The New Sustainability Advantage By Bob Willard Essay

â€Å"The New Sustainability Advantage† By Bob Willard I chose this book after reading a little on the Author’s background. Bob Willard worked for IBM Canada for 34 years and his business and leadership experience is vast. His passion for sustainability and helping businesses create overall sustainable cultures that are profitable as they can be was inspiring in itself. After his career with IBM, he pursued Sustainability in a way that he could effectively create and help implement these systems into large and small businesses alike. An author of this and three other books, his company Sustainable Advantage is a B Corporation product, a new type of registered business whose goals largely align with social and environmental efforts as a company. He also gives monetary donations equaling 10% of his company’s annual revenue each year to other organizations dedicated to people and planet concerns. The New Sustainable Advantage showcases the importance of how organizations, large and small can identify areas in which their sustainable measures can improve their green thumbprint as well as increase their overall revenues in about 5 years. Bob presents this model in a systematic way pursuing that organizations can improve productivity and become more sustainable over time without sacrificing revenue. This should begin at the CEO Level of every organization as well. Without upper management cooperation and understanding, it will be much harder and near impossible for a company as aShow MoreRelatedThe Topic Of Sustainable Business Practices966 Words   |  4 Pagesreport will define what is meant by the term sustainability and its dimensions. Secondly examples will be provided to illustrate the ways in which ExxonMobil is operating in an ethical and sustainable manner. Thirdly this report will critically look at the area of environmental responsibilities to an organizations and wh at ExxonMobil is doing in that aspect. Finally this report will observe the importance for organization to be sustainable. Sustainability according to Bruntland can be defined as ‘meetingRead MoreAttending The Ethical Sourcing Forum1490 Words   |  6 PagesAttending the Ethical Sourcing Forum hosted by Intertek in March 2012, Bob Willard, author of The New Sustainability Advantage: Seven Business Case Benefits of a Triple Bottom Line (2012), explained in interview that the business case for ethical sourcing is compelling : the certain prospects of acquiring new market shares, an exponential efficency in material/water/energy and profits going over the top. In his book he even brings up the potential of a triple bottom line for any company who makesRead MoreTriple Bottom Line10664 Words   |  43 Pagesthe concept and to sell them on it, it is difficult to find anything that looks like a careful definition of the concept, let alone a methodology or formula (analogous to the calculafions on a corporate income statement) for calculating one of the new bottom lines. In the places where one is expec ting a definition the most that one usually finds are vague claims about the aims of the 3BL approach. We are told, for example, that in the near future the world s financial markets will insist that businessRead MoreManagement Course: Mba−10 General Management215330 Words   |  862 Pagespublication by the instructor of this course. The instructor is solely responsible for the editorial content of such materials. 111 MANGGEN ISBN: 0−390−58539−4 Management Contents Feigenbaum−Feigenbaum †¢ The Power of Management Capital 1. New Management for Business Growth in a Demanding Economy 1 1 Text Jones−George †¢ Contemporary Management, Fourth Edition I. Management 17 17 2. The Evolution of Management Thought Hughes−Ginnett−Curphy †¢ Leadership, Fifth Edition I. Leadership

Allusion In Antigone And Cleopatra - 826 Words

By referencing Danaà « and Cleopatra, two royal women who suffered similar fates to Antigone, the chorus sympathizes with her. In the first stanza of the ode, they allude to Danaà «, saying â€Å"even she endured a fate like yours, / (. . .) buried within her tomb† (1036-1040). Through this allusion to Perseus’s mother, who suffered in an underwater tower, the chorus praises Antigone for her fortitude and shows their support for her through their horror for her fate. When they reference â€Å"the princes doomed at birth/ and their mother (. . .)/ walled up in a tomb of stone†, the story of Cleopatra, the chorus likens her to the daughter of the North Wind who was also buried alive (1079-1080). The comparison between Antigone’s suffering and the†¦show more content†¦Here, the chorus warns Creon that the gods always punish those who break their laws, even if they are royalty, like Creon and Lycurgus. Dramatic irony is used here as well, as th is ode tells the audience, but not Creon, the harm of defying the gods, helping Sophocles to enforce his end point that destruction comes to those who break the laws of the gods. The reference to Lycurgus foreshadows how Creon will suffer, and uses dramatic irony to drive the theme that the god’s laws are the most important. Finally, in the fourth stanza, the chorus references Cleopatra and how she tried to avoid fate, foreshadowing the eventual ruin to be brought upon both Antigone and Creon through the theme that fate is inevitable. They state â€Å"even on her, (. . .)/ the Fates rode hard† showing how once fate decides its target, it will not give up (1088-1089). As in scene two, Antigone was condemned to death by Creon, this quotation foreshadows that the event proclaimed will come to pass. Additionally, Antigone cursed Creon at the end of scene four, so this allusion could also apply to the grim fate prophesied for his family as well. The broader theme that fate is inescapable is also seen in this allusion, when the chorus describes that â€Å"[Cleopatra] sprang in her father’s gales† to try to escape her fate, but it still caught up to her. Foreshadowed by this allusion, Creon too tries to forswear his

Different Methods of Communication free essay sample

Different methods of communication are effective and appropriate for different situations and audiences. For each of the following groups, list a good communication method (i. e. email, face-to-face, written, etc. ). Describe what makes each method effective and how your tone would impact communication to each of these audiences: Boss Coworkers Instructor Friends Family Does the method of communication change if you are involved in conflict with any of these groups mentioned above? Whats the most appropriate way to resolve conflict with each of these groups? In order to make a correct assumption on which method f communication is to be used with a variety of groups, one should stop and analyze the situation at hand and determine the most applicable method that fits the receiver of the message. Another key issue, the nature of what you need to communicate to the receiver. In my opinion, once these items are identified, it facilitates the venue of communication to utilize. We will write a custom essay sample on Different Methods of Communication or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In communicating with a boss, the nature of the communication his/her availabilty will play a key role. If the communication is of an informative nature of day to day office activities, a simple e-mail will suffice with an informal tone. But in the event personnel issues need to be addressed regarding conflict, confidentiality, etc, a face- to face meeting will be more appropriate and of a more serious tone. Coworkers, friends family are groups that can be categorized as informal; therefore, all forms of communication could apply depending on their location and availability. In the event that a personal dispute needs to be addressed with either of these groups, a determination of tone venue of communication needs to be identified for a quick digestion of the situation and avoid further animosity since hese are groups of close interaction. In regards to communication with an instructor, this venue, in my opinion needs to remain as that of a formal tone and in either email or face-to-face when feasible. Since most of instructors deal with multiple tasks and students, e-mail will facilitate tracking of communication to and from students at any given time of day versus the face-to-face encounter that could be time consuming for both parties. If conflict were to exist, written communication will be advisable to track the transgression of the situation and/or the resolution of the same.

The Other Half of the Brain an Example of the Topic Education and science by

The Other Half of the Brain by Expert writer-Eloquence | 26 Dec 2016 The author offered an interesting account of Dr. Harvey who performed the autopsy on Albert Einstein and experimented with his brain. It was discovered that the glia cells, so abundantly present in the human brain can be responsible for the Einsteins uniqueness. Located in the association cortex, glia cells are unlike the neurons but were found to have a significant affect on the neurons through (first hypothetical) communication between glia cells and neurons. Need essay sample on "The Other Half of the Brain" topic? We will write a custom essay sample specifically for you Proceed Through the new findings (Edelman, 1998) it was shown that glia cells influence the formation of synapses that are responsible for the quality of communication between the neurons. Obviously, if the synaptic connections are stronger than the person is capable of more and better associations, learning, and recall. In addition, another study provides evidence that glia cells establish its own communication network run in parallel to the neuron network. The article confirms that during the time when Einstein lived, neuroscientists believed that glial cells were responsible for the information processing. Although it was agreed that the evidence simply was not there, the work continued and search once again focused on the mysterious function of the presence of glial cells. The author pointed out that the researchers assumed the insignificance due to the inefficiency of equipment to detect the glial chatter and the fact that they were looking at glial cells trying to duplicate their search with the same mode as that in neural network. According to the article, the recent discovery brought the light of this difference: the glial cells communicate chemically not electronically, as it was suspected following the neural model. Brave assertion suggested that the glial cells listen in to the neural communication and then react appropriately depending upon what they hear. The author also added that according to the earlier work, the influx of calcium cells suggested that the glial cells had been stimulated. That assumption was earlier confirmed through and with an imaginative innovation that allowed checking the calcium levels in Schwann cells, the glial cells that surround synapses where neurons meet. The author also wanted to know whether glial cells were limited to what he called eavesdropping or had more specialized function, like participating in the direct communication through the neural network. Such hypothesis was later confirms with the described in detail experiment. The author continued describing his research with the supposition that something else was going on with glial cells. He was not satisfied with the finding that these particular cells were responding to the calcium influx. He used the 1990 study of Stephen J. Smith of Yale University that showed the increase of concentration in calcium in the cells called astrocytes, Such increase was caused when the neurotransmitter glutamate was added to a cell culture and doubled for the natural process during which the neurotransmitter is released by a neuron. Further description of another work by S. Ben Kater in 1996 showed that astrocytes would use extra cellular medium rather physical contact to send impulses. Such conclusion basically displayed the possibility that glial cells could communicate among themselves using the extra cellular medium. Further research clarified which molecules exactly were involved in glial communication. The author displayed the finding of Peter B. Guthrie in 1999. His finding helped researchers to determine the concrete model of how glial cells reacted to the calcium influx and then communicated to other glial cells by releasing ATP molecules. The only difficulty was to find out how the transmittal would sense the calcium influx for neurotransmitters were not an answer: those would not diffuse out the axon connections. The further experimentation brought the researchers to the realization that ATP molecules were fired out of the axons and picked up by glial cells. Their analysis was a hypothesis that ATP served as the medium of transmission from the neural network to the glial network through the calcium ions. The ions activate enzymes that affect the genes (Selkoe, 2006). The researcher, further down the road, came to the hypothetical (till today) situation which would direct their attention at the genes as controlling agents initiating the above-described mechanism. At this point, the author described the Stevens research that explained the function and purpose of myelin insulation around the axons. According to this research, the insulation serves as conducting medium that transmits the nerve impulses at high speeds over the long distances. Exactly this work showed the differentiation between axon cells in terms of their development into myelin-surrounded cells or cells with no insulation. The author continued describing the logistics of the chain in hypotheses by mentioning the work of Vittorio Gallo and his colleagues. The work involved a closer look at oligodendrocyte glia that forms myelin in the brain. According to this work, myelin was produced with the maturation of cells when phosphate molecules in ATP were removed (the substance remained was called adenosine). This conclusion indicated at the differentiation of a neuron to know where to send separate messenger molecules: to central or peripheral nervous systems. The author connects than with the practical significance of the process behind demyelination explaining that such condition causes debilitating health conditions in too many people. He also mentioned an important finding that although the exact process of myelination is still under research, it is known that adenosine is the first substance that initiates the process. That fact might later lead to discovering treatment to diseases like multiple sclerosis. Readers later are confronted by an interesting question. Although, the role that ATP and adenosine are known in the myelination process, the researchers are very curious about the possibility of glial cells having the power over regulating the function of neurons (see also (Qiao, Seidler, Tate, Cousins, waves of calcium sent by glia changed the visual neurons' in rats. These findings encouraged Maiken Nedergaard of New York Medical College who studied the lesions of rats brain taken from the hippocampus, area of the brain responsible for memory. Then it was suggested that glia might play a role in plasticity, the organisms response through learning. The author did mention a difficult to understand dilemma: how a large population of calcium influx would be differentiated by and with the entire population of astrocytes. To enact some detailed information processing there should be a mechanism that would detect the specific messengers and differentiate those from the rest. The article of 1990 stated that Smith and his colleagues did believe in the possibility of such differentiation of the mass influx into more discrete packets allowing much more detailed communication. That could not be confirmed for the lack of appropriate equipment. However, Philip G. Haydon of the University of Pennsylvania found (2003) that "there is short-range connectivity between astrocytes." He used a laser equipment to release a minute quantity of glutamate in the rats hippocampal brain region. That quantity was detected by a single astrocyte, which allowed the above conclusion to be made. The author described then the working hypothesis that consisted of communication among astrocytes helps to activate neurons whose axons terminate relatively far away and that this activity, in turn, contributes to the release of neurotransmitters at distant synapses. This action would regulate how susceptible remote synapses are to undergoing a change in strength, which is the cellular mechanism underlying learning and memory. The article accounted for the work of postdoctoral students, Karen S. Christopherson and Erik M. U1lian who have found the chemical messenger, the protein called thrombospondin, was responsible for the building of synapses. This particular protein was known to play physiological role but was not known to participate within the nervous system. There is a supposition that this protein might bring together proteins and other compounds to help synapse grow. The author concludes the article by directing the readers attention at the possibility of connecting the findings with their possible relationship with the human memory suggesting such interesting idea as, perhaps a higher concentration of glia, or a more potent type of glia, is what elevates certain humans to genius. (see also Szpir, 2006) Obviously, there is more to explore. References Edelman, G. M. (1998). Building a Picture of the Brain. Daedalus, 127(2), 37+. Retrieved July 15, 2007 Qiao, D., Seidler, F. J., Tate, C. A., Cousins, M. M., & Slotkin, T. A. (2003). Fetal Chlorpyrifos Exposure: Adverse Effects on Brain Cell Development and Cholinergic Biomarkers Emerge Postnatally and Continue into Adolescence and Adulthood. Environmental Health Perspectives, 111(4), 536+. Retrieved July 15, 2007, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5001931614 Selkoe, D. J. (2006). The Aging Mind: Deciphering Alzheimer's Disease & Its Antecedents. Daedalus, 135(1), 58+. Retrieved July 15, 2007, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5015009904 Szpir, M. (2006). New Thinking on Neurodevelopment. Environmental Health Perspectives, 114(2), 100+. Retrieved July 15, 2007, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5014162015

Managing Equal Opportunity and Diversity in Newham Councils Essay Example

Managing Equal Opportunity and Diversity in Newham Councils Essay Example Managing Equal Opportunity and Diversity in Newham Councils Essay Managing Equal Opportunity and Diversity in Newham Councils Essay Pull offing Equal Opportunity and Diversity in Newham Councils Glossary Abstract †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ . 2 Chapter 1 – Introduction †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 3 Chapter 2 – Achieving the Goals †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 5 Chapter 3 – Conclusion †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 7 Bibliography †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 9 Abstraction One of the more of import variables in today’s universe is the fact that the Earth is comprised of many fluctuations of linguistic communication, imposts, traditions and beliefs. These differences represent the human status and have been made even more meaningful due to globalisation and mobility. The London borough of Newham is representative of the preceding. The population of 243,737 is comprised of a minority representation of 60 one per centum ( 61 % ) with 50 per centum ( 50 % ) of these persons using English as their primary linguistic communication ( Audit Committee, 2005 ) . The borough of Newham is besides comprised of a young person oriented population whereby about 50 per centum ( 50 % ) are under the age of 30 old ages ( Audit Committee, 2005 ) . The preceding makes for an unusual mixture of diverseness and civilizations that have been addressed by the Newham Council. This diverseness in civilizations every bit good as age makes for an unusual set of jobs and chances on the portion of the Council in turn toing the varied mentalities and traditions that comprised these cultural niceties. In order to run into the preceding challenges, the Newham Council was restructured in 2004 to better run into the demands of its public, and in so making identified five ( 5 ) Audit Committee, 2005 Constitution of a Council vision stand foring what the vision needed to be to present services and support that is antiphonal to the demands of the population, Constitution of a direction and leading foundation upon which the preceding can be delivered, That the Council’s purposes and way utilize lucidity refering the facets that need to be achieved, That the Council’s internal organisation is structured to enable it to present upon the preceding, And in conclusion, that the Council’s internal operational civilization is based upon an apprehension of the borough’s cultural diverseness and therefore delivers and supports its aim of excellence. The preceding represented a alone set of challenges and aims that the Newham Council identified in 2004 in acknowledgment of the borough’s cultural diverseness and its demand to better respond to every bit good as be representative of the demands of its public. Chapter 1 – Introduction Some of the drive factors in the Council’s determination in 2004 to outline the predating five-key aims were non merely the indicated cultural diverseness and population facets, but besides the followers ( Audit Committee, 2005 ) : An unemployment rate of seven per centum ( 7 % ) , which was about dual the rate for the state, An Audit Commission evaluation ( CPA ) of fair’ in the twelvemonth 2002, which was improved to good’ in 2003. To go on the upward evaluation advancement that the Council identified as of import to better function the demands of its public, it set the undermentioned every bit precedences as cardinal elements in assisting to present upon the key objectives’ indicated above. Therefore, the community scheme to make these terminals was set as follows ( Audit Committee, 2005 ) ; Improvement in educational accomplishment, A regeneration of societal every bit good as physical countries, Further betterment of societal services, A decrease in the offense rate every bit good as anti-social behaviour which was heightened by the cultural mixture of the public, Improvements in the wellness and overall wellbeing of the borough, Increased efficiency in the concern and human resources facets, And the engagement of the foregoing to better the Council’s reactivity within the public kingdom. These wide and comprehensive ends and aims were the consequence of recommendations by the Audit Commission studies every bit good as the Newham Council’s desire to function the populace in a capacity that represented its operating in the best involvements of the trust engendered in it by the populace. In order to carry through the preceding, the Newham Council budget for the country of cultural diverseness was established at ?966.1 million for services and the lodging history budget was set at ?159.9 million for the period 2003 through 2004 ( Audit Committee, 2005 ) . And while the consequences of the predating actions have non been audited or rated, the really fact that the Newham Council identified the foregoing indicates that it has set upon a way of betterment through understanding the implicit in jobs that needed and need to be addressed. The Newham Council’s continuance of the preceding has been established for the present period of 2004 to 2005 via a civilization and community services section that is composed of a staff of 220 people with a budget of ?21.544 million. The undermentioned resents the allotment set for the foregoing ( Audit Committee, 2005 ) : ?5.9 million for libraries, ?5.3 million for Parkss ?3.7 million on wellness support services and, ?1.8 million on kid services. The aims and ends of the civilization and community services section were/are aimed at the farther decrease of offense, every bit good as the indicated betterment of instruction quality, environmental quality, decrease of wellness jobs within the borough along with the creative activity of new employment chances. These actions were identified as necessary to accomplish a community that had a sustainable underpinning and was headed toward more coherence through an apprehension and tolerance of differences within the cultural mix of the borough. This comprehensive attack is a continuance of policies set in gesture in 1999 as a consequence of ongoing designation of facets and countries that the Council understood needed to be references to run into betterment aims. Chapter 2 – Achieving the Goals Herein after, the ends and aims mentioning to the civilization and community services section shall be referred to as cultural services’ in the purpose of simpleness. In world, the budget for this country, cultural services which was set at ?21.544 million, is a decrease of about 2 to 3 per centum stand foring the Council’s committedness to improved efficiency in the bringing of services to the community. Given the 50 per centum ( 50 % ) composing of population under the age of 30, the Newham Council’s topographic point accent on athletics every bit good as instruction as a agency to assist accomplish improved community understanding through the cooperation and athletic binding effects of athletics via improved recreational installations, every bit good as instruction via the upgrading of libraries. To farther clear up the foregoing, we shall revisit the cardinal aims set by the Council: Improvement in educational accomplishment, A regeneration of societal every bit good as physical countries, Further betterment of societal services, A decrease in the offense rate every bit good as anti-social behaviour which was heightened by the cultural mixture of the public, Improvements in the wellness and overall wellbeing of the borough, Increased efficiency in the concern and human resources facets, And the engagement of the foregoing to better the Council’s reactivity within the public kingdom. The realization of the preceding can be found in Newham’s constitution of a command for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The command is being supported through cooperation with Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Waltham Forest via a comprehensive attempt that encompassed a big country that will better substructure on a strategic footing. It should be noted that Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest have high unemployment rates brought approximately by the flight of in-between category and upper in-between category occupants to the suburbs. This has besides created a nothingness in employment as a consequence of the lose of houses which has affected non merely the borough of Newham, but Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest every bit good ( Barker, 2003 ) . The wide range for the preceding is portion of the larger Sustainable Communities Plan ( Office of the Prime Minister ) . The 60 per centum ( 60 % ) cultural mix in Newham requires alone and unusual schemes on the portion of the Council to model the community into a cohesive working borough. The jobs in Newham can besides be found in other communities within the locality of London. Thus, the Council’s attacks are portion of a broader enterprise on the portion of the United Kingdom to renew communities through the monolithic Sustainable Communities’ plan that is established at ?22 billion ( Office of the Prime Minister ) . Newham’s jobs are non alone to the borough as they mirror the jobs found in other communities that have been identified under the indicated authorities plan for Sustainable Communities. The over sight provided by the Audit Committee has helped supply an independent coverage organic structure that aids boroughs in the scene and attainment of ends and aims, every bit good as a sounding board via which to help them in the development of programs, nonsubjective and end s to accomplish betterments. This national enterprise recognizes the cultural diverseness of the United Kingdom as a whole that is more permeant in the communities environing London that have sustained the more dramatic flight of center and upper in-between category households therefore cut downing the revenue enhancement base and therefore the budgetary agencies to better every bit good as maintain substructure. The cultural differences have accounted for the rise in offense, every bit good as anti-social behaviour and impairment of neighbours as identified by the predating flight of the in-between category. The wide graduated table rectification of this foundational job calls for ( Audit Committee, 2005 ) : Improved educational installations and support elements ( libraries ) , Increased societal tolerance through societal every bit good as physical regeneration, A decrease in offense rates and the corresponding anti-social behaviour, and An betterment in public services every bit good as substructure and societal services. The Newham Council has identified the preceding as cardinal elements in supplying its occupants with a better quality of life and therefore the schemes naming for betterments in the cultural and societal facets of the borough is in acknowledgment of the jobs every bit good as chances inherent in the community’s high cultural mixture per centum. In peculiar, the focal point upon the borough’s young person section will assist to further betterments in these countries, therefore the indicated athleticss and educational plans. This was accomplished through a four-month focal point survey that consulted with the varied community groups consisting Newham to obtain their inputs in geting at the concerns and suggestions they felt would outdo function their ain ego involvements, which are involvements, when heard, that besides serve the best involvements of the community. It is the function of authorities to listen to and hammer plans that are representative of its constituency, and this is made even moreso when said community is extremely diverse, such as Newham. The Council has a panel that constitutes ten community forums that is representative of its cultural diverseness ( Audit Committee, 2005 ) . These ambitious plans, attacks and attempts have resulted in Newham accomplishing betterments in its evaluations by the Audit Committee and in fulfilment of the borough’s vision to do occupants to stay within the community therefore making stableness every bit good as a sense of belonging. The ends of doing the borough a safer, more hospitable, and contributing community in with to populate, work every bit good as drama represents the betterment of the quality of life identified by the Councils plans. Chapter 3 Decision Cultural diverseness is a phenomenon that is a constituent of our modern societies brought approximately by the easiness of travel and resettlement as differing cultural groups seek fortunes and milieus that cause them to experience they are a portion of the community. When these basic homo desires are met, the community benefits in increased revenue enhancements, employment and support concerns that see the community as a location that is turning and feasible. Newham’s undertaking is similar to that being faced and addressed by other communities environing London, which is a consequence of urban flight, brought about by the planned community developments in the suburbs. The Newham Council has identified it will accomplish these terminals through ( Audit Committee, 2005 ) : Constitution of a Council vision that delivers excellence in community services, A Council leading that delivers upon its promises to the community, The attainment of lucidity in the purposes of the Council and the results it is involved in, Supplying an internal organisation that enables the preceding and, A civilization that supports, maintains and delivers. Newham’s challenges in the constitution of a community that delivers equal chance and diverseness is important, as it is for the communities environing London, nevertheless the committedness of the authorities of the United Kingdom every bit good as Newham is traveling toward these aims will see the foregoing as a achieved province of being and therefore improved conditions and quality of life for its diverse occupants. Bibliography Audit Committee. 2005.Local Governments. http: //www.audit-commission.gov.uk/reports/BVIR.asp? CategoryID=ENGLISH^576^LOCAL-VIEW^AUTHORITIES^105154 A ; ProdID=C4A0D1A0-3DA6-11d9-A86E-0010B5E78136 A ; SectionID=sect4 # Audit Committee. 2005.Local Governments. hypertext transfer protocol: //www.audit-commission.gov.uk/reports/BVIR.asp? CategoryID=ENGLISH^576^LOCAL-VIEW^AUTHORITIES^105154 A ; ProdID=C4A0D1A0-3DA6-11d9-A86E-0010B5E78136 A ; SectionID=sect4 l sect5 # sect5 Barker, Kate.2003.Reappraisal of Housing Supply: Procuring our Future Housing Needs. Her Majesty’s Stationary Office, London the United Kingdom. ISBN: 0-947819-78-9 Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. 2005. Sustainable Communities: Building for the Future. hypertext transfer protocol: //www.odpm.gov.uk/stellent/groups/odpm_communities/documents/page/odpm_comm_022184.hcsp

September Calendar of Famous Inventions and Birthdays

September Calendar of Famous Inventions and Birthdays From the first-known copyright that was granted in Venice in 1486 to the publishing of the first book on the Gutenberg printing press, September is a historically significant month in many ways, including famous birthdays like  Michael Faraday, the inventor of the electric motor. Whether youre looking for what happened on this day in history or trying to find famous figures who share your September birthday, plenty of great things happened in September. Many of the people and inventions on the list below are science and technology-based, but a few influential pop culture icons have been thrown into the mix, too. Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights Explore the patents, trademarks, and copyrights that were granted on each day throughout the month of September to find what famous invention shares your birthday. The candlestick, for instance, was patented on September 8, 1868, by William Hinds while the hand controller video game was patented on September 29, 1998,   September 1 1486: The first known copyright was granted in Venice. September 2 1992: The Southern California Gas Company purchased the first motor vehicles powered by natural gas. September 3 1940: A patent for the production of diuretics was obtained by Bockmuhl, Middendorf, and Fritzsche. September 4 1888:  George Eastman patented the roll film camera for Kodak. September 5 1787: The constitutional clause concerning patents and copyrights was adopted by the Constitutional Convention in 1787. September 6 1988: The Combined Cap and Baseball Mitt Patent Number 4,768,232 was granted. September 7 1948: Patent Number 2,448,908 was granted to Louis Parker for a television receiver. His intercarrier sound system is now used in all television receivers in the world, and without it, TV receivers would not work as well and would be more costly. September 8 1868: William Hinds patented a candlestick.1994: Microsoft gave Windows 95 its new name. Previously, the operating system had been referred to by its code name of Chicago. September 9 1886: Ten countries, not including the U.S., joined the Berne Convention for the protection of literary and artistic works. September 10 1891: The song Ta-Ra-Ra-Boom-Der-E by Henry J. Sayers was registered.1977: Hamida Djandoubi, a Tunisian immigrant and convicted murderer, became the last person to date executed by the guillotine. September 11 1900: A motor vehicle patent was granted to Francis and Freelan Stanley. September 12 1961: Patent Number 3,000,000 was granted to Kenneth Eldredge for an automatic reading system for utilities. September 13 1870: Patent Number 107,304 was granted to Daniel C. Stillson for the improved monkey wrench. September 14 1993: The Simpsons television show was registered by Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. September 15 1968:  An Wang obtained a patent for a calculating apparatus, a basic component of computer technology. September 16 1857: The words and music to the famous Christmas song Jingle Bells were registered by Oliver Ditson and Company under the title One Horse Open Sleigh. September 17 1918: Elmer Sperry received a patent for the gyrocompass, essential to modern ship navigation. September 18 1915: Louisa May Alcotts book  Little Women (first published October 3, 1868) was registered.1984: Software Arts and VisiCorp settled their lawsuit over VisiCalc, the first spreadsheet program. VisiCalc, invented in 1979, was the first hot-selling software product for the personal computer. September 19 1876: Melville Bissell patented a carpet sweeper. September 20 1938: Patent Number 2,130,948 was granted for synthetic fiber (nylon) to Wallace Carothers. September 21 1993: A patent for Baseball Batting Apparatus, Patent Number 5,246,226, was granted. September 22 1992: The Poolside Basketball Game was granted Patent Number 5,149,086. September 23 1930: Johannes Ostermeier was issued a patent for the flash bulb used in photography. September 24 1877: Fire destroyed many models in the Patent Office, but the important records were saved.1852: A new invention, the dirigible or airship, was first demonstrated. September 25 1959: The song Do-Re-Mi from the Sound of Music by Rodger and Hammerstein was registered.1956: The first transatlantic telephone cable went into operation. September 26 1961: The patent for an aerial capsule (satellite) emergency separation device was obtained by Maxime Faget and Andre Meyer. September 27 1977: Anacleto Montero Sanchez received a patent for a hypodermic syringe. September 28 1979: The pilot episode of the TV series M*A*S*H was registered. September 29 1998: A hand controller for a video game was patented as Design Patent Number 398,938. September 30 1997: A roller skate was invented by Hui-Chin from Taiwan and received Patent Number 5,671,931.1452: The first book was published in Johann Gutenbergs printing press: The  Bible. September Birthdays From the birth of Ferdinand Porsche to that of the inventor of the first automobile, Nicolas Joseph Cugnot, September is the birth month of many famous scientists, inventors, and artists of all varieties. Find your September birthday twin and discover how their lives works helped change the world. September 1 1856: Sergei Winogradsky was a noted Russian scientist  who pioneered the cycle-of-life concept. September 2 1850: Woldemar Voigt was a noted German physicist  who developed the Voigt transformation in mathematical physics.1853: Wilhelm Ostwald was a German physical chemist who won the Nobel Prize in 1909.1877: Frederick Soddy was a British chemist who won the Nobel Prize  for his work on radioactivity due to the transmutation of elements.1936: Andrew Grove was an American computer chip manufacturer. September 3 1875: Ferdinand Porsche was a German car inventor who designed the Porsche and Volkswagen cars.1905: Carl David Anderson was an American physicist who won the 1936 Nobel Prize  for  Physics for his discovery of  positron.1938: Ryoji Noyori was Japanese chemist and a Nobel Prize winner  in 2001 for the study of chirally catalyzed hydrogenations. September 4 1848:  Lewis H. Latimer  was an American inventor who drafted the patent drawings for Alexander Graham Bells application for the telephone, worked for Thomas Edison, and invented an electric lamp.1904:  Julian Hill  was a noted chemist who helped develop nylon.1913: Stanford Moore was an American biochemist who won the Nobel Prize in 1977.1934: Clive Granger was a Welsh economist and Nobel Prize  winner  for his contributions to non-linear time series. September 5 1787: Franà §ois Sulpice Beudant was a French geologist who studied crystallization. September 6 1732: Johan Wilcke was a noted Swedish physicist.1766: John Dalton was a British physicist who developed the atomic theory of matter.1876: John Macleod was a Canadian physiologist who won the Nobel Prize in 1923.1892: Edward V. Appleton was a noted British physicist who pioneered  radiophysics.1939: Susumu Tonegawa is a Japanese molecular biologist who won the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1987 for his discovery of the genetic mechanism that produces antibody diversity.1943: Richard Roberts was a British biochemist who won a Nobel Prize. September 7 1737:  Luigi Galvani  was a noted Italian physicist who made studies of the anatomy.1829: August Kekule von Stradonitz discovered the benzene ring.1836: August Toepler was a noted German physicist who experimented with electrostatics.1914: James Van Allen was an American physicist who discovered the Van Allen radiation belts.1917: John Cornforth was an Australian chemist who won the Nobel Prize. September 8 1888: Louis Zimmer was a famous Flemish  clockmaker.1918: Derek Barton was a British chemist who won a Nobel Prize in 1969. September 9 1941: Dennis Ritchie was a noted American computer scientist who created the  C programming language and the Unix operating system. September 10 1624: Thomas Sydenham was a noted English physician.1892: Arthur Compton was a noted American physicist  who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1927 for his 1923 discovery of the Compton effect of electromagnetic radiation.1898:  Waldo Semon  was an American inventor who invented vinyl.1941:  Gunpei Yokoi  is a Japanese inventor and video game designer for  Nintendo. September  11 1798: Franz Ernst Neumann was a noted German professor of mineralogy and physics who was an early researcher of optics.1816:  Carl Zeiss  was a German scientist and optician known for the lens manufacturing company he founded called Carl Zeiss.1877: Feliks Dzjerzjinski was the Lithuanian founder of the KGB.1894: Carl Shipp Marvel was an American polymer chemist who worked with temperature-resistant polymers called polybenzimidazoles. Marvel won the first ACS Award in Polymer Chemistry in 1964, the Priestley Medal in 1956, and the Perkin Medal in 1965. September 12 1818:  Richard Gatling  was the American inventor of a hand-cranked machine gun.1897: Irene Joliot-Curie was the daughter of Marie Curie, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1935 for the synthesis of new radioactive elements. September 13 1755:  Oliver Evans  invented a high-pressure steam engine.1857:  Milton S. Hershey  was a famous chocolate manufacturer who started the Hershey candy company.1886: Sir Robert Robinson won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1947 for his researches in organic chemistry, and he also worked for the Shell Chemical Company.1887: Leopold Ruzicka won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1939 for his studies of natural substances, and he invented many of the scents for various perfumes. September 14 1698: Charles Francois de Cisternay DuFay was a French chemist who studied the force of repulsion, noting that most things could be electrified just by rubbing  them  and that materials conduct better when wet.1849: Ivan Pavlov was a Russian physiologist known for Pavlovian responses; he won the Nobel Prize in 1904.1887: Karl Taylor Compton was an American physicist and atomic bomb scientist. September 15 1852:  Jan Matzeliger  invented the shoe-lacing  machine.1929: Murray Gell-Mann was the first physicist to predict quarks. September 16 1893: Albert Szent-Gyorgyi was a Hungarian physiologist who won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1937 for discovering vitamin C and the components and reactions of the citric acid cycle. September 17 1857: Konstantin Tsiolkovsky was a pioneer in  rocket and space research.1882: Anton H. Blaauw was a Dutch botanist who wrote The Perception of Light. September 18 1907: Edwin M. McMillian won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1951 for discovering plutonium. He also had the idea for phase stability, which led to the development of the  synchrotron  and synchro-cyclotron. September 19 1902: James Van Alen invented the Simplified Scoring System for tennis. September 20 1842: James Dewar was a British chemist and physicist who invented the Dewar flask or thermos (1892) and co-invented a smokeless gunpowder called cordite (1889). September 21 1832: Louis Paul Cailletet was the French physicist and inventor who was the first to liquefy oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, and air. September 22 1791:  Michael Faraday  was a British physicist and chemist who is best known for his discoveries of electromagnetic induction and the laws of electrolysis. His biggest breakthrough in electricity was his invention of the electric motor. September 23 1915:  John Sheehan  invented a method for the synthesis of penicillin. September 24 1870:  Georges Claude  was the French inventor of neon light. September 25 1725:  Nicolas Joseph Cugnot  invented the first automobile.1832: William Le Baron Jenney was the American architect considered the father of the skyscraper.1866: Thomas H. Morgan won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1933 for  discoveries  that defined  the role that the chromosome plays in heredity.   September 26 1754: Joseph Louis Proust was a French chemist best known  for his research work on the steadiness of composition of chemical compounds.1886: Archibald B. Hill was an English physiologist and pioneer of biophysics and operations research who won the 1922 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his elucidation of the production of heat and mechanical work in muscles. September 27 1913: Albert Ellis was an American psychologist who invented rational emotive behavior therapy.1925: Patrick Steptoe was the scientist who perfected in vitro fertilization. September 28 1852: Henri Moissan won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1906.1925: Seymour Cray was the inventor of the Cray I  supercomputer. September 29 1925: Paul MacCready was an American engineer who created the first human-powered flying machines and the first solar-powered aircraft to make sustained flights.   September 30 1802: Antoine J.  Ballard  was a French chemist who discovered bromine.1939: Jean-Marie P. Lehn is a French chemist who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1987 for synthesizing cryptands.1943: Johann Deisenhofer is a biochemist who won the Nobel Prize  for  Chemistry in 1988 for determining the first crystal structure of a membrane protein.

Early years in the uk context Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Early years in the uk context - Essay Example care provider for one’s own children seems to be a complicated decision for anyone who understands the importance of wellbeing of children in their early years. The article seems to be divided into two sections. The first section deals with the comparisons being drawn between the ways in which middle and working class parents engage with child care in exploring their interactions with local markets. The second half of the article deals with working class parents’ choices of schools; it illustrates the importance of local connections for parents in their identification of a primary school. Both the researches are located in the inner areas of London where middle and working class was easily found. First a population was selected on which research was carried out. The families chosen were middle and working class families who had primary school going children; the primary focus was the second project that was the identification of engagement of working- class families with childcare. Interviews with the parents were used for the data collection. Interviews were taken, recorded, transcribed and then analyzed respectively. In all the cases the parents were given the choices of setting whether it was their workplace or home. The data collected was analyzed in two ways. Firstly through Nnivo, for data management and search purposes and secondly through hand-coding to identify and examine key themes and issues. Drawing out on the research data, this study shows that families of different positions comprehend and practice child care markets in very different ways. In London, the child care Affordability Programme offers subsidy in a form of help to the lower- income parents in order to assist them to access chilcare. During the research many of the working- class respondents commented that the tax in the form of subsidy was making it financially worth to return to the work. The research made it analyze that the financial resources was an expected difference

Marketing management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Marketing management - Research Paper Example 2. A company that has a well-executed branding strategy will enjoy the good aspect of marketing. This is because customers will be able to identify themselves with the good due to its color, brand name and even the price. Consumers will enjoy the benefits of easy selection and budgeting of their selected brand. With regard to a newly launched product, the brand name provides the advantage especially due to the customer base already created by pioneer brands. 3. Most of the new products fail in the market because of several reasons. One of the reasons is the level of competition. Most of the newly launched products are unable to compete effectively in the market hence fail. Most of the marketers also fail in conducting feasibility tests before launching their products in the market. In addition to this, poor branding strategies and failure to connect the new product with pioneer brand creates a loophole which eventually leads to the failure. Marketers are therefore under obligation to conduct a proper feasibility test before they introduce a new product. They must ensure that the product is appealing to the customers and meeting their demands in terms of price quality and quantity. 4. Most marketers are have engaged in understanding the psychological behavior of the consumers and are now utilizing the strategy of perceived value. This means that the value of the price of the goods or services are according to what the customers thinks they are. The key to perceived value pricing is providing the customer with what they want in form of size, quality, quantity, and price. Once this is done customer loyalty follows and this is the most important aspect of perceived pricing. The marketer is able to predict the price to be paid through customer loyalty, customer demands and customer cares services. 5. One of the strategies is to increase the compensation such that the highest marketer gets the highest commission. This will act

Counter Point Essay Example for Free

Counter Point Essay Starbucks is one of the most successful business serving coffee and drinks beverage. Starbucks is known for serving hot and cold coffee beverage with a high quality products. Starbucks went public in 1992 with a priced at $17 share and the stock jumped to $21 at the opening bell. By 2007 Starbucks had become one of the most widely recognized and admired global brands. In addition, by 2008 Starbucks has 4500 locations in 43 countries out side the United States. Overall Starbucks known as a good business with a good standing. Starbucks has many problems starting with the price. Starbucks coffee is more expensive than other competitors like Dunkin’ Donuts and Caribou. In addition, Dunkin’ Donuts offering drinks at prices 20 percent lower than Starbucks. For example, Kathleen Brown, a 30-year-old Boston lawyer, used to treat herself to a $4 Starbucks Caramel Macchiato but switched to Dunkin’ Donuts. Also, she mention that with Starbucks price for a cup of coffee she can buy a cup of coffee with a sandwich from Dunkin’ Donuts. Moreover, Starbucks did not pay attention to the customer comment cards and they did not respond to their customers needs or their feedback about the product or the service. Starbucks should ask the customers about what type of milk they want. Another problem is that Starbucks used to offer just hot beverage and they thought cold coffee like Frappuccino was not a true coffee drink. After Starbucks knew their competitors were offering a cold beverage they started to serve cold beverages and they tested their concoction with customers and again customers approved. Moreover, Starbucks stores were reconfigured with fewer comfy chairs and less carpeting making Starbucks a less inviting place in which to linger over a cup of coffee. In the beginning Starbucks had a problem and they could not advertise because the cash was tight. Finally, Starbucks machines were so tall that the customers could no longer see the coffee being made. Starbucks need to work to reduce the price of their products since most of the people from the middle and low income cant offer their products. If Starbucks want to increase their sales and earn more profit they should reduce their prices to let the people from all class can offer their products and be satisfied but Starbucks did not do any changes to their prices because there vision was to educate consumers about fine coffees and brought from a good place. Starbucks did lots of thing to increase their profit and to be more successful. For example, Starbucks opened many stores and some times in the same area just to help to serve the customers in a good way. For example, Starbucks opened many store to help the customers get what they want in a short time. Starbucks had learned that nearly stores did not necessarily hurt one another’s sales and in fact could actually help. Moreover, more stores meant a better chance for customers to find a short line or empty parking space and for Starbucks to capture the sale. Also, Starbucks open a drive through service to help the parents with young children and the drive through help Starbucks earned more profit and be more successful. Starbucks choose their store location by focusing on the are population and a matrix of regional demographic profiles and an analysis of how best to leverage operational infrastructure. In addition, Starbucks planned at least one big community event to celebrate its arrival and offer two free drink coupons with the note asking the customers to share Starbucks with a friend. In addition, since Starbucks know that there prices was high so they try to offer a seasonal offering such as a strawberry and cream Frappuccino in the summer and gingerbread latte at Christmas. Starbucks did not want to loose their money and workers so they developed a 24-hour training program converting Coffee Knowledge (four hours). Brewing the Perfect Cup (four hours), Customers Service (four hours) and also basic skills. Starbucks wants to have a good working environment and to be loyal to their employees so they provide their employees with a health insurance to all partners even the part-timers. Keeping the same employee with a full benefits would cost Starbucks $1500 rater than loosing $3000 to train a new hire. Starbucks work to develop their product mix by adding music and book to their customers. Starbucks knew their prices are expensive and they did a great thing to solve this problem by opening many stores and provide a nice atmosphere to their customers by serving many kinds of snack, cold and hot beverages, sandwiches. â€Å" Customers say one of the reason they come to Starbucks it because they can discover new things, a new coffee from Rwanda, a new food item. The solutions that I considered is Starbucks need to pay attention to their customers feedback for the price of the product and to try to make their price reasonable to the people over the whole world. Since many people like the atmosphere in Starbucks and its more fancy than Dunkin’ Donuts but the price in Starbucks need to recognized and reduce. There are many solutions I recommend to Starbucks. First, the most important is the price. Starbucks need to find a solution with their product price since their price is much more expensive than other competitors like Dunkin Donuts. Most of the people switch to Dunkin Donuts because their product mix are cheaper. Moreover, they should offer free refills to their customers and make sure to give their customers a chance to give their feed back on the product. According to the case Americans will never pay $1.50 for a cup of coffee. So because of that Starbucks need to reduce their price to be more successful. In conclusion, Starbucks is a powerful business with a good product mix ( non coffee drinks, food items, music, books). Moreover, Starbucks has many stores and sometime in the same area just to help their customers to get their need in a very short of time with offering their customers a drive through service and that cause the profit of around $1.3 million compared to $1 million at stores without a window. But the price of their products is so expensive than Dunkin’ Donuts.

“Thy eternal summer shall not fade”: Flower of all Seasons in Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 :: Literary Analysis, Shakespeare

Shakespeare intertwines two characteristics of beauty, while at the same time subtly showing their differences, showing that inner transcends outer beauty. Beauty is rare and true beauty even more so; true beauty is beauty that’s on the inside, and is lacking in many, yet Shakespeare was able to find a woman who is beautiful from the inside out. Shakespeare, in sonnet eighteen, uses descriptions of nature, and imagery to imply, and directly compare them to a girl with true inner beauty, one which surpasses even her own outer beauty. The poet compares the imperfections of summer to contradict the iridescent outer beauty of the girl he loves. Even though the summer seems like the best season, it is always undesirably â€Å"too short† (4) and nature always has its faults but the girl does not. Sometimes it’s â€Å"too hot† (5) and sometimes on a beautiful day its gold complexion is even dimmed, the clouds overcast which is believed, by some, to foreshadow bad luck. But her beauty is never overcast by something else nor her â€Å"gold complexion dimmed† (6). However, all these imperfections are not natural for her. She, he praises, is â€Å"more lovely† and â€Å"more temperate† than a summer’s day (2). In praising her beauty he even emphasizes the word â€Å"more†. Both lovely and temperate are words that show effective use of diction. While he does choose words that accurately express his feelings they also have strong connotations lovely could imply high at tractiveness and exquisite beauty and temperate could imply that she is by nature a very strong, yet mild and self controlled person. Shakespeare also shows all of summer’s imperfections through the imagery of flowers. Another instance where summer’s beauty is cut short by nature and therefore is incomparable to the girls’ beauty is when the â€Å"Rough winds...Shake the darling buds of May† (3), May is a time in the year when the weather starts to warm up and flowers are in full bloom, beautiful at the very beginning of summer. But sadly nature comes and snatches the beauty away, the image of the winds of May coming and blowing petals off the beautiful flowers shows the â€Å"Rough† behaviors, and shortcomings that nature has to offer. At the same time the wind is also a metaphor for adversities or problems in life and how he praises the one he loves because she is not affected by obstacles. The poet also expresses and emphasizes that even though the buds and the flowers may wither with the rough winds, her beauty still holds intact; especially her inner beauty, her temperate n ature that ever endures adversity.

Ethics: Utilitarianism Essay

Ask a passerby to describe his personal morality, and you’ll likely get a complicated explanation filled with ifs, ands, and buts. Ask a utilitarian, and he can give a six-word response: greatest good for the greatest number. Of course, utilitarianism is not that simple. Like any philosophical system, it is the subject of endless debate. Still, for the average reader who is unfamiliar with the jargon that characterizes most philosophy, utilitarianism can be a useful tool in deciding before an action whether or not to carry it out or, after an action, whether or not a moral choice was made. Most credit the economist Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) as utilitarianism’s principal author. Bentham described his thinking as the â€Å"greatest happiness principle,† and his idea was elaborated upon in the nineteenth century by John Stuart Mill in his classic work, Utilitarianism (1863). In that book, Mill develops three critical components of utilitarianism: an emphasis on results, individual happiness, and total happiness (by which he means the happiness of everyone affected by an action). Results: Mill expanded Bentham’s definition of utilitarianism to argue that â€Å"actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness; wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. †[1] This means that utilitarians care only about the results of an action. Other factors that we typically consider when making moral judgments about an action, including a person’s motive or his expectations about the results, do not matter in utilitarianism. A utilitarian would say that a man who shoots another by accident is guilty of murder, whether or not the shooting was an accident. Conversely, the man with â€Å"murder in his heart† who tries to shoot another but misses cannot be held morally accountable for the act. In utilitarianism, only the results matter. Individual happiness: The second component of utilitarianism is Mill’s idea of happiness, by which he means pleasure. As individuals making moral choices, we should seek to act in ways that maximize happiness and minimize pain (which Mill defines as â€Å"the reverse of happiness†). In promoting the maximum happiness, Mill is not advocating a life of food, sex and sleep. He specifically states that not all pleasures are created equal: â€Å"Few human creatures would consent to be changed into any of the lower animals,† he writes, â€Å"for a promise of the fullest allowance of a beast’s pleasures; no intelligent human being would consent to be a fool, no instructed person would be an ignoramus. †[2] For Mill, a hierarchy of pleasures exists, with human pleasures such as love rising to the top of the list. Falling in love or being moved by a song or poem are greater goods to a utilitarian than eating a delicious sandwich, not because love and music and poetry are different in kind than the physical pleasure of eating, but because these are especially profound pleasures. Total happiness: The third defining aspect of utilitarianism is its emphasis on the total happiness, by which Mill means the happiness of all people affected by an action. To decide if an action is moral, a utilitarian will conduct an accounting of the pleasure and pain associated with that act. If the sum total of pleasure outweighs the sum total of pain, the action is considered moral; if not, immoral. Take as an example the case of price-fixing, the government’s setting of minimum prices for goods such as milk to protect farmers from ruin. Is price-fixing moral? Utilitarians would think through this question as follows: When the government (as opposed to the free market) sets the bottom-line price for milk, every consumer suffers moderate pain since the government artificially raises the cost of milk above what the marketplace, operating according to the laws of supply and demand, would otherwise charge. Large consumers who depend on milk (for example, ice cream manufacturers) may suffer severely if the price is kept artificially high. And that increased cost would no doubt be passed on to millions of consumers in the form of increased costs for ice cream. But if the dairy farmers don’t get price protection, they may go bankrupt—in which case a far greater cost would be paid: no one would be able to buy milk or milk products. Price fixing, then, helps farmers stay in business at the expense of ice cream manufacturers and consumers. Is that expense justified? Utilitarians would answer on a case-by-case basis after a careful balancing of benefits to a few with the increased (though small) cost to the many. [3] Individuals as well as governments can be guided by utilitarian thinking. Take the question of organ donation. Is it moral for the family member of a recently (and perhaps tragically) deceased person to grant doctors permission to harvest their loved one’s organs? Utilitarianism’s â€Å"greatest happiness† principle demands any personal sacrifice in which the total amount of pleasure produced outweighs the costs in pain, even if the person making the choice receives none of the benefits. Other philosophers place a priority on individual liberty and object to using one person (even a dead person or dead person’s body parts) for another’s benefit. Utilitarians, by contrast, conclude that such actions are morally necessary. The emotional pain of a family that has lost a loved one is very real. But to utilitarians, the extra pain caused by organ donation is a measure of pain on top of the pain of having already lost a family member. That extra measure of pain must be less than the happiness that results when a life is saved through a transplanted organ. Thus, if the family uses the principle of greatest happiness to guide its decision, then they will agree to the harvesting of organs. A more controversial example of using utilitarianism to make moral decisions involves the ethics of torture. It is sometimes argued that utilitarianism would allow the torture of a prisoner if the torture induced a confession that could save lives, a practice that is strictly outlawed in international law. In a society where this interpretation of utilitarianism was widely accepted, police would be able to inflict any amount of pain on an individual in order to save even one life. This final example highlights one aspect of utilitarianism that is often criticized. Although the greatest happiness principle is easy to understand, its application can lead to some unsettling results. One can imagine a society’s interest in achieving the â€Å"greatest happiness† justifying all kinds of abuses in the name of morality. Utilitarians, in fact, cannot easily explain why torture is morally wrong. Still, in guiding people through more ordinary decisions, utilitarianism has remained popular among both philosophers and non-philosophers. All of us need help sometimes in deciding on the right course of action. Utilitarianism has provided that help for philosophers and common folk alike for two hundred years. ———————– [1] John Stuart Mill, Utilitarianism (Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing Company, 2001) 7. [2] Mill, 9. [3] Robert W. McGee, â€Å"Some Thoughts on Anti-dumping Laws: Utilitarianism, Human Rights and the Case for Appeal,† European Business Review 96 (1996): 30.

Barriers to Learning Essay

The main object of any educational system is to create equal opportunities to provide quality education and effective learning so that all learners can reach their full potential and make a meaningful contribution to their future and participate in our society throughout their lives. It is imperative that the educational system is able to prevent learning breakdowns and exclusions. Barriers to learning can be found within the learner, be located within the centre of learning, found within the educational system or located within a broader social, economic or political context. Sometimes it is possible to identify these barriers which can then be addressed appropriately. The key to preventing barriers from occurring is the effective monitoring and meeting of the different needs amongst the learner populations and within the educational system as a whole. But the current focus of school improvement policies and practices are too limited to ensure that all students have an equal opportu nity to succeed at school. Socio-Economic Barriers Effective learning is influenced by the availability of educational resources to meet the needs of all the learners in the educational system. The lack of numbers of learning centres does not meet the learning population number. Inadequacies in resources and inequalities of discrimination in gender, race and disability found in our society result in forming barriers. The discrimination of the race factor was influenced by the apartheid era where the black population received a poor quality of education and even today non-urban districts are more marginalised with the educational system then urban-based districts that achieve higher exam marks. The inability to pay school fees will lead to the total exclusion of learners from the educational system due to the socio-economic barriers that further include; serve disabilities, living in poor communities and high areas of violence and crime. Basic Services With the inability of learners to access services or the non-existent services that are linked to educational provisions that contribute to the  learning processes, learners can not gain anything from the educational system. If learners are unable to reach the learning centres due to there being inadequate transport facilities, the roads being poorly developed or the learners are disabled and the transport is unwilling to transport them to the learning center, they will be excluded from the educational system. Clinics also affect the learner being involved in the educational system as the learners either have to get regular treatment that will leave the learner experiencing long periods of absence or if learners are unable to acquire the necessary treatment, will decrease their concentration, their capacity to learn and increase impairment. The lack of access to other services such as communication services and welfare also hinders the learning process. Educational systems are also largely inaccessible to deaf learners due to the lack of sign language interpreters. The lack of and distribution of different resources creates barriers to learning. With no money; no books, no human resources or writing material, the learners will not benefit from the educational system. Poverty and Underdevelopment The inability of families to meet their basic needs such as shelter and nutrition, effect the learning process of learners as there is increased emotional stress and under-nourishment that leads to a lack of concentration. Communities in poverty are also poorly resourced with limited educational centres and the learners are more likely to leave school and find a job to provide an income for their family. Disable learners are more easily excluded from the educational system and labour markets as able-bodied siblings have been accommodated first. Environment conditions can form barriers to learning through economic deprivation, community disorganization, violence, drugs and the rural people being in the minority. Attitudes Negative and discriminatory attitudes on the basis of prejudice towards gender, race, class, culture, disability, religion, ability; remain a critical barrier to learning. The negative attitudes and the stereotyping of learner’s differences due to poor knowledge as well as from fear and lack of awareness are easily picked up by other children who further alienate other learners. These attitudes result from traditional and religious beliefs. Disturbances Disturbances that arise within a social, economic and political environment can affect the social and emotional well-being of learners. A learner who is abused emotionally, physically or sexually, can be physically and emotionally damaged. Other factors that influence learners are substance abuse, conflict within the family, young girls being raped and falling pregnant, the lack of a support system and the lack of infrastructure that could lead to the learner’s breakdown or dropout of the educational system. In the wider parts of the African society, civil war and other forms of political violence can lead to trauma and emotional distress in learners. Some families that are evicted become refugees and the learning process is disrupted while the family seeks a safer environment. A safe environment for the educators and the learners cannot be guaranteed and this can prevent effective teaching and learning taking place. An unhealthy environment with a lack of electricity and toilets places learners at risk to diseases. Natural disasters and epidemics such as HIV/AIDS result in the learners having to deal with the loss of family members and making them vulnerable because they might have to fend for themselves. School and Peer Influence Learners who drop out or who are going through a learning breakdown can further manifest their negative behaviour to become disruptive and self-destructive. This negatively influences the other learners and may result in resistant and harmful attitudes in the classroom. Learners may have a negative encounter with a teacher or their peer and a mental block can be formed towards the educational system. Inappropriate teacher and peer role models cause a critical barrier in the learning process. Curriculum The curriculum itself creates barriers by being inflexible in the style and tempo in which teaching and learning takes place, the way in which the classroom is organised and managed as well as the availability of materials and equipment as it prevents, the needs of the diverse learners, from being met. The way in which assessments are designed can form a barrier between the learners who can memorise a certain amount of information and the learners who understand the concepts that are involved. The teachers need to  be enthusiastic about their teaching subject and get the learners more engaged and active in their lessons. Language and Communication Barriers to learning arise when the medium of teaching and learning takes place through a language that is not the learner’s first language. It places the learners at a disadvantage. Different Abilities Learners with disabilities may not be able to have effective learning taking place nor have their particular needs met due to the fact that their impairments may prevent them from learning and developing which results in barriers being met. Some learners will more easily experience a learning breakdown. Unsafe Environment The majority of learning centres are physically inaccessible to a large number of learners. The amount of learners in an area compared to the amount of schools is a shocking comparison, creating a barrier for learners to eventually get accepted into a school or to go to a school with many learners in the one class and have no one-on-one attention and it becomes difficult to meet the different needs of the diverse learners. Many schools are not built for the accessibility of blind, deaf and wheelchair bound learners, with these disabilities, and the environment becomes unsafe. Lack of Family Care and Involvement The parents and community’s active involvement is central to the effectiveness of learning and developing. Learners need to get recognition from their parents because without support and encouragement learners become insecure, have a low self-esteem and lack innovation that leads to the learning process being hindered. Individual Conditions All learners come from different backgrounds and have grown up in different environments but in the African context we have generalized their situation. An individuals barriers could include; medical problems, inadequate nutrition, underdevelopment, psycho-physiological problems and having a difficult temperament and adjustment problems. â€Å"If the education system is to promote effective learning and prevent learning breakdown, it is imperative that mechanisms are structured into the systems to break down existing barriers.† These mechanisms must be able to recognise the different barriers, overcome the barriers that occur, prevent barriers from occurring and promote the development of effective learning and teaching environments. It is important to have the ability to recognise, identify and understand the nature of the barriers at hand. There must be dedicated commitment to develop those mechanisms which will then allow diversity to be accommodated in the educational system. The enforcement of positive behaviour as well as the challenge to overcome negative attitudes must be effectively monitored to ensure that there are results. The promotion of mental and physical health to all the learners will help them become more aware to how they can improve their learning process. These mechanisms include: the improvement of protective legislation and policies, innovative practices for recognising and accommodating the continent’s diversity, government and non-government owned organizations aimed at including learners that were previously excluded from the educational system, activities that challenge attitudes against discrimination and curriculum restructuring. It is most important to work towards the involvement of the learners, parents, educators and community members, in the process to govern centres of learning and create training programmes that are equipped to deal with diverse needs. These mechanisms need to be supported in order to organise and d evelop teaching and learning environments as well as to help transform the economic, political and social environments.

Gate control theory essays

Gate control theory essays The Gate Control Theory acknowledges that some nerves exclusively transmit pain signals and that pain is partially determined sometimes by the pattern and sum of signals sent by these fibers and permits the role of psychological processes in pain perception. Pain impulses do not go directly from nerve endings to the brain but flow from the peripheral nervous system to the central nervous system. (example) There is a imaginary neural gate in the central nervous system that alters the pain signals. Certain things open the gate; certain things keep it closed. When the gate is open, messages are sent to the brain that are perceived as pain. If the higher centers of the brain interpret an event as painful, the gating mechanism will open, and the sensations of pain will be transmitted to the brain. Some things that open the gate may be: the ratio of pain-fiber activity (high A-delta and C-fiber activity, low A-beta fiber activity), stress, anxiety, depression and attention to pain. Some things that may close the gate: higher A-beta activity from acupuncture, massages and medicine, relaxation, increasing and sustaining positive emotions. In a recent review women are found to have slightly lower pain thresholds, lower pain tolerance, and greater ability to make fine discriminations among painful stimuli (more aware of the pain). In general, women report more pain than men, different manners in coping with the pain and different responses to treatment. In fact, in a 1998 study, they found that ibuprofen (an anti-inflammatory drug) did not reduce the pain for women, although it did for men. In turn, many painful diseases for which ibuprofen are typically prescribed are more common in women. Men and women have estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone, the levels of each hormone differ between them, and while they tend to remain somewhat steady for men, they vary monthly for women. Also, the brains of males and females ...

Pakicetus Facts and Figures

Pakicetus Facts and Figures Name: Pakicetus (Greek for Pakistan whale); pronounced PACK-ih-SEE-tuss Habitat: Shores of Pakistan and India Historical Epoch: Early Eocene (50 million years ago) Size and Weight: About three feet long and 50 pounds Diet: Fish Distinguishing Characteristics: Small size; dog-like appearance; terrestrial lifestyle About Pakicetus If you happened to stumble across the small, dog-sized Pakicetus 50 million years ago, youd never have guessed that its descendants would one day include giant sperm whales and gray whales. As far as paleontologists can tell, this was the earliest of all the prehistoric whales, a tiny, terrestrial, four-footed mammal that ventured only occasionally into the water to nab fish (We know that Pakicetus was largely landbound because its ears werent well adapted to hearing underwater; in fact the structure of its inner ear is what gives it away as an early cetacean). Perhaps because even trained scientists have a hard time accepting a fully terrestrial mammal as the ancestor of all whales, for a while after its discovery in 1983, Pakicetus was described as having a semi-aquatic lifestyle. (Matters werent helped by a cover illustration on the journal Science, in which Pakicetus was depicted as a seal-like mammal diving after fish.) The discovery of a more complete skeleton in 2001 prompted a reconsideration, and today Pakicetus is deemed to have been fully terrestrial- in the words of one paleontologist, no more amphibious than a tapir. It was only over the course of the Eocene epoch that the descendants of Pakicetus began to evolve toward a semi-aquatic, and then fully aquatic, lifestyle, complete with flippers and thick, insulating layers of fat. One of the odd things about Pakicetus- which you can infer from its name- is that its type fossil was discovered in Pakistan, not normally a hotbed of paleontology. In fact, thanks to the vagaries of the fossilization process, most of what we know about early whale evolution derives from animals discovered on or near the Indian subcontinent; other examples include Ambulocetus (aka the walking whale) and Indohyus.

MGM465-0801A-05 Business Strategy - Phase 1 Individual Project Essay

MGM465-0801A-05 Business Strategy - Phase 1 Individual Project - Essay Example Warden International, Incorporated is a conglomerate international firm is in the process a merger & acquisition deal to purchase Able Corporation. The target investment, Able Corporation, is a company dedicated to manufacturing portable and electric power tools. This report provides a qualitative analysis of different aspects that the newly formed management team of Walton & Able must consider in the planning process to develop a strategic plan for Able Corporation by the stipulated deadline of June 11, 2008. Able Corporation has been in business for a while and has lots of experience in their industry. The human capital that has been developed in-house in this firm are hold valuable information which can not be reproduced by any other means other than directly retrieve the information directly from the source. The employees of the company at all levels are the first place to look in order to build a new mission statement for the newly acquired subsidiary of Walton International. The employees should also be part of the strategic planning process since the data needed to create alternative solutions concerning important business functions such as risk management and corporate social responsibility strategies within their minds. The identity of the company was defined through years of harmony and synergies that was lived by the employees of the company who determine the corporate culture of the company. A corporate culture is a system of shared actions, values, and beliefs that develops within an organization and guides the behavior of its members (Schermerhorn & Hunt & Osborn, 2003). During the initial phases of the negotiation process between the board of directors of Able and the executive management team the topic of organization cultural integration had to be discussed. As the merger moves forward the company needs to determine the best exploit the competitive advantages that can be achieved with the union of two workforces. A way to initially

Managing Environmental Issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Managing Environmental Issues - Essay Example Fryxell and vryza (2007) assert that the simulation focuses on three major environmental philosophies on human responsibility towards the environment. Examples of simulation put in place in order to manage environmental issues include the anthropocentric view, biocentric view and ethical extensionism. The model explored by Fryxell and vryza (2007) explores on how human being inter and intra relates to the natural world and therefore assesses how human activities impacts on the natural environment. Therefore, this discussion contributes to the critical study of the mankind responsibility in protecting and managing the nature and his role in the environment. Environmental justice refers to the fair treatment that explores the meaningful involvement of people especially the minority and low-income populations into the development, implementation and enforcement of the environmental laws, regulation and policies as asserted by Fryxell and vryza (2007). Consequently ensuring coverage of adverse and desperate health impacts that are a burden to the environment and affect also affect the people. Environmental justice is achieved when everyone within the environment can enjoy the same degree of protection from the environment and from health hazards activities of the population. Environmental simulation aims at accessing the decision making process by the stakeholders to have a healthy environment in which all the people can live, learn or work comfortably without any disturbances (Fryxell & vryza, 2007). This is achieved by facilitating open dialogues among many stakeholders involved in managing the environment. In doing this, fair treatment is achieved in involving all kinds of people from different part of the world regardless of their race, color, originality or income with an aim of achieving a healthy environment for the benefit of all. There are many stakeholders involved in the management of environmental

Pfizer Business Trends Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Pfizer Business Trends - Assignment Example Looking at the graph above, the performance of Pfizer has been ever on the increase since 2008. If the company assumes an investment of $100 in 2008, the graph shows that, in 2009, the company reinvested all dividends and the amount of investment was $108.3. Similarly in the other years, it was $108.6 in 2010, $139.8 in 2011, $168.4 and $212.5 in 2012 and 2013 respectively. This shows a steady rise and a tremendous increase in the company’s investment level every year. This, as well, shows that, the value of the company’s shares has been increasing steadily in the stock exchange market. Profitability, therefore, can be deduced from the graph as the company’s performance shows clearly that it is profitable as the level of the shareholder’s dividends keep on rising steadily every year. Since everyone who wants to invest in a company would benefit through the company’s dividends that it pays to the shareholders, I would therefore not hesitate from inve sting in this company as it shows a prospectus future for its investors. The current stock price for this company is $29.96 with its daily high being at $30.27 while its day low standing at $29.85. Since its current stock price in the NYSE is higher than its day low, it means that the company’s stock is doing well and is on the increase. Its 52 weeks high stands at $32.96 while its 52 weeks high stands at $27.12. This also shows that the current price is not lower than the 52 weeks low; hence the company is doing well in the stock exchange market. That is, its shares are profitable or they are gaining value in the NYSE. The company currently has a volume of shares that amounts to 54,908,700 shares (Pfizer, Shareholders Services : Cost Basis Calculator, 2014). When the company’s performance is compared to other companies performance in the same industry, as indicated by the graph, and the graph assumes that all these companies invested $100 in 2008, hence creating a benchmark for all

Macro Environmental Factors Affecting The Industry Marketing Essay

Macro Environmental Factors Affecting The Industry Marketing Essay 1.0 Introduction This report shall examine Coles Supermarket, Western Australia Based, Australian grocery retailer, and its position in the Australian supermarket industry. Through examination of Coles internal operations it is hoped that a better understanding of Coles s strategy, and subsequent success, can be gathered. Hence recommendations for future sustained competitive advantage can be formulated based on the findings from an examination of the external environmental factors affecting the industry. 1.1 Coles Supermarket The focal grocery retailer of this report is Coles Supermarket, specifically, its food and retail grocery business. Coles operate 742 stores across Australia, has taken its total sales to $30 billion in 2010, a rise of 4.2%, and now controls around 35% of the industry. Hence, Coles is the second place in the market leader, with its leading competitor, Woolworths controlling 40% of the market (Westfarmer Annual Report 2010). However, with major environmental changes on the horizon it is debatable if Coles can increase such numbers in future. C:UsersMuiAppDataLocalTempmsohtmlclip11clip_image001.png C:UsersMuiAppDataLocalTempmsohtmlclip11clip_image001.png Figure 1, Coles full financial year revenue2008-2010, and Coles Operate stores (Westfarmer Annual Report 2010). 2.0 External Analysis Significant trends in macro-environmental dimensions will be discussed, specifically socio-cultural and economic trends and how they will impact Coles profitability in future. The Porters five forces model may be utilized to assess the state of the competitive environment, and finally the attractiveness of the industry to Coles in the future shall be examined. 2.1 Macro-Environmental factors affecting the Industry Socio-Cultural Factors: One major social trend is the increasing consciousness towards health and well-being, reflected in a movement towards organic produce and healthy alternatives. This trend offers an opportunity for Coles, as currently there are few players in the market offering organic foods, and sales of organic foods are set to rise over the long-term (IBIS, 2011). It also constitutes a potential threat in that farmers markets and niche supermarkets which specialize in such produce will thrive in the environment. Another social trend would be the increasing number of consumers who are time-poor. Consequently, there is a higher demand for time convenience. i.e. the ability to patronize a store when consumers have the time. The ability to provide fulfill this need has been possible by extending in trading hours. In addition, Coles is providing further convenience through expansion of its product range as much as possible, and created new business such as Coles Express. Economic Factors: The current economic climate has resulted in lower spending levels, especially with flexible goods. Hence, consumers are switching to private label brands for cost savings. Subsequently, supermarkets are increasing their private label offerings. This enables them to compete on the basis of price while realizing the higher margins. Provision of private labels also enables supermarkets to compete on the basis of choice convenience, i.e. offering a low-cost alternative. 2.2 Porters five Forces Analysis In this section, the attractiveness/profitability of the Australian supermarket industry in current times shall be assessed. This will be followed by an examination of Coles relative position in said industry. Threat of Substitutes: The threat of substitutes is high, as Coles laces many indirect competitors, such as convenience stores, specialist grocery stores, and farmers markets. Evidence suggests these indirect competitors are viable substitutes to Coles and cause serious threats in the future: Convenience stores have also experienced an expansion in product offerings and would he competing directly with supermarkets in the provision of choice convenience and wide product range. With the increasing trend towards healthy alternatives, Farmers markets selling organic produce are also poses a potential future threat. However, the threat posed by specialty stores is perceived to be minimal with the rise of increasingly time-poor consumers. Rivalry amongst Existing Competitors: A high degree of rivalry exists in the land is a direct result of the small number of major players in the market and their lack of perceivable differentiation due to the generic nature of the services and products provided. Therefore, competition is primarily based on price, but other competitive factors include product choice and store location. Three main drivers of an increase in future rivalry are the private retailer IGA, Actions and Woolworths which in the leading position. Bargaining Power of Suppliers: The bargaining power of suppliers used to be very low. With Woolworths and Coles controlling more than 75% of the market (Fenner, 2011), many local Australian producers have an extremely limited selection of intermediaries to choose from (McKinna, 2011).Therefore, in many cases, Coles or Woolworths is the major purchaser, perhaps even the only purchaser, of a producers production. Even major international brands such as Kellogs and Nestle do not dare to upset either retailer; such is the power of their market-share (Wade, 2002). However, this is set to change, with the existing of the Action supermarket and the expansion of IGA, along with the Federal Government and The Australian Competition and Consumer Commissions (ACCC) recent push to lower competition barriers in the Industry (Hewett, 2011). Thus, the bargaining power of suppliers is set to be moderate in future due to a potentially larger selection of intermediaries to consign to. Bargaining Power or Buyers: Whilst low, the buying power of consumers is also set to increase in future. Once again, the aggressive push by the Federal Government and ACCC to lower competition barriers and allow new competitors to enter the market is set to increase consumer choice (Hewett, 2011), consequently increasing consumers bargaining power. Further driving the increase of consumer bargaining power would be the rise of price comparison websites such as grocery.bestpricedirectory.com.au which enables consumers to compare prices and choose the cheapest alternative. Both factors are set to bring consumers future bargaining to a more moderate level. Threat of New Entrants: The threat of new entrants is very low, and is set to remain unchanged. An insidious combination of local zoning laws and leasing agreements with landlords has resulted in an artificial scarcity of grocery store sites (Hewett, 2011). As such, this has deterred many new entrants from entering the market, especially overseas players interested in the Australian grocery industry. This is further aggravated by preferential treatment for Coles and Woolworths by landlords, due to their enormous pulling power in terms of consumer traffic (McKinna, 2011). Furthermore, potential entrants to the Australian grocery market must compete with Coles and Woolworths incredible economics of scales. Thus the investments in infrastructure, and facilities would be massive, and the expertise to manage them all would be specialized and rare. Thus, very few firms have the expertise or resources required for such a significant undertaking, and only a few players such as IGA and Action are able to do so (McKinna, 2011). 2.3 Comparison of industry attractiveness for Coles From the Porters Five-Forces analysis in the previous section, the Supermarket industry until a few years ago presented moderately high to high attractiveness for Coles, the most important reason or which was the high barriers to entry and weak bargaining power of suppliers and buyers. Hence profitability would be high for Coles at that point of lime. However, future environmental changes are set to change the attractiveness of the industry to Coles to moderate. Hence, Coless profitability is set to decrease from high to moderate in future as well. The main reasons for this would be the increase in bargaining power of suppliers and buyers, along with the greater intensity of firm rivalry with Woolworth, Action and expansion of IGA.C:UsersMuiAppDataLocalTempmsohtmlclip11clip_image001.png Figure 2, Attractiveness and Profitability of Industry to Coles in near future As such, the ability to outperform its rivals and maintain its competitive edge rests on Coles resources and capabilities, and more importantly how those resources and capabilities are utilized in the future, when industry attractiveness and profitability has decreased from previous levels. 3.0 Internal Analysis This section will begin with an assessment of Coless position in the food chain (i.e. extended value system) the firm participates in. It will be followed by an examination of the significant functions within Coles Value Chain that delivers the most value to the firm. Finally, Coles most significant resources and capabilities shall be identified and discussed in detail. Coles 3.1 Examination of the Food Chain Coles participates in C:UsersMuiAppDataLocalTempmsohtmlclip11clip_image001.png Figure 3, Coles Food Chain From the above diagram, it can be observed Coless function in the food chain is to provide producers with a channel to reach end consumers. This is because the producers Coles works with concentrate solely on production, hence those producers require to go-between with retailing expertise and infrastructure. For many of Coles suppliers, Coles is a major buyer, if not the only buyer of their produce. Thus, Coles exerts great influence over many of the small local producers and can state things like farm sizes, crop type, agricultural methods and prices the producers receive, which are based on Coles product and process quality specifications (wade. 2002). 3.2 Value Chain Analysis of Coles Coles mission statement specifies how Coles Down Down, Prices Are Down and Quality food costs less at Coles. Thus, all the value-creating activities of Coless business are all geared towards delivering the above promises (Westfarmer Annual Report 2010). The three main value-creating functions involved in delivering the firms promises are: 1. In-Bound Logistics: Coles is essentially a retailer. Hence it does not produce the products it sells. Instead, it controls the distribution network of its products. Within this function there are two significant activities which contribute to the firm: Procurement and Logistics: C:UsersMuiAppDataLocalTempmsohtmlclip11clip_image001.png Figure 4, In-bound logistics summary (Coles Supplier, 2011). Coles produce goes directly from producers to a national or regional distribution centre, where it is certified for quality then transported directly to stores. In addition, Coles owns and operates of all the trucks and distribution centers involved in its distribution network. This puts it in a better position to prevent worker strikes and enables greater control in ensuring punctuality of shipments. Moreover, operating the distribution centers (DCs) and trucks in its supply chain puts Coles in a better position ensure optimum distribution efficiency and product quality (Coles Supplier, 2011). 2. Operations: This involves two primary activities that ensure customer convenience and value, Quality Assessment and Inventory Management: C:UsersMuiAppDataLocalTempmsohtmlclip11clip_image001.png Figure 5, Operation Summary (Coles Supplier, 2011). From the time the stock arrives at the retail store to when the products are put on display, constant checks are made to detect and remove defective products. Furthermore, for each stock unit there is a Minimum Presentation Level (M.P.L)'. Sophisticated Point of Sale (POS) technology keeps track of the number of stock units sold for a particular product, and once stock levels fall beneath the M.P.L, a re-stocking order is dispatched to the relevant distribution centre (Coles Supplier, 2011).In addition, Coles utilizes an advanced forecasting program to forecast future changes in demand due to environmental factors such as seasonal changes or economic trends. 3. Marketing and Sales: Two main activities are involved in increasing sales and enabling Coles to compete effectively, In-store Promotions and Organizational Dynamism: C:UsersMuiAppDataLocalTempmsohtmlclip11clip_image001.png Figure 6, Marketing and Sale Summary (Coles Supplier, 2011). Coles holds weekly specials to boost short-term sales of certain products where prices of certain items are reduced by a large percent (Coles Supplier, 2011). This is supplemented by the distribution of sales catalogues informing consumers of the weekly specials. Highly effective in boosting short-term sales and inventory turnover, an example would be how Coles would normally sell $2000-$3000 worth of toilet paper per week, but that amount increases to around $8000 during its weekly special (Coles, 2011). A significant capability of Coles would be its ability to keep up with consumer trends and environmental changes, enabling the formulation or new strategies to compete effectively (Coles, 2011). For instance, to keep up with current consumer lifestyles and preferences, Coles introduced its selection of easy to prepare meals under its Coles Quality Food brand in conjunction with its monthly online interactive Coles Feed Your family Recipe guide which provides recipe suggestions and nutritional advice for healthy living (Coles, 2011). 3.3 Assessment of Coles Significant Resources and Capabilities Coles adopts an integrated competitive strategy, i.e. it utilizes a combination of both cost leadership and differential elements to compete, with its efficient supply chain to minimize costs, and its brand image to differentiate itself based on quality. In addition, strategic factors such as minimization of future threats and keeping the firm flexible in wake of environmental changes are also critical to Coles survival. Thus, with the above factors in consideration, Coles three most significant resources and capabilities are: Highly Effective Supply Chain: Coles efficient distribution network is both a resource and a capability in its in-bound and out-bound logistics. The end of tangible and intangible assets such a technological capabilities and supplier relationships, it is highly valuable as it was the significant cost- savings achieved throughout its entire logistics network that enabled Coles to come closer to Woolworths (McKinna, 2011). The level of cost saving benefits provided is non-substitutable by any other resource. It is also difficult o copy as the level and scope of the technological capabilities involved is highly specialized and staggering. However, should Coles posses an unfavorable public image or sell products undesirable to consumers, possessing an efficient distribution network would be irrelevant. Thus, by itself an effective supply chain is insufficient as a distinct competency, and must be supported by other competitive advantages. Brand Reputation: Coles reputation as quality food was built over many years. This was done via positive consumer experiences with its products which can be attributed to its stringent quality assessment procedures throughout its supply chain (Urban, 2007), as well as its Quality Food Cost Less at Coles advertising campaign. Hence, this brand reputation is valuable, as it provides meaningful differentiation to its competitors, and has directly contributed to higher levels of customer satisfaction. It is also non-substitutable, as the benefits provided cannot be matched by any other resource. However, it is neither rare, nor hard to copy, with most of its rivals also claiming to sell fresh and Quality food. More importantly, fresh food and quality products have come to become a basic expectation of consumers. Thus, this reputation is not a distinct competitive advantage; rather it is a point of parity that Coles must possess in order to compete. Effective Top Management: Despite recessionary pressures and rising inflationary rates, Coles is still able to achieve growth rates at higher than. This can be attributed to Coles effective top management, in particular CEO John Fletcher (Fenner and Raja. 2011). Further, the relations within the Coles Group top management is a significant factor perceived as enabling Coles to compete effectively with AGI in future and the main competitor such as Woolworths (Fenner. 2011). Thus, the capability of top management in steering Coles through the current economic climate and continuously achieving high growth rates makes it a valuable resource. As such, it is non-substitutable by any other resource, and is hard to copy as it is difficult to obtain capable and effective senior managers. However, it cannot be considered rare: as Due to the mature nature of the sector, most of the companies operating in the Australian Grocery Industry also have capable senior management. Therefore, effective t op management is not a distinct competitive advantage, but a point of parity that is utilized in conjunction with other factors such as efficient supply chain to enable Coles to outcompete its rivals. 4.0 Recommendation The recommendations presented by this report are classified into short-term and long- term recommendations: Short-term Recommendations: In the short-term, Coles should invest more in advertising. More specifically, Coles should create advertisements representing how their Coles Quality range of healthy meals to go fits into consumers everyday routines. This would heighten brand recall of Coles in consumers minds, which increases purchase likelihood. More importantly, by creating advertisements linking Coles to healthy, easy to prepare meals that are conveniently available at reasonable prices, this would increase the chance of making Coles identical with convenience and healthy consumption, a valuable point of differentiation in a market where Quality food cost less are now points of parity. Long-term Recommendations: It is recommended for Coles to focus more on convenience and an enjoyable shopping experience in the long-term. Coles current program to refurbish stores should be supplemented by measures to improve store atmosphere, such as the inclusion of relaxing music and having cheerful, enthusiastic and helpful staff to create an enjoyable shopping experience. More importantly, in the long run it is recommended for Coles to invest in more profitable industries and businesses. As mentioned earlier, the attractiveness and profitability of the Australian supermarket is set to fall in the future. Thus, Coles should focus in new businesses in which sales growth are projected to rise over the long term, such as Coles Express and Coles online shopping. 5.0 Conclusion Coles Supermarkets business strategy has been analyzed in this report which base in Western Australia. Examination of Coless external environment such as socio-cultural trends as well as the deteriorating economic climate had been conducted to gain understanding of current industry trend. The industry attractiveness was found to have declined in recent times, due to difference factors such as a rise in supplier and buyer bargaining power, greater intensity amongst rivals and higher threats from substitutes. Internal operations it is hoped that a better understanding of Coles s strategy. Coles control of the distribution network of its products helps ensure quality and distribution efficiency. Coles three most valuable resources and capabilities were found to be its highly efficient supply chain, its brand reputation and its effective top-level management. With recommendations for short-term and long term strategies may perhaps ensure sustainability of Coles supermarkets future.