Corruption of Culture Essay

In Yukio Mishima’s â€Å"Swaddling Clothes† we see a great deal of symbolism portraying the corruption of the Japanese culture. The times are changing and with that change, culture is adapting to it. Some of the Japanese feel threatened and that the changes that are being made are corrupting their moral values. The story is told through Toshiko, a lonely and seemingly oppressed wife and mother. She shows how this corruption is leading to decay. The story depicts the corruption of Japanese culture by western modernization. Japanese culture is becoming more westernized, â€Å"unhomely with its Western-style furniture†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (366). The air of the room being unhomely because some Japanese thought that Western-style was corrupt. Toshiko’s husband is accepting these changes, â€Å"sitting there in his American-style suit, puffing at a cigarette† (366). The city they live in is changing as well, â€Å"dotted with bars and then by a theatre† (368). The park that Toshiko visits had also changed, â€Å"The paper lanterns that hung from wires between the trees had been put out; in their place electric light bulbs†¦that shone dully beneath the blossoms† (369). The word dully being used to show that western-style is dull and dreary. Violence is one of the concepts Toshiko relates to western culture. Toshiko believes western style is violent, â€Å"his frail body was wrapped in bloodstained newspapers† (367), showing the degradation of moral values in this westernized society. When Toshiko’s husband is sitting there talking with his friends he jokes about the incident and stating â€Å"I rescued our good rug†¦ (367), this showing that his mind is corrupt with the western culture because he did not care about the well being of the nurse and the blood did not faze him. The baby is a symbol of the violence in the western culture as well. The way the baby was born was out of wedlock, â€Å"Even if that baby should grow up in ignorance of the secret of his birth, he can never become a respectable citizen† (368). Toshiko worries that the baby â€Å"who has been sinned against† (368) may come in contact with her son one day and, â€Å"savagely stab him with a knife†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (368). All because the baby was born out  of wedlock, due to Western mod ernization, Toshiko thinks of him as violent and evil. Western culture is not only seen as violent but as polluted as well. Western-style is also polluting their society. While walking in the park Toshiko notices that the people â€Å"would automatically kick aside the empty bottles or crush the waste paper beneath their feet† (369). Waste pollution not only being the kind of pollution polluting their society but moral pollution as well. Toshiko sees a homeless man and wonders â€Å"was it one of those miserable drunks often to be seen sleeping in public places?† (369). The homeless man in the park is a symbol of the baby that will grow up to be in crime and poverty, though what is most significant is the way that he is dressed, â€Å"his khaki trousers had been slightly pulled up† (370), this showing that he is westernized just like Toshiko’s husband. Toshiko is saddened by this westernized lifestyle. This story shows through many elements the degradation of moral values in the modern westernized changes that are taking place. Through the moral changes, the violence of the western culture, and the pollution we have seen that Toshiko believes that her society is corrupt. There are many symbols showing these changes; through the baby, Toshiko’s husband, and through the homeless. She continually contemplates the loss of their moral values and is saddened. Ultimately this story is trying to depict the corruption of Japanese culture by western modernization.

Chilean Copper Mine Collapse Essay

When an unforeseen tragedy comes into a small community, the devastation can cause havoc. The members of the Chilean society found themselves with more questions than answers when word spread there had been a collapse in a local mine. The families of the trapped mine workers and employees affected were in need of guidance. When communicating the messages to Chilean people, awareness of the audience played an important role in ensuring all measures were being taken to save the miners lives. Trapped Miners in San Jose Mine During the summer of 2010, the San Jose, Chile copper mine collapsed trapping 33 miners inside. The employees of the mine, owned by Minera San Esteban Primera, were informed that the miners were trapped at a depth of approximately 300 meters with little to no food, water and oxygen. In the days that followed the initial collapse, a second collapse occurred leaving both rescuers and spectators wondering if the miners were even alive. (Weik, 2010). Considering the Audience It is important to remember the current state of shock, travesty and unawareness of the receivers within the Chilean community following the mines collapse. The families of the victims as well as the employees of the mine are in desperate need of answers and reassurance that rescuers are doing everything in their power to save the trapped miners. The messages relayed to these individuals need to be calm and collective while providing them with the information and details that are attainable at the current time. Government and mine officials also need to prepare to communicate to the employees and public future actions to be taken to prevent reoccurrence of this disaster. Families Potential Needs At the time of this catastrophe, the families of the trapped miners are in need of the most important thing in their lives at that moment, their trapped loved one. The families will need to be provided with a basic understanding of the factors involved with the collapse and what potential outcomes may occur. They will be in need of reassurance and comfort that all actions are being taken to confirm that a positive result will conclude this horrible misfortune. Lastly, it is important to provide the families with a plan in which rescuers are following and explain how the family member’s roles in saving the trapped miners are clarified. Employees Potential Needs Much like the families potential needs, the employees of the Chilean mine also need reassurance and guidance. It is likely that although the employees are concerned about how this collapse is going to affect them in the future, in the present moment they are concerned about the survival of their coworkers. A clear message will need to be presented to the employees indicating what role they can take in providing the rescuers with details they may need to help assist in the retrieval of the trapped miners. They also may be in need of counseling and other types of treatment as a result of experiencing such horrible events. Necessary Actions Prior to the messages being given, it is vital that the communicator has been provided with as many details as possible. This is important to know information that is both provided and withheld from the public for their safety. The message needs to be reviewed by both the mine company as well as any government officials involved in the incident. After a message has been communicated to the families and employees involved in the mine collapse, the most important actions to be taken is verification and understanding of the message. The communicator can provide these individuals with resources to assist them during this time such as crisis counselors. It will also be beneficial to make available written communication points that the families and employees can reference back to with questions and concerns. Lastly, a plan for continued communication is vital is supporting these individuals. It is important for a communicator to be aware of their audience, especially following a tragedy such as the Chilean mine collapse, when giving the message to the families and employees involved. The proper approach to relaying this message will provide the necessary support to instill the much needed sense of safety and security. Understanding the position of the receiver and their potential needs will assist in communicating the message intended. References Weik, J. (2010). Over 30 workers trapped after Chilean copper mine collapse. Metal Bulletin Daily, (224), 65.

Responsibility for Personal and Professional Development Essay

Effective personal and professional development is the result of co-operative and co-ordinating working at all levels in the University and also with the individual members of staff. At the strategic level the personal and professional development implications of strategy and vision must be recognised and resourced. Overall responsibility for the development and delivery of Personal and Professional Development policy and strategy rests with the Director of Human Resources and the Personal and Professional Development Unit. The Director of Academic Professional Development and the Academic Professional Development Advisory Group, convened by the Director of Human Resources, acts as a central focus for the co-ordination, planning and provision of a range of learning and teaching development activities. The Deans and/or Associate Deans for Learning & Teaching, as appropriate, liaise with the Director of Academic Professional Development in order to consider appropriate ways in which de velopment needs can be met, including delivery at department/section/unit or Faculty level, or through central delivery. The link between centrally delivered and Faculty-based development activities is supported by regular and ongoing contact between the Director of Academic Professional Development and Faculty contacts for Academic Professional Development, normally the Associate Dean for Learning & Teaching. Heads of department/section/unit ensure that all staff employed in their area receive appropriate advice so as to ensure direct and substantial benefits are achieved for staff undertaking any development, support towards identifying their developmental needs through the review process and by other means, and ensure that adequate time is made available within workloads to allow staff to engage in identified and agreed development activities, as appropriate, to address these needs. Faculties and departments/sections/units are expected to expand upon the centrally delivered personal and professional development programme by making effective use of any monies devolved to them for this purpose. Day-to-day management of university-wide generic personal and professional development and training, as well as management training and development, is the responsibility of the Director of Management and Personal Development. Generic personal and professional development and training comprises those  activities which serve a widespread need in the university such that is efficient and effective to provide them centrally, either in-house, bought-in or externally provided, rather than ask departments or Faculties to source them. They include interpersonal skills, administrative skills and management skills. They do not include skills narrowly applicable to only one specialist function or discipline, which are best sourced through a department’s or individual’ s links, perhaps to the research community or a professional society.

Comparing between 3 companies ( semco , google , apple ) Essay

Comparing between 3 companies ( semco , google , apple ) - Essay Example Moreover, despite having numerous product lines, both Google and Apple are in the IT industry. Hence, these companies are overly dependent on their capabilities to use information and communication technology skills. (Kahney) Semco has more focus on Brazil while Google and Apple are rivaling various IT organizations throughout the global markets. Further, Semco has seldom entangled in political issues though it has a declared socio-economic mission of ushering workplace democracy. On the other hand, Apple maintains a strict corporate tone. Further, Google often raises ideological issues such as freedom of expression. Hence, it had to withdraw its business from China due to political reasons. In the context of business diversification, Semco did not select to follow any rigid industrial segment. Hence, it appears to have minimized the major business risks by diversifying its investments and specialties across different industries. According to The Leigh Bureau, Semco is aggressively expanding its market shares in the sectors like real estate, energy, legal services, etc. But Apple diversified its products and packages in the same business segment. At the same time it created a â€Å"proprietary ecosystem† (Kahney). It maintained its technology and business secrets and embarked on a policy of using license agreements and copyright protection. Google has a totally different marketing strategy. It does not venture in cross industry diversification like Semco. It also does not excessively emphasize on protecting its intellectual properties. It largely operates through open source technologies providing highly flexible and accessible IT platforms to its customers. Experts like Lashinsky describe the company to be aggressive but generous in handling the market challenges. Unlike Semco, Apple is orthodox. It follows a command and control framework with clearly defined

Quantitative Methods for Social Health Research Essay - 2

Quantitative Methods for Social Health Research - Essay Example As the essay declares  cigarette smoking has negative implication on the health of a person. Nevertheless, despite being aware of the effects of smoking, finds it hard to quit the habit. Governments have devised mechanisms of minimizing the amount of cigarette smoked with several measures including plain packaging of cigarette. Plain packaging of tobacco is a packaging that requires removal of all branding and only requires the manufacturer to print a brand name in mandated size in addition to a health warning to help in drawing the smokers’ attention more to the health warning. In relation to the 2010 statistical figures by Australian institute of health and welfare 2010, there is a significant reduction in daily smoking by 15% since 2007. However, it is still necessary to understand the impact of plain packaging of cigarette on the smoking habits to specific groups like the international students.This paper stresses that  the influence of plain cigarette packaging depend s on the smoking level of a person. For an addict, plain packaging has a little impact while, for a starter, the packaging would draw attention to the health warning.  A randomized controlled trials experimental study found that branding has a significant influence on the development of a smoking habit.  The smokers avoided all health warnings, while occasional smokers paid more attention to plain packs than those on the branded ones. The findings indicate that plain packaging of cigarette attracts more attention to the health warning than those of the branded ones, thus can influence the smoking habit.

The Japanese Traditional Structure of Quick Response Assignment

The Japanese Traditional Structure of Quick Response - Assignment Example Light has been shed on how the supply chain structure leads to the success of such a business. Moreover, an analysis of the future effects of the Japan-Korean fashion collaboration in the setting of globalization in the fashion industry is elaborated. Major apparel firms work at introducing new styles every week. This is to be able to meet the demand of the Japanese young women market that is characterized by a fast-moving trend cycle with a great diversity of choices in styles. Studies show that fast fashion has a real effect on the supply chain for the fashion product, but the consumer demand is the main driving force that determines this fast fashion. This contrasts with the previous theories on the supply chain, which have been solely supplying driven aspects. Fast fashion is a phenomenon that is developed as a direct result of changing anticipations and demand from customers (Lea-Greenwood, 2006, p. 266). In addition, there is a tradition among the Japanese people that makes them prefer many varieties and have an interest in the craft. This calls for their fashion styles to be always changing apart from being unique from those of their counterparts. The organizations do not mainly depend on the seasonal collection, but they e nsure that there is a compressed time interval between the moment a product is designed and the moment that is used. This compression is attained either by lumping together selections that are more regular or through an ongoing redesigning and unchanging new production. In other words, the Just - in - Time (JIT) supply chain management theory is upheld. It entails â€Å"having the items of the right quality and quantity in the right place at the right time† (Cheng et al, 1996, p.2).  

External and Internal Environmental Analysis Essay - 6

External and Internal Environmental Analysis - Essay Example Companies should assess their competitive position to come up with strategies to make them outstanding in the industry (Albright 2004). Groups come up with organizational structures that aid the in running the firm operations. These structures affect organization’s performance. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. aims at achieving its goal of the growth of their business. There are several factors that compromise business performance thus there is a need for evaluating them to have successful business growth (Muthaih and Venkatesh, 2012). The external environment is those factors found outside the business and affects how it operates. It may affect the company ability to achieve its goals and objectives in an efficient way. Regardless of operational planning there is a need to assess the external environment. In evaluating this situation, there is a need to view it in terms of both opportunities and threats (Cheermack et al., 2007). It exists in three dimensions, the remote, industrial and operating environment. For Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. to grow as proposed analysis tools have to be used to evaluate these factors. Some of these elements can be changed by the firm’s operations while others push the business to change its structure to counteract its negative impacts. The organization intends to look into the three elements to ensure tha t changes in external factors do not take it by surprise. The remote environment comprises of a set of forces originating beyond an enterprise’s operating situation. They occur irrespective of any single organizations management activities. They involve factors such as technological, economic, social, political and legal opportunities. They work differently to create constraints, threats and also opportunities for the firm. At times, the elements work together to make a meaningful impact to the company for example economy and infrastructure can contribute to each other’s success in affecting

The Republican Party Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Republican Party - Research Paper Example The party dominated in almost every Northern state (Root & Hay 23). In the elections of 1860, the Republican Party emerged victoriously and dominated the course of politics until 1932, when the leader of the party was not capable of reversing the Great Depression. Republicans won the elections back from the Democrats in the 1960’s. From 1968-2004, the Republican Party emerged victorious in seven out of ten presidential elections. The Republicans supported the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which provided that; all individuals in the U.S. should be treated as citizens without creating discrimination on the basis of color, race or any condition existing before. The Old Republican Party Since its formation, in 1854, the Republican Party has supported and opposed various issues affecting the citizens and the economy of the United States. Traditionally, the party emerged to support issues such as laissez-faire capitalism, conservative social policies, and low tax policies. It was under the old Republican Party that the Civil Right Act of 1866 was passed. During the formation of the Republican Party in 1854, the chief agenda was to abolish the extension of slavery, which had increased during the time. The Republicans were against the Nebraska Act, which promoted slavery. ... The old Republicans supported the establishment and development of educational institutions; this is depicted by the support of the Land-Grant College Act, which led to the foundation of education centers throughout the country (Schwengel 90). This can also be seen with the establishment of Howard University, in 1867, by the Republicans. In addition, the old Republicans cared about the security of the citizens and established Buffalo soldiers. In addition, the Republicans opposed the legalization of the Ku Klux Klan, which was an outlawed group. The Modern Republican Party The Modern Republican Party, just like the old Republican Party, has faced several issues, some of which it has opposed and supported. The signing of the New Deal faced the Republicans’ opposition. The Republicans likened the New Deal to the promotion of socialism by the Democrats (Johnson & Smith 76). Later, the Republican Party split into two portions; with one division opposing the New Deal from its start to the end, and the other division partly supporting the New and promising to operate it efficiently. Although the modern Republicans split into two classes, which brought in a class of moderate Republicans, the Republican Party has continued to offer support for the establishment and development of tertiary education centers. They also advocate for the improvement of infrastructure and promote human security. During the Civil Rights Act of 1964, segregation was outlawed through a court order and Democrats took the opportunity to bring in a less educated electorate, which supported segregation (Westwood 38). This favored the Democratic Party at the expense of the Republican Party. The moderate Republicans supported the move while the liberal did not.  Ã‚  

Based on your reading of The Death of Woman Wang,describle and analyze Essay - 1

Based on your reading of The Death of Woman Wang,describle and analyze how Confucian ideals are ever present to all levels of Chinese society,and how they affect social relations - Essay Example According to him, the women were obedient to their father in the first place, then to their husband and then to their elder son; the family’s elder son was the head of the house. According to Confucius, every relationship has a dual nature of responsibility, and accordingly the obligation. The mother is responsible for her son, Father for children, Teacher for students. However, men are superior, more powerful and intellectual as compared to women. He was not able to give a proper place to women in the society in his teachings and Confucius culture. According to Confucius, society could become stable only when the five basic relationships are being fulfilled which are, the relation of Love (among father and son), relationship of righteousness (among emperor and minister), relationship of virtuous demeanor (among husband and wife), relationship of order (among elder and younger) and relationship of faithfulness (among friends).If we closely administer these virtues, we see that out of the five, three occur in the family system. He was the great devotee of the family system and it is also the basis of today’s family system in China. The family system has an extended impact on the whole town, city and society of China. The order is strictly followed as, for instance, younger has to obey the elder whether the elder is from his family or from outside the family. Even today, Chinese people pay special respect to their elders. Confucius is also of the opinion that men should link themselves to others by humanity (Keng, 473-518). They should not select anything which they cannot select for themselves. Confucius was of the opinion that individuals need to mend their lives and acts rather than criticizing others. This idea is mutually accepted and practiced in the Chinese society. This, to a great extent, has helped in providing a level of security to Chinese women who are not criticized for working, having relationships and moving around freely today. There is a

THE EARLY REPUBLIC Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

THE EARLY REPUBLIC - Coursework Example He one time owned more than 40 slaves in his plantation in early 1774 including children belonging to his slaves who began working for him at the age of ten. People felt that his acts contradicted his belief where every human had a right to liberty. He was forced to abolish the slave trade, thus upsetting other elite planters who depended on slavery for their riches. Thirdly, Artisans in England consisted of individuals such as Paul Revere who is termed as a revolutionary of his time. In 1964, he opposed the British policies that touched on revenue, thus spending much of his time attending meetings and educating people through his anti-British slogans. One of the policies that he was upset at is referred to as â€Å"Resisting the Navigation Act† which restricted their trading practices with other people. (Andrews 31) Yeomen farmers occupied the smallest lands in the southern colonies an idea that made fee neglected by the government. Despite spending much of their energy working hard on their farms, they found themselves in powerful positions in the imperial government. The main reason Yeomen wanted political positions were for them to get a favorable channel where they could address their grievances such as the infringement of a free man’s right. Lastly, the frontier settlers included the Scots and Germans who were awarded a piece of land under the â€Å"Declaration of trans-Appalachian settlement policies† by King George III (Andrews 53). He declared that the mountainous land situated to the west of Appalachian would not be occupied by any white because it belonged to the Indians. The whites’ were upset with this decision because this land was not to be sold to them and that the existing residents were forced to

Steve Jobs Biography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Steve Jobs Biography - Essay Example Steve Jobs was one of those people who made an impact on the entire world and is being remembered even after he has left this world. Early years: Steve Jobs was born in February 1955 in San Francisco, California. His childhood wasn’t the smoothest of all and was adopted and also had difficulties in school times. Even in college days he could not complete the degree and dropped out shortly. Steve was adopted in his early age and he came to know about this fact later in his life many years down the lane (Gillam, pg 15). Steve jobs stayed in touch with physics and literature during his earlier years of education, yet he was struggling to find a path and direction. Jobs rather found interest in the electronics which he practiced with at his garage in childhood. However, things took a turn for the good when he first joined Atari and then Hewlett Packard where he came across a man named Steve Wonzniak who would become his partner in innovation and success journey in years to come. S teve Wonzniak was an engineer by profession. Early success: In contrast to the conventional subjects of education, Steve Jobs found his interest in the subject of creativity and it was more suited towards his natural abilities. By 1974 he had attached himself to the gaming console Atari and worked as a game designer. Steve Jobs got the chance to express his ideas to the right kind of person who could foresee innovations in his idea. Together they both worked on Blue Box device. It was a stepping stone towards many more innovations to come. Together they started thinking of an idea of establishing a desktop computer, and hence this set foundation for Apple Inc (Gillam, pg 36). This feat was achieved in 1976. With no investment at hand and no majors support, they had to carry out their work in the local garage , it is believed that both sacrificed their valuables for this cause and Jobs sold out his V.W mini bus while his comrade had to sacrifice his dear electronic calculator in orde r to make the project a reality . They can easily be termed as the pioneers for introducing a relatively small sized computers since earlier computers were largely mainframes and had no major computational strengths and ability at that time .A few hundred dollars venture that had started from the garage started earning them millions of in no time and by 1980 Apple Inc was a billion dollar company in reserves, all to the duo who through their innovation introduced new dimensions. They introduced two different models Apple 1 and after seeing its success they introduced Apple II, with considerable improvements. By this time Apple Inc and its computers had made to the market and it was the buzzword everywhere. Rough times at Apple Inc: The beginning of 1980s saw some rough times for Apple and it faced challenges from its competitors technically who ultimately surpassed the incumbent company. Apple had a threat in form of IBM’s introduced computer. This was the time when first Gra phic User Interface ( G.U.I) based computers were first introduced in the market .Not everything was smooth and there were bumps in his journey at Apple, after a few great years at the company, things got sour and the downfall of Apple Inc was blamed on Steve Jobs which resulted in his resignation in 1985.The company suffered from the loss of the visionary man and staleness was observed

Remembering the Alamo Essay Example for Free

Remembering the Alamo Essay This article is of course about the Alamo. It gives a very brief history of the battle at the Alamo and the characters that participated there. It momentarily mentions that there are now facts and history of the Alamo being disputed among many historians today. This article also makes comments concerning the great influence The Alamo has had in today’s culture, referring to the many productions based off this historic happening. Each time I remember the Alamo inspiration fills my chest. I love to remember the great heroes that fought so brave and valiantly in the face of the opposition; a cruel dictator (Santa Anna) and the oppression he could inflict. Many of the people that inhabited 2nd Chance Texas migrated there for primarily one reason and one reason only†¦ a second chance. Most of them, having endured hard lives and relocating to a new country, terrain and lifestyle were not about to give up their God-given rights to a Mexican dictator. While many had the chance and opportunity to get the heck out of Dodge, they chose to stay and defend what was rightfully theirs and so they did. These brave men, led by Travis, Bowie and Crockett, took a stand at the Alamo that will be remembered forever. They gave their lives not for greatness, though they earned that and more in the end, they gave their lives for what they lived for and that was to be free. We shouldn’t argue or dispute over the noble and honorable history of these great men, doing so we taint there story with our ignorance. Not all of these men may have lived great, but all of them died great in the sight of ALL AMERICANS. REMEMBER THE ALAMO.

Organisations

Organisations Today organizations especially large ones are very complicated, because they are in a continuously changing business and economic environment. Moreover consumers demand is high, constantly changes and all that force organisations to be in an intensive competition and to increase the standards of performance. Companies have established Human resource departments or senior managers to perform human resource management functions and use practices in order to try to improve and sustain a better organisational performance. Every company has to know their employees, their capabilities to actually get best of them because it is believed to be the most valuable capital and main source of competitive advantage. In 2001, Calkin claimed, that more than 30 studies in the US and UK leave no room for doubt; how organizations mange and develop people has a powerful-perhaps the most powerful-effect on overall performance, including the bottom line. The main ones have been done in the past starts in 1990s by Arthur in 1992, 1994; MacDuffie in 1995; Martell and Carroll in 1995b; Huselid in 1995; Delaney and Huselid in 1996; Wood in 1996; Guest in 2001 which claim to prove statistically the bond between both HRM practises and organizational performance because of increased productivity. The results of their studies are that the HRM activities such as decentralisation of authority will result in lower degree of turnover (Arthur, 1994) or Bundles of internally consistent HRM practices are associated with higher productivity and quality ( McDuffie, 1995) are to support the hypothesis that there is a link between HRM and the HRM outcomes on performance. Also looking through studies established in the UK call centres, US firms, Australia and New Zealand manufactures, Norway, those cases do identify a relevance in favour that there is a relationship between human resource management and organisational performance. However there is a strong criticism about them, especially how the resea rch was performed, evaluation methods used and the data interpreted. Before linking HRM and performance it is important to understand what it is. First of all human resource management in many textbooks is simply explained as getting things done through the people. A more objective definition would be proposed by Storey (1998) where he states that HRM is a distinctive approach to employment management which seeks to achieve competitive advantage through the strategic deployment of a highly committed and capable workforce, using an integrated array of cultural, structural and personnel techniques. Additionally it useful to mention that is the strategic perspective of HR, which actually presents the importance of human resource practices for organisational performance Companies try to achieve significant superior performance by using HRM and different practices. The US academic Jeffrey Pfeffer (1998) identified seven main HR practices in the successful organisations. According Pfeffer human resource practices for performance improvement are: employment security, selective hiring, self-managed work teams, high pay contingent on company performance, extensive training, reduction of status differences, sharing information. Later European researchers Den Hartog and Verbug (2004) complemented Pfeffers job by distinguishing eight key practices which help to understand the association between HR and organizational performance. They are: employment skills, autonomy, pay-for-performance, profit-sharing, performance appraisal, team performance, information-sharing, job evaluation. Thus there is different ways to recognise how HR policies and practices actually contribute, because only certain ones might always result in high performance. This approach is called universalistic approach. The contingency approach proposes that that variety of practices needed to make a difference also taking into account environment and business strategy. Another view is that we have to realise that every organisation has its own culture, unique employees and because of that the set of HR practices and polices which will be the best will also be unique to that company. This approach is call as resource-based view (D.Torrington, L.Hall, S.Taylor, 2008 p.256). Every organisation has different outcomes and according Brattson and Gold this organisational performance can be measured from two sides (2007 4thed:527). The first measure is operating performance what includes reduced unit costs, improved product/service quality, labour productivity, innovation of products and processes all those are employee related indicators. Another measure of a performance is by financial performance such as profit, market share, and return on investment. Because companies can quite easily copy one anothers technology, but not human resource capabilities if an organisation has well working HR practices that is a big advantage to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. (Toby D. Wall and Stephen J. Wood, 2005) For instance not a long time ago Stephen Wood, David Holman and Christopher Stride (2006) did a research on HRM and performance in UK call centres. They have use data from a sample of 145 UK call centres and the research has found direct relationships between human resource practices and performance. However the represented response rate was only 20per cent. It is very low response rate, but it allowed for the authors to make conclusions from what was detected that firstly, that performance appraisal was negatively associated with unauthorised absence. Secondly, systematic selection tests, longer initial training and higher levels of internal recruitment were positively associated with achieving target times and suggestion making. Also there was significant links between relationship-building and both work discretion and teamworking, task discretion is associated with both training and improvement teams as well as internal recruitment seems to improve performance and innovation, cust omers satisfaction.(p:117-120) This example identifies relevance that practices and their implementation are vital ingredient in linking employees especially management to overall organisational performance. In addition there is a reason given to believe in a linkage because of Peters H. van der Meer and Kristens Ringdals research which was conducted in Norway (2003) findings were positive after organisation introduced job rotation which appeared to reduce labour costs per unit produced by having lower wage cost. Also the productivity increased more than in the organisations without job rotations. However the critique here would be that like in other similar works that there is n obvious limitation in data collection, because results could be affected by selectivity and response of respondents, also there is not enough of the evidence to prove. Graeme Salaman, John Storey and Jon Billsberry state that it is very important to identify the best HRM practices, those whose adoption generally leads to valued firm-level outcomes (2005:p122) Authors have extinguished that as extensive recruitment, selection, and training policies; formal information sharing, attitude assessment, job design, grievance procedures, and labour management participation programs; performance appraisals, promotion, and incentive compensation systems that recognise and reward employees practices. Than the research was given which was held in the US 3,452 firms participating. There were thirteen High performance practices to analyse the independent contribution of each practice to firm performance. The results showed that before the research there was a strong support for the hypotheses predicting that High performance work Practices will affect firm performance and important employment outcomes, the results justified it and that also significant effects o f High performance practices found are also financially meaningful as Graeme Salaman, John Storey and Jon Billsberry state.(2005: p140) Although all those studies propose that there is a synergy among increasing productivity and HRM especially strategic HRM, what is the overall combination of HR philosophy, processes, policies, programmes and practices creating the human performance desired and it is doing so at a reasonable cost (Gordan 2001). However not all of the studies finds only positive results. For instance it was thought because of the previous studies that one of the main HR practices are training and team working, from the example of NHS. Thus the research does identify a link; it can not be taken for granted that HR really helps to reduce mortality rates. Yes training helps to develop skills, and company expects them to be transferred into work floor, but does it happen straight after employees have been trained. Moreover according the D. Challis, D.Salmon and B.Lawson research done in the Australia and New Zeland 1024 manufacturing sites indicates that organizational and human resource practices are sig nificant additional variance in both employee and manufacturing performance. The results have showed that both training and teams are important in weak manufacturing environments, but are not significant in strong manufacturing environments. Moreover although training helps develop worker skills, it may not be enough to guarantee that skills employee got will actually be transferred to the factory floor.'(2005 vol. 43(1) p.103) So it is very difficult to prove and there are some disadvantages of the processed studies and the results. First of all because of the evaluation of a study is very subjective. There are different available methods used in evaluating results. People have their own interpretation, opinions, such as about the turnover, in one case it can be assumed to be a good thing because constantly changing employees bring new ideas into the organisation. And on the other hand if employees today do not have job satisfaction, do not have their career developing, do not get higher wages or better working conditions they leave. Some peoples answers depend upon the way questioned employees feel that day, or because after the notice of research taking place makes them feel suspicious maybe and work harder. Also it depends on the bundles of practices used in the research and put together. Sometimes it can be forgotten that practices used or implemented can bring benefits after long term. The author Phillips (1991) in his book states that external factors can influence and change the performance, government regulation, labour market conditions, and union strength. For instance the economic recession determines workers to work hard and not to l ose jobs in the case of reduction of staff. A very relevant critique was found in an article called The romance of human resource management and business performance, and the case for big science written by Toby D. Wall and Stephen J. Wood(2005), they argue that the studies done before have created wrong expectations of the effect of HRM practices on performance. Their critique upon the studies done, what they call as a romance is containing errors; Wall and Wood identify that the reliability is often tolerant although the sizes of effects are typically small in prior research. Also in some cases measures of performance chosen might not be appropriate; they have to look at the environment of a business. Authors judge the studies because they are not done properly, and say that in the future it should be used better research methods and design, and also should be large-size long-term research when you can look what it was like before and what is after implementation and use of HRM. O therwise it is like a failure of to see the certified link between HRM and performance. In the conclusion nowadays business world is changing very rapidly and both people and organisations which vary in size, aims, functions, construction, the nature of their product or service are complicated and because of that to be the best in the industry firms have to have a well established human resource management according main studies. Organizations have to have their HRM working at a strategic level because then practices are focused on a short or better on a long term results when the improved performance could have an added-value and benefits. However the discussion about the link between the HRM and performance is under investigation for about more than 20 years and nobody is sure about it. Yes it is known that HRM management is working and do have the impact on employees and might make organisation successful but which particular practice or bundle to use universally is not known, because one thing combines with another, one organisation is different than another. Howeve r to apply studies and believe in all the results of practices or practice make a different would be violent interpretation. Because in studies done to prove the link of HRM and organizational performance there are limitations and it is very important to understand bias as well as that how the research been conducted and interpreted. References: Arthur, J. B. (1994) Effects of human resource systems on manufacturing performance and turnover. Academy of Management Journal, 37: 670-87 Bratton and Gold (2007) Human resource management: Theory and Practice 4th ed.; Palgrave Macmillan, New York D. Challis, D.Salmon and B.Lawson (2005) Impact of technological, organizational and human resource investments on employee and manufacturing performance: Australian and New Zealand evidence International Journal of Production Research, 43(1): 81-107 Derek Torrington., Laura Hall, Stephen Taylor (2008) Human Resource Management; 7th ed. London, Pearson education, p.256 Godard, J., (2001) High Performance and the Transformation of Work: The Implications of Alternative Work Practices for the Experience and Outcomes of Work Industrial and Labor Relations Review 54 (4): 776-805 Graeme Salaman, John Storey and Jon Billsberry (2005) Strategic Human resource Management: Theory and Practice; 2nd ed. Sage publications, London Lahteenmaki, S., J. Storey and S. Vanhala (1998) HRM and Company Performance: the Use of Measurement and the Influence of Economic Cycles, Human Resource Management Journal, 8(2): 51-65. MacDuffie , J.P. (1995) Human resource bundles and manufacturing performance: organizational logic and flexible production systems in the world auto industry. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, vol.48: 197-221 Michael Armstrong and Duncan Brown (2009) Strategic Reward Implementing more effective reward management; Kogan Page, London and Philadelphia Pfeffer, J. (1998) The Human Equation: Building Profits by Putting people first. Boston: Harward Business School Press. Toby D. Wall and Stephen J. Wood (2005) The romance of human resource management and business performance, and the case for big science Vol.58(4): 429-462 West A., Carol Borrill, Jeremy Dawson, Judy Scully, Matthew Carter, Stephen Anelay, Malcolm Patterson and Justin Waring (2002) The link between the management if employees and patient mortality in acute hospitals Int. J. of Human Resource Management 13(8): 1299-1310 West, M. et al. (2002) The Link between the Management of Employees and Patient Mortality in Acute Hospitals, International Journal of Human Resource Management, 13(8): 1299-1310. Wood S. (2006) Human resource management and performance in the UK call centres British Journal of Industrial Relations 44(1):99-124

Is Retailing Really Necessary In A Country Marketing Essay

Is Retailing Really Necessary In A Country Marketing Essay The retailer is considered to be the intermediate between the wholesaler or the producer and the customer. But at the same time, the benefits that had been allocated from the retailers are much more than delivering the products and the services to the customers, instead the retailer had provided several merits for all of the national and international organization, individuals, and governments. For the purpose of the full illustration of the role of the retailing in the serving of the country and the whole society, there would be a huge investigation about the main issues that had been dealt with and problems that had been solved by the presence of the retailing in the country. Based on the level of the importance of the retailing is considered to one of the industries that the country cannot get rid of it or lose. However, there may be no many direct clear relationship between the retailing process and the social benefits, there would be consider that from the point of the view of t he business, the loss of any kind of business, will naturally cause harmful effects to the economy of the country. Within the following, general academic verified studies and approved theories are going to be studied for the purpose of the identifying the degrees of the importance of the retailing in the country. Literature review Retailing is considered to be one of the ancient merchandising processes in the history (Jon H. Hanf Zsombor Pall, 2009). In the past the retailers role had been acted by the producers of the products and the services (Michael Levy Barton A. Weitz, 2012). According to the modern businesses structures, the retailer becomes so far from the production process, with no direct or indirect influence over the whole manufacturing process (Michael Levy Barton A. Weitz, 2012). Despite of this fact the retailing had been considered to have a huge impact on not only the related institutions, but also the whole country (Michael Levy Barton A. Weitz, 2012). The evolution of the retailing role in the business markets, led to huge interests and advantages that had been enjoyed by the overall society in the terms of the economical and the social aspects (Michael Levy Barton A. Weitz, 2012). The retailing is considered to be one of the most important and attractive growing industries in the world (Jon H. Hanf Zsombor Pall, 2009). The retailing system is considered to be following certain specific universal stages (Jon H. Hanf Zsombor Pall, 2009). The first stage is the in sourcing of the retailing process from the producers, which means that the retailers will not have any contact with the customers anymore (Jon H. Hanf Zsombor Pall, 2009). The second stage is the agreement with the producer about the rules and the procedures that should be followed by the retailing organization in order not commit any lack of quality of the products (Jon H. Hanf Zsombor Pall, 2009). The third stage, the retailer will be offering the sale of the products and the services of the producers and the supplier presented as the retailer, who act on behalf of the producer (Jon H. Hanf Zsombor Pall, 2009). Indian Retail Revolution The demographic profile of an Indian consumer is worth noting. The Indian consumers have the ability to spend over USD 30,000 a year (PPP terms) on prominent consumptions which represents 2.8% of the entire population. (What represents 2.8% of the total population?) It seems like a small percentage but when we consider the mammoth Indian population of 1.07 billion people, this number amounts to 30 million people, a market next only to USA, Japan and China. Consumers are the king and they only drive the retail growth but it is in turn driven by following factors.( Increase in Urban Population- Economic growth- Demographics- Credit availability)( Dr. Vipul Jain 2010) One of the important faces of the retailing systems is the organized retailing system (IIlm, 2012). The organized retailing include the identification of well-chosen a pre-agreed actors in the retailing process, so there would not be any unexpected presence of middlemen, who turn the transactions to be less efficient and losing the ability to achieve its goals (IIlm, 2012). In addition, not only the actors are predetermined, but also the interaction system between tem is determined and agreed upon (IIlm, 2012). Throughout the following of such system, there would be assurance about the attainment of efficiency and effectiveness in the retailing process (IIlm, 2012). In addition, not only benefits are going to be allocated by the actors, but also the benefits will lead to a higher economic benefit that will enhance the interests of all of the society and the national future economy (IIlm, 2012). Several researches and studies supported the fact that the retailing has several disadvant ages mainly the idea of the presence of the retailers encouraged the raise of the prices of the good and the service of the market (IIlm, 2012). In the fact the evidence support the opposite results. Based on the studies and the researches the organized retailing processes can have a great positive impact on the economics of the country (IIlm, 2012). The review of literature has been broadly categorized into two headings, namely: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Overall Retail Scenario Hino (2010) shared his observation about the emergence and expansion of supermarkets that gradually decreased the market share of the traditional formats by displacing them and the factors that helped supermarkets in gaining consumers favors over the traditional stores are the consumers economic ability and the format output.( Goyal and Aggarwal 2009) opine that In India, a consuming class is emerging as a result of increasing income levels and dual career families with high disposable incomes The most appropriate retail formats for various items are: Food and grocery-Supermarket; Health and beauty care services-Supermarket; Clothing and Apparels- Mall; Entertainment-Mall; Watches-Hypermarket; Pharmaceuticals-Hypermarket; Mobile, accessories Services-Hypermarket; Foot wares-Departmental store. The study by(Satish and Raju 2010) throws light on the major Indian retailers which highly contribute to the retail sector in India. Pantaloon, Tata Group, RPG Group, Reliance Group and A V Bi rla group are some of the major Indian retailers. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Drivers of Retailing (Arshad et al 2007 and Ghosh et al 2010) stated that 47% of Indias population is under the age of 20 and this will increase to 55% by 2015 and this young population will immensely contribute to the growth of the retail sector in the country. The changing retail structure has provided the consumers with more options in the form of formats and services such as less travel time, large variety of products and quality products etc, as observed by (Popkowski et al 2001).(Lather et al 2006) and (Gupta 2007) study uncovered six main indicators: viz., price, sales personnel, quality of merchandise, assortment of merchandise, advertising services and convenience services that play key role for retailers in choosing the type of retail formats that may help them to cope up with the changing references of consumers. Application on literature review The findings of the studies declared that the organized activates of the retailing operation led to the minimization of the presence of the middle man, in addition it enhancement of the formation of strong infrastructure (Michael Levy Barton A. Weitz, 2012). Then merits of the retailing in the economics of the country led to decrease the prices for the clienteles, as well as, the enhancement of the development of the economy of the country and the quality of the life (Michael Levy Barton A. Weitz, 2012). Some of the consequences of the organized retailing system are the enhancement of the efficiency of the value chain and the abolition of mediation actors, which led to high financial reimbursements (Michael Levy Barton A. Weitz, 2012). For instance some of the positive consequences of the organized retailing system are the elimination expenses to producers, healthier prices to consumers because of the greater reduction of the prices that the producers will perform to gain much dem and on the products (Michael Levy Barton A. Weitz, 2012). In addition, one of the most important merits is the formulation strong infrastructure that headed to improved loading and demonstration of goods, and the increasing of the consumers understanding and involvement in the process (Michael Levy Barton A. Weitz, 2012). Another important success for the organized retailing was the Job formation across the whole process, which led to the enhancement of opportunities for many unemployed population (Michael Levy Barton A. Weitz, 2012). The most important part of the good consequences of the organized retailing system is the enlargement of the amount of money that are paid for taxes and gathered by the government (Michael Levy Barton A. Weitz, 2012). Organized Retailing will lead to affect the Traditional unorganized Retailers. Furthermore the Comparative Analysis regarding the acceptability of the mall concept and the impact of Shopping Malls on the general living standard of the society are being considered. There is increased sophistication in Customers shopping pattern which has led to emergence of big retail chains in metros, mini metros and towns now becoming the next target. There is a drastic change in the customers tastes and preferences leading to radical transformation in their lifestyle and the spending patterns thereby giving rise to new business opportunities. This generic growth, driven by changing lifestyle and strong increment in income is to be supported by the favorable demographic patterns But among the important benefits obtained by consumers is also the fact that these firms are likely to sell safer products. Food-borne illnesses and contamination are long-standing issues in India. Counterfeit drugs are alleged to account for 20-25 percent of total pharmaceutical sales in the country (Express India 2009) The Indian consumer and his behavioral response towards the development of organized retail can be attributed to the economic and soci al changes taking place in the country. The growing fragmentation of consumers into multiple segments with different values and buying priorities is the natural outcome. They have become more pragmatic, educated and demanding learning the time and money management. The Value for Money concept rather than simply low prices has become the order of the day. The study by ETIG (Economic Times Intelligence Group also confirm this. According to (Sen 2000), in case of Hypermarkets main motives of preference in decreasing order are low prices, possibility of buying everything at same place and general appearance formats (Chandrashekhar,2001) while other studies point out the relationship between the type of store and the type of Products(Sen,2000,Bhatnagar,2002).These studies indicate the utility of specialized and traditional stores for fresh products, while of the store. Other investigations emphasize the co-existence of several store (Sen,2000,Bhatnagar,2002). A significant advantage for organized retailers relates also to prices. The organized retailing corporations have the ability to seek out the lowest-costs suppliers around the world. This ability spurs opposition to multinational retailers, and feeds suspicions that firms like Wal-Mart, which have the reputation of destroying momand-pop stores in countries like the United States, will do the same in India (Swamy 2011). But India itself is one of the low-cost countries from which multinational firms buy products. Although mom-and-pop stores outside India have no easy access to these low-cost producers, unorganized retailers can buy from the same (or similar) sources, possibly through representative cooperatives like Bhartiya. According to the experiment of the organized retailing in India, there had been assurance that the system success led to the evolution of the industry ion India for more than thirty percent annually (IIlm, 2012). In addition, the governmental reports stated that the reports the share of the commerce had reached twenty percent out of the gross national product by the end of 2010 (IIlm, 2012). The gathered information assure that the organized retail industry are considered to be as developed as any other developed country, which ensure the efficiency and the effectiveness of the system to be used by the developing countries, and its is exclusive to the developed nations (IIlm, 2012). The researchers suggested an indication of the fact that India investments had been facing a rise of about twenty percent in the last years (IIlm, 2012). According to the National Readership Survey of 1999, 6.6% of the urban adults and 2% of the rural adults are estimated to be shop owners(IIlm, 2012). Summary The retailing process is considered to be one of the greatest events that can take place in the life if any country thats why it should be considered to have the potential for the achievement of the progress in any developed nation in short period throughout solving many of the economical problems that are facing the country and the industries of retailing. The perceived evidence showed the huge impact that can be led by the organized retailing system on the economic system of the country, as well as, the benefiting of both of the customers and the producers sides. The retail sector in India is expected to gross $427 billion by 2010 and $635 billion by 2015 (Moriarty, Ben-Shabat, Gurski, Padmanabham, Kuppuswamy, Groeber, 2007, p.9). India is, in fact, one of the fastest growing economies across the globe. Indias gross domestic product (GDP) is expanding at 7.5% every year, and the potential for further growth is forecasted to be 12% annually during the next decade (Prahalad, 2007). In 2006, the Economist Intelligence Unit surveyed 1,006 chief executive officers (CEOs) of international corporations (Kim, 2007). Among those CEOs surveyed, 89% expected that India would be connected to future growth for their businesses, as compared to 6% five years ago. Indian consumers have typically patronized small, traditional retail stores, similar to independently owned mom and pop-Small Buisness- stores in western countries. This is due to the high level of personalized service and the low-priced apparel products with low-cost tailoring offered by these small Indian stores (Sinha Banerjee, 2004). Rapid economic growth, spurred by multinational investments in India in the past five to seven years, has resulted in greater incomes for the booming Indian middle class. Disposable income in India is expected to increase at an average of 8.5% per annum until 2015 (Kulpati, 2006). Retailing is one of the largest industry in India and one of the biggest sources of employment in the country. Numerous business groups are attracted in the past few years, including some renowned business groups like Bharti, Future, Reliance, and Aditya Birla to establish hold, showing the future growth in times to come. In addition, organized retail sector has also grabbed the attention of foreign companies, showing their interest to enter India. After looking up these facts, the paper strategically analyzed the Indian retail Industry. The results of the study depict that infrastructure, economic growth and changing demographics of consumers are the major driver of organized retail in India. Recommendation It is recommended for every ill-developed nation to adapt to this organized retailing process to be able to commit change and evolution for the economic structure and system of the government, as well as the formulating of new opportunities of investments for the population to be hired and enrolled within the system.

For Esme- With Love and Squalor Essay -- J.D. Salinger Literature Essa

For Esme- With Love and Squalor 1) In â€Å"For Esme- With Love and Squalor,† J.D. Salinger addresses a part of every person’s life. Everyone experiences periods in their life when they question the world and what is happening around them. Most people probably do not experience it quite as dramatic as the writer of the story, Sergeant X, does. He finds himself in the middle of the pure madness of war, and is having a hard time coping with the realities of the situation. Eventually, people find their way of dealing with these moments. Sergeant X relies on his memories of Esme to help him. The theme of the story is that the innocence of youth can serve as a healing power in times when the world seems to be falling apart. 2) â€Å"For Esme-With Love and Squalor† is essentially a story within a story; this is important to the theme of the story because the writer attempts to remove himself from the story (in first person narration) for the purpose of examination (in third person). This use of point of view makes the reader wonder what is â€Å"real† and what the author (inside the story) is â€Å"making-up.† This sounds strange because the whole story is fictitious, but Salinger makes us contemplate this and it adds to the effect of the story. 3) The first part of the story is told from first person narration. We are told the reason for writing is â€Å"†¦to edify, to instruct†¦Ã¢â‚¬  the man that Esme is about to marry. Throughout the first half of the story we are given the impression that the writer is admiring Esme for her youth and innocence, or love as the title suggests. Before the change to third person narration, we are told that this is going to be the squalid or repulsive part of the story. The writer then â€Å"disguis... ...d period of his life. 8) Innocence in a world of death, tyranny, and oppression seems ridiculous. The world has a way of destroying and making one numb to the ideals and values we once held in our youth. In Stephen Crane’s novel â€Å"The Red Badge of Courage,† we are told a story of a young man’s journey into manhood in the backdrop of the Civil War. Henry, as did Sergeant X, had a difficult time coming to terms with the realities of war. Sergeant X dwelled upon his experiences and allowed them to haunt him. We are told at the end of â€Å"The Red Badge of Courage† that Henry is able to â€Å"†¦rid himself of the red sickness of battle.† Crane writes that he turns â€Å"†¦ with a lover’s thirst to images of tranquil skies, fresh meadows, (and) cool brooks.† In â€Å"For Esme- With Love and Squalor,† Sergeant X turns to the tranquil memories of innocence triggered by Esme.

Use of the Internet as a Tool for Piracy Essays -- Expository Essays R

Use of the Internet as a Tool for Piracy The internet is an ever increasingly powerful tool for finding everything from entertainment to reference to daily news. When first created, the internet was only a shadow of what it has become. Most people didn't even have a computer, let alone a connection to the internet. In the last decade, however, computers have become more and more affordable, and internet service providers have become far more widespread. According to the World Almanac and Book Of Facts 2001 "By early 2000, more than 300 million people around the world were using the Internet, and it is estimated that by 2005, 1 billion people may be connected" (World Almanac). As with any new, powerful technology, the internet has brought with its positive aspects, a number of new problems which will have to be dealt with in the next several years. One of the biggest controversies which has spawned from the popularity of the net is the piracy of music, software, and movies. In the past, piracy of music and movies was fairly small scale. The only way to make illegal copies of tapes was to dub them in a double tape deck. This process was slow enough that music companies and movie studios didn't really worry about it. With the advancement of technology, however, piracy has become as easy as burning a CD or downloading music from the internet. The ease with which people can get free copies of songs or movies, production companies have tried to crack down on piracy. Piracy is the copying of copyrighted material without permission from the author. Because technology is always changing, there are no fail safe methods of preventing piracy. Soon after a new preventative method comes out, someone finds a way around it, making pr... ...reate key generators that produce a valid code. Hard as designers might try, they will never be able to make a totally hacker proof program. Piracy has been a problem for many years, and every time a new method of prevention is created, a new loophole is discovered. Piracy may be illegal, but because of ambiguous laws and the relative anonymity of downloading from the web, authorities will be hard pressed to ever crack down on individual bootleggers. No matter how hard people try to end piracy, there will always be people who want free music and movies and software badly enough to make copies and exchange it illegally. Napster. Napster Incorporated. September 20, 2001 . Selvin, Joel. â€Å"Did Napster Help Boost Record Sales.† The San Francisco Chronicle August 5, 2001. â€Å"The Internet and Computers: Internet Basics.† World Almanac and Book of Facts. 2000 ed.

A Business Case for an ISO 14001 Essay

Abstract The ISO 14000 series takes the international standards system to the field of environmental concerns. ISO 14001 focuses on the development and maintenance of an Environmental Management System, within the ISO 14000 series. The ISO 14000 series is of relatively recent origin, having been instituted in 1991. However, it has emerged as a significant force within a short time. The ISO 14000 series is relevant for the world of business, for governments and regulators, for organizations that work not-for-profit and for entities of all types and sizes, wherever they may be. Its universal nature makes it a unique and dominant system for all people who are concerned with pollution, waste and about the consumption of resources that are limited and which cannot be renewed. ISO 14000 promotes professional conduct. Training people and involving them in key processes lie at the heart of the ISO 14000 system. The rigors of certification serve to develop human resources. It can serve to motivate people at all levels of the hierarchy, and to foster team spirit. The ISO 14000 system is not limited to altruism and to noble intentions. It is worth hard cash. ISO 14001 puts great pressure to bear on achieving productivity improvements that translate to valuable cost savings. Major international corporations enjoy impressive profit growth through the ISO 14000 series. All ISO certifications carry the benefits of independent and international recognition. ISO extension in to the field of environmental concerns through the 14000 series brings desirable pressure on companies that produce hazardous substances and which generate enormous amounts of waste. Customers everywhere have the choice to insist on ISO 14000 certifications. Companies may find themselves excluded from significant market segments if they continue to ignore or to avoid ISO 14000. Some organizations may find themselves out of business if they do not secure ISO 14000 certification. Apple leads a galaxy of the world’s most respected enterprises in using ISO 14001 certification as a cornerstone of competitive strategy. Lithium ion battery technology is an example of innovation that a commitment to environmental conservation can present. Solutions inspired by ISO 14001 can have welcome economic benefits, apart from noble achievements in terms of environmental conservation. Reduction in energy consumption is an outstanding example, since power generation can be both expensive as well as polluting. ISO 14000 calls for abiding commitment on the part of all entities that seek certification. The system consumes major portions of employee time. ISO 14000 becomes a major element of cost, though it does produce handsome returns. The ISO 14000 series follows a highly structured implementation procedure. There is comprehensive documentation widely available that any organization can use to enter the system. Most organizations find it expedient to use consultants to guide them through the process. Independent auditors are inevitable. External auditors must be knowledgeable, experienced and accredited. ISO 14000 has important weaknesses. Loss of proprietary information is the most serious risk. Certified companies may find that their defenses have been compromised in the event of litigation. This arises from the documentation and management reviews that are integral to ISO 14000. ISO 14000 leaves organizations free to choose their own goals, priorities and standards. It therefore lends itself to potential abuse by organizations that may push important social concerns to the background, or to prevaricate about deleterious aspects of environmental degradation. Some organizations may not be able to fund the investments in time and money that ISO 14000 requires. The benefits may therefore evade small enterprises. ISO 14000 documentation needs can also duplicate documentation that other systems and some regulations require. Training and audit infrastructure is inadequate for widespread and global application of ISO 14000. Some organizations, especially in remote regions can find themselves excluded though they may wish to enlist. ISO 14000 confines itself to the environment. It does not consider issues of human wellness. There are many community concerns that ISO 14000 does not address. It is not a guarantee of ethical performance of an organization on all fronts. Business interests may be served best if companies were to use ISO 14000 for internal review, without going in for certification or even registration. It would then be an effective tool of risk management without opening the firm to unwelcome public scrutiny. Purpose of the Study There are a number of excellent consulting services and other resources available at a cost, to help companies through the process of achieving certification. The key is the element of cost. In order to receive funds for consulting services or any other resources, you may have to justify your endeavor financially prior receiving any funding. Even if your company is capable of going through the process without any outside resources there are still direct and indirect costs associated with the process, prior to hiring a certification company to conduct an audit. You will have to buy materials, pull people in full time and part time, audit and update records. Training will be required for employees and management. The purpose is to show that the costs associated with obtaining and maintaining an ISO 14000 certification as part of an Environmental Management System, can be exceeded by the benefits of doing so. The benefits are not just monetary, but also how the company is viewed in the public eye as well, which is increasingly important in today’s global economy. Importance of the study Several industries are trying very hard to change their public image as environmentally â€Å"unfriendly†. The oil industry with its need to seek more sources, often in wilderness areas, chemical companies which have in the past legally dumped toxic waste, the timber industries and the automotive industry which continues to produce large gas guzzling SUV’s and trucks are all very sensitive to public perception. Perception is very powerful and a company does not want to be perceived as harmful to the environment or not environmentally friendly. The ISO 14000 certification system can be used as a tool to not just say we are concerned about the environment, but to show what you have been doing, are doing and will be doing to improve your performance. In doing so you should be able to add to your bottom line, both direct and indirect. As more and more of these companies and seek and obtain the ISO 14000 certification they require suppliers to do so as well. It is very likely that both public and private demand for environmental responsibility will continue to fuel the shift towards certification as proof of doing so. In the global economy today an ISO 14000 certification could become as important, to show a company’s environmental responsibility, as ISO or QS 9000 is to show a commitment to quality. It may become a prerequisite to doing business with some companies and in more industries as it has in the automotive industry. This study seeks to contribute to the on-going debate within some sections of industry about the economics of ISO 14001. We know that large corporations invest in registrations, often under duress from social activists. But is there money to be gained by following the system? Can there be purely business reasons for seeking ISO 14001 certification? Can smaller enterprises participate? These are some of the questions that this study seeks to answer. Scope of the Study The majority of the top 100 companies in the United States have already achieved ISO 14000 certification. The same trend exists in the European Union. The research will look at what is driving the movement towards certification. It will also look at what is required to become certified and to maintain that certification. This will be done through case studies of companies that have already achieved certification, how it has affected their companies and in what ways. The main focus being that it makes good business sense, and the justification thereof. The study concentrates on the business and profit reasons for ISO 14000 registrations, with tertiary scans of ethical issues and applicability of not-for-profit organizations. The study includes brief descriptions of all phases of the ISO 14001 process, with outlines of the various sections of the manual that is an integral part of the process. Rationale of the Study While a lot companies have already achieved ISO 14000 certification many more have not. One of the biggest factors in failure to achieve or to get the company to attempt certification, especially in small and medium size companies, is that often the appointed SME (subject matter expert) has little knowledge as to what is required. It is a task that is added to their current â€Å"to do† list and they are not given the proper resources or time to conduct a thorough study as to what needs to be done, the resources it will require and what is most important in some cases, R.O. I. (Return On Investment). This study will help to explain what is required, where to look for information and through case studies show that a positive R. O. I. can be achieved through ISO 14000 certification and the maintenance of the certification. Overview of the Study The study will consider the attributes of ISO 14000 as an Environmental Management System. In this paper the main focus will be to define the quantitative as well as qualitative benefits for employing an EMS, in our case ISO 14000. While ISO 14000 will be the primary focus, other EMS systems will also be discusses as alternatives and for relative comparisons. The procedures for and the costs of implementation will also be looked at as part of the study. In the process case studies will be studied and discussed through the use of Internet searches, relevant case studies and publications as well as personal experience and interviews with others in the field. This study will attempt to provide methods for justification of perusing certification. We will also try to give an overview of the process for obtaining certification from the planning stage, through implementation, certification as well as the follow up and continuous improvement required to maintain certification. The Ethical Rationale for Environmental Management Standards Concern for the environment is one of the hallmarks of social concerns during our times. Awareness has been growing since the last quarter of the 20th century. It has snowballed in to a major force. There are signs that countries and people will become increasingly demanding of all organizations with which to deal, in this respect. Though the first world is more influenced by concern for the environment, developing economies are also dragged in to the vortex of global opinion, as electronic media and desire for market access drive even poorer people to conform to conservation standards. Pollution, use of hazardous substances, non-degradable waste and consumption of limited natural resources are the four principal corners of environmental concerns. Pollution of air and water are most perceptible for lay people, but the effects of land fills can be equally devastating. Pesticides and organic solvents lead a series of chemicals with both acute and chronic effects. Mesothelioma is an example of a consequence of exposure to a hazardous substance, the fatal implications of which can surface after decades. Organochlorine pesticides persist in nature almost indefinitely. People at large have become very concerned about such residues and threats that surround them. Women and children are especially vulnerable. The concept of supply chains has spurred thoughts about life cycle analysis. Exhaustive labeling requirements have made people more generally aware that an innocuous finished product may involve the use of hazardous substances. Processed foods are common examples of convenience products that may contain harmful ingredients and sources of infection and contamination. This matter also leads to consideration of packaging materials that we have traditionally taken for granted. Consumers are now aware that products made from paper can involve the destruction of forest cover, while plastic has acquired a notorious image for its persistence. This applies to tin and other metals as well. Mercury and other heavy metals in batteries and electronic products are also causes of concern. Clean water has been in acute shortage in many parts of the third world for some time now, but even developed economies have begun to worry about large-scale use of this precious resource, Ground water contamination and depletion of the ozone layer are other matters that engage much popular attention. Large corporations that generate profits are prime targets for pressures to develop environmental management standards. Companies, whose operations transcend national boundaries, have to be especially careful of their environmental footprints. However, government, social service organizations and small business may all affect the environment in serious and indelible ways. Hence it is possible that environmental management programs may become increasingly universal with the passage of time. We may conclude that there is a strong ethical foundation for environmental concerns. All organizations regardless of their size, nature and location, will be subject to pressures to monitor their environmental impacts, and to find ways of reducing or even eliminating all harmful implications of their transactions. The ethical rationale has a firm linkage with business reasons for ISO 14000 certifications, as there are societal trends that it soon become a pre-requisite for continuing to be in business. The Sustainability Imperative for Environmental Management Mature sectors of national economies, and ones that grow rapidly, are in danger of extinction if they do not address environmental concerns. Electronic waste generated by computers and emissions from heavy industries are examples of enterprises and activities that may have a natural end if they do not address the irreversible effects that they can have on the environment. Depletion of the ozone layer is the sort of contentious issue that spreads across sectors and across countries as well. Closely held companies and ones whose stocks are actively traded on markets are most vulnerable to sustainability pressures. The effects of litigation on tobacco and pharmaceutical companies does influence market capitalization significantly, while major industrial accidents can cause companies to cease operations altogether. Government authorities responsible for solid waste disposal, drainage and water supply, may also face bottlenecks if they do not institute timely procedures for environmental management. Food safety is an issue that can affect even a small hot-dog stand. All entities are subject to irreversible degradation if they cause continuing pollution and wasteful consumption. Viral pandemics amongst poor communities are proof that the effects of a deteriorating environment are ultimately universal. We may conclude that there are survival compulsions for all sections of society, in terms of using environmental management systems. Damage and depletion have cumulative effects, some of which manifest themselves many years later. Changes in the macro-environment, such as ozone depletion have serious consequences for innocent communities. Stakeholders of all hues need the umbrella of environmental management systems for their own survival. There are indications that the only companies that will survive and prosper as the 21st century unfolds will be the ones with sound environmental management systems in place. The ones that consume too much of energy and that are relatively wasteful of materials, will be forced out of business by more efficient competitors. Companies that consume vast quantities of non-renewable resources will begin to reach deep in to irreversible crevasses. Society will become increasingly impatient with waste that cannot degrade, and even more so with air and water emissions that threaten human wellness. Companies may escape accountability for environmental degradation in the third world for awhile yet, but apocalypse for them is visible on the horizon! Recent concern for the environment in China marks a watershed, for industries and individuals in this enormous market have operated without such cares until now. The new trend in China spells a change for all corporations that sell their goods and services there, and also for those which source inputs from that vast land. India, being a democracy and a land of education, will follow suit in due course. The days for those without environmental management programs in place are numbered, and there is advantage in jumping on to the learning curve of ISO 14001 as soon as possible. The system has a business rationale, shorn of any altruistic motives.

Delta Air Lines

Thus every passenger travel with the airline should discover the Stubble cognize which combines value, excellent redevelopment, style and innovations. By religious offering branded snacks, dunking donuts, coffee, much legroom, wider seats and air idiot box etc. The customers benefit from a high quality service. Innovations such as tickles flying, one- path fargons, touchstones check-in, free live television and flying with the latest aircrafts such as the Embracer xcl regional Jet reverberate the airlines aim to create a hip to(predicate) image t wear differentiates them from their competitors.Melanin reduces distance within the triggernership by talking to passengers about their experiences and by visiting the employees at their workplace. Supervisors need to bring up theJet Blue University, where they are train by Melanin or Dave Barge, the chief operational officer. All employees are seen as Creamers and are highly involved in solely stemma aspects to cultivate a vigorous team spirit and enthusiasm for the airline. found on these aspects theStubble Experience is strongly embedded in the companys overall business strategy.Question 2 When Stubble got bigger, the company set about new challenges in 2005, by transaction with more complex operations and scalability upshots. diligence and maintenance cost for older aircrafts change magnitude and with the introduction of the new plane Embracer 190 the airline faced operational problems. Escalated costs for the executeation of the new aircraft-type, delays because of the installation of the in- escape enjoyment system and trainings for mechanics and pilots ended in significant operational problems within the company.Additionally Hurricane Rata, Wilma and prolong led to a decreased beg in their eye revenue regions, crude refineries were closed and the fuel costs rose wine 52 percent, the airline lost $20 million in that year. As a response to the losses of 2005, Melanin and Barge theor ise a recovery plan, which contained a erect of the average fares, a more cost-effective usage of capacities and extending their services to small and fair cities, where they had less competition. Furthermore they stressed their linguistic rule to fly with a delay kinda than canceling a flight.The airline excessively utter to improve their workforce productivity molded better trainings, smatter business processes and more extensive use of automation. To control the travel fuel prices the company wanted to implement financial hedging strategies. As a reaction to the operation loss the managers refused bonuses and slow up the purchase of 36 new planes. Enjoyed trine successive profitable quarters, with only $1 million in the red. Question 3 Stubble suffered their worst crisis on February 14, 2007, when a heavy snow act reached impudent York City although the go forecast stated that the city would not be affected.Due to the companys rationale to avoid cancellations, they kept six airplanes in the gate waiting for better weather and four more arriving aircrafts stuck on the macadamize for up to 10 hours. This led to forbid passengers, complaining about Stubble in the media. The actual problem besides the storm and the wrong weather forecast was the internecine way of handling the operational part within this situation. The communication and coordination between the employees struggled and Stables service system was completely overloaded.The staff on board were not aware of hat was happening outside and as they had neer aim atd such a problem before, they didnt have how to handle it. Also the companys principle of not canceling any flights if possible and instead tutelage the passengers on the airplanes led to criticism, bad media and insatiate customers. Stubble reacted to the happening with a worldly concern apology and announced that every passenger who was stuck on the plane for more than tercet hours would approach a full repayment and a free roundup ticket and to those whose flight has been cancelled a full refund.They also promulgated a Customers Bill of Rights which condition the imposition terms. The company could have published a Customer Bill of Rights before the storm happening since such an issue had happened earlier with Northwest airlines and it had led to a lot of bad press and all the way from the way employees reacted it shows that they were not clever to handle such difficult situations which could have been pre-meditated.Even if the way Stables vigilance took action, (like when Dave Barge went to JIFF on the daytime of the storm to take a look at the situation and speak to passengers and creamers, or the fact that David Melanin became the public ace of the crisis to strain interviews, was a good way of relations with the situation) the company would have needed person in the management who was more see with handling such circumstances or been in similar situations before.To better swit ch such crisis the staff should have been trained by experienced coaches, that give instructions how to act in such cases. The management should also have clarified the responsibilities of each department to avoid irritations in censorious situations. And in order to not get into an emergency situation the company

Creating My Own School Essay

The benefits of command on the respective(prenominal) person no doubt extend beyond economical effects. Jeremy Behrman and Nevzer Stacey cited that the effects of statement method spread beyond direct economic effects (1). As much(prenominal) is the case Behrman and Nevser adds, benefits include a bust focus of taking c atomic number 18 of ourselves and consequently creating a better society in which to live (1). Based on this notion, it is important to make education available for everyone heedless of race, color, social status and gender or eventide physical condition. breeding should be a unspoiled of everyone and no one should be denied of this right. However, the tone of education has been the focal point in the educational arguments. The delineate of the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) cited that although teachers athletics an essential role in improving the assimilators performance, the feeling of education e pickyly in aras where poverty is high, carcass bad due to teachers lack of competency in the subject they teach (1).Thus it remains a burden of the government and of the society to establish give lessonss that willing leave to the increasing demand of a role education. The No Child Left scum bag cause was a response to this demand, yet it is clear that at that place is still a great demand for tames that would cater to the growing need of the society of a quality education for children. It is for this reason that I should like to unwrap the proterozoic College Communications (error correction code) shoal which is designed to do especi each(prenominal)y working class bookman and those with special cases.With highly competent teachers duly licensed by the states licensing board, the ECC declare oneselfs quality education for grades 9-12 that would prep atomic number 18 students to college with a high level of competitiveness and a vehement sense of achieving victor in life. The drill is profou ndly anchored on the governments policy at a lower place No Child Left Behind consummation (NCLBA) which emphasized on the qualification requirements for teachers. Under this act, the GAO motif stated that states, districts, and schools ar responsible for ensuring that teacher meets these requirements (1).The GAO too stated that the NCLBA requires teachers of core academic subjects such as math and science be highly hooked. (1) The ECC proudly announces that it meets these requirements. The ECCs ism of education is based on the principle that education is for everyone and that everyone deserves quality education. The ECC adopts a method of teaching based on Ramdens (1992) distinctive ship canal of understanding teaching that is applicable to high school education wherein the teacher is seen as the organizer of student activity.Kate Ashcroft and Lorraine Foreman-Peck explained that in this method of teaching, the focus of the teaching and learnedness situation is on what th e student does (69) and the role of the teacher is supervisory. In this case, as Ashcroft and Foreman-Peck pointed out, the interest of teaching methods is straight focused on ensuring that students learn (69) and the teachers main concern is to motivate students to be actively engaged (69).With this method of teaching, the ECC management ensures that all students get quality education as we are implementing strict compliance for teachers to facilitate the students breeding through motivating them to active and effervescent ingredienticipation in the learning activities. As the school is committed to providing quality education, we oblige also enforced strict guidelines on the selection of teachers. Teachers were thoroughly screened if they micturate genuine interests in helping students learn irrespective of their color, race, social status or physical condition.Thus, we are assuring everyone that the ECC is student friendly and we are very much concern all our student get q uality education as they correct their term with us. For students with disabilities, that is, those belong to section two of the definition given by the Individuals with Disabilities Education act of 2004 (IDEA) cited by Roger Pierangelo and George Giuliani which held, (ii) Disorders not included. The term does not include learning problems that are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or labor disabilities, of mental retardation, of emotional disturbance, or of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage (1)Students with disabilities that do not include learning problems because of the reasons mentioned in the definition, we encourage them to enroll at ECC as we have highly competent teachers to portion out this special class. However, we require students with disabilities to seek certification from the local anaesthetic educational agency whether they responds to scientific, research-based intervention as part of the evaluation procedures.With teachers genuine concer ns on students with disabilities, their primary declare oneself is to ensure that students with disabilities learn equally with other students. superchargemore, the school facilities are designed for the convenience of these special students. These teachers are licensed by the state to handle special classes and they are skilled in communicating with students with disabilities. Overall, the school is committed on preparing our students to father successful various(prenominal) regardless of their color, race, social status, and physical condition.The student who could decision their term at ECC will have an early college credit because the school offers subjects that will provide them advantage when they go to college. Thus, with our commitment towards the future success in life of our students, and with efficient and highly serve teachers we are confident we can lead our students to become competitive, success oriented and determined to achieve their dreams in life. For everyo ne out there, enroll now at Early Communication College and be assured of a quality education and of an exciting learning situation in the classroom.Work Cited Ashcroft, Kate & Foreman-Peck, Lorraine Managing Teaching and learning in Further and Higher Education Great Britain Routledge, 1994 Behrman, Jere R. & Stacey, Nevser The Social Benefits of Education USA University of Michigan, 1997 No Child Left Behind Act Improved Accessibility to Educations Information USA The United States GAO, 2005 Pierangelo, Roger & Guiliani, George A. Teaching Students with Learning Disabilities USA Corwin Press, 2008

Cultural Dimensions of Two Countries

Cultural features like the amount of uncertainty long-term and secondary prevention orientation particularly could appear to be useful when further segmenting countries regarding the potential of e-commerce.Trinidad scores low in great power distance with a 47 (Hofstede).Individuals in Trinidad tend to be very independent. The hierarchy present is merely for convenience. how There are equal rights for all.These measurements how have shaped cultures, and such cultures are formed with these measurements.Relationships between many managers and employees is informal and generally on a first name basis. The United States also scores low in political power distance with a 40. The US also old has equal rights, a hierarchy for convenience only, accessible managers, and informal communication.Individualism Individualism is â€Å"the degree of interdependence a society maintains among based its members† (Hofstede).

Its also referred to as Long-Term Orientation.Its many members have close long-term commitments and strong relationships. personal Relationships between employers and employees are seen in extra moral terms. Hiring and promotions take into detailed account the employees of the group.Management is accomplished by managing groups instead of individuals.Humane orientation could must have an impact on motivation.Hiring and promotions are literary merit based. Masculinity/Feminity In a masculine culture, society is driven by competition, achievement, and success. Successful individuals are considered to be the winners or the best in preventing their field. A feminine culture has cares good for others.

They have to think of communication best practices that are different.Competition and equality is stressed. Conflicts how are resolved by fighting it out. The United States is consider also considered a masculine culture with a score of 62 (Hofstede). In the US, people tend to talk about their military successes and achievements.Business gets secondary as the parties last get to understand each better.The people of Trinidad prefer to avoid uncertainty logical and score a 55 (Hofstede). They have strong beliefs and great expectations for behavior. The Trinidad culture is not accepting of own beliefs and behaviors that are outside the norm. The people are very precise, punctual, hard working, and busy.

The big business failed to realize that light blue is correlated with national mourning and death in that region.The culture what does not require many rules. People in the US do not express their emotions how are openly.Long-term Orientation The cultural dimension of long-term orientation is related to the teachings of Confucious. It deals with a cultures search for virtue.Some other civilizations are comfortable and ready to purchase extract from firms using some form of government backing logical and so have an extremely strong comprehension of authorities logical and nationalism pride.It has a short-term point of view. Its other people focus on tradition. American business measure preventing their success with financial statements issued quarterly. Individuals social work for fast results.

Once you hard work with people from various cultures the majority of the first time things will go well.Their culture is resistant to invention.Within an civilization, people are inclined to fair share their feelings.Theres a solid awareness of loyalty within the category.

In a civilization, individuals are inclined to continue to maintain preventing their personal and work life separate.Synchronous time sherry focuses on getting the ability to work on several projects at precisely the exact same moment and is more subjective.Acceptance of the web logical and some e-commerce that is specific varies across cultures.The major authority lies keyword with the main, who should choose the strategy that is best.