Continentals Agenda for Strategic Change at the beginning of the 1990s. Strategic change concerns changes which take place over time to the strategies and objectives of the organization. Change can be gradual or evolutionary or more dramatic, even revolutionary. (Thompson Martin, 2005) Lynch argues that it is important to distinguish Strategic Change form Organisational Change (Lynch, 2009). Organisational change inevitably happens in the course of the daily operations of an organisation whereas Strategic Change is a planned and excuted set of events and actions which move an organisation in the direction of achieving its clearly defined objectives. This involves substantive changes beyond normal routines and the induction of new patterns of action, belief and attitudes. (Schein, 1990) Tichy identifies four main causes of Strategic change, namely Environment; Business Relationships; Technology; People. (Tichy, 1983). The situation facing Continental AG in 1991 was a compound combination of all the four causes. The leading cause was the Environment as Tire market was saturated; Car Manufacturers were pushing down prices; Technology was plateaued and as a result a New Leader was appointed. The cause of the crisis can be narrowed to complacency, and irresponsiveness to Market demands. Hannagan explains that Strategic change can be incremental where the organisations underlying values and beliefs are not radically altered or transformational where a major paradigm shift occurs in the cultural assumptions. Whether it is incremental or transformational, strategic change is concerned with changes which are necessary to maintain the link between the organisation and its environment so that it remains competitive and able to meet the needs of its customers. (Hannagan, 2002). Given the scale of the down turn at Continental AG, a hybrid combination of small incremental changes and quantum leap transformational strategic changes were adopted to mark a path to recovery. The agenda for Strategic change undertaken by Continental AG can be broken down in to the sections outlined below. Change in Leadership Appointment of Dr. von Grunberg. The implementation of a turnaround strategy necessitated a change at the helm of the organisation. This resulted in the appointment of a new chairman of the Executive Board. The first step towards achieving profitability was identifying loss making units down to the smallest possible element. In this case the segregation of a number of divisions into smaller units. This is witnessed in the separation of the replacement tire business which was profitable from that of the loss making original equipment business. A further step in the turnaround strategy was the conversion of Common service functions into profit centres. Human Resource and Information Technology, which were shared services across the organisation, were eventually separated into separate commercial entities. This was a clear departure from the thinking where support functions are cost centres. Despite the conceived stagnation and exhaustion in the innovative potential of the Tire as a product, the heavy emphasis on Technological excellence, Innovation and Integration formed an additional key factor in the change strategy. The harmonisation of Research and Development in a central location and the allocation of a percentage of all revenues to RD is a manifestation of this. Entrepreneurship The conviction that Continental AG has the capacity and capability to identify opportunities in the market and take advantage of these to enhance profitability was evident in the strategic move towards moving beyond the traditional core product of Tires and into a complete systems supplier to the Automobile industry. 2.1 How Continental AG fostered Strategic Innovation to achieve growth in productivity from 1991 to 1999 in view of Porters Value Chain A systematic way of examining all the activities a firm performs and how they interact is necessary for analyzing the sources of competitive advantage. In this chapter, I introduce the value chain as the basic tool for doing so. (Porter, 1985) Every firm is a collection of activities that are performed to design, produce, market, deliver, and support its product. Value Chain as defined by Porter (1985) comprises of 5 Primary activities, namely Inbound Logistics, Operations, Outbound Logistics, Marketing Sales and Service. In addition a Porters Value chain has 4 Support Activities i.e. Firm Infrastructure, HRM, Technology Development and Procurement. (Porter, 1985) Continental AG achieved growth in productivity by fostering strategic innovation in a number of its value chain activities. These are briefly enumerated below. The reorganisation of Continental AGs Infrastructure by means of Decentralisation of its Bureaucracy and restructuring the organisation from a task oriented structure into a market oriented one. The creation of Business Unit Value chains for Passenger Tires and Commercial Tires, consequently merging Manufacturing and Marketing of each and giving each unit Individual profit responsibility. The conversion of Support activities of Information Technology and Human Resource into individual Business Unit Value Chains and subsequently independent business entities. Revisiting and improving procurement of important inputs, steel cord being a key example. The resulting savings in costs greatly enhanced profitability. This required expansion of the procurement process to ensure quality, and thus displays the advantage of creating a linkage between the value chain of Continental and its supplier. Remarketing and positioning of competing acquired brands into complementary positions based on quality and application. This is seen by placing Continental as a premium brand and Barum as budget, similarly marketing Uniroyal as the rain tire and Semperit as the winter tire. Development of Technology, and when necessary acquiring another Company (Teves) to focus on Automotive Systems competency as opposed to manufacture of Tires only. This enabled Continental AG to create competitive advantage through differentiation. The development of a Modular Manufacturing Plant where the base model of tires is mass manufactured, but allowing for some customisation and diversity is evidence of Innovative operations. 2.2 Comparison of Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility practices of Continental AG with those of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company Corporate Governance is defined as the responsibility of a firms board of directors. The directors have a fiduciary duty to the shareholders, who are the corporations owners. (Sompayrac, 2006) Corporate social responsibility (CSR) can be defined as the economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary expectations that society has of organizations at a given point in time. (Carroll Buchholtz, 2003) In line with the above definitions, Corporate Governance focuses on the efficient and prudent execution of Organisations responsibility to its shareholders as its legal owners, whereas Corporate Social Responsibility concentrates on the Organisations responsibility to all its stakeholders, of whom the owners are a section. The stakeholders will include shareholders, employees, customers, suppliers, government, society at large and the Environment. As elaborated in the Corporate Governance Section of Continentals annual report for 2009 (Continental Corporation, 2010), the Supervisory Board and Executive Board are equally responsible for the governance of the company. The Supervisory Board comprises of twenty members, half of whom represent shareholders and half elected as Employee representatives. The Supervisory Board advises and supervises the Executive Board, oversees the strategic implementation of policies, approves decisions of material importance and appoints the Executive Board through and with the consent of the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders. The Chairman of the Executive Board serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Company The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company Corporate governance guidelines provide for a Board of Directors comprising of nine to twelve members elected at the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders of the Company. The Chairman of the Board at Goodyear may, but need not be, the Chief Executive Officer of the Company. (The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company) Prominent similarities in the Governance models of Continental and Goodyear are the functions of Audit, Compensation and Remuneration, Appointment and Governance are vested in the Supervisory and Executive Board at Continental and in the Board of Directors at Goodyear. Both Companies have prudent guidelines regulating the conduct of the members who serve on these boards. The key differences observed between Corporate Governance at Continental and Goodyear are twofold. First, the bicameral structure at Continental, where the Supervisory Board acts in an Advisory Capacity to the Executive Board. A single governance structure exists at Continental. Whereas a two level governance structure provides additional guidance, supervision and prudence, it also adds an additional layer of bureaucracy and associated bottlenecks and costs to the organisation. The second difference observed between the Governance structures is the presence of elected representation of the Employees in the Supervisory Board, in a number equal to those of the Shareholders representatives. This presence ensures the involvement of Employees representation in material decisions of the Company, and consequently offers better protection of the Human Resource employed at Continental AG. The Corporate Social Responsibility activities of Continental AG are summarised in the Companys Annual Report for the Financial Year 2009 (Continental Corporation, 2010)accessed on the companys website. The principal focus of the Corporate Responsibility Report is activities revolving around non-shareholding stakeholders. The Key areas of focus are Employees, Environment and Acting Responsibly. Complementing the Annual Report, whose primary target is shareholders, is the BASICS of Continental AG. These driving principles have evolved very little from their formulation as described in the case study to date as available on Continentals corporate website. The BASICS cover the relationships of Continental with Customers, Suppliers, Employees, Partners and Shareholders. This vision defining document has a more holistic approach towards CSR by encompassing the expectations of all stakeholders. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, in contrast to Continental, does not report its Corporate Social Responsibility activities in its Annual Report to Shareholders, but publishes a separate Report for CSR (The Goodyear Tire Rubber Company, 2009), as available on the companys website. This Report outlines four stakeholders namely, Consumers, Associates, Environment and Communities. Both companies give a high level of importance to Employee training and development through various initiatives, and the creation of a safe working environment with almost zero injuries. Equal emphasis is directed to customer focus in the Continental BASICS (Continental Corporation, 2010)and the Goodyear CSR report (The Goodyear Tire Rubber Company, 2009). With regards to Environmental protection, both Continental and Goodyear have comprehensive policies for sustainable and responsible behaviour. Continental reports on its Carbon Management activities in its annual report giving detailed information of its efforts to contain its Environmental impact. Goodyear reports its Environmental Impact in the CSR Report and highlights its Energy and Water Efficiency in its Manufacturing processes. In addition Goodyear emphasises the Environmental friendliness of its products by focusing on fuel efficient tires and its prototype tire manufactured from renewable biomass. It is also observed that Goodyear has a more focused Community Engagement Policy in the areas that it operates. This includes visible support of charities through its aerial blimp, support for education, disaster relief and road safety campaigns. Whereas at Continental this facet is not very prominent and is limited to its Formula Student and Ambassador training and education programs. Effectiveness of Functional, Organisational and Corporate structures in unleashing Managers Entrepreneurial Energy. The Functional structure in place at Continental AG in 1991 is explained in the case study and displayed in the illustration below. Functional Structure of Continental AG in 1991 Distelzweig, 2006 argues that the functional structure as was in place in 1991 has distinct advantages and disadvantages. The advantages noted in this structure are efficiency and skill development, and the disadvantages being the creation of a narrow departmental focus at the cost larger organisational goals, and the challenge of coordinating geographically dispersed locations under the same function. This structure took a considerable toll on management time and resources in overseeing day to day operational activities as elaborated by Bartlett and Ghoshal (1995). Given the scenario at Continental, this structure was largely focused on tasks and control, with individual units having minimum autonomy. Such a situation of top-down control resulted in discouraging the development and cultivation of Entrepreneurship in Continental. Organisational structure of tire operations in 1992 The metamorphosis of Continental AG from functional departmentalisation as described above to an Organisational model (also referred to as Divisional or Multidivisional model) was initiated by Dr von Grunberg as he took the lead role as chairman of the Executive Board. The earliest transformation noted in the case study is the realignment of the Production and Marketing sections of Tyres, into Passenger and Commercial Tires. This reassignment along the lines of Product Division allowed mangers to take responsibility for their respective Product and consequently Market segment. This structure evidences visible improvements over the functional structure as elaborated by Distelzweig (2006) in offering the divisional managers autonomy for their unit but may create some duplication of efforts if key functional tasks defined above. Bartlett Ghoshal, 1995 discuss that this structure freed up time and resources of senior managers to engage in strategic activities, but argue that this structure was unable to generate and nurture new business opportunities internally. As each division in the organisation became individually responsible for its revenue stream and profitability, new ventures were seen as unjustifiable capital and human resource costs, thus discouraged. Thus, necessitating growth through expansion and acquisition. This structure is seen to encourage a limited level of Entrepreneurship among unit managers, but given the cost justification argued above still limits the extent to which this energy can be unleashed. Corporate structure of Continental AG in2001 At the turn of the century as Dr von Grunberg was handing over the reins of Continental AG the structure at the Company had evolved to the corporate model described in the case study and pictured below. This model was meant to maximise the utilisation of Entrepreneurial talent and energy in the company and drive it through continued profitability, which had been achieved through an impressive turn around in the last decade. Bartlett and Ghoshal (1995) recommend that for a company to sustain its growth in the current times, an emergent management approach is required. This approach is comprised of a three coordinated core processes, namely Entrepreneurial, Integration and Renewal Processes. The Corporate structure at Continental AG is in alignment with this model. The Entrepreneurial Process is visible in the revised structure by giving each business unit sufficient autonomy and creative space to identify and exploit opportunities. The creation of a Strategic Technology unit is a key factor in the integration Process and enables diverse business units to collaborate towards making Continental a trendsetter in the automotive Industry. The Renewal Process comprising of rationalisation and revitalisation aspects, where mind sets and ingrained cultures are challenged are evidences in the departure for a hypercaution towards a willingness to take risks in business. In conclusion, Schuler (1986) states that successful Corporate Entrepreneurship involves two importan factors, organisational structure and human resources. Human resources foster and facilitate innovation and entrepreneurship and to sustain this requires flexible organisational structures and policies. This has been continuously improved and optimally enabled in the evolution of the structure through functional, organisational and finally the corporate structure at Continental AG. 3.2 Evaluating the effectiveness of Dr. Stephan Kessels leadership skills. Thompson and Martin (2005) explain that the qualities and skills of an effective leader are broadly classified in three categories, Drive, Judgement and Influence. Drive combines motivation, ambition and ability. Judgement includes decision making, opportunity spotting, problem framing and analytical skills. Influence encompasses the effect on peoples behaviours, networks and contacts. In addition to the above categories, De Vries (1996) discusses that leaders require architectural and charismatic skills to enable them be effective in their organisations. Dr. Kessel was appointed to head the then loss making Original Equipment unit of passenger tires in 1995, and responsible for the return to profitability of this unit. He was later to run the Commercial tire unit form 1997 and was appointed to the Executive Board. He was appointed Chairman of the Executive Board in June 1999 and relinquished his position in September 2001. (Continental Corporation, 2001) The meteoric career, but short stint at the helm of the organisation as viewed through the lens of the above considerations may be evaluated as a mixed bag of success and disappointments. Assessing the Drive of Dr. Kessel, it is found that his ambition and ability are reasonably successful with his leading the Original Equipment passenger tire division to profitability and his subsequent success at the Commercial tire division, coupled with his tenure on the Executive Board. Murphy (2001) also opines that his acquisition plans may be termed as too ambitious, thus being a damper on his leadership. In evaluating his Judgment skills, Dr. Kessels decision making and opportunity skills are an accomplishment in the earlier tenure of his leadership. His commitment to continue on the path of Innovation set by his predecessor Dr. von Grunberg and cultivating Entrepreneurship in the management of Continental AG are visible landmarks. However, his subsequent decision (not covered in the case study) to sell off the Conti Tech division, which was unsuccessful and contributed his departure from Continental may be viewed as a let-down. (Murphy, 2001) Dr. Kessels departure as announced on the Continental Website on 11th September 2009 was explained as: Meeting today, the Supervisory Board of Continental AG, Hanover, appointed Manfred Wennemer (53) Chairman of the Executive Board. Wennemer replaces Dr. Stephan Kessel (47), who immediately relinquishes his seat on the Executive Board over differences concerning the strategic orientation of the corporation. Kessel is departing from the company on very amicable terms. (Continental Corporation, 2001) The specific mention of differences in strategic orientation, while partly reflecting on the Judgement criteria, can be viewed as failure to Influence the Supervisory and Boards to align themselves with his strategic direction. This was an irreconcilable difference and leaves the Influence portion of Dr. Kessels leadership largely wanting. A Tire Industry publication (Tyre Industry Publications Ltd, 2001)also elaborates the growing differences of opinion between Dr. Kessel and his predecessor, Dr. von Grunberg, who at that point in time was Chairman of the Supervisory Board (which is mandated to appoint and replace Executive Board Members). This may also be measured as a shortfall in the Influencing ability of Dr. Kessel. In conclusion, using De Vries (1196) criterion it may be summarised that Dr. Kessel was considerably successful in his Architectural role in designing and running profitable units and the Organisation as a whole, his Charismatic role and ability fell short of what was required at Continental AG in 2001.

The Use of Intensity and Passion as Resources for Social Transformation

Baldwin saw his race lynched, beaten, and emotionally tormented, alongside white America’s indifference towards this social problem. He witnessed firsthand the shortcomings of his country. Meanwhile, his father obfuscated this intense reality, which likely paralleled a similarly hidden reality of white people his age whose parents repeatedly eluded such inequalities because it was easier than facing them head-on. For Baldwin, trouncing social injustice requires the white man’s knowledge of how to love the Negro, to love one must suffer reality by facing their fears of experiencing the wicked and unknown. Ironically, the only wicked and unknown is that of the white man’s private fears and longings projected onto the Negro, fear of the burdensome reality that life is tragic and death is inevitable. The Negro more or less accepts his eventual death, since throughout American history he was raped, tortured, humiliated, and experienced a loss of human identity and human authority from confronting the twisted beauty of suffering (Baldwin, 98-99). The Negro was forced to face sensuality, that which Anglo-Teutonic, anti-sexual Whites have not (Baldwin, 43 & 30). â€Å"The [white] person who distrusts himself has no touchstone for reality—for this touchstone can be only oneself† (Baldwin, 43). It is for this reason that the Negro must rise-up, assuming that any potential for social justice rests in his hands. The few relatively conscious whites and relatively conscious blacks must, â€Å"like lovers, insist on, or create, the consciousness of others† (Baldwin, 105). Up to this point in American History, blacks and whites have instead experienced universal joylessness (Baldwin, 43). To the white man’s benefit, love for the Negro absolves his ... ...rm their own lives, at the same time the members desire to learn from the students and from inspired self-reflection about how they can transform their own lives. On the other end of the spectrum, extremist examples of passion and intensity used as resources for transformation include groups like Wikileaks.org, Al-Qaida, and the Dove Community Outreach Center. Such resources may invoke the spirit of war, rebellion, and deceit, detract from societal progress and antagonize tensions already rooted in sensitive geopolitical relationships. However, we must recognize that outside the western world, many people see these resources as positive for social and personal transformation. Ascertainable from these diverse resources is that passion and intensity may be leveraged regardless of geographical, political, or social divides, to effect diverse social and personal change.

I Love India Essay

In a land where diversity originates, where success can be found in loss, and where the heart is bigger than the house, one needs no more explanation to hesitate in saying the name. Yes, it is INDIA. A very pleasant morning/afternoon to all the teachers and my dear friends. I Khadija from 1st standard is here to speak a few words about my country. India is the seventh largest country in the world. India became independent in 1947. Mahatma Gandhi is the Father of our Nation. India is the world’s Largest democracy. From Kashmir in the north to Kanyakumari in the south, India has 28 states and 7 Union Territories. It has many beautiful mountains, lakes, rivers and deserts and it is home to the sacred River Ganga. India has many historical places like Taj Mahal, Char Minar, Qutum Minar, Red Fort. Taj Mahal, one of the Seven Wonders of the World is in my country. The diversities of this beautiful country vary from state to state. The diversities are in terms of the languages spoken, religions followed, food habits all of which add to rich Indian culture. Four of the world’s major religions — Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism originated in this country. Many festivals like Diwali, Holi, Eid, Christmas are all celebrated by sharing sweets with family, neighbours and friends. One of the most outstanding thing is the culture and manners youngsters are taught here, the way they respect their parents and all elders. India is the homeland of various dance forms, both classical and folk. Some of them are Bharatnatyam, Kathakali, Kuchipudi, Odissi and Manipuri. Inspite of all these diversities, we all love and respect each other as Indians. Thus, setting India as a living example of secular harmony and Unity in diversity. Proud to be an Indian and â€Å"I love my Country†.

Islamic Auditing and Conventional Banking

Auditing is an examination and verification of a company's financial and accounting records and supporting documents by a professional, such as a Certified Public Accountant. According to AlBaraka, Islamic bank is an institution that mobilizes financial resources and invests that money in an attempt to achieve pre-determined islamically – acceptable social and financial objectives. Both mobilization and investment of money should be conducted in accordance with the principles of Islamic Sha’riah whereas according to Ustaz Hj Zaharuddin (2007) stated that conventional bank operates based on debtor-creditor relationships.For example, it is between depositors (creditor) and bank (debtor); and borrowers (debtor) and the bank (creditor). Conventional bank maximize profit by charging interest to customers. On the other hand, Basu (2006) defines Audit report as â€Å"†¦ the document to which auditor convey his opinion about the fairness of the financial statements† . The audit report is one of the vital parts of communication used by auditors. The nature of the report must be clear and concise enough to be disclosed and communicated as its represents the auditor’s credibility as well as the degree of responsibility being undertake.Often the role of conventional auditor is to come up with a report examining the credibility of the financial statements and whether the financial statements are prepared in accordance with an applicable and relevant auditing standard. However, when referring to the auditor’s report of Islamic Bank or the Sha’riah supervisory report of an Islamic Bank, the scope of auditor’s report will be extended. This is because auditors for Islamic banks must also attest the compliance of the bank practice to that

“Blueback” by Tim Winton Essay Essay Example

â€Å"Blueback† by Tim Winton Essay Essay Example â€Å"Blueback† by Tim Winton Essay Paper â€Å"Blueback† by Tim Winton Essay Paper Essay Question: How does Tim Winton use the elements of narrations to covey his subject? Have you of all time read a narrative about a male child whose best friend is a fish? In Blueback by Tim Winton this is precisely what happens. Like in many of Winton’s narratives Blueback is set in a seaside town in Western Australia. Winton uses the scene. characters. struggle and declaration to portray the message that we should protect the environment and non loot the oceans for our ain benefit. The chief Fictional characters in Blueback are Able and his Mum. Dora. who live in the sleepy seaside town of Longboat bay. Winton constructs Longboat bay as a peaceable rather topographic point that belongs merely to Able. Dora and Blueback. a topographic point were they enjoy plunging and were â€Å"Able swims with his female parent in turquoise Waterss † . Winton constructs this scene to do the reader think of it as a healthy easygoing topographic point to populate off from the metropolis. Winton makes Abel’s place sound like a really pleasant topographic point to populate being nestled between Longboat bay with its abundant marine life and pristine national park. with booming wild life. Able and Dora enjoy the simple life and are really self sufficient and make everything from repairing motors to roll uping ear-shell and selling the shells. Able and Dora take advantage of the land and travel fishing and seting harvests Dora Tells Able that â€Å"Able and his female parent lived of the sea and land. Jackson had been populating here like this for more than a 100 years† . Able is constructed as a strong willed character that does his best to assist other people and the environment. When Able sees Costello â€Å"stripping the reef bare† he goes out to seek and halt him and in the procedure saves Blueback. this to me shows that Abel is a really unselfish individual. Another illustration of able being unselfish is when Longboat Bay is about ruined by an oil spill. and Able hastes place from the metropolis to seek and assist. Able and his married woman even quit their occupations to look after his Dendranthema grandifloruom when she gets ill. Winton constructs Able as a character that makes us believe about the environment and other people more. One of the chief struggles in Blueback is when Able and Dora seek to salvage Blueback from Costello. Able sees Costello taking all the fish and all the Abalone from the bay efforts to halt him. Able rapidly boards Costello’s boat and throws the ear-shell back into the H2O trusting they might last. Meanwhile Dora swims down to look into on Blueback. Able swam down to his female parent and realised that Costello was seeking spear Blueback. Costello had already changeable one lance that had missed Blueback my the narrowest or borders and was recharging. Unexpectedly Blueback swam off. On the surface Dora told Able that she â€Å"Biffed† the fish on in the caput to frighten it off. Winton uses this struggle to do the reader think about non taking to much from the ocean for your ain benefit and continuing what we have. Costello is constructed as a average selfish character who is merely interested in making something for his ain addition. Costello is the complete antonym of Able and merely thinks about himself and doesn’t attention for the environment at all. Dora describes Able as a â€Å"hard case† and says there is nil Able can make to halt him taking all the ear-shell from Longboat Bay. Even though Able does halt Costello taking more Abalone he still took many undersize fish and broke the jurisprudence. When Able got on Costello’s boat he saw that. â€Å" the deck was afloat with blood. Able had speared fish about every twenty-four hours of his life but he had neer seen such slaughter like this. † Winton uses Costello’s character makes the reader think about being more cognizant of actions that may impact other people and the image of a deck awash with blood to do people experience disgust. Winton uses the scene. characters. struggle and declaration to state his narrative and to give us the message that we must protect the environment. He does this by holding two chief scenes in Blueback. the first is Able’s place. a peaceable tranquil bay and the 2nd scene. the metropolis which is constructed as a dull noisy topographic point that Able describes as â€Å"hemmed in† . The chief message in this novel is that we must continue what we have.

Enlightenment and Modernity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Enlightenment and Modernity - Essay Example Intellectuals emerged and new knowledge permeated every facet of educated life. The Enlightenment period welcomed Industrial Revolution. This created jobs for the rural and educated dwellers. The advancements of Enlightenment transformed the European nations into more intelligent and self-aware civilization. The thinkers and writers believed that they were more enlightened than their fellow citizens were and therefore took the initiative to educate them. They held that through reasoning people could build a better world. People could solve problems through rational thought and experimentation. This was because a reasonable person could eradicate ignorance, superstition, and autocracy (Beales, 2005:81). People increased their reading habits because of availability of books from the publishing firms. This paper will endeavour to establish the role that publishers and readers played in the dissemination of enlightenment thought. The principles of enlightenment spread throughout Europe a nd America mainly through reading and writings. Debating societies, coffeehouses, salons, and literary circles came into being all over Europe. People interacted through studying and discussing wide rage of topics. The inquiry of knowledge led to emergence of big academies such as the Royal Society of London and Academy of Sciences in Paris. The academy concentrated on sciences such as biology, anatomy, botany, and astronomy. The academies gave little consideration on religious and spiritual studies. In Germany, only aristocracy and bourgeoisie studied in the academies. Conversely, French academies allowed all the citizens to participate in learning regardless of religious beliefs, social classes, and gender (Beales, 2005:83). Great writers, readers, and publishers came up to disseminate information on enlightenment thoughts. Authors passed their ideas to the readers in form of plays, essays, newspapers, journals, pamphlets, and books. Many people craved for knowledge and wanted fre e access to the literary works of the intellectuals who spearheaded enlightenment. Public libraries remained accessible to all people due to increasing demand to fight illiteracy. People could participate in society of Enlightenment. The publishers and readers were very active in dissemination of the writings of the scholars such as Baron de Montesquieu, Voltaire, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The availability of publication machines in Europe was an indispensable tool for quick dissemination of enlightenment thoughts. The expansion of large printing machines generated journals, reviews, letters ensuring faster transmission of information and images in coffee rooms, salons, lodgings, scientific societies, provincial academies, and debating clubs (Brewer, 2006:10). With this information in their midst, people could read for themselves, interrogate, and chat the way forward to achieve the benefits of Enlightenment. Intellectual people imparted new knowledge to the masses thus decolonisin g their primitive and backward thoughts. The vast information in form of printed materials expanded the comprehension base of the readers. The intellectuals criticised the church for misleading the people. The views in the print materials acted as guiding principles for creation of strong nations that embraced reasoning. Continued reading and publication of enlightenment materials brought significant changes in Europe. People could challenge the church and monarchies. Intellectuals viewed the church as an impediment to the forward march of human

Western Civilization and Human Development (current controversy about Essay

Western Civilization and Human Development (current controversy about corporal punishment in child-rearing with reference to the historical origins of this debate) - Essay Example The issue of disciplining children has caused so much controversy in this modernized world. Talks of rights are all over the place with children demanding the same. Corporal punishment and spanking have become a legal affair. Under what circumstances can one justify the mode of disciplining to be used on children? Development has contributed to the changing talk on childrearing. Decades ago, childrearing was a communal responsibility. A child belonged to the society. Everyone took it upon themselves to ensure that a child was well brought up. Therefore, matters of discipline were not debatable. If a child was caught in the wrong, any old person could deal with the child on the spot. The child knew better than to report home that they were spanked since that called for more beating from the parents. A child could not question an older person’s authority over them. The family was characterized by strong links amongst parents, uncles, aunts, grandparents and children. However, this is not the case in society today. Parents themselves have to think twice before spanking their own children. Society s divided into different groups that advocate for spanking and those that are against it. One group that strongly advocates for spanking is people from the Christian faith. James Dobson is one such person. As a radio talk show host, Dobson is very vocal on this matter. According to him (1992), spanking should be encouraged. He relates his own childhood where his mother disciplined him appropriately. He owes his growth and good development to his mother. Dobson and other likeminded people believe that disciplining a child is paramount to molding him or her into being a person that the society will hold in high regard. He holds that spanking should not be the only mode of punishment, but as a last result. The anti-spanking group argues that spanking is a form of child abuse. They argue that once the parent gets into the habit of spanking their

Factors that Alter the Perceived Quality of Products Essay

Factors that Alter the Perceived Quality of Products - Essay Example Not only are consumers bombarded with overwhelming decision-making scenarios on a constant basis, numerous other considerations come into play before they determine which product they want to buy including the amount of time they have to shop, the time they have available between other activities, and their other daily stresses and concerns. Add the constant deluge of sales pitches, different combinations of benefits, complicated terms of service, fluctuating prices, and highly persuasive, psychologically driven promotional messages and consumers' perception of product quality is highly compromised. A great deal of research has gone into determining just how consumers deal with it all in order to come to any form of buying decision. These studies have discovered that a great deal of consumer decisions are based on a weighted measure between perceived quality, current need, and other emotional factors (Morris & Morris, 1990). While it is not possible for marketers to control consumers ' current needs, there are several ways in which understanding those other emotional factors can help marketers improve perceived quality of products. Perceived quality of a product is very important in consumer buying decisions and will have an effect on how much can be charged for the product as well as where the product should be placed, how it should be packaged, and what types of consumers will be likely to purchase it. When consumers perceive a brand to have a high quality, the brand is able to engage in reverse discounting - reducing the price of an already high-priced product to a point that is still well within the profit margin. Understanding of how much a product is worth is determined to a great degree by the eye of the consumer. This perception can be introduced and maintained by the marketer through the application of a high price tag and sometimes restricted market access. This marketing practice establishes the product as being rare and of high quality, encouraging c onsumers to pay more in order to improve their personal status within a similarly educated society (Passewitz, 2005). Continued feelings of perceived quality can be enhanced without prohibitively pricing the product out of the market by introducing value bundling. By bundling complimentary products together and offering them at a 'discounted' rate, consumers are encouraged to consider the probable cost of the individual pieces and perceive a good deal (Evoy, 1999). However, this method of manipulating perception of quality has its own bundle of concerns. Different approaches taken in research on this topic include examinations of price, the decision-making process, motivation, and application of the elaboration likelihood model (ELM). Price Studies into how price can be used to influence consumers' perception of product quality have identified two major strategies (Morris & Morris, 1990). Consumers see the low prices of bargain brands and assume that the strategy is to sell in bulk. The assumption is the products are of inferior quality - serviceable but not necessarily built to last. 'Quality' is thus defined as durability and not mass produced as opposed to 'value' which is defined as how many (in quantity or benefits) can one get for how few pounds. When the goal is instead to emphasize the high quality of the product, the competition is focused on being the highest priced on the market (Morris & Morris, 1990). To justify the additional expense, marketers bring attention to the higher than average quality of materials used and other attention to detail. In this way, high end marketers build off of the preconceived ideas of quality established by low end marketers (that 'quality' is

IT Doesn’t matter Essay Example for Free

IT Doesn’t matter Essay â€Å"If a company needs evidence of the kind of money that might be saved, it need only look at Microsoft’s profit margin† Excerpts from a company’s strategy document †¢ the company will ensure that it will have at least 2 plug points in each room with AC connection. †¢ The switches will be white in color and will make a ‘click’ sound on pressing †¢ Press to hear the click sound Disclaimer †¢ We all agree to the fact that IT plays a crucial role in running an organisation. †¢ All that we are driving at is that the existence of IT does not grant a competitive advantage to a company, anymore In other words, IT lets you remain in the race, Winning is a totally different ball game altogether The (lost) Edge †¢ Can IT provide an edge for you? †¢ You only gain an edge over rivals by having or doing something that they can’t have or do. †¢ By now, the core functions of IT – data storage, data processing, and data transport – have become available and affordable to all. †¢ And hence they are becoming costs of doing business that must be paid by all but provide distinction to none Risk Advantage †¢ When a resource becomes essential to competition but inconsequential to strategy, the risks it creates become more important than the advantages it provides †¢ Lets classify technologies into †¢ Proprietary technologies †¢ Infrastructural technologies. †¢ Proprietary technologies can be owned, actually or effectively, by a single company. †¢ Infrastructural technologies, in contrast, offer far more value when shared IT has all the hallmarks of an infrastructural technology. †¢ Its mix of characteristics guarantees particularly rapid commoditization. †¢ IT is, first of all, a transport mechanism–it carries digital information just as railroads carry goods and power grids carry electricity. †¢ And like any transport mechanism, it is far more valuable when shared than when used in isolation Hence the technology’s potential for differentiating one company from the pack – its strategic potential – declines as it becomes accessible and affordable to all. Mainframe timesharing local area networks Ethernet networks Internet †¢ Each stage in the above progression has led to Greater standardization of the technology and hence greater homogenization of its functionality. †¢ The benefits of customization would be overwhelmed by the costs of isolation. †¢ Because most business activities and processes have come to be embedded in software, they become replicable †¢ Both the cost savings and the interoperability benefits make the sacrifice of distinctiveness unavoidable The arrival of the Internet has accelerated the commoditization of IT by providing a perfect delivery channel for generic applications Signs that the IT has reached Saturation †¢ First, IT’s power is outstripping most of the business needs it fulfills. Second, the price of essential IT functionality has dropped to the point where it is more or less affordable to all. Third, the capacity of the universal distribution network (the Internet) has caught up with demand – indeed, we already have considerably more fiber-optic capacity than we need. Fourth, IT vendors are rushing to position themselves as commodity suppliers or even as utilities. Finally, and most definitively, the investment bubble has burst, which historically has been a clear indication that an infrastructural technology is reaching the end of its buildout. Do the Right Thing†¦ †¢   The operational risks associated with IT are many – technical glitches, obsolescence, service outages, unreliable vendors or partners, security breaches, even terrorism–and some have become magnified as companies have moved from tightly controlled, proprietary systems to open, shared ones. IT may be a commodity, and its costs may fall rapidly enough to ensure that any new capabilities are quickly shared, but the very fact that it is entwined with so many business functions means that it will continue to consume a large portion of corporate spending. IT buyers should throw their weight around, to negotiate contracts that ensure the long term usefulness of their PC investments and impose hard limits on upgrade costs. And if vendors balk, companies should be willing to explore cheaper solutions, including open-source applications and bare-bones network PCs. Most of the major business technology vendors, from Microsoft to IBM, are trying to position themselves as IT utilities, companies that will control the provision of a diverse range of business applications over what is now called, â€Å"the grid. † The upshot is ever greater homogenization of IT capabilities, as more companies replace customized applications with generic ones. Wal-Mart and Dell Computer are exceptions to this though. In2002, the consulting firm Alinean compared the IT expenditures and the financial results of 7,500 large U. S. companies †¢ The 25 companies that delivered the highest economic returns, spent on average just 0. 8% of their revenues on IT, while the typical company spent 3. 7%. †¢ Larry Ellison, one of the great technology salesmen, admitted in a recent interview that â€Å"most companies spend too much [on IT] and get very little in return. † †¢ The key to success, for the vast majority of companies, is no longer to seek advantage aggressively but to manage costs and risks meticulously. Thank You